Maybe too many of the friends are still cooking in aluminum pots!
What About C.O.'s?
by metatron 12 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
Flowerpetal
I have also noted that a lot of CO's wives get sick. The one we have now, his wife is the exception, but either of them can eat certain things. In a few months, it will be their last visit with us, and he is supposed to be going to a school for CO's. They didn't mind eating at the KH and wanted as many to come to the meal as could.
The last CO we had, had this thing about eating at someone's house who had pets. Well since the majority of people in my cong has pets, They never at at anybody's house. A group of us would take them out to eat. But guess what?? He's out of the circuit work now--I think he was getting burned out---they have a dog now! LOL
The one CO whom I thought was one of the best we had years ago, he and his wife wanted their meals at the KH as well. Our KH has an apartment attached for the CO and his wife.
-
outnfree
Hello, Metatron.
"smooth, superficial egotists" -- I liked that so much that I had to add my thoughts to this thread!
Our most recent CO was the most supercilious brother I'd ever met: revelled in telling field service stories about how he'd cagily duped people into accepting the magazines by deceitfully representing himself as anything BUT a JW until the very last second. I was repelled.
Prisca, this same CO and his wife had serious food restrictions AND required that the specially prepared food be served at the Kingdom Hall so as not to waste [their]service time. (Never mind the time wasted by the sister who shopped at the health food store and then prepared it having to cart it and all the dishes, plasticware, etc. to the hall, hoping nothing spilled in the car on the way, having to clean up in the bar-sized sink there, or else bring all the stuff back home dirty to wash at home -- thus cutting into HER time to spend out in the ministry: OR CAN we count feeding the CO and his wife as "service" hours? Nope, nope, that's not "on the clock"! Is it any wonder that after the first visit the PO had difficulty finding ANYONE to volunteer for hospitality?. Just another example of the "OUR time is more important than yours, Sister!" mentality of the [full-time] SERVANTS in the Borg!!! -- But I digress!)
The CO before him was a "smooth, superficial egotist." (He didn't have special dietary requirements, but his wife did.) He was likeable -- a witty speaker, appearing kindly, but no real depth behind his friendly manner. One of the most quietly loving sisters at our Hall said, (after this one left and before we had met his replacement) "If the next one is just HUMBLE, I'll be okay!" I remember being shocked at her remark -- just because it was so out of character for her to complain! But she was right to want that -- and the next one was as described above!
In fact, of the 5 CO's or so that I've known, only one had a wife with no health problems -- and that CO dropped dead himself one day out of the blue! (He's the only one of five I WOULD have trusted my wallet with!) Internalized pressures?
As to what motivates them to hang on? I really can't say. I'd speculate that they have strongly bought into the line that JW's are "special" people because it feeds their egos to do so. (And the wives are sick because they know they're really just ordinary men! LOL) And they also have bought into the line that holy spirit appointed them (more "proof" that they're special!!!) and thus have NO problem lording it over -- oh, uh, I mean, SHEPHERDING -- the lowly flock.
I can't agree with Frenchy that the elders and the traveling brothers shouldn't bear the blame for what is happening in the organization. If they are the INTEGRITY KEEPERS they admonish the flock to be, they should have no problem standing up for what it morally right and no problem standing against policy/dogma that is unscriptural. I'm reminded of the old saying "What if we had a war and nobody came?"
Frenchy, have you even taken a peek at some of the Society's letters to elders that can be found at http:\\www.freeminds.org? It is SO clear that the elders are being asked to put loyalty to the ORGANIZATION (which, I remind you DOES NOT EQUAL JEHOVAH GOD) first and to Jehovah's sheep SECOND, sometimes by blatantly skirting the judicial principles of the Bible and the countries in which they live! They ARE Pharisaically worrying about the letter of the law rather than the spirit in matters both spiritual and temporal.
It's sickening. Why shouldn't we hold those we put on a pedestal to a high moral standard? Aren't there those among us here on this board -- rank and file, former elders, MS, and traveling brothers --who decided to remove ourselves from the organization in despair of its wrong and [sometimes downright] evil course? Yes, the corruption starts at the top, but we don't have to stand for it trickling down upon the rest of us!I'm with Metatron, thinking that the CO's and others could be heroes and take a stand -- and in the most public way possible. If little ol' me could sit at the front of my KH and wait (until the END of the Service Meeting) for my disassociation announcement to be read from the platform, just so I could walk up the center aisle with a broad grin on my face to let the friends know that I was HAPPY with and CONFIDENT in my decision, then certainly those who have spent a great deal of time making pronouncements from the platform on behalf of the society can find a way to make their stand in the most effective way available to them.
outnfree