Things the Watchtower Doesn't Do

by metatron 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  metatron

  When examining a complex situation, I often find it useful to consider what isn't being said and what isn't being done - and why.

  There are some major things that the Watchtower hasn't bothered to do. Such as:

  1) Many congregations are full of ex-elders and ms's - almost to a point I would find embarrassing, if I were them but they don't seem to have any approach to getting these brothers back in the saddle. Neither do they seem interested in why these brothers quit and what could be done to prevent it.

  2) Since the emergence of the internet and its challenges, they haven't made any deep or concerted effort at a witchhunt to clean disloyal brothers out of the organization. This inaction makes their 'clean organization' claim a joke.

  3) They have made no attempt at a broader strategy to hold on to youth - that might even include establishing a trade school/college that would improve their precious cash flow as well as build the sort of long term loyalty that used to come from Bethel service.

  Why are these things so? The Governing Body is utterly without vision and can only respond with endless cutbacks, layoffs and attempts to hide the reality of decline. More than that, I say they don't really believe what they're preaching. It's an edifice of nonsense that they are well aware of. They may even be resigned to a sunset policy of 'running out the clock'.

  metatron
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  sir82

  Good points.

  Here's another "thing they don't do": While serving as secretary, I became keenly aware of the utter fairy tale that many - MANY - publishers report for their field service hours. Phantom hours, padding of time, counting hour-long breaks in the donut shop, riding around while working other peoples' return visits....I expect fully 25% or more of the "billion hours per year" is completely bogus.

  I can't tell you how many times someone turned in 2 reports for the same month, evidently thinking one was lost or they had forgotten, and every number was different.

  Yet the Society gives only brief mention to "how to count time" in the Organization book, and the point is brought up in meetings perhaps once a decade.

  If one didn't know better one would think they really don't give a hoot about an accurate report - they are only concerned with the appearance of activity.
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  AllTimeJeff

  Why are these things so? The Governing Body is utterly without vision and can only respond with endless cutbacks, layoffs and attempts to hide the reality of decline. More than that, I say they don't really believe what they're preaching. It's an edifice of nonsense that they are well aware of. They may even be resigned to a sunset policy of 'running out the clock'.

  On a first surface read, I completely agree.

  I often wonder what GB 2.0 is thinking with their vision. It's clear to me that they don't believe all of the old "traditional" JW teachings, and my impression is that they feel stuck. I don't think they are resigned to a sunset policy though, I think they have an idea of what they would like to do, and are just waiting for what they feel is the best time to do it. (selling all NYC properties and leaving Brooklyn for the isolated hills of NY State?) Once that happens, maybe the changes will come...
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  Robert7

  3) They have made no attempt at a broader strategy to hold on to youth

  I agree just as much for the kids, since meetings are SO kid-unfriendly. Meetings were always a huge amount of work for us parents with young kids, since there are virtually no provisions to help out. All we had was the back school to get away, or just don't go to the meetings.

  If they could make the meetings more fun for kids, therefore easier for parents, I swear many kids maybe would stay. Otherwise all the kids grow up with is memories of the torture of meetings.
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  WTWizard

  Reporting the numbers honestly. The total hours in field circus are inflated with dummy service and fake slips. And there is no way in hell that you are going to get me to believe that they have a real 7.1 million witlesses out there reporting time during the year--unless they are turning in fake slips, having fake slips turned in on their behalf, they are children that are forced out, or they are "mis"counting (on purpose).
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  snowbird

  They're watching the world scene, desperately hoping for something - anything - that they can point to and say, "Aha! This is it! The End is upon us!"

  My JW sister was telling me about a talk the PO gave concerning these difficult economic times (using 1 Cor 7:31 as his proof text); I swear I heard the same talk in 1977!

  LOL.

  Sylvia
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  minimus

  Great points!

  They are isolationists. They act on knee jerk reactions. They are all in a cult.
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  passwordprotected

  Good points.

  I think it's important to remember that the Watch Tower Society was only supposed to be around for 40 years.
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  Waffles

  I agree just as much for the kids, since meetings are SO kid-unfriendly. Meetings were always a huge amount of work for us parents with young kids, since there are virtually no provisions to help out. All we had was the back school to get away, or just don't go to the meetings.

  LOL, so true. To me the highlite of the meeting was to have an excuse to get up and go in the back school. Then for the second half I would watch the clock until the halfway mark, then make a trip to the water fountain.