Brian Cole’s Testimony

bjcwrite@charter.net

June 2003
 

I was a Jehovah’s Witness for 30 years — from ages 16 to 46.

My mother became a member before I was born. I can’t remember a time when we didn’t attend meetings at the Kingdom Hall.

Not long after graduating from high school, I was invited to serve at the Watchtower headquarters in Brooklyn, NY. I lived and worked there from 1974 to 1979.

Thereafter, I moved to Oregon and began work as a field minister — eventually becoming a “pioneer,” that is, spending about 20 hours a week in a public outreach work: mostly house-to-house canvassing and conducting Bible lessons.

For more than 20 years, I also served as a minister — which involved public teaching, congregation oversight, and consultations with those facing problems in their lives.

And, from 1987 to 1989, I was a “circuit overseer,” a full-time traveling representative of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. During that time, I supervised 21 congregations in Northern Minnesota.

However, I had to come back to Oregon because of health issues. I started to get better in March 1990, and was able to resume my work as a minister in the local community.

I’ve worked as a newspaper reporter for about the last six years.

However, I was offered a higher-paying job as a technical writer for a software start-up company. After working there for 14 months, I was laid off in March of this year. I went back to working at the daily newspaper.

But while I was a tech writer, I was on the Internet all day. I would scan media and other Web sites for a few minutes at a time, and would then get back to my work.

One day in the fall of 2001, I decided to see if my aunt’s church had a Web site. I entered “Apostolic Faith and Portland” into the Google Web directory. I came upon the Apostolic Faith Church’s Web site and began to look it over.

My Aunt Gertie has been a Christian since before I was born. She is the genuine article, a pillar of faith. I turned to her as a resource. The exchange of letters and phone calls with her helped me come to Christ.

At about the same time, I was reading material on Web sites that were critical of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I had questions, and doubts, about some the things I had believed and taught for so many years. Now, I wanted to put them to the test: Is what I have believed all these years really the truth? The only truth?

I had to know. (More about that later.)


I disassociated myself from the WT organization in May 2002. In the time since then I’ve learned I had to pretty much start over, build a new biblical foundation. There are still a few things that I think the JWs have right, but most of their doctrines have proven to be unbiblical.

The first issue that bothered me was counting and reporting hours spent in field service. I have always tried to support my beliefs with what the Bible says. But there is nothing in the New Testament that even remotely suggests we should keep track of hours and report them to the congregation. I also felt “counting time” sends the wrong message — too works-oriented. We should simply spread the Gospel.

My disillusionment with JW beliefs was accelerated by reading critical literature of ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses and others. The JW leadership tells the flock to never accept or read such literature, an argument that comes from a position of weakness, I believe.

If JWs have the truth, what is there to be afraid of? Perhaps the Governing Body would rather ignore doctrinal inconsistencies and historical foibles.

The next big revelation was that the Trinity really is a Bible teaching. I began to read and study mainstream translations and saw places where Jesus is clearly presented as Almighty God.

I was stunned to discover that the 1984 NWT Reference Bible admits that Col. 2:9 says that Jesus is God? The main text says that in him “all the fullness of the divine quality dwells bodily.” But the footnote for “divine quality” says that the Greek “theotetos” is literally rendered “Godship.” So I took the footnote and placed it in the main text. Thus, “it is in Christ that all the fullness of the Godship dwells bodily.” Therefore, Jesus is everything the Father is.

Also, all Christians have the hope of going to heaven. The NT presents no other hope. Recall Eph 4:4, 5 say there is but: “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” and “one hope to which you were called.” There is no “earthly class” of Christians. There was only one hope, in the first century and only one today.

This is confirmed by such passages as Romans 8:14: “For all who are led by God’s spirit, these are God’s sons” (NWT), and 1 John 5:1: “Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God” (NWT).

I could see that these statements apply to me, too! To anybody who accepts Christ.

There are at least two factors that keep JWs from true Christianity: (1) Their faithful and discreet slave doctrine, and (2) the New World Translation.

When Jesus spoke of this slave at Matthew 25:45-47, there is no indication that he was setting up a special class of Christians. He was exhorting Christian leaders to take good care of the sheep in their churches, and not be slothful and abusive like “that evil slave.”

Second, I believe the NWT is the most biased translation in English. I began to read mainstream Bible translations, ones produced by truly qualified translators. Examples include the New American Standard Bible, and the New International Version. The NWT New Testament does all it can to conceal the Deity of Christ. When you read a legitimate translation, it is plain to see that Christ is God Almighty.

As you can tell from my testimony, it took some time for me to come to Jesus. That’s the key. Some former JWs seem to flounder after leaving the WT. On the other hand, some probably think I jumped from the frying pan into the fire by fellowshipping in a fundamentalist church.

