Well, due to my family situation, I was forced to attend the "Zealous Kingdom Proclaimers" convention this year. I decided to take notes so that I could share some of the points with you guys. I've decided to post the notes for the Friday morning session. I really hated the Sunday talk directed toward youths, and will most probably post that, and maybe some other notes if I have the kind of time I had on hand today (oppresive heat here in NYC, no use going anywhere, I've been indoors all day). Anyway, here there are:
FRIDAY
Imitate the zeal of our Lord, Jesus- John 2:17
MORNING
9:30 Music
9:40 Song No. 193 and Prayer
9:50 Rejoice in Coming Together as Kingdom Proclaimers
-come everyday from start to finish
-we should become better proclaimers of God, doing it zealously
-when the Israelites went to their festivals, they were focused on spiritual things, as should we
-Deut. 16:15: the convention will be nothing but joyful; there will be 33 different segments
-the Israelites no doubt had theocratic dialogue at their festivals, as should we at our conventions
-Isa. 65:13, 17: We rejoice in Jehovah, while the world does not.
-see if you can pick out new points on the last talk of Day 1
-young people, focus on Sunday, at 10:20 (thats me L )
-dont do anything to dampen joy; arriving late dampens everyones joy, even Jehovah
-dont occupy seats that arent reserved for you
-dont leave seats unnecessarily
-dont make your mind wander (easier said than done J )
-try to anticipate what will be said on the parts (thatll be hard), concentrate on the program
-wear the badge; you can make a witness that way (experience of man who was able to make a woman attend last years Sunday session because he wore his badge was demonstrated)
-1 Tess. 2:13: God should really move us to zealously proclaim his kingdom
10:20 Hearing From Fellow Kingdom Proclaimers
-doing the ministry prevents us from being blood guilty and we sanctify Jehovahs name
-our goal is always to give a good witness
-1 st experience was with a young sister who goes to college (things have changed J ). She was able to show her professor and her class the Nazi video in one of her classes, and raised interest in the JWs (I guess she didnt show them the Declaration of Facts).
-2 nd experience was of a person who moved to were the need is great. When he initially moved to the territory, there were only 12 publishers. Since then (about 30 years), the congregation has broken up several times over. He also has several children who are in full time service and two Bethelites.
-3 rd experience was of a person who witnesses at work. He always seeks to speak to his co-workers and boss about the truth. When he was initially hired, he made it clear to his boss he could not work during meeting times and would need days off for assemblies. This has made life easy for him, and co-workers never hesitate to ask him questions about the JWs.
-4 th experience was of a woman who used sign language to communicate with a woman. Was able to place literature with her, and the woman now attends the meetings.
-5 th experience was of woman who witnessed to family. She was studying with witnesses and was eager to tell her family about it. Her sister came in after the sisters son died of an illness, and her mother came in after the mothers niece committed suicide. Today, there are a total of 17 members of her family in the Org.
10:50 Song No. 151 and Announcements
11:00 Take Exquisite Delight in Jehovah Himself
-if we could choose one thing, what would it be? (How about not being here? J ])
-Ps. 37: we should be conscious of our spiritual need and our relationship with God.
-people look at the success of bad people and wonder if there is any good in being good, but we know there is; our work is better than any work there is and God will eventually rid the earth of these bad people who seem successful. We should keep our minds focused on spiritual things and spurn materialism.
-if we put our faith in humans we will be disappointed, but Jehovah never fails. We should have a parent/child relationship with God; we should be dependent on him.
-we shouldnt allow gossip and slander by wicked ones to stop us. Apostates may say negative things, but we should stand firm. We should wait patiently on Jehovah, and should not launch complaints.
-our purpose in life should be to praise Jehovah; it gives us meaning in life.
11:20 Show Yourselves Thankful
-Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they will be thankless. Satan himself is a thankless rebel.
-there is nothing like the spiritual paradise we have today. Not even the 1 st century Christians had the full bible (or a GB for that matter).
-be thankful for the ransom of Christ
-thankfulness manifests itself by something in us (those were the speakers words), true Christians have it.
-Israelites showed thankfulness by tithing, which supported true worship (subtle hint? J )
-If you give your best and be thankful, Jehovah will bless you greatly.
-we should make a declaration of salvation through the ministry and informally.
-we are obligated to do preaching, like a tithe. We are also obligated to go to meetings and conventions.
-our contributions are free will offerings
-we can show our selves thankful by pursuing full time service.
-1 st experience was of a man who got baptized and decided to pursue full time service. Hes been a pioneer and Bethelites. He has no regrets, says his life has been great serving God.
-2 nd experience is of a couple that spends half their year preaching in a foreign country (the wifes native land). They have no regrets, as preaching in this territory is very fruitful, as many bible studies get started.
-we show appreciation to God with our valuable things as well. We should give God a gift with our resources. (another plug for money?)
-when we make contributions to Jehovah(yes he said Jehovah) we are giving thanks to him.
11:50 Keynote Address:
Kingdom Proclaimers Fired With Zeal
-(the title of this talk tickles the hell out of me for some reason)
-people were fired with zeal after the 1922 advertise, advertise, advertise talk, would we have been zealous too? (If I thought the world was going to end in 3 years, why not?)
-Jesus never lost his zeal, he cleared the temples twice.
-Jn. 4:6: Jesus saw an opportunity to witness to the Samaritan woman; we should be that resourceful too.
-the apostles were fired with zeal to fulfill their preaching commission. Those who received Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as well.
-Jehovah blesses those who are filled with zeal. The Colossians were encouraged to be steadfast and maintain zeal.
-Jesus told of a time of great apostasy, when the wheat & weeds will be sorted (not by JWs I guess J )
-there must have been members of the anointed through time. They may have been few in number, but they were definitely there. (well, that really clears up that issue)
-today there is a clear demarcation between the wheat and the weeds (but I thought they changed that doctrine?)
-accurate bible chronology shows that the Gentile Times ended in 1914
-most people have been in spiritual darkness since Christendom started the great apostasy(was this before or after Christendom put together our current bible?)
-light has gotten progressively with time. We should be happy to be in Jehovahs progressive Org. Its through the Holy Spirit that we continue to advance. (which liquor company makes that brand?)
-Some inane resolutions were passed, none to which I applauded. They resolved to vindicate Gods name. They resolved to cultivate steps to get closer to God.
-love righteousness, hate what is bad. Love for neighbor helps us to be zealous (not sure if these two points were in resolution as well)
-Do we believe the king has begun his reign? (response by applause)
-Lets remain steadfast & move ahead fired with zeal.
As you can see, not much has changed.