russellhltn wrote:johnshaw wrote:I just don't think that Bishops who want to do something will ever ask the stake again, they'll just 'direct' their Ward TS to do it, that's a lot of pressure, not many of us are good and pushing back on something wrong.
Well, when I was a ward clerk and was asked to do something that didn't sound right, I talked to my trainer, the stake clerk, who of course had the ear of the stake president.
The trainer for the WTS is the STS, who also manages resources (like the ward computer and network). As such, I see a very similar "feedback loop".
In the 4 times I've been a ward clerk, only one time would I have considered asking the stake clerk about something (because they didn't know jack about jack) and in 2 of those instances, the stake clerk would get questions from ward clerks and he'd tell them to call me... but that's just me. But regardless... ward clerks who hear things that 'don't sound right' from their Bishop - I'm sorry, we just don't raise men (in my observation) that will question it... see below...
It's my observation that most men in the church do the least they can to spend the least amount of time in their callings (many times this is because their wife is at home being angry they are spending time away from the family - and other times because they've been treated like a widget for so long they've given up on church being a place their voice is wanted/needed - they frankly don't care anymore that the same 10 people are doing everything, it's not like any of those 10 people ever find anyone else to serve...). They care very little about doing the 'right' thing because the easiest thing is to just do what they are told and then be done. Also, most members I observe don't really understand that the Bishop or Stake President often has little to no information with which they are basing their assignments, they continue a tradition vs use the handbook to figure things out (see how stakes handle the responsibilities of the ExecSec and HC)
I don't have your faith that Ward Technology Specialists won't just think they aren't in charge of their computers, they are only replaced every 5 years, you can turn over 3 different clerks in the time between computer replacements, who's to say they won't just go buy a better one from the budget, or whatever else they decide... We can't even get rid of private WLAN's in our bishop's offices because that one time 7 years ago they lost wifi for 7 minutes during ward council. If they have problems with the network, they'll just head on up to the attic and doink around with the equipment, I'm telling you, the stake TS are no better than the Stake Conference webcast person that hooks up a computer and a project once-in-a-while for a fireside (likely someone that has done a hundred firesides and knows what to do themselves anyway)
There is just a very large variance in operations. IF the functional operations remained at the stake, at the very least the approach to tech (playing the percentages) is consistent among all the wards in that stake. When you move responsibility down to the ward level, I fear, like I said, ward-by-ward decisions.
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
― Thomas Paine, Common Sense
