There was a board member here who once said that because of many of the WT's policies on DFing/DAing/shunning, there were whole generations (yeesh) of nonbelieving-but-still-in JWs who - to keep from rocking the boat and/or losing friends and family - had become experts at maintaining pretense. That stuck in my head like almost nothing else, and it ocurred to me that participating (either actively or passively) in "experience spin" would also contribute significantly to that...
How I Know The Assembly Parts Are Made Up
by lovelylil 73 Replies latest jw friends
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no more kool aid
Those experiences used to just kill me, especially the one from the 19year old pioneers that said they gave up a full ride football scholarship to go to a great school.......don't football scholarships go to a kid that has played football since 4th grade???? I would hear these stories from kids I knew didn't play football, how can they just lie like that and no one catches on? NMKA
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Giordano
Here's a true story that I would gladly share at an Assembly! It took place in the 1960's and is truely inspirational.....sort of.
I was serving where the need was great when a good friend of mine joined me and we pioneered together. He wanted to go to Bethel and needed to impress them with some serious field service. We appointed him the Bible Study servant so he was off to a good start.
Mickey had been there for a couple of months when a new Circuit Servant came for his visit. This guy was hard core. He met with the two of us and while my stats were just ok, Mickey's were terrible. The Circuit Servant jumped all over him.
"You’re the Bible Study Servant! BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A SINGLE BIBLE STUDY OF YOUR OWN! AND YOU ONLY AVERAGE ONE BACK CALL A WEEK.…...how do you explain that?" So the CS told him no bible study ...... no Bible Study Servant, maybe no pioneering either.....forget about Bethel.
A month passed and still no bible study, Finally I suggested he take over my one and only study. "Wheel Chair John, you'd give him to me?" Mickey said. He was acting like this was the best gift he'd ever gotten. "Sure", I replied. John was the only study I had but I didn't want to go to Bethel so.......anything for a buddy.
John had muscular dystrophy and he was physically in bad shape. His speech was garbled and he was down to being able to use one arm with a slight assist from the other.
"If John's ok about it you can take over the study, but listen this isn't like a traditional bible study. It's really about a visit, when I tried to have a bible study with him he pretended to go to sleep or he growled at me (which was one of the ways he articulated his displeasure). The way I see it this should be right up your alley, open and close with a brief prayer (Mickey's prayers were the briefest I'd ever heard, I always called on him when I could), and in between visit with him."
Mickey agreed and on the way over to meet John I told him that John was able to gesture with one hand. I didn't tell him about John's favorite gesture though.
Mickey and John seemed to get along pretty well and Mickey emboldened by his welcome got out his bible and started to give him a witness. And John started to fidget and grumble. After a while John started to growl! It wasn't a growl but sort of like one, Mickey had been reading a scripture and he finally looked up when the growling started. John pointed at Mickey then closed his fist and made an up and down gesture. "What's he doing, is he doing what I think he's doing?" asked a confused Mickey, " Yep, he just called you a jerk off!" Mickey looked at me and I could see it in his eyes ..... this was the bible study that was supposed to save his Bethel career?
Well as things turned out they became friends. I continued to visit John from time to time. And Mickey stopped by almost every day to drop off some food or to take out the garbage ....... so his back call numbers shot way up. And best of all Mickey had a bible study ....... of sorts.
When the Circuit Servant returned he insisted on visiting John to see for himself if he really existed. Mickey said when they got to John's the CS was surprised to meet a real live person. One who rolled up to the door in his wheelchair holding a bible and study book at the ready. During the visit the CS was so moved by John's courage and his eagerness to hear about everlasting life in a perfect new world that he began to tear up, taking his handkerchief out he wiped at his eyes. At that moment John pointed at the CS and…….... Mickey told me later that John almost knocked himself out of the wheel chair making his definitive gesture. By the time the CS got his eyes cleared John was sitting normally, at least for him, with a big lopsided grin on his face. After they left, Mickey dropped the CS off at the Kingdom Hall and before he got out of the car the CS, who was still very moved, shook Mickey's hand and thanked him for his good work. Mickey quickly doubled back to pay John the $10 he promised if the CS could come for a visit.
Wheelchair John died about six months later. "They don't make Bible Studies like that anymore", Mickey said to me at the funeral. Mickey got a nice letter from the CS recommending him for Bethel and he got a great letter from our presiding minister and one from me, we really piled it up high.......... and he was accepted to Bethel where he served with distinction for 5 years ........ it's what he wanted, so good for him.
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shopaholic
Giordano,
That's probably the best experiences I've ever heard!
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Beware of false prophets
Botzwana - I know you already know this, but you've got a TON of unconditional love and acceptance here in the ex-jw world. I hope that the elders don't give you too much trouble. (((Hugs)))
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MrFreeze
Dang, you would think that the people called up to give the experience would at least try to be truthful. So much for even "little white lies" being bad.
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Beware of false prophets
Giordano, that was awesome!!!
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Wasanelder Once
Same thing happened with me. They wanted the experiences to fit a cookie cutter mold and I couldn't find them. Gave the part to someone else.
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Pistoff
Giordano:
If that experience isn't real, don't tell me.
What a great story.
I used to have a "call' on a guy who took the magazines; he had diabetes and he was obsessed with his feet, they would always be swollen and nasty looking.
The "call" consisted of stopping into his stale smelling porch, knocking at the door and waiting for him to shuffle out. He would cough up the .50 for the mags and then talk about his feet. I would listen, nod and mention that we would be back.
Hey, when you pioneer, you need a bunch of those type of calls to make the numbers.
You just didn't want to take the CO there, I would always defer on that one.
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Lozhasleft
Wow ...excellent thread
Loz x