Jehovah's Witnesses: Encyclopedia II - Jehovah's Witnesses - Organizational structure

Jehovah's Witnesses - Organizational structure

Main article: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses are currently led by a small, ecclesiastical Governing Body. The Governing Body (indirectly through the departments of its various legal organizations) directs the operation of the 111 branches spread throughout the world (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society 2005). Each branch has appointed overseers who travel among various local congregations, spending a week with each and giving spiritual encouragement through talks and one-on-one time spent with members in their public ministry. Within each local congregation, appointed elders organize the congregation's public ministry, and the content and schedule of their five weekly meetings, based on publications and precedents set by the Governing Body. They also recommend, via a vote of the elder body, "spiritually mature" baptized male members of the congregation for the positions of elder or ministerial servant, requiring the approval of higher leadership. This top-down leadership is referred to by the Witnesses as "theocratic". The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses makes decisions by a 2/3 vote. Therefore, no one member asserts any more spiritual insight than any other member of the Governing Body, nor has any more spiritual insight than anyone else in the organization. No one individual makes decisions. (Raymond Franz, "Crisis of Conscience, p. 163)

Elders take the lead in congregational matters, particularly in religious instruction and spiritual counseling, whereas the ministerial servants assist elders in a limited administrative capacity, and they and other Witnesses 'in good standing' often perform the majority of operational tasks for congregation meetings.

Witnesses do not consider elders to be clergy, though their service includes pastoral activity that clergy provide in other Christian denominations. All baptized Witnesses are considered to be ordained ministers, and are obligated to provide religious instruction to others. Spiritually mature Witnesses (men and women alike) are exhorted to the counseling of less-mature Witnesses. They may be assigned a newer publisher to assist in ministry, and may be asked to conduct a personal Bible study with another Witness who is spiritually troubled or "weak". Males are encouraged to reach out for 'privileges of service' such as becoming elders. Elders are said to be worthy of "double honor", but are held to a higher standard as overseers than other baptized "publishers", and are subject to additional discipline including removal. An elder may also be removed, or choose to step down willingly, from his position if members of his household are not in "good standing".

Jehovah's Witnesses believe the role of the Governing Body corresponds to that of those who met in the Council of Jerusalem, guided by Holy Spirit and directed by Jesus. The description of the Council of Jerusalem in the Acts of the Apostles is often used as an example of how God had a "visible organization" in the first century. From this they reason that God therefore has an organization today.

All members of the Governing Body profess to be "anointed" (see Doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses). The number of men who make up the Governing Body has never exceeded seventeen. About 8,500 other Jehovah's Witnesses profess to be anointed but they have no formal role in establishment or modification of the doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses. Unless appointed into one of the various roles described above, they have no position of leadership or authority. Women who profess to be anointed cannot attain any position of earthly authority; Witnesses do believe that all anointed, including many women, will be resurrected to heaven to serve as 'kings and priests' over other creatures provided they die faithful. They believe that the resurrection of the anointed began in the Spring of 1918 and each member of the anointed who dies since then is resurrected to spirit life in the heavens immediately upon their death.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Organizational structure", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki