I was an elder for about 9 years - my ministry had fallen to a level when I was starting to get hassle about it and I had ( unwisely ) confided in a couple of the elders that I was having some concerns. So in a sense I had already prepared the ground.
Then we ran into a lot of congregation judicial problems & I was finding myself on a few judicial committees over a period of a couple of months which was exhausting and depressing, especially as I was working hard and travelling away a lot in my secular job. Eventually I decided to resign a week or so before our quarterly meeting as I knew there was a big re-organisation of duties as the Watchtower conductor was moving away and I didn't want a new job. I spoke to the PO & wrote a letter & gave it to him to read out- I phoned a few of them I was closest to beforehand telling them of my decision. Even then , a couple of them wanted me to stay on - relieving me of duties , letting me "rebuild my faith" etc. Most elders don't like to see other elders resigning - it just increases the workload for them.
When the announcement was made , a lot of JWs were very friendly and sympathetic. One of the older ex-elders slapped me on the back & told me it was the best thing he had ever done. The announcement "Bro XXX is no longer an elder" is pretty blunt and I think a few thought that I had done something wrong. The PO was pretty decent and he gave me the opening prayer for the next meeting to show that I was still "in good standing".
Handing over the elders book & the KH keys is a bit of a downer. You feel like the sacked office worker who suddenly finds he can't log into his computer and is being escorted out of the building.
What struck me was that life as a rank & file JW member is pretty rubbish. From being an appointed man for over 20 years , you go from hero to zero. From being totally involved in the meetings , you just sit there bored senseless like most of the congregation. I remember sitting on the 2nd row watching the microphone slide down and the microphone attendant being oblivious as usual , so I automatically jumped up and adjusted it , without really thinking. After the meeting , one of the hardline elders pulled me into the back room and told me that I wasn't to do that. I basically told him that he should be more aware of what was going on and walked out of the room. I wasn't going to be spoken to like that.
As an elder , there are always lots of things to do before and after the meetings - things to organise , territory , shepherding calls etc. I used to be the school overseer so I always had people to see - often I'd be there 40 minutes later locking up. But as an ex-elder you literally have nothing to do. I found myself talking to the younger ones about sports watching the elders scurrying around with clipboards and huddling in groups together like I used to do. It was all a bit surreal looking from the outside. Instead of my wife complaining a few minutes after the meeting that she wanted to go home now, it was me.
The only good thing was that I was no longer under any pressure to go on the ministry and if I felt like skipping a meeting , then I had nobody to answer to. So in that sense it was positive. But after a few months I was gone anyway.
