Public talk will be reduced to 30 minutes (page 6)

FlyingHighNow

The sermons at St. Mark's last 15-20 minutes. Wise. Very wise. Maybe the governing body is getting sick of the whole thing, too.

GermanXJW

People cannot concentrate that long any more: old people are getting older and the MTV-generation has problems after 2min 30sec.

What is puzzling is why would they reduce the length of the Public Talk and not reduce the TMS and SM during the week? More JW's skip the week meetings than the weekend meeting!

Answer: they will soon announce changes to the weekly meetings also.

If this rumour is true, then it is more evidence that the organisation is contracting/shrinking.

They have been rationalising costs and magazine/book production and it would be no surprise if they enter a phase of rationalising the meetings. This is probably the beginning of a trend we will see play out over the next decade or so as the Society combats the rapidly declining meeting attendances in the Western world.

More and more JW's are less willing to devote so much time and energy to an organisation that takes, takes, takes but gives nothing back but empty promises and failed prophesies. More and more JW's are disillusioned and disaffected and skipping meetings. What to do about it? Reduce the load on the rank and file by reducing the length of the meetings and eventually dropping one of the week meetings altogether.

I am positive that the Society will before too long reduce the length of the main weekly meeting and eventually they will reduce the bookstudy to 30 mins and move it to a Saturday morning prior to field service.

It shows where the Society's priorities lie when they keep reducing the duration of the 'public talk' but keep their precious Watchtower study the same length. When a business cannot attract new customers anymore it's best strategy is to work harder to ensure it preserves it's existing customer base. And since JW's are basically just Watchtower worshippers God forbid that they would ever see a reduction in studying the food provided by God's fine channel.

Yadda

TheListener

Oh no! The brothers won't get to count a full 45 minutes of service time for their talks - now they'll only get a measly 30 minutes. What ever will they do?

Let's see - you count time for public talks at the KH but not talks at the DC. Yes, that makes sense.

penny2

Any reduction in brainwashing time is a good thing.

Black Man

now all they need to do is get rid of the congregation book study arrangement which has perennially been the least attended and easily the most non-essential of their cult meetings...........

DaCheech

This will help them accomodate the reduction in kigdom halls. with this arrangement there is the ability to have 4 meetings a day on sunday

reneeisorym

nobody has been shown the light, on the real reason for the change!!! It is to beat the Baptists to the restaurants.

Yeah, we get out at 11:30. They have a lot of changing to do to get out before that!

Maybe they will move all of the meetings up to 9:00 and get out at 11:00 to beat us .. LOL

I agree, they need to change the TMS and SM before Sunday. Those are WAY too long.

ozziepost

The sermons at St. Mark's last 15-20 minutes.

Downunder they seem to be around 20 minutes; sometimes up to, but no more than, 30 minutes.

Mind you, there's no "set time" and so it's difficult to go "overtime", unlike the Public Talks which must last for 45 minutes and the closer to the 45 minutes the better! This itself is a strange notion because the speaker may not have any more of substance to say but feels he has to 'pad it out' to the 45 minutes!

I s''pose that if they do cut them to 30 minutes, they will simply be doing what the churches have always known.

I would think though that for them to cut PT's to 30 minutes, they would have to produce a whole new set of [long overdue] outlines.

Public talk will be reduced to 30 minutes