2+2=5 cited this fact about the shrinking amount of elders. Perhaps the coming implosion? (page 3)

besunny

My father is a elder and he is 79,and he can't walk very well and uses a cane often,he also can't hear or see well either,I feel he has a lot of pressure to do his KH chores,,it took me months to convince my parents to stop having the service meeting at their house on Sat. mornings,it's just to much for them especially in the winter to make sure the driveway is cleared of snow,,I feel nobody at the hall see's that is to much for them now and it makes me upset,,so I think this example is a picture of how there is a desperate need for elders

Outlawed

If women cannot fully participate in a community than the decay comes naturally. Look at the countries in the Middle East and Noth Africa without oil.

Outlawed 10 lucky years free now.

http://outlawswinchesters.jouwweb.nl/ New hobby

DesirousOfChange

Many of the elders I know that have been appointed in recent years would never have made the grade just a few years ago, they really are lowering the bar.

This is why there are 25/26 year olds being appointed as Elders.

(Yes, these "men" are trained to offer counsel and advice, and assist you through your serious problems in your family life.)

Doc

Pyramid Scheme

I was the youngest elder in my congregation by far when I left......most of the guys were in their 60's and 70's.

They were the old Freddie-era hard liners. You were better off talking to the wall.

I was 36, and most of my friends deliberately "sandbagged" in order to not get appointed. On a lot of Saturdays, we would do a few "calls" for about an hour, then go out to breakfast! :) I made sure they didn't get considered for appointment, since they saw the torture I was enduring.

There is one qualification that is the overwhelming factor in getting appointed.

Is it the scriptural qualifications? Is it the reputation? Is it the way the man treats his family and fellow JW's? No.

How many hours of field service does he have?

You could be a mix of Gandhi and Jesus Christ, but if you didn't have at least 10 hours of service, you were immediately dismissed. Like someone mentioned above, I have noticed they are really scraping the "bottom of the barrel" to appoint men now. There are a few guys locally that are flat-out douche-bags....when i heard they were made elders, I laughed and gagged at the same time.

Pyramid Scheme

This is why there are 25/26 year olds being appointed as Elders.

Exactly! I was 26, WAY too young.

Not married, still living at home, and wasn't ready for the "Everything you wanted to know about Sex, But were afraid to ask" education I was to receive within MINUTES of being appointed........I was on a judicial committee that night!!

Most of the young guys are totally clueless....I know I was. Then, since the older guys are burned out, you get totally dumped on. Usually the new kid on the block is immediately given the Theocractic Ministry School, since it is such a thankless job.

Sure, you were a good JW kid - you were obedient, you could give good talks, but you had know clue as to what "real-life" problems people endured. Then, you also learned as a young man how JACKED UP 50% of the congregation was. Since a JW 25 year old man is probably as "worldly wise" as a typical 12 year old, its just sad.

XBEHERE

The last KM school I attended (end of 2012) the average age of the elders looked to be in the 40's-50's with many also in their 30's. I'd say over the next 10-20 years or so I have no idea where the next crop will be coming from. In my there are 11 elders and 4 ministerial servants. When I was growing up that number was reversed.

DesirousOfChange

In my there are 11 elders and 4 ministerial servants .

XB, that's an interesting observation that I've seen in several local congs too.

Seems that what happens is that active brothers have to be "promoted" after just showing up and hanging around so many years, thus they can have an over abundance of Elders once all the MS get the nod to move up, since not many new or younger guys are stepping up to the plate to be MS.

Then you have a couple Congos merged due to the drop in membership and the number of Elders & MS double. The only families that have no Elder or MS are the families where there is no man in the house or at least no man in the Truth.

All chiefs. No indians.

However, in one of our former Congos, it was the 70+ year old Elders that were the go-getters. The younger guys were just coasting, full of apathy but aching for some of the Limelight -- gimme gimme gimme an assembly part!

Doc

sir82

You can run a congregation with 4 Elders, no problem.

Depends on the 4 elders.

The majority of elders I know are quite incompetent, ranging from good-natured screw-ups to dangerously nit-witted.

You could run a congregation with 4 "good" elders.

A congregation with 4 typical elders would collapse in a heap within 5 years.

2+2=5

I believe in Australia this is a legitimate concern for the society, just from what I have heard from other elders. Sure there are plenty of elders that are in their 30's and 40's but I think around 50% would be over 60. There are two congregations that I know of where they are all late 60s and 70s except a couple of elders in their 40s. Even the average age of some whole congregations is very high. At least half of my cong will be buried in the next 10 to 15 years.

The younger JWs are a different breed from the old faithfull. They are nothing like the zealous devoted old timers. I reckon the younger ones would put far less in the contribution boxes then they would have decades ago. Like Pyrimad Scheme said, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel, they are gonna have to lower standards otherwise they won't have any brothers taking the lead. The only young ones I see reaching out are doing it to make themselves more attractive to the spiritual opposite sex. There are exceptions of course, but the society does not have anywhere near the numbers they need reaching out to replace the others soon gone.

sir82

Here's our congregation - probably pretty typical:

9 elders, 1 has recent severe health problems, will probably step down, drops it to 8.

2 are 75+ and virtually useless as far as "elder responsibilities" - health issues, can't give good talks, iffy on committees, etc. Down to 6.

A 60 year old retiree with excellent health works as hard as anyone I've ever seen to avoid responsibility. If a volunteer is needed, you can count on his hand staying down. If asked to do something, will present 14 reasons over 30 minutes why he can't, or why it's unfair to ask him to do so. Down to 5.

Of the remaining 5, 1 annoys about 75% of the congregation through his brusque, uncaring attitude and general incompetence. Down to 4.

One is recently appointed, eager but not too bright. Down to 3.

The remaining 3 take care of 80 - 90% of the congregation work, and are in various stages of burn-out.

This model is unsustainable, and the congregation is drifting in a sea of apathy.

2+2=5 cited this fact about the shrinking amount of elders. Perhaps the coming implosion?

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