Recent C.O. visit: Bad news re: U.S. English meeting attendance

by Open mind 84 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Band on the Run

  I'm wondering if the tipping point has emerged b/c they are not using much new media. Based on my experience, the Internet has to be crucial. Wikipedia led me to an article on Jehovah's Witnesses and other off-shoot article. Much more interesting than the article itself was the discussion part which is heavily monitored. The give and take is remarkable. I suspect people are paid by Bethel to keep the Wikipedia article as flattering as possible. The discussion back and forth is very detail oriented. Many dissidents stay in to counterbalance the Witnesses. I found this site b/c of a link in the Discussion part.

  None of this was possible years ago. It would be extremely difficult to find older Witness literature. You don't need a university research library anymore to access basic info.There prob. hasn't been so an info explosion since the invention of the printing press.

  The greater culture is much more skeptical of religion. I don't recall learning much from week to week. How many times can you sit through a WT study without disassociating just to survive. Add ill people and children and not much is left to increase attendance. They should redefine attendance or something so they have better figures. Just as Accounting can treat certain matters creatively, they could make their attendance look better. Besides, do we get to see how the data was compiled and their Excel program? I don't think so.
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  Paralipomenon

  Heh, so they gave the rank a file a day off an all of a sudden, people found things to do with their time.

  Tsk tsk, silly Governing Body.
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  Balaamsass

  Good point about non-publishers boosting attendence numbers (kids). I would love to know how much of the US numbers are Spanish. It seemed about 30% in California and represented most of the growth.

  JVN is a LOT more fun than getting dressed up and listening to another boring part.

  Check out the Big board Stats for this site 4-5 Thousand unique Views PER DAY. Thats like a small CONVENTION of Lurkers every day!!
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  Band on the Run

  OMG, I had no idea so many people visited. Wow.
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  ziddina

  Born-again Christian cartoon 2 - search ID jlvn260

  

  Let's see if this posts...
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  ScenicViewer

  "...the national average meeting attendance for English congregations is around 75% of publisher cards in the file."

  I'm surprised it's that much. It was worse than that for years before I stopped attending, in my little town with 2 English congregations.

  I remember in the pre-1975 boom, meeting attendance was always way over 100%.

  "...push yourself to go even though you're dead tired..."

  Push -- that's the problem. The Watchtower doesn't know how to lead. People are on to Watchtower misinformation, and they will only get wiser to it. As more people learn, meeting attendance will drop even more. Cracking the whip harder will only back fire.
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  Black Sheep

  I guess I better bone up on Spanish so that I can do Spanish versions of Quotes & JWfacts
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  free2beme

  Energized??? What meeting did he attend. I always felt tired, exhausted and spent. As I hated listening to the same BS over and over, bored to fucking death!
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  wobble

  Black Sheep, what a great thing that would be, for your excellent work to be translated in to many languages!

  Already these ethnic groups are getting more connected to the Internet as a few of their number become more computer literate, perhaps someone with each language skill could help with translation ?

  French is another language widely spoken, there are probably others, but with just the main ones covered ,your excellent site could serve most of the globe !
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  WTWizard

  The problem is that there is no value in attending boasting sessions. There is a cost--you have to dress up, drive to the Kingdumb Hell, sit there through the boasting session, drive back home, and undress--all of which have a cost. There is the time spent, along with the money in gas and vehicle wear and damage.

  No matter how much they proclaim that the cost is much higher elsewhere, if the value is lower than the cost, you should not go. What else could you do with the 3 hours of time wasted going to one of those wastefests? If you could get better value doing something else, then you are losing that value if you attend the boasting session. And, if they keep putting all rubbish at the boasting sessions, you are not going to be getting very much value.

  For me, that was why I stopped going. The information was all the same, and I could just as easily get it out of a washtowel rag or online. It takes maybe 10 minutes to get an important point here, where it would waste a whole afternoon or evening to go to the Kingdumb Hell. Association-wise, they kept stripping the value until there simply wasn't anything left. Once they got the value I was receiving below the cost, I had no incentive to continue going--and so I quit going. Regardless of whether people have to walk from Spain to New Zealand and back 3 times a week, or cross the Antarctic, or go through black mamba or crocodile country, or get beaten by family members while they are missing both legs just to get to the Kingdumb Hell and are regular, either they get enormous value out of it (while I do not), or they are just plain stupid and are losing much in value.

  And, that isn't all. Once at the Kingdumb Hell, there is plenty of opportunity to get further drained. You get people hitting you up for money for rides when they live less than 1/4 km away. (Or, people hitting you up for rides when you live 35 km away, adding 45 minutes to your trip.) You get hit up with "We'll see you tomorrow morning in street work" or for donations toward the Worldwide Pedophile Defense Fund. "Why don't you pious-sneer?" "Why don't you go to Beth Hell?" "Why are you thinking of moving to [some affluent country] instead of [third world country where "the need is greater"]?" To me, that just adds to the rubbish I get during the program--after they strip all the value out of going, there simply is no further point.

  Besides, it's more fun to string up the Christmas lights and garlands across the hallway than to attend a boasting session. And Christmas music is more fun to listen to than Kingdumb maladies.