Posts by roybatty

14

Does Anybody Know A C.O. Named Shepherd???

by minimus in

jw
friends

our new circuit overseer is named shepherd.

does anybody know anything about him?

i heard he was wealthy and was from the dakotas or served there.

roybatty

know him. His name is Eric and his wife's name is Julia. He's very, very tall and never cracks a smile. He gave up a very lucrative position with either CNN or TBS to become a CO.

Yes! Now I remember him. He was my CO about six or seven years ago when I was appointed as an elder. You're right about him giving up a job at CNN. He's a by-the-book CO but overall he was pretty decent. What I recall most about him was his telling of an account of three elders raping a sister during a judicial hearing in some other circuit. This poor woman had a complete mental breakdown but years later one of the elders confessed. Not sure what the outcome was. Very, very sick story. I can't totally recall the point he was trying to make other then not to automatically dismiss an accusation against an elder "just" because it was made by a publisher. This was around the time a bunch of letter from the Society were received about procedures on handling pedofiles. Since I was a newbie elder, I didn't realize that this was a change.

I believe after leaving Illinois he went to Michigan.

94

Christmas Aint Jesus's Birthday

by comforter in

jw
friends

jesus was not born on december 25. that is not his birthday.

why is this day observed as jesus's birthday?

because some christians thought it was fine to mingle christianity with paganism.

roybatty

And the ring finger (the one which JWs wear their wedding ring on) isn't connected to one's heart even though those pagan Romans believed it was. Ah, isn't wonderful to pick and choose which pagan traditions one likes and dislikes?

44

Elder's School Review This Weekend

by minimus in

jw
friends

2 full days will be given to the elders for a review of the school that the elders already attended last year.

any idea of what else they could possibly say??

?

roybatty

Elder's school was the worst. At least at meetings and the assemblies I could get up and bring my kids to the washroom or work in some department and not be bored to death listening to another crappy talk. Makes me yawn just thinking about it.

Yaaaawn......zzzzz

14

Does Anybody Know A C.O. Named Shepherd???

by minimus in

jw
friends

our new circuit overseer is named shepherd.

does anybody know anything about him?

i heard he was wealthy and was from the dakotas or served there.

roybatty

Sheperd....that name sounds so familiar. I know I had a CO named Sheperd...I'm just not sure which congregation I was in at the time. I'm in the burbs of Chicago. If it comes to me I'll drop you an e-mail.

Mike

51

Might as well jump in...

by Cygnus in

jw
friends

i have seen (edited to add the word "posted" here, for clarification purposes) on this board that bill bowen is still a jw at heart, and i have seen posts and transcipts of his where he refers to the "christian" way of handling matters.

i have it on good authority that bill is not concerned with the bible, and that he is as far from being a jw as could be (religiously speaking).

bill has refused to answer my inquiries as well as others' when asked about his position on religious/jw matters that have a bearing on his silentlambs credibility based upon direct statements made by him.

roybatty

It is about credibility. I don't know Bill Bowen from John Ashcroft. If he is going to say certain things about certain people and yet maintain a complete silence on critical, sensitive issues, then why should I believe anything he says, and why should I lend any support to his organization at all?

Hey Cyg,

I guess I jumped in the middle of the discussion and just don't know what was said about whom. But I still don't understand the importance of wheather or not Bill is a Christian? Again, by who's standard? Mine? Yours? The WT? Why should Bill defend what he believes in or doesn't believe in? Who the heck cares?

I would like to know what Bill exactly said about Ray. Did he lay some of the pedofile blame at the feet of Ray? If so, that is a serious accusation to make and one had better be able to back it up with some facts and not just speculation. I guess I kind of compare this to when I was an elder. Some elders knew EVERYTHING that happened in their congregation and other elders, like me, didn't. If something terrible happen involving members of the congregation and an elder who is not directly involved finds out about it, what obligation does he have? Is Bill asking what Ray knew? After reading CoC, I'd find it hard to believe that he wouldn't do something.

51

Might as well jump in...

by Cygnus in

jw
friends

i have seen (edited to add the word "posted" here, for clarification purposes) on this board that bill bowen is still a jw at heart, and i have seen posts and transcipts of his where he refers to the "christian" way of handling matters.

i have it on good authority that bill is not concerned with the bible, and that he is as far from being a jw as could be (religiously speaking).

bill has refused to answer my inquiries as well as others' when asked about his position on religious/jw matters that have a bearing on his silentlambs credibility based upon direct statements made by him.

roybatty

roybatty,
I take issue with Bill using the Bible to defend his actions, but never responding to questions about what he believes regarding the Bible, and particularly the scriptural basis for the two witnesses principle. Bill wants to portray himself as a Christian, he asks that the GB act in a "Christian" manner, and I have serious doubts that he cares at all about Christianity or the Bible.

