Special Bethelite Speakers

by JW_Rogue 21 Replies latest jw experiences

  • DesirousOfChange
    DesirousOfChange

    They love thes "special JW's." They drool over them!

    It's all about dick-measuring -- bragging rights. "We had a Bethel Speaker [raspberries]"

  • ToesUp
    ToesUp

    Yes DOC....dick measuring is spot on. I love it!!!

  • JW_Rogue
    JW_Rogue
    $1100, cheaper than for a Circuit Assembly

    Every 3 years doesn't seem so bad. I think the problem is that some Elders use it as a networking opportunity and want to know all the Bros from Bethel, when that isn't really what special talks are supposed to be about.


  • Doubtfully Yours
    Doubtfully Yours

    Not only does the Cong pay for his expenses, but also some brown-noser will also always make a money collection between a selected few. Has happened every single time one of these stooges visits either our Cong or an assembly hall.

    Infuriates me to no end!

    DY

  • problemaddict 2
    problemaddict 2

    We flew a heavy out to Vegas for memorial. Cost thousands. The elder that knew him wanted to show him a good time. It was a celebrity thing for sure, and a big waste of money.

    Elder ended up feeling upset.....feeling like this guy didn't really appreciate everything he had done. Called him for a favor later. A sort of wink wink favor. The guy didn't have his back at first like he wanted.....so that bothered him.

    This is a brother whose name most here would recognize. Still at bethel.

    Yeah......its just a mess.

  • Tech49
    Tech49

    When I was an elder, I always absolutely HATED it when the brothers wanted to bring in someone from Bethel to give the memorial talk. They would go around the table, and ask for names or suggestions. If none were given, they seriously would ask all the elders to start making calls and see if they could come up with someone.

    I asked ¨ẄHY? ¨ !!!!! What is the big deal here!? We pay literally THOUSANDS to fly some guy out here and put him and his wife up for the better part of a week, and WHY????? What in the name of all that is sacred makes this dude any better than anyone else? Oh, NOTHING!

    So again, why bring him across the entire country for a ¨vacation¨"on our dime? So we can hear a mediocre speaker? Watch other elders play kiss-ass? How does that benefit the publishers? Oh, it DOESNT! It just frosted me! What a complete waste of congregation money. There was always some stupid excuse, and we ended up hosting some moron that didnt know hardly anyone anyway. Every. Single. Time. It was always the same song and dance.

    One time, the elders in our congregation got frustrated with my questioning them, and basically said ¨OK, YOU do the memorial talk this year and see how it goes!¨

    So I did, it went just fine, everyone was very appreciative. The best thing that came out of that memorial talk was the older lady that stood up at the end, after the final prayer, and came up to the elders (who are always sitting at the front of the hall), and loudly told them ¨I am just thrilled to see a LOCAL man giving your service! I know him! He did work for me last year and was so kind! I get so tired of hearing sermons from all these high and mighty types that no one knows!¨

    I couldn´t help but snicker.

    Last year, we had a Bethelite hosted and flown out to give our memorial talk. Clear across the country. Only 1 of the elders knew him, a friend of a friend. He was a fat, pompous, little man, and a terrible speaker. It was almost embarrassing, and a miserable attempt at a talk designed for the public and those yearly attenders... Many of the friends complained that their money had been tossed in the wind.

    SPECIAL Bethelite speakers?..... nope, dont think so. Just kiss-assers looking for a free trip out of the hell-hole.

  • moreconfusedthanever
    moreconfusedthanever

    Not about speakers but we had the CO and his wife stay with us. Got so excited to be given such a privilege! Gave up our room and slept in the kids rooms for the week. Took them out for dinner' sent them off with hundreds of dollars of "special diet" (,they are all allergic to something) food and then heard on the grapevine that others got annoyed we got to have them ,because "only spiritual ones should get such a privilege". The kicker came when they came back to our congregation a couple of years later and didn't even remember our names or say hello. Complete blank stares as if they had never met us before.

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    MORECONFUSEDTHANEVER:

    Wow, I'm really sorry you did all that for these ingrate COs. You put yourselves out, inconvenienced yourselves, spent money, and then the next time you encounter these people they don't even know who the hell you are.

    I wouldn't so much as give them the time of day.

    As time goes on and more of the older more affluent/responsible generation passes away there will be fewer people in the congregations willing to put these COs/special speakers up or spend money on them....Surely nobody thinks the latest bumper crop of crazies with no money is going to do this.

    These COs (who knocked college and careers) are going to have to go to a fast food place and stay at a cheap motel. Bon appetit!

  • steve2
    steve2

    Covering transportation costs I understand - but whatever happened to guest speakers staying at local Witnesses' homes?!

    Times have certainly changed.

  • stan livedeath
    stan livedeath

    i never knew this sort of thing went on.

    arent CO's supposed to declare any cash gifts to head quarters ?

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