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Since many old time elders have been in the big Brooklyn, we know they have experience in this
Elder occupations
by Iforget 12 Replies latest jw friends
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dh
i remember a window cleaner, a post man, the po fixed fridges, there was one who used to walk around neighbourhoods checking peoples electric meters, there was another who used to work for a pest control company, as per every body of elders, there was a builder too.
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Terry
Conoroburst says:
"so you think a four year course in law or accountancy would help a person get over a divorce, or a merchant banker or doctor would make a more effective shepherd,
how does a job that society deems as worthy or a college education make a person a better (or worse) minister,...it is not in the wtiness mindset to go to higher education as they/we (mistakenly possibly) believe that these are the last days...
Yeah I am sure that we were all architects we would be much more christ like.."
************************************************************************************************* Hi there, I might be reading the "tone" of your comment/question more than anything else, but, it sounds a bit defensive. It is a worthwhile question, though. It deserves an answer. I will try to address your main issue of relevence. A minister is one who helps others; each according to their need. I don't think you would disagree with that. The natural question that would logically follow is: What qualifies a person to be effective in helping others? A doctor, for example, is qualified by intensive study at a medical school. The doctor, to become a doctor, must pass licensed examinations to test their knowledge base. A person without a medical license or education might attempt to offer medical advice or treatment; but, which would you personally prefer as your source of therapy? The range of personal problems is vast and complex with some of a delicate psychological nature and others an emotional or mental-health nature. At the very least, a vulnerable member of the congregation might be struggling with an issue that affects their physical and emotional well-being. What level of help does a troubled person deserve in a Kingdom Hall? Is a JW less-deserving of the BEST possible help? Just as it would seem absurd to ask a plumber to give us tax advice or a carpenter to repair our television set or an insurance salesman to set a broken leg; it is no less absurd to seek a well-informed practitioner of the best state-of-the-art COUNSELING in psychological/emotional problems. Education is a benefit and not a hindrance to skill and proficiency. An elder in a Kingdom Hall without the necessary education, skill and proficiency to counsel vulnerable and troubled people is not only ill-equipped to offer prudent and effective counsel; he is in a position of doing more harm than good! Take the time to read the personal stories of the people who visit the Discussion Board and you'll quickly see a pattern of damage done to people's lives, emotional health and personal relationships. The legacy of damage done to vulnerable people by uneducated, wrong-headed (well-intentioned) amateur counselors is irrefutable! Nobody claims the elders actually desire to injure or damage or mislead people by their folk-wisdom and bootstrap remedies. No. What is claimed is that the very people and the only people who are allowed to offer help and counsel are the least able to provide it as a result of conscious policy! Ask yourself why the governing body has a pattern of handing down policies that discourage professional careers in medicine, psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and offers no alternative training to compensate for this loss? I would submit to you the reason is utter indifference. There is nothing wrong with having the blue-collar profession of carpenter, janitor or salesman. That is not the issue. The real issue is one of competence. Remember the opening words of the Hippocratic Oath (which JW's would never be allowed to recite!) First of all: DO NO HARM!