Cyg,

I have to say that I agree with Venice's comments, I just don't get it. Asking someone to define what a "Christian" is most difficult. A million JWs would consider themselves Christian and all of us as not being Christian. Anyway, I guess I just don't know what the big fight is about.

From what I understand Bill said some bad things about Ray. Is that correct? Heck, let Ray defend himself. And if bill has made an apology, sheesh, accept it.

Why do people enjoy tearing other people apart so much?

51

Might as well jump in...

by Cygnus in

jw
friends

i have seen (edited to add the word "posted" here, for clarification purposes) on this board that bill bowen is still a jw at heart, and i have seen posts and transcipts of his where he refers to the "christian" way of handling matters.

i have it on good authority that bill is not concerned with the bible, and that he is as far from being a jw as could be (religiously speaking).

bill has refused to answer my inquiries as well as others' when asked about his position on religious/jw matters that have a bearing on his silentlambs credibility based upon direct statements made by him.

roybatty

Cygnus, I must have missed a few posts here and there but what exactly do you take issue with that Bill has said or believes?

Just curious.

67

FOR LURKING JW ELDERS- REVISED LIST

by jst2laws in

jw
friends

sorry to have to repost this but i screwed up the original thread so bad i can't even get in to 'edit'.

here is the current list of former (some present) elders.

for over a year i lurked as an elder on h2o and this board.

roybatty

Field Service hours, Meeting attendance, work on remodeling the K-Hall, Upcoming Assemblies, CO visits, and Judicial matters, etc. all seem to take front stage, while concern for the individual JWs was and continues to be in the background.

Hey Amazing: Yup, it was troubling to see how the personal needs of the congregation were pushed in the background. What I find most disturbing is that the other elders I served with were genuinely nice guys who were concerned with the members of the congregation but were boogied down with what the Society considered important. We would try and get together one evening a month to make shepherding calls but even this was with the purpose of getting people to the meetings or out in service more. I shudder to think how other congregations with "I-could-give-a-rats-ass" elders faired.

You are 100% correct about there being two different religions within the JW organization. Ive always thought to myself if the average JW truly knew how things ran, many more would leave.

44

Former Elders Please Check IN

by jst2laws in

jw
friends

i noticed quite a few former elders commenting on the thread:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=37801&site=3&page=1

i thought it was amusing that about 20 percent of the bethelites in my department at bethel have left the organization.

roybatty

Who of you remembers the Society's orally given instructions from about 1990 (give or take a year or so) to the effect that if secular authorities come around demanding confidential files, "they will not find them"?

I definitely recall those instructions! It was about 12 years ago and I was a MS as the time. I recall it was at an elders & MS meeting with the CO. I remember the CO clearly stating that if the authorities came to the Hall (even with a search warrant) that the brothers were to stall them as long as possible, call the Society and destroy the records there at the Hall. I recall that Walden Chin was my CO at the time. He was a real hard-liner and as he was saying this, I was like "holy smokes, whats going?" You know how the average JW mind starts making up "conspiracy theories" every time there are special instructions. Ive always wondered what prompted these instructions?

67

FOR LURKING JW ELDERS- REVISED LIST

by jst2laws in

jw
friends

sorry to have to repost this but i screwed up the original thread so bad i can't even get in to 'edit'.

here is the current list of former (some present) elders.

for over a year i lurked as an elder on h2o and this board.

roybatty

What makes elders leave the organization?

Thats a really good question. Shortly after being appointed an elder I began to see the organIzation for what it really was.just another business (besides the false and wacky teachings). For so many years I thought to myself "if only I were a pioneer.servantand lastly an elder." Well, I finally got a hold of the "brass ring" and then my eyes really were opened. For example, before becoming an elder, I use to believe that the meetings the elders had with the CO were intense gatherings about shepherding the flock. After becoming an elder and attending several of these meetings it became apparent that they werent so much about helping the members of the congregation as they were about the "bottom line" (i.e. getting the hours & meeting attendance up). I could go on and on but most here have read other posts along these lines. What finally did it for me? I wish I could list some noble reason, such as in Bill Bowens case but instead mine is a bit different. It didn't have as much to do with being an elder but instead had everything to do with being a parent. One day I just realized that I simply could not allow my kids to be brought up believing this lie. I did (and continue to do) everything possible to "break the chain" that has gripped my family for two generations.

Kind of a side note. I use to wonder why anyone would remain a JW after becoming an elder. The hypocrisy was just so plan to see. But then I began to realize that for most of these men, this was the "best" they could ever hope. Many of these men have never accomplished much in their life outside the organIzation. Added to this is the fact that theyve invested so many years in the "troof." They wont/dont have truly satisfying jobs, they dont do any meaningful volunteer work in the community, etc. Being an elder and the false sense of power and purpose it gives one is about the best that they can hope for. And for most, it simply is too hard to give up.

Edited by - roybatty on 7 October 2002 8:52:58