They said we are all the same in god’s eyes. That everyone is equal. To prove this they call everyone “Brother and Sister.” Sadly, this really isn’t the case. There are those who are definitely thought better of then others. That being said, this is their list of rankings as a Jehovah’s Witnesses in every congregation around the world. This rank does make a difference in how people treat and respect you.
1. Unbaptized, irregular, publisher. Someone that is going out in Field service inconsistently and is not baptized yet. This rank is OK if you are a child, not if you were an adult.
2. Inactive Publisher. Someone is baptized and who has not gone out in field service for over six months. This person is “weak spiritually” and should be avoided.
3. Irregular Publisher. Someone is baptized who might miss a full month of field service every now and then. This person is also weak spiritually but not as bad as inactive publisher.
4. Publisher. Someone who never misses a month in field service. This person is in “good standing.”
5. Axillary Pioneer. Someone who is putting in a minimum of 60 hours (hours have been lowered over the years) in field service a month. This is a super charged publisher and is admired by others.
6. Pioneer. A person that puts in a minimum of 100 hours a month (hours have been lowered over the years) in field service a month. Except for being an Elder this is the highest rank in the congregation.
7. Special Pioneer. Someone who puts in a minimum of 150 hours (hours have been lowered over the years) in field service a month. There are very few of these around.
8. Ministerial servant. Any males who want to be made into an Elder someday must first be a ministerial servant. The do all the jobs in the Kingdom hall that the Elders don’t have time to do ( or want to do).
9. Book study overseer. This position is held by a ministerial servant or Elder.
10. Elders. This is the most respected position a male can have in the congregation.
11. Elder’s wife. This position technically has no power, if you believe men never listen to their wives.
So you have ten or more different rankings in a congregation of less than 150 people.
There are other rankings outside the local congregation.
1. Circuit Overseer. He is in charge of 12 to 15 different congregations or one circuit.
2. District Overseer. He is charge of 12 to 15 circuits.
3. Zone Overseer. He is in charge of all the District Overseers in a whole country.
4. Gilead Student. A pioneer missionary.
5. Bethelite. A worker at one of the worldwide headquarters. At the worldwide headquarters there are too many subrankings to even mention here.
They purposely keep their congregations small, usually 100 to 140 people. This way they can keep better tabs on you and better tabs on each other.
If you missed more than a couple of meetings or too much field service, you might get a phone call or a visit from someone making sure you were “OK” and not spiritually sick.
It’s a tight nit group. With everyone “knowing” a lot of everyone else’s business. Part of the fun in going out in Field service is catching up on all the gossip. Even though this is discouraged, it has always been done.
Whether you are god’s chosen people or not, people just feel better knowing they are doing better than others. Plus it’s really fun to have some piece of information others don’t have, some little piece of dirt. It’s just human nature. Though most of it harmless, a lot of it can be real nasty stuff. Yes, the “Brothers and Sisters” know way too much about their “Brothers and Sisters.”
Yes, one big happy family.