For me, however, my disillusionment with JW doctrine did not affect my love for God, Jesus and the Bible. So I joined with a group that helped me find Jesus, and be saved. I found among them strong evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Of course, Christians aren’t perfect. In fact, Christians will always need fine-tuning as long as they are in this world. Phil. 2:6 says that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” That gives me assurance Christ will never give up in me, continue to work with me.

I miss my witness friends, but they truly believe Jehovah expects them to shun me, and all other DFed or DAed persons. I was at one time a staunch elder. I have many regrets because I hurt people under the category of doing what was “right.” What I thought was right.

But Jesus’ yoke is “easy and his load is light.” I pray for my JW brothers and sisters.

As for “new light,” I came to appreciate the statement at Jude 3: “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” All the light a Christian will ever need was established and “delivered” to the first-century Christian congregation.

It’s all been there for 2,000 years!


In early 2002, something was stirring inside me. I read and re-read about Salvation, Sanctification and the Baptism of the Holy Ghost on the Apostolic Faith Church Web site. I was attracted to these basic Bible teachings — experiences I had never had, nor what I ever thought I could experience.

I wrote a letter to my aunt, asking her to tell me about salvation and Jesus Christ. My somewhat hesitant questions to her were my first step toward the Lord.

Later, during my period of correspondence with headquarters staff member Sam A., he wrote me that he was certain the Lord was drawing me. “Very definitely,” he wrote.

He was right.

I also made inquiries of other Christian research Web sites. To me, some of them came off as arrogant, condescending. But Sam never did. His humble and clear answers to my Bible questions were appealing. We became friends — and eventually, brothers — over the early months of 2002.

But even though I was beginning to see cracks in the belief system I had espoused for three decades, I was struggling against the plain, simple truth of the Gospel.

But, if I was to adopt a different faith after all these years, it would greatly affect me. I would have to break away from the legalistic structure I had lived with, and advocated my entire adult life.

First, I would be excommunicated, “disfellowshipped,” or would be considered one who “disassociated” himself from the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I would lose virtually every friend, as I would be shunned by all Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The apostolic injunctions: ‘Don’t invite him in your homes; not even eating with such a man’; and ‘never say a greeting to him’ are taken to an extreme degree, and overused, by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The Governing Body of JWs is responsible for the doctrine of shunning. I don’t blame the average witness, or even the elders. They’ve all been taught to believe God requires them to shun disfellowshipped persons.

The loss of friends, some of them for most of my life, has been painful. But Jesus said whatever we lose for choosing Christ will be offset a hundredfold, even in this world, and in the one to come. He has kept His word.

When I left JWs, it was an immediate relief from incessant “do-more” pressure. But I still needed a place to land. That place is a person: Jesus Christ.

I now know the Lord continued to lead me; he never let go of my hand. I could not escape the powerful testimony of the Scriptures. I could not shake off the simple beauty of the Gospel.

I finally made my “pilgrimage” to my aunt’s church in late May 2002. I attended church services with my family on the Friday evening of my visit.

When I walked into the church for the Sunday evening services, I didn’t feel well. But I enjoyed the music and singing. And was affected by the testimonies I heard. My 15-year-old niece related how the Lord had saved her the previous Friday night.

At the end of the service, I went to the prayer altar at the front of the auditorium, this time offer praise and thanks. Suddenly, I was overcome. I cried harder than any other time I can remember. Jesus had come into my heart.

I wasn’t sad. I had no reason to cry. But I experienced a profound feeling of relief and peace. Someone later told me: ‘God knows the language of tears.’

The brothers who were praying with me and for me all seemed to sigh in relief. They knew what I was feeling. I had received the witness of the “Spirit with my own spirit, that I was a child of God,” as stated in Romans 8:16.

By the great mercy and grace of the Lord, I had been saved! Since then, I have been safe in the Lamb, Jesus.

But as the Apostle Paul wrote at Romans 3:27-31, I had nothing to boast of. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” (vr. 27)

It was Jesus who made me righteous in the eyes of God. He did for me what I could never do for myself. Boasting was “excluded.” It was the Lord who did this, by His grace.

Since then, I have tried to thank my brothers and sisters because they all prayed for me. I can’t begin to know how many people I’ve met who told me: ‘Oh, yes. I’ve prayed for you.’

The Lord has answered so many of my prayers, and given me so many provisions. “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 7:25)


An excellent popular history of Christianity is, “Church History in Plain Language.” It gave me a picture of how Christianity really developed, warts and all, over the centuries. It is a record of my true Christian heritage. This book helped me get my bearings.

There is so much more. I will be happy to try to answer anyone’s questions. Feel free to send me an email, using the hyperlink below.

bjcwrite@charter.net