Did I take note of the attendance? Gender balance?
Yes I did but unfortunately as I was sitting right up the front, and I didn't want to give the appearance that I was steering at people, so my count wasnt accurate. The church consisted of a front and a back part that was separated by a door. In the front part there was roughly an attendance of about 20 people. Surprisingly I counted about four in the 18 - 20 year old age bracket. 2 of those 4 looked like brothers. Other than that I to got the impression of an ecclesia that was very old and very female. I can quite understand your statement of a religion that is literally dieing.
Were the people you meet converts or born ins.
I did ask that question to a couple of people. All were inter generational born ins. There were 2 Asian females, who had obviously converted because they had married church members. But I got the impression that they were surprised to see an out sider attending.
How much money was donated?
Wasnt mentioned although the collection plate was handed around.
Was the hall old fashioned and run down?
it was clean and presentable. But yes it could of done with a bit of a spruce up. In fact by the time it was spruced up it probably would of been cheaper to demolish it and build a new one. By JW standards, it would of had quickly built on it years ago. Although the hall was a bit run down it did sit on some very valuable land. it would have to be worth a couple of million at least. It would be interesting to see who would get the money if the membership got to the point where the property had to be sold. The members took great pride in telling me that each ecclesia was independent.
Did you see their literature display?
I did look for this but didn't see any nore was it offered to me.
Did you notice a door man?
No I didn't. But I had this lovely lady sit beside and welcome me to the meeting.
Was it slow compared to JW meetings?
There was a couple of times where the chairman paused for a long time. I did ask the lovely lady if there was a reason for it. She said she didn't notice anything. The speaker I thought was very charismatic and lively. I thought it deserved a greater attendance for the quality of his talk. If he was in the right religious environment he could go places.
Did I stay afterwards?
Yes I did. In fact I went to a shared lunch they had at the park. It sort of made me think how much more cohesion the JWs would get if they done such a thing. Generally I felt they were lovely people who like the JWs are trying to serve their version of God.
Would I go again.
to be honest I think I prefer the Pentecostals, purely for the entertainment value. But if you were serious about the bible or going to a church that at least used the bible then the christadelphians are for you. To be honest the meeting reminded me to much of the JWs. You basically had a talk number 2,memorial,service meeting announcements, and public talk all wrapped into one. Very similar JW format.
The thing that struck me is just how similar they are to the JWs. Like I could use JW theology and wording and they knew what I was talking about - perhaps in some cases with a few variations. They even refer to it as the truth as well. Hall, meetings, emblems, remnant, harmagedon, paradise earth, disfellowship, are words that I used and they comprehended what I was saying.
Am I tempted to try any other groups.
So far I have tried 3 different Pentecostal groups. Been to the SDA a couple of times. Now the christadelphians. The Mormon church really vasinates me. I'm deffinantly going to go there in the the next couple of weeks. Perhaps Baha'i. I really don't know after that.
I say 50 years?
The christadelphians are certainly well behind the other American religions. Full credit to them that they have changed little over the years, but I think this could also be their undoing as well. To be honest if I was to place a bet on which American religion will last it would be the SDA. They have to a point accepted change, made use of the digital age, and have adapted to been more main stream, but at the same time having a history and doctrine that is slightly less flawed than wt. They have built hospitals and schools, and have tithing. I think what is more the question is, will watchtower run out of money to support its members or will the christadelphians run out of members to support the money.
