Very interesting, onlycurious.
Funny, we are very similar! I"ve also never set foot in a KH, and I'm also a Christian who originally came here to figure out what was going on in my JW friend's head. This board has helped me a LOT. Oh, I'm in WA state too! PM me and tell me which city you're in!
I had a very good conversation going for a while with my JW friend, but then I backed off because she began to go thru a very painful divorce, and I didn't want to have her look back and think I would take advantage of that weak period of time. Looking back, I don't know if I did the right thing or not.
If you can let your friend know that you would not shun her based upon her beliefs--even if she joined your church and then later left--you can demonstrate to her what her congregation can't/won't.
I asked my JW friend one time whether she was more dedicated to God, or to the Watchtower. I asked, "If you ever, in the future, saw that the command of God and the command of the Watchtower were at odds, whom would you follow?" She replied that her loyalty belonged first to God. I think that if you can help your friend state this, then she will be able at some point to have some confidence in her integrity should she ever have to back off from the WT. That is, she has declared who her first allegiance is, and if you can successfully point out to her that the WT often diametrically opposes God, she can give herself permission to follow God even if it takes her away from the WT. At heart, she has not truly changed.
One of the most impressive people I ever met was one who listened well, smiled, and never judged me in the middle of all my crazy life. I knew from that person something of whom Jesus must really be like, and it affected me deeply. Love your friend as an extension of Christ. Don't worry so much about what you may say.
Really glad to see you on the board!
bebu
