As a JW Did You Prefer a “Stricter” Congregation or a More Liberal One?

by minimus 26 Replies latest jw friends

  • minimus
    minimus

    In my experience, there were three types of Witnesses. Some were barely Witnesses while others were extremely conservative types who followed the letter of the law. And then you had those in the middle who just went with the flow.

    I knew many Witnesses who “felt safe” being in a stricter environment.They were actually proud that they belonged to such and such congregation because it was filled with strict Bethelites.

  • tiki
    tiki

    I grew up in a congregation where my father was a servant, overseer, then elder when they adopted that title....he and a fellow elder prided themselves in their terms on "running a tight ship"....The next cong over had a reputation for being loose. How many times I heard it said "I'd be out of the truth if I were in that congregation".

    I eventually landed in that cong and the atmosphere was much happier and friendlier....there was actually a good camarderie....unlike the cong populated mainly by mentally deficient gossips....

  • inbetween09
    inbetween09

    growing up as a JW in a rather strict congregation, I always preferred more liberal ones, actually as liberal as it can get within the given boundaries.

    It might have to do with me appreciating freedom more than authority and accountability more than immaturity.

  • iwantoutnow
    iwantoutnow

    More liberal.

    Though I knew many total selfreightouse assh#les who wanted rules and punishment for everything.

    Of course - they were the BIGGEST hypocrites!

  • punkofnice
    punkofnice

    I loathed all congregations. The buildings always smelled of pee

  • stan livedeath
    stan livedeath

    its been so long ago i think a lot has changed. but back then all 3 congregations were what you could call liberal.

    in the first one--in birmingham UK--i was a teenager and there were lots of party's with an anything goes atmosphere. smoking, boozing and various levels of fooling around. but there were 2 distinct cliques or factions--each ruled by a strong willed matriarch.

    the next congregation had a lot more married men and a more loving family feeling. the congregation servant was a lovely irascible old chap--with a total fruitcake of a wife. his main weaknesses were smoking and driving without a licence. several of the youngsters had to get married. i cant recall any d/f ing though.

    the third congrgation ( my last ) was for years beforehand very small--about 30 or so, then within a couple of years it grew fast--simply by families moving in from other areas. there were lots of inter family squabbles and rows. there were quite a lot of babies born within a few years. 3 of mine.

  • WTWizard
    WTWizard

    When I started, I preferred having things run as close to what the book said, with a minimum of extra rules. Of course, they usually eased off too much when they should have been tighter (and that is especially so with talk timing, where the tighter they are with the time, the better things fit) and made too many stupid extra rules and selectively enforced said rules. As I see, if one is going to claim allegiance to a bible, one is bound to it. If you don't want to abide by the bible and just the bible, then don't claim to abide by it.

  • BluesBrother
    BluesBrother

    It depends what you mean by strict or liberal..

    in my experience BOEs that stuck close to the rules would “strain out the gnat but swallow the camel” , as Jesus said. They would point to W/Tower paragraph thus or old Kingdom Ministry such and such to prove you wrong about some piddling issue. However they could be oblivious to potentially dangerous situations developing that ended up in somebody being before a J C for bad behaviour.

    in the real old days, 1970’s , I served with wise elders who had seen life before becoming J W’s . We interpreted the rules as guidelines and applied them with common sense . Anything serious was hopefully nipped in the bud by acting quickly and firmly. The result was a happy congregation and “The Truth” ( as we misguidedly called it) was FUN.

  • millie210
    millie210

    Even the liberal JWs are stricter than life needs to be but interestingly enough, I was in a stricter congo and preferred it.

    The liberal congregation in the next town over was looked down on circuit wide. I think the JW leadership encourages that kind of congregation snobbery. People get a kick out of trying to "outrighteous" one another.

  • redvip2000
    redvip2000

    I think for most Jdubs that feeling that they are not part of the world and that they are not special, is predicated on tight rules and norms that exist in the Org. If it was more liberal then many Jdubs would lose that feeling.

    Though curiously, I do think that due to concerns for image and PR, the Org is beginning to lean towards being more mainstream.

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