Did you have elders in your congregation that were in positions they could not handle? We used to have a school overseer that was one of the worst public speakers we ever had. Funny watching mothers faces while their child was being counseled on a point that the school overseer himself never mastered. Any other "mis-placed" stories?
Mis-placed Elders
by tazmaniac 9 Replies latest jw friends
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Nosferatu
I remembered one guy who was absolutely terrible at giving prayers. His problem was he would studder uncontrollably, and it would make the prayer incredibly long. Here's an example:
Jehovah, we call upon you to ummmmm to ummm to ummmm to.. to.... to thank for ummmm for ummmm for... for this day, and we pray that ummmmm that ummmm that..... that... that you continue to ummmm to ummmm to... to to.... bless... bless us....
It was so hard not laughing during his prayers!
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RR
We had Br. William Ball as our Watchtower conductor, this guy became a JW in his 70s, he was in his 90s when he died. He studied those articles inside out. You really went away with the cliche "man, wasn't that Watchtower study enlightening?" Then when he died we got Luis Soto, who's only goal was to ursurp th authority of the P.O. so he could be top dog.
I use to catach him every Sunday in the back room, highlighting the watchtower studies during the public talk.
We had a school overseer, whose vocabulary consisted of "er... er ..." and "duh!" This is the guy teaching us our to public speak!
RR
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Atilla
If you ask me, at least in my KH, all of the elders were mis-placed, not having the proper experiece or schooling to be giving counsel to those in the KH.
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jwbot
Nosfuratu: the....long....prayers....were....unbearable.... *checks watch*.......*looks around*.........*noticing others checking watch*......*notice best friend actually timing the prayer*......
uuugh.
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Undecided
I was a great elder, I can't remember giving counsel to anyone. If you wanted to go in service that was great, if you didn't that was your choice. I tried to set a good example but didn't feel that I was any better than anyone else.
Ken P.
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Nosferatu
Nosfuratu: the....long....prayers....were....unbearable
Well, at least the studdering guy was amusing. I used to count how many times he'd say "to...ummm". Then, we had this really old senile brother who used to thank Jehovah for our sins.
Then, there were the ones who gave really long prayers like the one you mentioned. They would list off all the countries in the world for Jehovah to watch over and protect the brothers bla bla bla.
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RR
I was a great elder
yeah, if you do say so yourself!
RR
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Dawn
We had quite a few elders who were horrendously bad public speakers.
The last memorial service I ever went to was with my son (to please mom) and the worst speaker ever gave the talk. My son and I tried not to laugh out loud as he was "filling time" during the passing of the emblems by giving us the recipe for making unleavened bread.
It was especially painful for me to sit through since I had begun attending a new church where the pastor is an incredibly dynamic speaker that keeps you really engaged - and the music is modern christian rock - with a baptist flair. Much more fun! Oh yea - and I can partake of the emblems at this new church without any shocked looks.
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Thirdson
My elder stories.
One elder was such a bad public speaker that elders from congregations he visited wrote to complain. He was quietly dropped from the rota of visiting elders. The sad thing was he was one of the nicest people you'd ever know as an elder.
The PO in one congregation was very opinionated and always tried to get his own way. I loved to take him down a notch or two and it was even easier when I got eldership thrust on me. On one occasion the PO stood in for the TMS overseer and counseled a sister on her accent, picking on her use of the term "gunna" instead of the phrase "going to." It wasn't anything to do with the point she was working on and he labored the point to excess. That night I had the last assignment on the Service Meeting and to close the meeting I said, "To close, we are gunna open, sorry Ron, GOING TO open our song books..." I winked at the sister, and I knew by the smiles that many in the audience not only caught the joke but knew my jibe was at the POs unnecessarily harsh counsel.
I guess I was a mis-placed elder, I didn't last long in the job because I couldn't stomach the hypocrisy. Ex-elders in congregations are almost like lepers. At least half the congregation treated me like that and when I moved away 6 months later I think they were glad to see the last of me. The PO was demoted at the COs visit following a fellow elder's and my resignation. I suspect he was mis-placed too.
3rd