For those of you who haven`t been following it,the WTS is in a downward spiral here in Japan.FS hours are down,Memorial attendance
is down,Pioneers are down,Studies are down,Donations are down,Number
of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to
drop.Last year they report a minus 1% growth rate and if the current
trend continues they`ll have to report another minus 1%. So, what`s
the org. doing about it? Their Re-Orging... At first they loosened
up the rules on young people to try to convince more second gener`s
to stay in the org. rather than moving away and becoming in-active.
That doesn`t seem to be helping yet. Next they`re encouraging MORE
involvement in community activities,PTA,etc. The idea is to remove
the stigma of being a cult and to get new contacts to start studies.
(Practically no one responds to house calls any more).Also they`re
combining congregations to give declining congregations the `feeling`
of growth.Finally, they`re trying to get new hungry blood involved.
Several years back they started a crash course for the elite young
men which they call MTS (or was it MTC?).It`s said to be the Japanese
version of Gilead. The young men who train there are sent out to
re-energize congregations.You can guess the waves that`s making.
Young men with no real life experience coming in and supposedly being
the new `leaders`, in some cases replacing older men. In a culture
where age and seniority still carry some weight....well it`s not
having the intended effect yet.
As far as finances, it seems the new thing is over-priced KHs.
I project a continued meltdown for the next 2-3 years with the number
of publishers dropping to around 200,000 and then leveling off.They
had peaked out over 220,000.No doubt the number of FS hours will
continue to drop and the org. will become an ingrown sub-culture
with lots of people in it because that`s all they really know as a
way of life.
P.S. There`s also `recycling` going on these days.In the past,those
who left were left alone.These days former studies, the inactive
and even some df-ers are being approached about coming back.I guess
when you can`t get new re-cruits,you start re-cycling. JWD
Org. Re-orging in JAPAN
by JWD 95 Replies latest jw friends
-
JWD
-
Gopher
JWD,
Thanks for the update on Japan. I remember when growing up, the Japan Witnesses were always held up before us American witnesses as a model to follow, with their pioneer zeal, low disfellowshipping rate, etc., etc.
BTW, the MTS (Ministerial Training School) is an international effort which was first rolled out several years ago here in the USA for unmarried elders and ministerial servants, to give them intensive training and send them back or to send them where they're needed. Is that the same MTS you referred to?
Also there's been a shepherding effort here in the USA to annually go an check out who is inactive or DF'd to see who may be interested in returning to the organization. But participation in this effort is voluntary and usually is not done.
Interesting post about how they're scrambling to stop the decline in what was the ideal theocracy. Thanks.
Gopher
-
Stephanus
I wonder if a serious decline in US numbers would see a fast-tracking of those reforms which we are all expecting to happen soon. Your mention of the approaches in Japan towards the DFed to get them back into the fold sounds like the Society may be willing to rethink the disfellowshipping issue. Not before time, too.
-
hippikon
And as a last ditch attempt to keep up the spiritual warfare - Kamikaze Publishers - Publishers with watchtowers strapped to their bodies and drooped into crowded Shinto shrines.
-
JWD
Hippikon,
Thanks for the cartoon! Yes, the MTS is the same arrangement as was
mentioned.
The thing about the WTS here is that it is really a `Christian` version of an indigenous Japanese religion named Sokagakkai.In the
States I believe it`s called NSA.At one time Sokagakkai was growing
at an incredible rate and claimed 10% of the Japanese population as
members.The thing that makes them similar to the WTS is the strong
emphasis on `group-ness`.Helping each other out,giving individuals
a sense of being part of something big,aggressive evangelism, exclusiveness,threat of judgement I you leave the group which is re-
inforced by shunning when people do,etc. After WWII Japan urbanized
so fast that much of the sense of community which was a central part
of the culture was lost.People became lonely and open to the `love
showers` offered by various groups. Sokagakkai cashed in big on that
with a `New Budhist` approach and then in the wake of that the JWs
offered a `western` version of the same thing. The trademarks of
Japanese JWs have been things such as `helping each other when they
move`,`welcoming in transfer JWs from other areas`,`tea and fellowship`,`giving hand-me-down clothes to other sisters to help
them save money`,etc.Social action type of stuff which in the past
was the role of the relatives or the villagers.Another trademark of
Japanese JWs is an incredible ignorance of the Bible.They study what
is in the magazines,but very,very few crack the Bible open for them-
selves and try to read it. One sister told me that over a two year period she counted how many passages were used during meetings and found that the same 80 or 90 verses were just shuffled and repeated over and over again. Since most people have no prior biblical background their `faith` is very markedly a blind commitment to the
group with doctrine being very secondary.
Also, in Japan until recently the overwhelming majority of Witness have been first generation.In most cases they are housewives.Therefore
the number of men in the org. is extremely low and the number of
theocratic families is even lower.If a man,no matter how unfit,is
faithful in attendance and FS , he can quickly move up the ladder
and become a MS or an elder.Again,the level of knowledge of the
Bible is very low.
