As far as a strange guy with a beard and cigar...I don't doubt it. I saw some strange characters. Usually JW relatives offering Watchtower something free or at a great discount. Donations are always welcomed at Bethel.
Balaamsass2
JoinedPosts by Balaamsass2
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7
Blue Ocean
by Freeorange inthere’s a term in the corporate / business world known as blue ocean strategy.
the basic gist of it is to stop wasting time in your small, dwindling pool of current customers when there’s a wide open ocean of untapped customers out there.
to achieve this leap is to adapt or transition to a more appealing package of your current business model to attract the masses.
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Elders or any higher ups at Bethel get paid?
by TxNVSue2023 ini found this while googling.
i thought elders and/or high rankers don't get paid.
is there something i don't know?
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Balaamsass2
In the 70s I took a massive pay cut to go to Bethel. Glad I had savings.
My Bethel pay per month was what I got PER HOUR on the outside.
My travel allowance was exact subway costs for 3 RT fares per week.
Way below minimum wage and a shared bedroom.
It appeared the medical doctors and a few specialists had greater incomes though, because they supported families.
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The TWO new things to come this year for J.W Org !
by Phizzy inwhile having my first strong black coffee of the day, i was thinking about what may be to come next as the org.
rapidly goes mainstream, and this is what i came up with :.
1) they will introduce for sunday, the after meeting fellowship, a time for just chatting but with the added bonus of coffee and snacks.
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Balaamsass2
As a kid, I enjoyed the picnics and ball games of the 60s and 70s.
I always had snacks and popcorn after the book study I conducted or held at my home.
Jaraczes clampdown during the Ray Franz paranoia hurt the organization.
The fastest-growing Pentecostal mega church in our area has a coffee/pastry bar after services at the entry and outside under an awning. It seems to be profitable and popular. They have grown from a few hundred to 11,000 members.
Hard to predict just what flip-flop WTB&Ts will do next.
They should eliminate child baptism. No modern country allows minors to enter into a contract. Get rid of the "blood card" in all its forms for minors.
Stop allowing elders to stick their noses into police matters, and criminal investigations...especially child abuse.
I expect they will look for new revenue sources, perhaps a streaming subscription fee....like Netflix. They constantly infer Jehovah is bad with money and needs more. :
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Is there really a Bible rule against sex without marriage?
by Halcon inregarding the poster from jw headquarters, who claimed that the gb would eventually loosen the rules regarding sex.
the question is, is there really a bible rule explicitly prohibiting sex without marriage?
because this would be the only possible reason why loosening those rules would even come up in a discussion.
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Balaamsass2
The Bible does condemn "fornication" multiple times.
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Is there really a Bible rule against sex without marriage?
by Halcon inregarding the poster from jw headquarters, who claimed that the gb would eventually loosen the rules regarding sex.
the question is, is there really a bible rule explicitly prohibiting sex without marriage?
because this would be the only possible reason why loosening those rules would even come up in a discussion.
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Balaamsass2
If you go solely by the Bible...define marriage. And "approved".
Do concubines count? :) Is a small party and taking a gal to your tent...Marriage?
Abraham claimed he was God's best buddy...and God spoke to him personally. He had multiple sexual partners..ditto for David, and many other "faithful" friends of God.
In the San Francisco area we had some bisexual/gay JWs men in the 60s whose wives WTB&Ts said were not free to divorce and then remarry. Why? Because Watchtower said adultery required vaginal intercourse with a woman...anal and oral intercourse did not constitute adultery!!!!
That "changed" in the early 70s with the "new light" on Pornia which then included oral and anal sex.
Go figure. Holy Spirit was confused again.
There were some huge mass disfellowshipings at Bethel afterward. It became obvious why some of the guys on the service desk liked the previous definition of adultery and sex, it suited their predilection.
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Do COs and Branch Officials Have A Rulebook?
by NotFormer inelders have a rulebook.
do cos and their superiors have a similar written set of guidelines setting out everything they're supposed to be on top of?.
what prompted the question was a statement by jehovax that there is a new elders manual coming out due to the new changes.
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Balaamsass2
In addition to the ever-evolving "rule books", every congregation gets a constant flow of letters that go into a thick 3-ring binder, that has to be updated constantly. ( A real pain in the ass- that half the elder body doesn't/can't keep up with.)
Holy Spirit must be fickle or have dementia.....because it flip-flops constantly....and is obviously bad with money...because there is a constant shortage of it.
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JW Expanded Volunteer Activities?
by doinmypart ini think the gb needs to expand publishers' volunteer activities beyond door knocking.. gb has shifted away from door-knocking to more varied forms of witnessing and no longer counting time for publishers.
my prediction is that the gb will start encouraging jws to participate in broader community volunteer efforts: clean-up drives, food banks, senior citizen support, and other non-proselytizing activities.
this move could help them gain goodwill with government agencies and the public.. expanding volunteer activities could significantly shift how jws are perceived by the wider community.
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Balaamsass2
I agree that unless they can make some cold hard cash, the Borg is unlikely to encourage any mingling with "worldly" people.
They MIGHT copy the Catholics and open rest homes for elderly JWs and "favorably disposed "non-believers. In the USA rest homes have become a profitable business. $$
They MIGHT expand their disaster response efforts/insurance scams. Using JW quick build teams to respond to storm damage with free volunteer labor and charge insurance companies for the labor.$$
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/briefing/health-care.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fk0.BP12.mG_ioABa2H_W&smid=url-share
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Blue Ocean
by Freeorange inthere’s a term in the corporate / business world known as blue ocean strategy.
the basic gist of it is to stop wasting time in your small, dwindling pool of current customers when there’s a wide open ocean of untapped customers out there.
to achieve this leap is to adapt or transition to a more appealing package of your current business model to attract the masses.
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Balaamsass2
Having actually worked at Brooklyn Bethel, lived next to some GB 1.0 members, invited into the private rooms of GB members, and used the tunnel system I find some of this "research" far-fetched. :)
I think there is/was a pervasive fear of the outside World with many Bethelites...a little paranoid in my personal opinion. Many went a little overboard and were borderline "preppers" IMO. I have had many friends and family serve at Bethel since the 30s. I admit, Bethel IS full of some very strange people.
I think from the founding of WTB&T Society there has been an obsession with the occult/mysticism/hidden prophesies and making $$$, beginning with publishing, then Real Estate, and now internet streaming. Pure Religion is the perfect product...little or no investment, limitless financial return. = Off the chart internal rates of return.
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Balaamsass2
LOL. Third Gen and I got a doorbell ring and tract in the door Thursday. The rumpled couple had a baby stroller. They looked like a "Far-side" cartoon from Gary Larson. Frumpy disheveled outfits. No cheap suit, No jacket, no tie, shirt half tucked in. No beard, however. I didn't answer the door, I thought it was some sort of homeless pitch. :)
Is this the new JW look? After 60 years, I had gotten used to the tidy cheap suit uniform.
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Is this true?
by BoogerMan in"the watch tower society does not file any publicly accessible financial figures.".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/watch_tower_bible_and_tract_society_of_pennsylvania.
if so, are american charities totally free from scrutiny by the authorities & donors?.
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Balaamsass2
There are laws about it...but little to no enforcement. Most public filings from USA Religions appear to be bogus...especially Watchtower. "Theocratic strategy" AKA: Lies.