Is Greg Stafford Disfellowshiped?

by the follower 7 Replies latest jw friends

  • the follower
    the follower

    I remember someone saying that an anouncement was going to be made at Greg's Kingdom Hall about him being disfellowshiped tonight.

    Does anyone know if that happened?

  • Alf3831
    Alf3831

    <<Is Greg Stafford Disfellowshiped?>>

    No, Greg is not disfellowshipped, contrary to what you previously heard.

    ---Alf3831---

  • WildHorses
    WildHorses

    Hi Alf,

    How is Gregg? I wish him the best.

    Lilacs

    I don't want someone in my life I can live with. I want someone in my life I can't live without.
  • TheOldHippie
    TheOldHippie

    Why should Greg be disfellowshipped? His latest book is a beauty in honestly describing the present situation and problems facing the Governing Body and lining up what people of various convictions think, while at the same time ascertaining his believing the basic truths. No reasons there. And Furuli is continuing his cooperation, as are the others.
    Rumours, rumours, sick and tired of them!

  • Cygnus
    Cygnus

    Old Hippie,

    You might be sick of the rumours, but Greg had to know they'd be flying.

  • its_my_life2001ca
    its_my_life2001ca

    If you check out the link mentionned in Aaac's posting "JW girlBreaking Canadian law", it takes you to a JW site. Under JW Theology, they discuss Stafford's new book. Some had read the first one and were impressed so were looking forward to his second one. However, some who had read that one were warning them against doing so as it was critical of the society. They made comments such as him becoming "puffed up" and being on the road to apostasy.Now I'm curious about the book.

  • AlanF
    AlanF

    While I certainly agree that Greg ought not to be DF'd merely for telling the truth, the Society may not see it that way. Here are some rather clear statements from them:

    *** w79 1/15 24-5 Why Keep Free from Murmuring? *** WHERE DOES MURMURING LEAD? We can learn much from these examples. But you may wonder why murmuring is so serious. Well, murmuring is not simply a just complaint about some wrongdoing. It is an expression of dissatisfaction or discontent and often is caused by placing too much emphasis on oneself. A person who complains in this manner attaches too much importance to his own feelings or position, drawing attention to himself rather than to God. This causes dissension among spiritual brothers and, if not checked, leads to divisions in the congregation.-1 Cor. 1:10-13.

    This is so because a murmurer never keeps his complaints to himself. He invariably involves others. Why? Doubtless because he hopes that they, too, will become dissatisfied and will sympathize with him. It is so easy for this to happen. Suppose, for instance, that a Christian starts to complain to you about a certain appointed elder in the congregation. He criticizes the way the elder, or overseer, handles his parts on the platform, or the way he cares for certain congregation duties. If you listen to the complainer, you can begin to think as he does. Then, as you observe the elder, you could be saying to yourself: 'Now that I think of it, what my friend says about this elder is true. I never thought of it that way before.' That is just what the murmurer wants you to think.

    Until the seed of discontent was planted in your mind, the elder's activities did not bother you. But now they do bother you. Why, eventually nothing that he does is right in your sight! So you, too, begin to develop a spirit of complaint. Obviously, this is not fitting in a congregation of Jehovah's people. But there is something more to consider. Continuous murmuring often leads to other undesirable traits, such as slander and reviling, which can seriously affect our relationship with Jehovah. (1 Cor. 6:10) When the Israelites murmured against Moses, how did God view this? Jehovah pointedly asked: "How long will this evil assembly have this murmuring that they are carrying on against me?" (Num. 14:27) To Jehovah this was a rebellious complaint against his divine leadership! That was serious!

    The disciple Jude wrote about murmurers who had made their way into the early Christian congregation. They were individuals who were "disregarding lordship and speaking abusively of glorious ones," or responsible men in the congregation. Certainly, these murmurers did not have divine approval and the faithful Christian of today wisely shuns their wicked course.-Jude 8, 16.

    *** w79 1/15 25 Why Keep Free from Murmuring? *** ARE COMPLAINTS ALWAYS OBJECTIONABLE? Certainly, then, a murmuring spirit and the constant voicing of unfounded complaints must be avoided by a person desiring to please Jehovah. But does this mean that all complaints are unwarranted, objectionable and displeasing to God?

    No. According to the Scriptures, "Jehovah said: 'The cry of complaint about Sodom and Gomorrah, yes, it is loud, and their sin, yes, it is very heavy.'" God did not ignore that "cry of complaint." Rather, he looked into the matter, saying: "I am quite determined to go down that I may see whether they act altogether according to the outcry over it that has come to me, and, if not, I can get to know it." (Gen. 18:20, 21) Jehovah found that the loud "cry of complaint" was warranted, and he therefore destroyed the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.-Gen. 19:24, 25.

    Yes, complaints can be proper at times. Hence, appointed Christian elders should not view all complaints as being unwarranted and objectionable. Jesus' apostles did not take that position. In Jerusalem, shortly after Pentecost of 33 C.E., "a murmuring arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrew-speaking Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution." Consequently, "the twelve" looked into the matter and corrected the situation by appointing "seven certified men" over the "necessary business" of food distribution.-Acts 6:1-6.

    Christian elders today need to realize that injustices or other wrongs may give rise to some legitimate complaint. They cannot properly take the view that everything done is bound to be right and that nothing should ever be subject to any criticism whatsoever. Proverbs 21:13 fittingly says: "As for anyone stopping up his ear from the complaining cry of the lowly one, he himself also will call and not be answered."

    Appointed elders themselves must avoid having a complaining spirit toward their fellow believers. Rather than criticizing and never being satisfied with what is done by their Christian brothers and sisters, overseers need to be encouraging, upbuilding. (1 Cor. 8:1) This will go a long way in combating any possible spirit of complaint within the congregation.-Compare 2 Timothy 4:22.

    This is exactly what silentlambs and others are up against right now.

    AlanF

  • TheStar
    TheStar

    I contacted Greg via email myself because of problems I was having with Elihu books and my order that I placed back in January.

    I will not post his email address here, because I don't feel that would be appropriate but I found his email address at the channelc.com forum. Greg himself freely gave it out there.

    http://www.channelc.org/cgi-bin/eboard30/index2.cgi?frames=yes&board=Main&mode=Current&message=1447

    For those that wonder about Greg's current status, maybe you should contact and ask him yourself so that we are not contributing in anyway to any rumors.

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