Any elders out there? How to Local needs talks work? (page 3)

Bobcat

When asked, tell them you follow the same rule Bethel follows: Work assignments take precedence over meetings

Jobs are hard to find. Personally I wouldn't risk losing my job. There are many ways to make up meetings and a couple of times a month is nothing to get shook up about. Don't lose your job over this....because no one will pay your bills. Maybe the special needs talk wasn't directed to you, maybe it was a general needs talk for the whole congregation. Balance in all things.

Take Care

AB

sparrowdown

To be honest, I left pretty much every local needs part scratching my head wondering what or who they were talking about.

For the most part these talks were so general they really could have been talking about anyone. Add to that, most

witnesses are feeling guilty about something, then any part/talk/article could apply to anyone to some degree.

Just play it cool.

J-DUBBED

Trying to understand the logic.....

The J-Dubs are told not to associate with "Worldly" people.

How can they accept jobs and work for "Worldly" people??

How can they go to stores and buy things from "Worldly" people??

How can they go into restaraunts and eat meals provided by "Worldly" people??

Bunch of "Double Standard Hippocrates" I would think.......

DesirousOfChange

Local needs is a "marking talk".

Not always true.

A "Local Needs" talk is scheduled in the KM each month. IF there is some serious issue with someone in the Cong (such as dating a worldly, etc) then the Local Needs time can be used to "mark" that person. Otherwise, it can be used to give general counsel (missing meetings) or to just encourage (rah rah rah you're doing great; give more).

It doesn't sound likely that this was pointed at you personally.

Doc

Splash

The only one in the congregation who will remember that talk 10 minutes after the meeting has finished is you.

Everyone sits in a stupor, engaging their automatic clapping and smiling. Nothing goes in because there's nothing to go in.

Forget it - it's over with.

Splash.

dozy

At the quarterly elders meetings we would usually have an item on the agenda for future local needs items. It was all pretty much the same all the time- poor meeting attendance , lack of audience participation in the meetings , poor ministry hours , brothers not "reaching out" etc. Sometimes there was maybe something specific ( such as dating unbelievers or kids watching violent movies or video games. ) Then we would assign individual elders to take each part. Sometimes an elder would feel strongly about something so he would ask to do the item.

For many years we had a PO who wasn't a big fan of local needs items - he always called it a "blunt instrument." He tended to save up a few letters , read them , then just have something of a vague puff piece for a few minutes ( such as maybe encouraging RVs or maybe having an encouraging interview with somebody in the congregation such as one of the older ones or someone who had come back from construction work etc. ) The CO heard about this & basically gave us a lecture one visit about treating this part of the meeting programme properly.

As other posters have mentioned , marking talks were different. I can only ever recall one or two marking talks - they were incredibly rare.

I always found it somewhat ironic when we had a local needs item on poor meeting attendance berating the people who were actually there.

Any elders out there? How to Local needs talks work?