Posts by SWALKER

31

Elders School Part 5: Here's how you've been screwing up...

by sir82 in

jw
friends

talk # 16: meetings that incite to love and fine works brother local elder .

synopsis: boring rehash of the od chapter on meetings.

elders should set the example in not missing meetings.

SWALKER

In an interview with an elderly, er, elder, at least in his 70's, baptized nearly 50 years, Brother Bethel-CCOT asked about his study habits, and study habits with his wife. Brother Meek humbly laid out his study routine, and mentioned that he always studied the Watchtower with his wife every week. From this point on, though, Brother Bethel-COOT seemed to stray from the pacticed script. "Let me ask you brother, do you study with your wife for the other meetings?" Brother Meek answers with a sheepish "No." "Well, then, it seems like you have something to work on, doesn't it?" There was nervous laughter from teh audience, and Brother Meek was still similing, but I felt bad that he was ambushed like that.

Can you believe the audacity of the brother giving this "counsel"? With all the other assignments given to them....they still NEVER do enough!!! I honestly wonder why these guys don't get up and leave these meetings. It was reported that one elder came back from this meeting and resigned...I can certainly understand why!!!!!

Swalker

7

This is soooooooo funny!

by coffee_black in

jw
friends

.

coffee

SWALKER

LOL!!! Very funny!

Swalker

34

Elders School Part 4: Beat, er, I mean shepherd the sheep

by sir82 in

jw
friends

talk # 13: shepherd the flock of god in your care, part 1 - brother bethel-coot.

synopsis: jesus told peter to feed his little sheep, so elders should shepherd the flock.

elders should be sincerely concerned for flock, approachable.

SWALKER

It's amazing what they can say with a straight face!

"The world uses people up and throws them away when they are done with them. Jehovah's organization is not like that."

(That last comment was particularly galling to me. A friend of mine & his wife had served in Bethel for a number of years. She contracted lupus, and could not work the 40 hour week required. In fact, she is not expected to live many more years. Despite decades of unquestioning loyalty, the couple were rather unceremoniously told their services were no longer required in Bethel. They ended up going to California and he works for a brother doing some sort of menial job.)

43

Elder's School Notes Part 1: Quit being so materialistic, you slackers!

by sir82 in

jw
friends

ask, and ye shall receive.. i will herewith post my notes from the km06 elders school i recently attended.

i will post this in 6 parts, to give people a chance to read smaller chunks and comment on them.. a couple of introductory notes: i wrote an awful lot of stuff, and will not post everything.

for each talk, i will post 3 sections: (1) general synopsis, (2) personal thoughts & observations, (3) particularly egregious quotations.. the primary speakers, who delivered more than 1/2 of the talks, were a circuit overseer and a guest from brooklyn bethel.. to protect anonymity, we will refer to the sadly inane circuit overseer as brother sico.. and the old-timer lifelong brother from bethel, completely out of touch, as brother bethel-coot.. one more introductory comment: it seems the main points the society wanted to send to elders were:.

SWALKER

Thanks for posting the info...

Regarding the Spanish congregations around here...most of them meet in the English Halls that were already built. I have a few relatives that attend them and they tell me that the donations are very slim. It's hard for them to come up with the money for the literature, much less help with paying the bills. I know lots of Spanish that work around here and most of them have families elsewhere (Mexico) that they send the bulk of their money to, leaving them little to donate.

Swalker

19

Feeling Discouraged About The Future Of My Marraige

by 24k in

jw
friends

for those of you who may not be familiar with my story, a little history may help clarify my dilemna.

i was raised as one of jehovah's witnesses, pioneered, became a ministerial servant, married a pioneer, and then became an elder, all before the age of thirty.

a few years ago, i began to have serious doubts about the teachings and religious system established by the watchtower.

