Vow of Poverty

[Guest Nicole]

What happens to their Vow of Poverty when a Bethelite leaves the religious order?

[Evacuated]

 

1 hour ago, Nicole said:

 

What happens to their Vow of Poverty when a Bethelite leaves the religious order?

 

 “What you vow, pay". says Ecclesiastes 5:4. 

When a Bethelite leaves the voluntary service privilege they have enjoyed as a member of the Order of Special Full-Time Servants,  and does not enter another avenue of service in that arrangement,  the vow is no longer binding. It has been paid and is therefore set aside as fulfilled.

[TrueTomHarley]

9 hours ago, Nicole said:

What happens to their Vow of Poverty when a Bethelite leaves the religious order?

In some cases, it is 'crank out the dough.' Some Bethelites do extraordinarily well in business after their of special full-time service. Sometimes it is for the advancement of the good news. Less frequently it trips them up spiritually.

Davey the Kid, from the first book, 'took over' Bethel while he was there. He simply had the ability and personality that everything he touched turned to gold. In another context, he once told me: "It's my gift - they never say no."

He left Bethel to marry, in the days when you could not do both unless you were Brother Knorr. He loved his Bethel days. But he told me he had always felt cheated at not being able to make his own way financially. He made up for it afterwards. He never became wealthy. That was not his goal. But he never had the slightest difficulty supporting himself and his family as he made extraordinary contributions to kingdom interests in these parts.

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

Everybody taking the "Vow of Poverty", after reading it, realizes that they are being treated equally ... but some are more equal than others.  Our meeting is on Saturday, and yesterday an elderly black Sister mentioned when the subject came up during the Watchtower Study, that the vow did not include if a person had "Old Money", and then she explained what that was .... and I thought that  from photos seen of the Governing Body, ALSO apparently does not include $21,000 Rolex Wrist Watches.

 

[JW Insider]

For some reason we used to call it having a G-job when someone had a second source of income while still at Bethel. Some would emboss and design book and Bible covers, and stamp a name on it. Some persons would use Bethel camera equipment to make enlargements for wedding photography, etc. Some would do carpentry, upholstery, and other jobs where they used skills and equipment they got from their work assignment. If you had a bindery, pressroom, cleaning, or laundry assignment then you didn't have the same opportunities, and it was unfair that $20 bucks a month couldn't go very far for some, while others were making the $20 and earning an extra $500 a month. But it's true that even a vow of poverty doesn't stop those whose family sends money to live high on the hog. Or if a person came in as a millionaire they didn't have to worry. And some persons, of course, were more susceptible to gifts, travel "bonuses" and "green handshakes" due to their position.

I went to Europe once with 4 average Bethelites and we scrounged for every bit of savings we could, even splitting the cost of Frommer's book "Europe on $5 a Day." I traveled another time through 6 countries with Brother and Sister Schroeder and lived like a king, and didn't spend a cent. And I'm pretty sure Brother Schroeder came back with much more (financially) than he left with. (Charlotte Schroeder, used to sell things to the elders who came in for Kingdom Ministry School, when Brother Schroeder had that assignment for many years in Pittsburgh.)

[Evacuated]

We discussed this issue in our Pioneer school.

The unanimous conclusion was that the Bible indicates clearly that there is more happiness in giving,  but says nothing about there being no happiness in receiving.

Get a life!

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

16 minutes ago, Eoin Joyce said:

We discussed this issue in our Pioneer school.

The unanimous conclusion was that the Bible indicates clearly that there is more happiness in giving,  but says nothing about there being no happiness in receiving.

You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT Eoin .... In fact, if somehow Ah received, say, 100 Million Dollars, I would be positively ORGASMIC!

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

He already HAS a $21,000 Rolex, but there is NOTHING like  Green, Folding, Spending Money!

[TrueTomHarley]

If it were not for my Vow against Ad Hominem attacks, I would state the opinion that JTR is piece of work.

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

Thankew! (... flutters eyelashes...)

[TrueTomHarley]

4 hours ago, JW Insider said:

Some would emboss and design book and Bible covers, and stamp a name on it. Some persons would use Bethel camera equipment to make enlargements for wedding photography, etc. Some would do carpentry, upholstery, and other jobs where they used skills and equipment they got from their work assignment.

Davey the Kid, working in the cheese room, had published his book on how to make cheese. Don't know if he ever made money off of it.

John and I went to visit him at the farm. We were all in our twenties and John had been raised a Witness. I asked him during the drive down whether he had ever thought of applying to Bethel. He said no. He said that those who went to Bethel did so because they couldn't cut it in the real world and wanted someone to look out for them.

I, new in the truth, rebuked him. What an unnappreciative attitude!

Later, during our visit, Davey asked me if I might like to apply to Bethel someday.

"No, Tom thinks only losers go to Bethel, who can't make it anywhere else," John replied for me!

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

Those that can ....do.

Those that can't ... teach

Those that can't teach ... teach gym.

Those that cant teach gym, sell real estate.

etc., etc.