Council on new BS arrangement - get your barf bucket ready

DoomVoyager

Yesterday (Sunday) at the end of the Public Talk, the speaker took a moment to share with us something he said that he gleaned during the 2008 Annual Meeting. (Hopefully someone hasn't brought this up already).

It was concerning the new bookstudy arrangements. I will do my best to quote from memory what he said:

"Many brothers are looking forward to next year, as they will have another "night off." Well, we shouldn't be looking at it as a "night off." [some stuff I forget]... If we do our family study that night, for an hour, an hour and a half, and then we go and turn on the T.V. for the rest of the night - then Satan has won. Yes, this is intended to be a night filled with Spiritual Study. It is our Study night, given to us by the FDS."

So you can forget all this shit about "lightening the load on the brothers." The Faithless and Indiscreet Slave Driver has cracked the whip, and the "brothers" had better look busy.

By the way, it seemed to go over like a lead balloon. Usually any news about the new BS arrangement is discussed to death after the meeting... I never heard a peep about this little nugget after the Washtowel study.

sir82

Yadda yadda yadda.

A "family study evening" is unverifiable. In the JW-world, no matter how good a deed might be, if no one sees you do it or it can't written down on your month-end report, it doesn't matter and no one will do it.

The GB, elders, whoever, can yammer all they like about "filling an evening with spiritual activity", but 90% of the JWs will use the time to watch re-runs of "Family Guy".

OnTheWayOut

If we do our family study that night, for an hour, an hour and a half, and then we go and turn on the T.V. for the rest of the night - then Satan has won . Yes, this is intended to be a night filled with Spiritual Study.

Name one elder that studies for even an hour, let alone an entire evening.
There might be a couple of older pioneers that read instead of watching TV
and they read WT literature instead of beneficial or entertaining stuff.

This is just GUILT GUILT GUILT applied too much by one guy in one congregation.
His guilt training by the organization has taught him to make even the good ones
feel guilty that they are not doing more.

Such crap.

shamus100

Satan has won... I turned on my television on bookstudy night.

Guess I don't need to go back then. There is no hope for me.

bud2114

I have heard a few hardcore devotees claim they will "religiously" step up the personal and family study thing on this extra night (we'll see if this lasts), but most are looking forward to pursuing some secular things that were impossible under the old schedule. While not announcing it too loud, I have heard the friends discussing joining a softball or golf evening league, or taking some evening classes, even allowing their kids to join in some extra- curricular school activities. It remains to be seen how it will all work out, but one less meeting time is bound to foster the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality toward the "truth" in most of the friends.

My feeling is that the GB didn't want to make this change, but was forced to lighten the load - not on the friends in general (they could care less on how much of a load most are carrying or how high the price of gas is) but this was to lighten the load on those serving. Just like the shortened public talk lightened things on those giving them, soon there will be no instruction talk, no speech quality, and depending on the size of the elder body, an elder may only have to conduct the congregation bible study once every two months. Finally, the service meeting has been shortened slightly so this will help too. Since hardly anyone new was stepping forward to serve and those serving were becoming increasingly disgruntled at their taxing schedule, the GB was forced to make changes to accomodate.

Quirky1

I agree with you OTWO.

leavingwt

"The terrorists have won."

Tired of the Hypocrisy

then Satan has won

Once again going beyond what is written....

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Satan loses...

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Dang, DoomV, I should've gotten a bigger barf bucket!

By reducing the meetings, Satan has won.

Since I don't have a family, I'll spend my free night studying alcohol mixology and JWD. So beware of possible drunk-posting on my part.

B the X

wha happened?

yea drunk postings!

These things come and go. I remember several times there were big pushes for family studying and/or writing letters on our evenings off to mail to NAH's. Sure a bunch of us single people would do it for a few weeks then nothing. Street work was the same

Council on new BS arrangement - get your barf bucket ready

Share this