All of these things add up to one-time rapid growth, but a very fragile state of affairs.Now that much of the downside of becoming a
Witness has been exposed things have begun to slide.The image the WTS
has created for itself is `exclusive and anti-social`,`destroyer of
marriages`,`anti-higher education`,`medically dangerous` and
`narrow-minded`.Now the org. is back peddling trying to undo that
image and present themselves and broad minded and balanced.So far,
nobody seems to be buying the new image. JWD -
Had Enough
Hello JWD:
I've been following many of your posts with interest in how the work in fairing in Japan. I remember Japan being held up to us as a model to follow....their zeal, their total dedication to put their lives on hold to further the kingdom interests...etc.
Now to see the org. lessening it's grip by "loosening the rules on young people" is very typical. I'm beginning to see the pattern the WTS follows when things are meeting with opposition now.
I find that so amazing, when you related the WTS encourages members to become involved in community affairs, PTA etc. What a sharp contrast to here, in our lands, when the work was just barreling along. Any involvement in community affairs and PTA's etc. was frowned upon to the point of being absolutely unacceptable if one was to be considered a mature example.
The new "encouragement" to try to re-kindle the fire in df'd or da'd ones is really suspect as to the real reason....concern for the person or concern for the numbers.
At this weekends CA, the emphasis was put on studying with people longer that before. Go farther than the 'Require' brochure and the 'Knowledge' book.....now carry on into another book, "if the person seems to need more encouragement and seems worthy through their display of interest but maybe circumstances are holding him back".
What a far cry from "the 6-month study course and you must be ready for baptism" mentality.
All these signs indicate to me a lot of rumbling going on in the "inner sanctum" of the borg.
One point that stuck out in my mind in this weekend's 1-day CA, was the emphasis put on "there are no rules in the WTS, only principles", an obvious attempt to downplay the rigidity of the picture that is being painted of them, (which btw is only through their own doing).
Had Enough
-
JWD
The `there are no rules` statement might also have legal reasons.Much
in the same way that McDonalds now put the `This coffee is hot!`
warning on cups.A disclaimer to avoid future legal responsibility.
As far as the `toning things down` approach here in Japan,it`s really
a two-edged sword.The older,more militant Witnesses who joined because
of the `no-compromise` approach the WTS took are frustrated with the
current trend.Recently,those leaving the WT include people who`ve been
in for 20,30 and even 40 years! By contrast, the new `recruits` are
often marginal people; i.e.socially maladjusted and emotionally weak.
Judging from recent KMs,it seems the headquarters is fluctuating
between a more broad-minded approach and a more hard-line approach.
Ultimately,they`ll go with whatever bumps up the numbers.As for now,
however,the tail spin continues. JWD -
Had Enough
I believe you are right about why the emphasis is being put on "there are no rules" statements. (at first I wondered if Big Brother was watching over our sholders and seeing what the pulse was of those leaving, and was trying to 'fix' it)
I can understand the kind of 'blow up in your face' effect this is having in Japan and can see the borg just grasping at straws to find a happy medium for all.
This still affects me even though, in my mind, I have divorced myself from my attachment to the borg. As little as a few years ago I recall going to a couple of elders to discuss my son's da'ing and telling them that I believe whole-heartedly in the Bible and the org. as being the only true religion worshipping God, but I was having trouble reconciling my mind with my heart over the reasoning on the elders da'ing someone themselves, who just said he wanted to be left alone and no longer wanted to be known as a JW.
My point being, this org. was my foundation I built my whole life on. I knew nothing else. Now I can identify with those in Japan who see the org.changing things to suit the trends and wanting to keep their numbers up. Those ones who have been 20 to 40 years in the org. too must be seeing their foundations crumble beneath them.
I truly feel for the emptiness they must be feeling and hope they can too find their way here to make some sense of their lives.
Had Enough
-
hippikon
JWD: I'd be interested in your thoughts on the following
Many years ago I worked in Japan. I had been told to expect humility and politeness, which I did experience. However I also noted the Samurai spirit was very strong – Blind devotion and unquestioning loyalty. The Boss is always right even when he’s wrong!
Question: Was this the spirit that fuelled the rapid growth during the 80’s
Something I have observed with loyalty - The stronger the sense of loyalty the bigger the rejection when the subject discovers he as been betrayed. If this is the case in Japan I expect some very serious problems in the future.
From a western perspective the Japanese men treated their women very badly. Do you think this was a contributing factor to the high proportion of women getting baptised?
-
MacHislopp
Hello JWD,
it is nice to have you giving the latest news
and events about Japan. Here in Europe, in the last 2 years
Japan has hardly been the subjetc of comments...I wonder why!!Hippikon: very nice and original cartoon, and interesting
comments.Agape, J.C. MacHislopp
