Reversal of disfellowshipping on appeal?

by Searchin50 17 Replies latest jw friends

  • MikeMusto
    MikeMusto

    letters of appeal, committees, branches getting involved----all biblical .NO DOUBT!

    how grateful we should be that the faithful and discreet slaves makes such loving

    provisions based on the Holy Scriptures

  • dannyboy
    dannyboy

    FWIW: (This is as of about 4 years ago, so anything more recent supercedes what follows (or someone with a more concise/accurate memory HAH))

    If the appeal committee agrees with the original group, the DF'ng is immediately announced. End of story.

    If the appeal committee disagrees with the original decision, and upon consulting with the original committee gets them to agree that there shouldn't have been a disfellowshipping, no announcement is made and the matter ends (except that they might feel they need to do other non-DFng stuff like restrictions, etc.) End of story.

    If the two committees disagree, they send the thing into the branch for review, and no announcement is made until they get further along. Never had first hand knowledge of this particular flavor, but doubt the Society would be quoted as doing the disfellowshipping in the sense of choosing which committee to go with.

    In the appeals situations I was personally involved in as an elder (both as part of an original committee and sitting as part of an appeal committee) never saw one overturned, but I've heard of it. The Flock Book and other training for elders makes the point that if things could go "either way", the appeal committee would likely side with the original decision, (particularly if the issue revolved around "repentance" or "lack of repentance") since they heard the whole thing "fresh", etc. etc.

    Hope this helps.

    ---Dan

  • Searchin50
    Searchin50

    Thank you all for comments and info. I have been very

    curious about this for some time. You know when you

    get something on your mind and it just won't go away.

    Thanks again--------------- Searchin50

  • confusedjw
    confusedjw

    Once when I was serving on a JC I disbanned it as the "investigation" had been shoddy enough so that we really didn't have proof of the offense, drunkeness. So rather than go through with the JC and stamp "repentent" on the process and taint the man - as the chairman - I disbanned it. That PISSED off some on the body pretty good, but I held my ground. They had a meeting with me to say that I should have come to them before disbanding the JC. That might be true, but I didnt' trust them to do the right thing. This is a true story.

  • rocketman
    rocketman

    Very interesting thread. I know of no cases of overturns in my years as an elder. One sister called me once after we decided to df her, telling me that she got advice from a brother who she said was an elder that she should just appeal the decision as a matter of course. I told her that I had never heard of appeals being made as a matter of course, but that they should only be made in a case where the df'd person felt the elders were in serious error. She decided not to appeal.

    I must admit, as an elder then, I was not happy to hear that she might want to appeal. I had spent quite a bit of time on the matter, and back then I felt that dfing annnouncements caused the congregation to view the elders as sort of the hero type, guarding the flock, busy behind the scenes, all that crap. That's the mindset I had, and that's what being an elder and a jw can easily do to a person.

  • BluesBrother
    BluesBrother

    Onacruise, pardon me I have just returned to this thread.

    The first case, I was not on at all, I was close to those that were on the first committee but my wife and I helped her make an appeal. That upset them no end!

    The second case, I was on the original committee . I was, at the time , quite sure that we should disfellowship. When it was sucessfully appealed I was really p........d off for a day or so. I felt that the appeal committee did not know her as well as we did and they were overly lenient. I guess there was an element of pride as well since no one likes to have their decisions reversed

    However, after that, I can honestly say that I was prepared to work with the deciision and was instrumental in setting up a regular help programme for the girl , and I bore her no grudge. Unfortunately it was obvious that the other elders still had nothing good to say about her and felt slighted by the reversal of their decision

    Incidentally, the first girl later left the truth but the second one is still within it

    Rocket Man. I know just what you mean!

  • Asteroid
    Asteroid

    An asteroid has landed

  • Crazyguy
    Crazyguy

    Welcome!

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