R&F JWs Eager for Dateline?!

by Seeker4 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  Seeker4

  Had an interesting talk while visiting my JW son-in-law this past weekend. Out of the blue he tells me that there are some brothers and sisters in his congregation who know about the Dateline program, AND who have called or written Dateline urging them to run the show!! These are active JWs. He said that they are eager for some changes. Some in his congregation know Bill Bowen, and are VERY sympathetic toward his concerns.

  It blew me away. The rest of his conversation was equally revealing, as he discussed several points that have been made in recent posts here. He said that the majority of the current younger generation of JWs just doesn't take the Organization seriously, and that they would be delighted with an expose like Dateline. He said that young people have no great desire to reach out, and noted that his own brother, a MS, misses a lot of meetings.

  I asked him where the next generation of elders and MS's would be coming from, and he said that there were very few 20-somethings really thinking about that. He also said that I would be shocked at how far the standards have been lowered for people interested in serving. I told him my theory that the WTS peaked in the mid-90's, and that the "generation" change moved any seriously thinking leaders out of the organization, while it left those who remained with no sense of urgency.

  He agreed, and said that he doesn't know any young JWs who are convinced that "the end" is near. He said: "We see the Witnesses as just another religion, that we happen to belong to."

  While I'm sure that there are still a core of true believers, I think that more and more the Witnesses are made up of very unmotivated people who feel no sense of urgency about the times in which we are living.

  Any others see or hear these sort of things?
  S4
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  Amazing

  Excellent post Seeker: WHile still JWs my oldest son told me several times that I would not believe at how many young JW kids are just biding their time until they turn 18, and then can try and fade away, remaining JWs in name only. I also heard this from other younger JWs from other congregations ... so now, many of these younger folks are in their early to mid 20s, and are doing just as my son predicted.

  What you say makes sense that subsequent young JWs are taking the organization less seriously, and are less than really active, looking for change. I suspect that in the next 5 to 10 years, the JW organization will undergo some serious changes ... just what, though, is still speculation. Thanks again for this post.
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  Fire Dragon

  I haven't seen any experiences of such...of course, I haven't been to the meetings in 3 months either. I am encouraged that you shared this experience. It gives me hope that one day my parents and family will see the organization for what it really is. Thanks for sharing!

  "...if there is a hell, I'll see you there." (NIN - Downward Spiral)
  I'll be the one providing the fire.
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  crownboy

  An elder in our congregation mentioned in a recent Service meeting talk that, for the first time, there are more elders in U.S. congregations than ministerial servants, and he pointed out that the Society believes the problem is due to the fact that there aren't many younger brothers who are "reaching out" for privledges (duh!), so the Org. knows this is a fact.

  This is true in my congregation as I can only think of one brother in my age group who is really "theocratic" (I probably would have been like him if I didn't find out the truth about "the truth", because I really took this stuff seriously). All the other males are either slowly drifting(me) or are already out. The same is true of young sisters as well, as the demographic for regular pioneers is probably getting older as less young women are taking this "career" route.

  The Society will probably change instead of continue to kill itself as it currently is doing, so maybe future generations of JW kids in a more moderate religion will stay. But then again, religion is starting to get so irrelevant to our society will it really make a ton of difference to young people whether the Society mellows or not? Only time will tell, I guess.
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  metatron

  I never really thought about it before you mentioned it
  but I notice it too - congregations with far more elders
  than MS's.

  Wow, what an evidence that the next generation is going,
  going, gone!

  metatron
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  SYN

  I don't remember any devout(ish) kids either...they were all just motivated by guilt.

  Seven006: "Have you tried drugs? Shooting up a little heroin might do the trick, it's hard to type when your stoned out of your mind. I don't know how TR does it!"
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  Imbue

  Most JWs will be appaledl to learn about their policies. It won't change their whole beliefs system. Just as it doesn't change many Catholics. However, It could be the beginning for some to start questioning blind obedience to the org.

  Crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
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  SYN

  The way I see it, there will be two groups of Dubs - those who are affected by (and even watch) this program, and who will question, if not outright condemn, the guys behind this. Then there will be the rest, which unfortunately is most Dubs, who will dismiss it as "Apostate Poison". The Governing Body has those people, but perhaps we can help the rest?

  Seven006: "Have you tried drugs? Shooting up a little heroin might do the trick, it's hard to type when your stoned out of your mind. I don't know how TR does it!"
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  jst2laws

  Not only young people are walking away. When I moved to this area 4 years ago there were 14 elders in the congregation. When I resigned there were 7 left.

  Simon did a survey last summer and one of the statitics that come up was that half the people on this board were in the org over 20 years.
  A lot of us old timers are walking away too.

  Jst2laws
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  new boy

  The last K hall I was in every elder with teenage kids or young adults, had at least one kid DFed! The kids Just are not buying the same old bull shit.