16, 17. (a) What two situations might be the basis for a different announcement? (b) What is the nature of this announcement?

¹⁶ Occasionally, an unbaptized publisher who is a wrongdoer will not respond to loving assistance. Or an unbaptized publisher may determine that he does not want to continue progressing toward baptism, and he informs the elders that he does not want to be recognized as a publisher. What is to be done? Disfellowshipping action is not taken regarding such ones who actually have not become approved by God. The arrangement of disfellowshipping unrepentant wrongdoers applies to those ‘called brothers,’ to baptized ones. (1 Corinthians 5:11) Does this mean, though, that the wrongdoing is ignored? No.

¹⁷ The elders are responsible to ‘shepherd the flock of God in their care.’ (1 Peter 5:2) If two elders offering help determine that an unbaptized wrongdoer is unrepentant and unqualified to be a publisher, they will inform the individual.d Or if some unbaptized one tells the elders that he no longer wishes to be recognized as a publisher, they will accept his decision. In either case, it is appropriate for the Congregation Service Committee to have a simple announcement made at an appropriate time, saying “ . . . is no longer a publisher of the good news.”

18. (a) After such an announcement, what will Christians bear in mind in personally deciding how to act? (b) Is it necessary completely to avoid unbaptized ones guilty of wrongdoing in the past?

¹⁸ How will Witnesses thereafter view the person? Well, at an earlier point he was an ‘unbeliever’ attending meetings. Then he both wanted to be and qualified to be a publisher of the good news. This is no longer the case, so he again is a person of the world. The Bible does not require that Witnesses avoid speaking with him, for he is not disfellowshipped.e Still, Christians will exercise caution with regard to such a person of the world who is not worshiping Jehovah, even as Israelites did regarding uncircumcised alien settlers. This caution helps to protect the congregation from any “little leaven,” or corrupting element. (1 Corinthians 5:6) If at some later time he expresses a genuine desire for a Bible study to be held with him, and this seems in order to the elders, perhaps it will help him come to appreciate again what a privilege it is to worship Jehovah with His people.​—Psalm 100.

19. How can the elders privately provide further aid in some cases?

¹⁹ If the elders see that a certain person of this sort is an unusual threat to the flock, they can privately warn those endangered. For example, the former publisher may be a youth who has given in to drunkenness or immorality. Despite the announcement that he is no longer an unbaptized publisher, he might attempt to socialize with youths in the congregation. In that situation, the elders would speak privately to the parents of the endangered ones, and maybe to those youths also. (Hebrews 12:15, 16; Acts 20:28-30)