Bearing Kingdom Fruit?Making Disciples,No / Yes ???

by Blueblades 1 Replies latest jw friends

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  Blueblades

  February 1,2003 page 20.Would it be correct to conclude that bearing fruit means making disciples?Does the fruit that we would bear refer primarily to individuals whom we help to become baptized worshipers of Jehovah? NO. The bearing fruit in this case refers to making expressions about the Kingdom.

  October 15,2003 page 12.Without a doubt the good news is bearing much fruit and increasing on these remote islands.In January 1990 there were 46 publishers in Sao Tome' and Principe.During the 2002 service year,a peak of 388 Kingdom proclaimers was reached!Over 20% of the publishers are in full-time service,and about 1,000 home bible studies are being conducted.The 2001 Memorial attendance reached an all time peak of 1,907.Yes the word of Jehovah is moving ahead speedily and is being glorified.

  My point is ,on the one hand proclaiming the good news and bearing fruit has nothing to do with making disciples,it is making expressions about the Kingdom.

  On the other hand,proclaiming the good news and bearing fruit has to do with the increase,publishers,Kingdom proclaimers,Bible studies leading to more disciples,increases.

  The Society in the past has always equated bearing fruit with making disciples,now in a nine month spread,Feb. to Oct.They say it does not,then it does!

  Blueblades
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  Amazing

  Hi Blue,

  The Society has always spoken both of these tunes ... speaking about the Kingdom is a form of bearing fruit, but in the sowing phase ... whereas making deciples is considered the result of speaking about the Kingdom, thus bearing fruit phase of the seeds sown that grew by virtue of continuously being watered and God's blessing it. Yet, today, the Society focuses almost exclusively on preaching and making disciples as bearing fruit.

  While the event of making new disciples may Biblically be considered one of the results of bearing fruit ... the Bible seems to, in my opinion, focus far more attention on individuals bearing the fruitage of the Spirit in their lives ... love, joy, peace (not disturbing the Saturday morning peace that is ) ... goodness, faith, mildness, etc. ... no mention whatsoever of preaching or making disciples in the fruitage of the Spirit ... however ...

  ... during Russell's time and somewhat into the first few years of Rutherford, the Society focused more on the Christian personality, and the huge preaching focus came later on. Then in the 1970s, during the great "thaw" on the GB, the Christian personality and expanded ministry into other aspects of Christian life, emerged for a few years, only to be stifled again with the Great Disfellowshipping of the early 1980s at Bethel ... resulting in the resurrection of the Spirit of Rutherford ... so ...

  ... the job of some gifts in men (women too) is that there are Evangelizers who preach and are primarily the ones who make disciples ... for God gave some as apostles, prophets, evangelizers, some as shepherds, some as teachers,etc. so that the body is comeplete ... not all serve the same function in the Body, not all have the same gifts. In Christendom we find a much better and wiser balance that more closely resembles what the Bible teaches. - Jim Whitney