I've mentioned this before but recent events make it's repetition relevant: what we are witnessing in the organization is a world-wide repeat
of history, specifically, the story of the "Half Way Covenant"
You see, once upon a time, you had a bunch of obnoxious religious fanatics who ate turkey with the 'Injuns' , wore funny hats with buckles
on them and tried to turn England into a military dictatorship. Anyhow, their children got tired of going to meetings and the rest of what was
required, so they started drifting away! The result was that church leaders tried to compromise the requirements of the church to make
things easier to hold on to the kids. It didn't work:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfway_Covenant
Take a good look at the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in recent decades and note the same sort of decline.
Pioneers? 100 hours! No, 90! , no, wait, 70 hours! Auxiliaries down to 50.
Bethelites? You stay for life. You stay for 4 years. You stay for at least a year. You get laid off.
Magazines? 2 Awakes, 2 Watchtowers a month. No, 1 Awake..... and fewer Watchtowers 'cause they can only afford 1 public one.
Publishers? You need at least an hour a month. No, wait, 15 minutes!
Books? Zillions of hard bound books. oops! almost no hard bound books! and a paperback Bible. Where's our money, brothers?
Meetings? A 60 minute Sunday talk. A 45 minute Sunday talk. A 30 minute Sunday talk.
Ministry School? You take a test called the "Written Review" and turn it in for grading! Then, you grade it yourself - and then, it's gone.
Obedience? Fanatics who stood up to Nazis. Today, Goons who have to be warned about conduct, every year, before assemblies.
and the Book Study..........................?
metatron