The changes can be summed up in two words- soft touch. Humans have a tendency to go a little beyond sometimes. If someone goes a little beyond these days it will be a soft touch approach.
Soft touch with what you decide to wear. Beards and hairstyles tend to go along with that, it’s not often talked about but JWs will have a soft touch with hairstyles from now on as well.
soft touch when it comes to clothing.
People can just wear whatever they were wearing that day in work or school or whatever. As long as not too casual.
Soft touch in getting DFed in the first place, it’s a lot less likely to happen and even if it does happen it’s only for 90 days then easy to get reinstated. During that 90 days people will still talk to you anyway. This is so incredibly soft touch when you really think about it.
so definitely soft touch describes the changes.
there is no more fear of being shunned like there used to be.
if you have a meeting with a few elders and they decide you will be DFed then you can ask for an appeal committee. If you tell them you are repentant and won’t do it again they can overturn the original decision.
So it seems to me it’s very unlikely anyone will be DFed ever again. And in the worst case it does happen it’s only for 90days. There is no need to ask to be reinstated the elders will chase you and try to talk you into agreeing to be reinstated.
It also seems to be soft touch when it comes to ministry or lack there of. Some simply state they don’t do ministry anymore they just do zoom social gatherings with the minis groups. The very few who do go out only do a tiny amount then meet up back at someone’s home and chat to all those on zoom.
It’s also soft touch in expressing doubts. The amount of jokes doing the rounds on social media about the Gov body. Do these ones not realise they are doubting these men are who they say they are?
All these things can be described as soft touch. It’s as if Jesus yoke that he said was kindly and had a light load is now just air. It’s like an inflatable yolk or more like an inflatable travel neck cushion.
