I am an old man.
This is a topic I have been comtemplating for some time as I continue in this transitional time of my life, reminiscing about my 50+ years with what some of you call the "borg", but I simply refer to as Jehovah's Witnesses.
Good people I have known who loved God, but did not fit into the organizational scheme of things is the topic. There will be at least three parts a la Amazing.
This topic will sink out of sight like a rock, but it is therapeutic to write it and the contemplation brings a smile to my face.
My first subject is B.W.
B.W. was the least likely Witness prospect you have ever encountered. He left home at 14, working in carnivals as a barker. He fought at Iwo Jima and Northern Africa in WWII. He was affluent in middle age, a chain smoker and a heavy drinker.
His first encounter with JW's was early 60's, obtaining "Your Will Be Done on Earth". He became mesmorized by Daniel's prophecy, especially pertaining to first century men who perceived that John the Baptist might possibly be the Christ by the chronology.
He agreed to study with a gifted Special Pioneer, who had just been assigned to circuit work. We took over the study as best we could. A study with B.W. was a marathon, going hours into the night, extended by his multitude of questions and his gracious hospitality. After prayer, he would offer a glass of red wine, which he would never allow to empty. Ham on rye with avocado. More red wine. You get the point. He had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and our age difference was immaterial to him.
B.W. did not merely "attend" a meeting. He literally burst onto the scene, instantly a player, although he was never regarded as a legitimate Witness. He commented profusely from the get-go and knew what he was talking about. He read the entire Bible. He read the "Aid" book from A-G,(all that was available at that point) He figured the chronology should point to 1974, not 1975, based on his calculations. He witnessed to all his chronies in the business world. His car would be at the Town Hall restaurant hours every night. He could be found at a table, buying dinner for businessmen, NWT on the table, waxing eloquent about Daniel and all he had learned.
He traded in his Cadillac for two Opels. He would drive one in service and the other would be available for another car group.
No Witness need went unfulfilled if B.W. learned about it. When he learned a widow sister's roof leaked, he had materials delivered and a crew there in the morning.
Yet he still smoked and drank heavily and bemoaned his weakness. In those days, smoking would not prevent one from baptism. He lit up a big cigar after his immersion and went in service, Bible in hand.
When the persecution in Liberia broke out in the early 60's, he cabled the Watchtower Society. He had contacts in that area and could help. "No thanks", they replied. When the Malawian situation was detailed, he was livid. While most of us were writing letters of protest, he was requesting a formal meeting with the Malawian regime, "any place, any time".
All of the brothers knew that B.W. had a "heart of gold", but never fully accepted him. The circuit overseer, who gladly accepted a case of fine whiskey B.W. smuggled over the border, informed B.W. that his dream of pioneering would never be realized as long as he smoked.
This man, with all his obvious weaknesses, was one of the finest men I have ever known. He NEVER memorized a 30-60 second presentation, but went to the door with only a Bible, dressed in a $500 suit. He was generous to a fault. If a householder had a material need, it was satisfied. If a brother in the congregation had a need, it was satisfied. He knew he was a sinner, worthy of nothing.
B.W. was disfellowshipped for smoking in the early 70's when the policy changed. He died in that state. He never complained. His ex-wife, who divorced him when he became a Witness, expressed extreme bitterness, that this man, who gave so much of himself to an organization, could be treated in such a way.
He was just "not of our sort".
TMS