Public Talk & Bookstudy Changes - the real reason (page 4)

Homerovah the Almighty

Sounds to me like the Publishing House is starting to lose its ground and structuring as an organization , the world is ever changing and evolving and time

pushes forward. The stated formula of attracting followers and maintaining them is presenting even more of a difficult challenge than ever before.

Its really becoming a juggling act now for the GB to make themselves appear viable and honest, somewhat of a easy task years prior, not so apparently today

in this age of information.

Obviously this group in Brooklyn will try and hold on to their trusted seat of power and continue with supporting the Corporation,

after all this is their concerning livelihood and purpose.

The guessing game might be then how long will it be before the tower collapses and bring a close finally to this finished mystery.

I think you're right with the collapsing part. I've even wondered if this change has been announced 8 months in advance so that the Society can guage how many mere hangers-on are actually just keeping the seats warm at these meetings.

If attendance falls off sharply between now and January 1, 2009, which I believe is a given, they will realize in concrete terms just how few members are the actual dyed-in-the-wool diehards. Once the thinkers exit and move on, they will be in a better position to make the REAL changes that will be easily accepted by the robots that are left....

Homerovah the Almighty

Yep Junkie, It might be a straining out of minds to see who really are the devoted and steadfast to the Organization.

If the Borg is indeed spiritually guided by the great one in the sky why didn't they foresee the forth coming of the age of information ?..........ummmmm !

I don't remember that being one of the signs of the end !

DaCheech

all these posts are correct.

but I do see a dwindling of elders.

personally i resigned, and you should have seen the look on the big shot elders face! gave him the letter right there and would not take it back.

did you think about this? he said............. I said "I prayed for 6 months over this"?

within a week everyone including the co knew!

the only reason some congregations have plenty of elders is that they are getting elders from other congregations!

Meeting Junkie No More

RIght on! The information highway has left them behind...and THEY NEVER SAW IT COMING!!

I have the feeling that a growing number of elders are becoming fully aware of how far-fetched a lot of the JW 'truths' really are, especially now that there are SO MANY Christian apologetics websites that lay out the blatant manipulation of scriptures for all to see on the Web - thousands and thousands of pages. That, combined with the flip-flops in the Society's own literature, together with the ever-increasing numbers of disgruntled ex-Witnesses of all stripes, posting on utube, facebo0k, etc.etc. laying out the 'dirty laundry' of typical congregation life as a JW leaves them in an increasingly vulnerable position.

They are in heavy DAMAGE CONTROL mode. Call the book study the BIBLE study so at least it looks more Christian. We are reaching the tipping point, methinks.

aniron

I've quickly gone through the posts above and agree with most of them

In my old congregation the last I have heard they are down to 4 Elders, may be up to 6 now. But there was 9 when I left 6 years ago. When I first became a JW and they brought in the Elder arrangement, we had at one time 12 Elders.

The Elders back then were really "Elders" in age. They had been JWs for 40-60 years. They were guys who had their heads screwed on. They were kind and caring men. In all the time they were Elders we never had one disfellowshipping.

Then as time went on and they started to die off, four in the space of a couple of years. They were replaced by younger men 30-40 years old. These were guys who "enjoyed" the position and power. All they cared about was that they loooked good and "spiritual" especially when the CO came. They were Watchtower men basically. Funny thing is that 3 of them have resigned in the past couple of years. With one it was a case of "jump or be pushed" over he got caught smoking.

One reason I thought many Elders could be standing down and no one coming in to replace them. Is that they have found out that if anything goes wrong in congregation say like a paedophile issue. They have found that the organisation dumps the problem on them, and distances itself from them. Even though they were carrying out WT policy. No one wants that to contend with.

Especially on top of so many JWs are leaving, or starting to ask awkward questions, that even the Elder has no answer to.

The internet is 15 years old this month. In that time it has certainly done some damage to the Watchtower.

Alpaca

Hi Bud (welcome to the board) and Hi to everyone else,

I agree with all of the comments about the morale problems.

Servant burnout was bad when I left (1997), so I can't even imagine how much worse it must be now. I was the TMS conductor for a couple of years and I used to spend about 6 to 8 hours a week preparing for it so that the quality of the meeting would be high. But, with all of my other responsibilities it really got to be burdensome.

I would also point out that, in the past, the servants who did research and studied deeply and broadly were assets to the congregation and the quality of the meetings. Now, the servants who do extra research and study are likely to be the ones who see the BORG's company line for the farce that it is. Rather ironic, isn't it.....?

Additionally, in private conversations when people had their guard down, I personally heard many comments from elders, pioneers and other old timers lamenting that they had fully well expected to be in the new system by then. That disappointment coupled with the generation debacle has to have been devastating to many Dubs.

The quality of the publications today is a far cry from the deep, scriptural analysis (right or wrong) of books like the Babylon book, the Finished Mystery book (the 1970s pub.), Your Will Be Done on Earth, and the Nations Shall Know book. If you were a believer in the Bible those publications could send a chill up your spine with their discussions of the future. All of that is gone. The publications today would barely elicit a yawn.

The whole Dub movement has become a rather shallow belief system in which robotic motions work just fine. The fire and zeal of the days past is gone.

That's fine with me. I am glad I am out--just wish some of my old friends would jump ship.

Cheers to all,

Alex

FlyingHighNow

Anything about the organization can and is being discussed and not just anonymously online. These discussions are being carried back to the congregations, in field service car groups, and as a result the organization has (and continues to suffer) a tremendous loss of credibility among even those serving.

Wow, really? They discuss this in car groups? If this is going on and tolerated and not reported back to the elders, then there is hope the org will either have to stop it's cultish control tactics or go down in the same hell as Jonestown or David Kuresh.

I hope you are right. You're making sense here, to me.

RR

There are two types of elders and I served with both. The kind that actually believe it all, hook-line-and-sinker, and do their best in serving the organization. Then they're are those who don't believe anything, they just like the power, the status of being elders, giving talks, etc. Wanting to climb up the corporate ladder of the Watchtower.

In the end, I got tired of it all, and one evening after the School/Service Meeting I handed in my resignation, I had it in the breastpocket of my suit jacket, just waiting for the day when they ticked me off.

RR

Open mind

RR:

I had it in the breastpocket of my suit jacket, just waiting for the day when they ticked me off.

Probably made you feel good just to know it was there huh?

OM

Public Talk & Bookstudy Changes - the real reason

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