lizzy
Senior Member
Posts: 530
|
Elders
Feb 4, 2016 23:52:14 GMT -5
Post by lizzy on Feb 4, 2016 23:52:14 GMT -5
What was/is your elder like? Does he care for the church, visit the sick, inquire of those who have missed several meetings in a row? We have an 82-yr-old woman in our meeting who has been sick or had a car problem, but our elders know nothing of it. Maybe this family thinks they are doing right in not "bugging' people when they miss. What are your thoughts and experiences on this?
|
|
|
Elders
Feb 5, 2016 1:33:25 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Grant on Feb 5, 2016 1:33:25 GMT -5
Of course an elder or his wife should ring and ask her how she is. I guess workers visit her too. It is also up to the lady to ring if she needs help. It doesn't sound like they are a very close fellowship meeting. Out of sight, out of mind. There are others in the meeting who can offer to help. Why leave it all to the elder.
There was always the expectation that if we could not go to a Sunday morning meeting we ring up and tell them. No excuses not to attend.
|
|
lizzy
Senior Member
Posts: 530
|
Elders
Feb 5, 2016 3:14:47 GMT -5
Post by lizzy on Feb 5, 2016 3:14:47 GMT -5
I don't feel the need to call our elders when we will miss. They are gone several weeks a year and never mention they'll be gone the next Sunday. As long as someone else will be there to lead the meeting they think all is well, and perhaps it is. I just remember in "the old days' elders seemed more caring. I really like my elders, it is just so different than I remember.
As to the old lady, I keep in touch and she is quite independent.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Elders
Feb 5, 2016 5:01:44 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 5:01:44 GMT -5
our elders keep in touch with everyone in our mtg's there is nothing that goes on that they are not uptodate on...our workers are pretty good too about keeping up with the latest news about sick or disabled friends and visit them. we get a visit once or twice a year from the workers.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2016 11:36:49 GMT -5
My experience first hand with many elders in many states have been that they provide a room for the meeting,you can pull them and their families through a needle in regard to dressing neat. They are friendly which is to be expected and that's were the bus stops. We have been in many difficult situations and the elders and meeting friends have been aware of this but it was the exception to the rule that any showed any interest or concern.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Elders
Feb 6, 2016 11:37:59 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2016 11:37:59 GMT -5
My experience first hand with many elders in many states have been that they provide a room for the meeting,you can pull them and their families through a needle in regard to dressing neat. They are friendly which is to be expected and that's were the bus stops. We have been in many difficult situations and the elders and meeting friends have been aware of this but it was the exception to the rule that any showed any interest or concern.The exceptions in all the cases was not the elders or their families.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Elders
Feb 6, 2016 11:39:18 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2016 11:39:18 GMT -5
My experience first hand with many elders in many states have been that they provide a room for the meeting,you can pull them and their families through a needle in regard to dressing neat. They are friendly which is to be expected and that's were the bus stops. We have been in many difficult situations and the elders and meeting friends have been aware of this but it was the exception to the rule that any showed any interest or concern.The exceptions in all the cases did not include the elders or their family.
|
|
|
Elders
Feb 6, 2016 12:39:53 GMT -5
Post by CherieKropp on Feb 6, 2016 12:39:53 GMT -5
|
|
|
Elders
Feb 6, 2016 21:25:41 GMT -5
Post by fred on Feb 6, 2016 21:25:41 GMT -5
My experience first hand with many elders in many states have been that they provide a room for the meeting,you can pull them and their families through a needle in regard to dressing neat. They are friendly which is to be expected and that's were the bus stops. We have been in many difficult situations and the elders and meeting friends have been aware of this but it was the exception to the rule that any showed any interest or concern. I believe that is a fair assessment of many elders, though not all - I have known some real pastors. It seems that the one time they all snap to attention is in getting folks to meeting. This is because the workers often preach this, it is a shame that they couldn't extend their preaching to cover other practical sides of life. As a side note, there was one elder who refused to take a certain woman to mission meetings even though they drove almost past her door. She had an excellent knowledge of the Bible and orthodox Christianity.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Elders
Feb 13, 2016 12:16:06 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2016 12:16:06 GMT -5
The ones I had (including my dad) were all about impressing the workers. Other than giving out the hymns and overseeing the meeting from 10:00 to 11:00 PM, they were figureheads. Some have more influence but mine were wimps.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Elders
Feb 13, 2016 12:18:58 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2016 12:18:58 GMT -5
I had 5 and none of them were like a few. None of them would have been like powerful the Texas elder on You Tube. Paper tigers.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Elders
Feb 13, 2016 19:11:00 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2016 19:11:00 GMT -5
The ones I had (including my dad) were all about impressing the workers. Other than giving out the hymns and overseeing the meeting from 10:00 to 11:00 PM, they were figureheads. Some have more influence but mine were wimps. One of the most interesting aspects of human behavior is the desire so many folks have for recognition of them being 'better' than their peers independent of actual accomplishments. This characteristic is widely used by organizations to manipulate people. By way of example, let me explain how this can be done. Consider a small town where 3 families are 2x2s. Each of the families are similar to each other in terms of the ages and accomplishments of the adults. What happens when one of the adults is elevated to 'elder' status by some 2x2 ministers? It goes to their head. They begin to cherish their new status, and will do pretty much anything to retain it. That's why it's so easy for 2x2 ministers to get 'elders' to enforce 2x2 legalism in a community. The 'elder' never stops and thinks, "I'm just a guy who has to arrange chairs in my living room once a week so that 2 other families can sit for an hour and say some mumbling." Being a 2x2 elder is nothing to be proud of, especially when the odds of you being selected for the role are 1/3 or something similar. Even being a mayor of a town of population 100 is nothing to write home about - someone has to do it and your chance is 1/100. Creating arbitrary hierarchy structures to reward obedience among a small group is sick. It's certain cult behavior. Imagine if we started a Wine Enthusiasts club which consisted of 3 members - wouldn't it be ridiculous to have a President? It's the same thing as the 2x2 example above.
|
|
|
Elders
Feb 14, 2016 13:15:15 GMT -5
Post by blandie on Feb 14, 2016 13:15:15 GMT -5
I had 5 and none of them were like a few. None of them would have been like powerful the Texas elder on You Tube. Paper tigers. Yeah most are more like puppets than having any authority or independent thoughts or doing anything without first contacting the workers for permission. Its not the kind of elder that we read of in the bible. Some of the elders who handle the finances seem to have more liberty - or at least their kids seemed to get away with just about anything - and some of the rank-and-file friends seemed to hold them in high regard even ahead of the junior and women workers.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Elders
Feb 14, 2016 14:41:18 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 14:41:18 GMT -5
Some elders around where I live are in their 80s and 90s. An elder at 70 is young. I don't see younger men wanting meeting responsibility. Meetings might cramp their lifestyle.
|
|