by TheListener 27 Replies latest jw experiences
same general attittudes up here in northern ontario towards the meetings.isn't it amazing how jw's really are the same all over?
hey,and what about the service arrangements? in our hall,it was like a funeral service,no laughing or boisterous chatting,everybody just sat quietly like they were gonna be punished if they said something.then when the car arrangements were being made everybody who didn't have previous arrangements would just cringe at who they might be stuck with.
I've found it helpful to cut a few pages out of IN SEARCH OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM & read them during the meeting.
Too bad the borg can't think well enough to start reading C o C and In Search of Christian Freedom at the meetings. Attendance would go through the roof.
With this in mind, we recommend to all congregations the following order of study: (1) Read the paragraph in The Watchtower (or other publication) Crises of Conscience or In Search of Christian Freedom; (2) Call on those raising their hands who want to discuss the paragraph and supporting scriptures.
There should be a number of advantages in reading the paragraphs before they are discussed. This will quickly refresh the minds of all who have studied over them in advance, and in the event some have not been able to do this previous to the meeting, the reading will at least familiarize them with the material before it is discussed. Everyone will be encouraged to concentrate on the reading, rather than look ahead for more truth about the truth in the next paragraph. Those who are shy, or who are slow in organizing their thoughts, will be able to prepare better to put their words together and so gain confidence to raise their hands. There should be freer participation and fuller discussion of the finer details of the expose', with emphasis on the application of how to get out from under the WTBTS heavy thumb before passing on to the reading of the next paragraph.
This new arrangement should be a blessing to all of God?s people, as they seek to "be filled with the accurate knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension, in order to walk worthily of Jehovah."?Col. 1:9, 10.
What a blessing to Jehober's people it would be to consider real truth instead of BS.
My god, how routine and brainless everyone has become.
It's not only the 2nd school thing that's routine. It's the content of the talks, too. Always the same stuff, over and over.
Kinda reminds me of my first meeting! It was the TMS, and I was appalled when after a talk was given, a man came to the mike and CRITICIZED how it had been given!
I wanna tell ya, it soured me on ever signing up for doing a talk for a long, long time!
On the other end of the scale, I suffered from panic attacks ever since I was in grade school---doing current events, etc and they continued right until I was an adult. Any time I had to do anything timed or rehearsed in front a crowd, I'd have these attacks and TMS was no exception.
Anyone who's had these knows how nasty they can be, not to mention embarassing. The last time I had a talk, just as I was standing up to go onstage, the fainting feeling and weakness started and I said "I can't do this" and fell back into my seat. I didn't realize that I had practically shouted that until I was told later!
I struggled with doing these stupid talks (I always HATED them) and finaly got up the nerve to go to the School Overseer and ask to be taken off the list. I just couldn't put myself through it any more. He was reluctant to go along with this, but everyone knew what I went through so they knew it wasn't a cop-out.This was about five years before I finally left the WTS, so that was five years that I didn't have to worry about it!
Annie
I still go to meetings because of family reasons. I'm on the slow fade plan. I liken it to paying of a high debt credit card by sending in the minimum each week. It is taking forever and I am only making a little progress. However, it's better than the go bankrupt plan! Which is my other alternative.
As far as the meetings changing:
The Theocratic Ministry School changed format starting about two years ago. The changes were minimal but in dubdom it still caused a stir. I have however, heard other elders complain that the changes weren't significant enough and that the lackadaisical attitude of the friends toward their talks still exists. The changes as I recall are:
1. First talk isn't 10-12 minute instruction talk with questions/answers but it is a 5 minute talk on a speech quality point taken from the new school book. (5 minutes)
2. The next talk is the instruction talk but it has no questions (10min)
3. The bible highlights used to be 6 minutes. Now it's 6 minutes of review and 4 minutes of answering the exact same question each week (last year there were two questions, this year the society cut it back to one). The question is: "What did you find interesting in this weeks bible reading" (or something similar). (10 minutes)
4. bible reading. The same as before except that now no comments are made by the speaker at all. He just reads several verses from the bible or an excerpt from a WT (a bible reading my foot). 5 minutes
5. talks 3 and 4 are the same. Sisters give talk number 3 exclusively, front and back schools. Talk number 4 is supposed to be for brothers who are a little more experienced; they've progressed from bible reading talks but aren't ministerial servants and can't give the other parts. (talks 3 and 4 - 5 minutes each)
This is all from memory because I don't have kms with instructions at work. If there is something I got wrong I'll correct it tomorrow.
The only other significant change is that the school overseer isn't supposed to give negative counsel from the platform anymore. Find something positive and mention it, and discuss the points in the school book for the entire audiences benefit. the school overseer is supposed to talk to the student after the meeting and put the mark of performance in the student's personal copy of the school book. They are also supposed to make sure that the student performed the exercise associated with their school counsel point. The exercises can require several days to complete depending on which one it is.
Our second school was in a stinky moldy basement so no one other than friends and family would go there, except in the summer when it was the only cool place in the hall. I remember as a kid I would try to squeeze through the bars that guarded the stairwell. One time I got my head caught. Boy did I get in trouble.
In the old days the dubs would fight to be the first with their hand in the air.
There was a sense of urgency back then that has all but disappeared. It was a sense of belonging to an elite corps of fighters-for-truth, a special people touched by God. That's all gone now, except among a few die hards and hangers on.
People go to the back school to observe because it's an opportunity to stand up and stretch and to get away from the suffocating atmosphere in the main hall. It breaks the monotonous routine. That's my take, anyway.
It's a sad, pathetic life.
The Lisener: "My god, how routine and brainless everyone has become. Not just this particular issue but during the service meeting I began watching people and seeing how dull their eyes were. I am amazed at how glazed over everyone looks."
you just described the result of many attempts at institutionalized group instruction, not only for the soul, but for the mind as well
