by Davros 28 Replies latest jw friends
I was reading in the Shepherding book that Elders should “ Cultivate and maintain friendships with one another.”, and thought to myself “Bulls$It!” I remember that most of the Elders in my old congregation were nothing but nasty asses.
I know it may vary from congregation to congregation, but do elders generally get along with each other behind closed doors in Elders meetings? Or, are they often in conflict with each other?
Here are 2 small verbal fights between my congregation Elders that I observed while meetings were in session:
Elder # 1 : a real bully, makes female members cry with his overbearing attitude, throws his weight around the other 3 elders and usually wins
Elder # 2 : a really nice guy, has many disputes with elder # 1, tries to stand up to elder # 1 as much as possible
Elder # 3 : the newest elder, a pushover, never stands up to Elder # 1
Elder # 4 : 80 years old, cannot remember parts of his talks, given lite duties due to his age, a pushover
While Elder # 1 was giving a talk ( heavy rain storms are brewing outside with loud thunder and lightning ) the microphones and lights are knocked out. We lost all power and could barely see. Elder # 1 yells out, '' We have an electrician in the house and it looks like he's just sitting there and not doing anything to see what he can do to fix the problem.'' Elder # 2 ( an electrician ) says angrily, '' The transformer is down. What would you like me to fix?" ( These 2 elders did not like each other)
Elder # 1 is giving a 5 minute question and answer talk at the Ministry School. Elder # 3 is called on to answer the first question. He gives a 3 minute answer which covers almost all the paragraphs. Elder # 1 says to Elder # 3, ''If you want, you can come up here and finish my talk."
Elder # 1 : a real bully,
(Sarcasm mode on). Nice Christlike attitude Elder 1 has. What a great example for the congregation he is. Yes, he is certainly someone the rank and file need to look up to. (Sarcasm mode off) 😁
For 21 years most of us got along pretty good. The only time there were problems when family members of elders got into trouble, then the gloves were off.
My dad was a “good” elder, sincere. He didn’t talk much about what went on behind closed doors, and only once did he tell my mom and me about a judicial committee he was in because he was so shocked by what this brother did. ( He had sex with his own sister, they were both in their fifties, and he was married), but he did say sometimes when the judicial was about sex, some of them asked all the “perverted” questions, he tried to reign them in. By my experience, most elders are either arrogant jerks, or stupid asshats.
My observation - Elder #1 "compensates" by trying to lord it over the rest of the elders, the congregation, and loves to have the front seats in the synago-I mean the kingdom hall.
Elder #2 - Completely deaf, and so all elder #1 has to do is paste on his best fake smile as he looks at elder #2 while spouting the most idiotic B.S. and elder #2 just grins and says "Okay" to everything because he didn't hear a word of what was said.
Elder#3 - Hates any kind of confrontation and is under the thumb of elder #1, and his usual reply to anything is just a shoulder shrug.
They don't have much of anything to do with each other.
Think when Holy spirit is not there congregations get really nasty places.
I have seen elder cliques, work, vacation, eat out together. That was the ones who told me to not even think of reaching out, they didn't need me. I gladly complied. Later a different bunch you could overhear snide remarks about other elders, pioneers, and webelos.
Back when there was a fierce competition for city servant. I half expected campaign buttons. Pompous ass millionaire won. He did my wife dirt as she was from the wrong side of the tracks. Never let her know when they gutted the keepsakes from her dearest old friend. Instead of giving her anything they took it all; threw pictures out to get a nice frame. All we have is memories.
Elder No. one can really ruin what should be, if bible teachings would be really applied, a really great arrangement. because many honest hearted come in expecting and giving such.
I do not understand why the wt power is not used to weed out the "elder ones."
That is where the rotation of positions in the early 1970s was great, because it stripped the psychopath, narcissists of their headship trip after a year.
wt organizing freezes the whole into a faceless morass. not smiles, grins.
I have seen elders move to other congregations because they did not get along with other elders. I have also seen clicks that were very tight and let no one else in.
