17. Other
I thought JW's are supposed to consider themselves as Ministers of Jehovah. They supposedly replace all the clergy of wicked old Christendom, and, of course, JW's are not a paid ministry.
Now, I am thinking that Ministers are supposed to have their own study tools such as their NWT of the Bible, and the Watchtower magazine (and even their own song book- since they are expected to supply everything else). Just like the Ministers of other churches, who have their own bibles and study aids. These are not usually provided by the church as an organization (except they almost always supply the hymnbooks, which are part of the church budget.
Thinking about it, I note that most kingdom halls do not come with pews, with built-in shelving at the back of the pews to house books and publications. That, in itself, probably makes things a bit awkward or impractical. I think these Ministers of Jehovah are supposed to be on the alert for new visitors, and then "befriend" them at the meeting, and even share their bible or magazine with them during the course of the meeting.
I hardly think some back issue of the Watchtower would be very useful in a meeting discussing the contents of the latest issue. But usually some brother or sister sitting with or near this visitor at least has a spare copy/issue in their briefcase or purse, and are willing to let the visitor use it. I saw that happen many times when I used to attend. Also, if a stranger came to a meeting with nothing in hand, I would see a husband and wife, who each had a songbook, give up one to the visitor, and then the husband and wife would share the other one together. After the meeting they would go up to the stranger and try to engage him/her in a conversation, and maybe that could lead to a bible study or whatever. Now this was back in the early 1960's, and I know it's gotten a lot weirder out there, so maybe they are not as friendly as they once were. I don't know.
When you compare the JW environment to that of most Protestant Churches, I would say that a lot of the Protestant Ministers have a real challenge getting people to attend church. And so they try to make things as easy as possible for attendees, by providing them with hymn books and even Bibles, plus "program sheets with announcements" at the door. Remember, all these people who come to these churches pretty well always give cash donations in the collection plate that gets passed around. That is quite different than the situation with JW's and KH meetings.
Rod P.
