@LongHairGal
You are so right. It took me 35 years of being a glutton for punishment to realize enough is enough. I am one dumb <<explitive>>...
How Are Ex Elders Treated In The Congregation?
by minimus 40 Replies latest jw friends
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loneranger
I was treated like I fell off the "celestial chariot"...stepped down of my own accord...tired of the rat race and changing "truth". Once on the ground, the driver of the chariot tries to continually run you over though...getting off is not acceptable...they need to then run you over!! Most treat you like you have a disease and give you a wide berth in the hall. Your opinion and comments are worth nothing. Absolutely horrible group that eats their young!!
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Drearyweather
Most ex-elders are treated the way they themselves used to treat others while being elders
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Chook
It’s purely a performance based cult masquerading as a religion , so of course if and elder loses his position then goes the power and prestige. Because average jo the publisher believe god uses elders, so now this man has lost his connection with god .
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Tech49
A good friend of mine is/was a circuit level elder, for many years. We have known each other for probably 30 years. His wife is a regular pioneer, has been for years, and is very well known in the circuit. He was a regular fixture of RBC for many years.
Last year, the whole beard issue took place, and the body of elders he was with had a heated argument about it all. He got so fed up about the hypocrisy and namecalling that he turned in his badge. He told them he couldnt in good conscience ¨serve¨ with grown men that acted like highschool buffoons. Double-standards, and petty ¨rule-making¨ were running rampant. So he stepped down. He had had enough.
Well guess what!? Suddenly a whole new world for him and his wife. Basically, shunning to a degree. No more invites, no more popularity. Gossip and backbiting were like wildfire. No one cared about WHY he was announced as NO LONGER AN ELDER. Didnt matter, as he had OBVIOUSLY done something wrong.!! And ZERO priviliges in the congretation! ZERO! Suddenly, him and his wife were LESS SPIRITUAL than a 13 year old boy., in the eyes of the congregation and the elders. It tore them up for a while. They couldnt understand why they were almost no better than someone who had been DF´d !
It was a real eye opener for them. They are good people tho, and bounced back fairly quickly. What they found was that suddenly they had TONS of free time to travel and PLAY!!
No more grinding out the hampster wheel with assembly parts and elder stuff.
I had a beer with him the other day. He said his fellow ¨elders¨ still basically ignore him. For no other reason than he didnt agree with them and their ¨rule-making¨.
Lame bastards, those borg elders. They keep pushing out the good ones that show real compassion.
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xjwsrock
I'm a Pimo elder counting the days. I have set a date less than a year away that I refuse to serve past. I have communicated this to the wife (very in). Interestingly she commented that maybe I should keep the position just to have control. Well, firstly, I couldn't believe she said that, and secondly, I wanted to tell her that's the only reason I served the last 3 years.
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xjwsrock
An argument could be made that there are 2 groups in the organization. The abusers and the abused. When an elder steps down he is essentially changing groups. He is switching from the abuser to the abused. That explains the treatment he receives.
The only caveat to that is like punk of nice said, if the former elder is well connected especially in a ruling family or social circle, then he can still be treated ok. This could be explained by the fact that he remains well connected to the abuser class and thus remains feared.
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LongHairGal
DREARYWEATHER & TECH49:
Not trying to kick anybody when they are down but the treatment ex-elders receive from the religion and the fools in the congregation is EXACTLY how I, as a single female with a full-time job, was treated. So, welcome to what was my reality in the JW religion.
But, good riddance to it all and I'm glad these elders' eyes were finally opened. But, I'm sorry it took not being treated as special to make you SEE!
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FedUpJW
Most ex-elders are treated the way they themselves used to treat others while being elders
In the case of my father he lived by this manner of dealing with people *** it-2 p. 706 Proverbs, Book of *** "Mercy and truth are what he desires; these are more valuable than sacrifice." When he was booted off the body of elders for spending too much time taking care of my dying mother he instantly became persona non grata to the rest of the elders and the brown nosing punks. Too many in the congregation continued leaning on him for support and a kind hearing ear and "words spoken at the right time". The "little" men running the congregation were just too intimidated and hated being shown up for the unloving, judgemental, harsh Pharisees they were.
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minimus
What a very interesting thread! The watchtower organization does not care about people. They say they do but in reality it's all about numbers. If you are not performing by getting certain hours in certain meetings in you are dog 🐶 💩
It is wonderful to be out for good.