SWALKER

When we first leave the WTBS, it is natural to feel pushed aside from your friends and family, as they have the shunning thing down to a science. The thing is, you really have to decide what YOU can and can't live with. It's not your wife's call to be setting the pace 100%. You have to figure out the direction that you want to go and make adjustments to get there. Indecision on your part will look and feel like weakness, and your wife may pull away as she doesn't view you in the same light as before. It's a big adjustment and therapy/counseling may be a way for you to reconnect. It certainly is worth trying everything to keep your marriage together....

As a dad, you should definately be part of the decision on how your children are raised. Do you want your children to be raised in this religion? Most of us on this board wish that a) we had not been raised a witness or b) wish we hadn't raised our own children as witnesses or c) wish we had never heard of this religion!!!

Just some input for you to think about...

Swalker

22

An interesting "paranormal" experience, that was actually "normal"

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

so last night i was in the basement.

it was dark, just the light in the crawl space was on.

i happened to see something moving out of the corner of my eye, so i turned.

SWALKER

AA, you really need to go get an eye exam!!! And stay away from that bag until you do...

Swalker

26

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 11-20-05 WT Study (Haughty)

by blondie in

" was pharaoh's haughty.

"your heart became haughty".

"-isaiah 2:17.. humble christians--only jws.

SWALKER

The only haughty ones that I remember were the elders/Co's/Po's/GB...they would NEVER let a rank & file person become haughty! I don't know how much longer those people can sit there and have this stuff pounded into their heads, week after week, etc. I would definitely have to leave early with a headache if I was still attending meetings. Glad I'm not!!!

Swalker

7

National Geographic "The Search For Adam"

by SWALKER in

anyone see the special on national geographic, "the search for adam"?

i found it interesting that he is able to trace so many people by using the y chromosone.

here is the link:.

SWALKER

Anyone see the special on National Geographic, "The Search For Adam"? I found it interesting that he is able to trace so many people by using the Y chromosone. Here is the link:

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/channel/blog/2005/06/explorer_adam.html

Genghis Khan must have stayed very busy when he wasn't in battle, by the number of descendants he is thought to have had. Maybe the story about Solomon and his 800 wives/concubines wasn't so far fetched after all!!!

Swalker

22

An interesting "paranormal" experience, that was actually "normal"

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

so last night i was in the basement.

it was dark, just the light in the crawl space was on.

i happened to see something moving out of the corner of my eye, so i turned.

SWALKER

I had been on sleeping medication for a while and one night I woke up and two cat figurines started talking to me. They were beautiful collectible hand painted cats and when they started talking it distorted their faces into horrible looking creatures. I remember telling them to "Shut-up" and then realized what was happening. One of my sons came running in the room wondering who I was talking to...and we both started laughing when I told him what happened. I called my doctor the 1st thing the next morning and got off those meds! At least I knew what was causing my problem. I don't think this is the case when some people really have seen or heard something weird and weren't on meds or alcohol or drugs....

Swalker

59

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE HUMAN RACE?!

by Mary in

jw
friends

i watched dr. phil yesterday, where they were highlighting the disappearance of natalee holloway who disappeared in aruba over 5 months ago, and amy bradley who vanished from a cruise ship 7 years ago.

i always assumed that these girls were raped and then murdered and they very likely could be, but the program highlighted the sex-slave trade that is growing in leaps and bounds all over the world.

i sat there and listened in shock as one guy revealed what happens to some of these girls during snuff movies.

SWALKER

I personally think that people should become more involved with issues, instead of less. The only way to bring about reforms are when enough people get fed up and start demanding changes in the current laws/system. As JW's we were always taught not to get involved with the govenment as God was going to step in and make the needed changes. Has anyone seen any evidence that he has yet? Suppose, for a moment, that a Creator put us here and basically we are on our own to figure it out and make it work....would that change how you feel about personal involvement? This can't be put on anyone else' shoulders. We should all be doing our fair share to help make this world a better place to live. I have only come to this realization within the past year...maybe in part because I'm getting older, maybe because it is beginning to dawn on me that God/Creator isn't coming to the rescue...

Swalker