Axelspeed

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Posts by Axelspeed

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  5

  How will they spin 'the Bethel layoffs'?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i think they will call it 'keeping the eye simple'.

  we found ways to reduce the bethel force in order to put more emphasis on the 'preaching work'.

  probably in a km article.. or maybe that has been done and i missed it already.. jeff

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  Axelspeed

  One thing I always hate is when I do something that later turns out not to have been the smartest of moves...and then later there is suddenly a rush of people who suddenly show up and say "Well you should've done this" or "You shouldve done that".

  Its even worst when they preface it with something like "Well I started to say something, but...."

  It is with those thoughts that I make the following suggestion to exiting Bethelites:

  Get what you can and what you think you may need...while you can. Once out, no matter how its framed or labeled, in financial real world dollar terms, most of you will basically have the same benefits plan as a Regular Pioneer with all its many benefits. COs, if one is able to snag one of these spots, may have it a bit better for a while anyway. For the rest, good luck on the job search. Bethelites- take note, you will be entering the real world now. No more cooked meals, made beds, automatic laundry service, medical. Get what you can while you can. If you have access to compelling inside documents that may later be of use...get while you can, you never know when you'll need it and wish you had. Yes, the friends will assist ...for a while, but ultimately it will only be you and your spouse. In the real world, when they lay people off, they will often wait till the last moment to let them know...and then proceed to have someone accompany them out the door. There is a reason they do this. Axel
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  210

  Real 'BIG' news WTS sued biggie worker compensation

  by DannyHaszard in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  jehovah's loses comp case

  church may be forced to pay millions

  by jess wisloski.

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  Axelspeed

  They take wonderful care of you up to a point, and then you're on your own

  This should be a sobering, wake up and smell the coffee thought for bethelites on the way out. The fact that many will be reassigned is just a nice way to say "you're on your own now". You will basically have the same care plan as a regular pioneer with all its many benefits . Good luck on the job search. Bethelites- take note, you will be entering the real world now. No more cooked meals, made beds, automatic laundry service. Get what you can while you can. If you have access to compelling inside documents...get while you can, you never know when you'll need it and wish you had. Axel
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  24

  How much time does the WTBT$$ have left?

  by TallTexan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  obviously, there is no answer to this, i just think it's an interesting ??.

  my personal opinion is that within 10 years, the wts will be a shell of it's current (and especially former) self.

  it may not even take that long.

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  Axelspeed

  I stated my comments above, well just because. There is no way I believe those things will really happen.

  They need to evolve or go through the process of evolution. Take for example the animal kingdom and evolution (if you believe in it). Animals themselves do not have it within themselves to evolve. In other words, if my short-faired dog is suddenly tossed into the artic, he himself cannot suddenly grow the coat of an alaskan dog to adapt to the environment. He is what he is. His DNA is already set. He will only pass on the capability to evolve to his offspring, and then they will adapt over time. If the suceeding offspring do not evolve fast enough, they become extinct.

  Only those who are born with a more insular coat of hair will survive (survival of the fittest). If they cannot evolve fast enough, they become extinct. If they can, they survive, but in a different form. Obviously this takes a lot of time.

  The internet has greatly shortened the time they need to adapt or evolve. The current leaders of the WT do not have it within themselves to adapt...they cannot suddenly change their spots. Maybe the future leaders can, but the time needed for a successful evolution has become very, very short.

  They are being tossed into the cold without a coat. The current leadership is showing it will not evolve. And only time will tell whether the org goes the way of the dinosaur or can truly evolve...and if it has the time it will take?

  Axel
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  24

  How much time does the WTBT$$ have left?

  by TallTexan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  obviously, there is no answer to this, i just think it's an interesting ??.

  my personal opinion is that within 10 years, the wts will be a shell of it's current (and especially former) self.

  it may not even take that long.

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  Axelspeed

  I agree with you Gary. The problem is there is no one with the combination of charisma/cajones to put their neck one the line to propose anything radical enough to turn the ship around. They have already made an example of a few to instill the needed fear. Here are a few changes that I believe would begin to turn it around. Take note WT:

  1. Get rid of the mandatory DF/ DA policy. Make it voluntary and based on individual conscience. Most people don’t choose to associate with unsavory individuals anyway, much less invite them into there homes. Shunning family is just cruel and unnatural.

  1. Get rid of the Service Meeting and combine it with the TMS, and put the emphasis on the bible, not pushing literature. A lot of people like the TMS and the idea of giving talks and being involved. The TMS was probably one of the good things that JWs come away with that helps in real life (public speaking). The Service Meeting is showing itself to be nothing more than a sales meeting on how to push books and magazines. While you’re at it, get rid of the Book Study too.

  1. Get away from the book publishing business. It’s dead- in the way you have benefited from it. The internet is here, and while the printed text will always be here, the way the WT does it is becoming antiquated and dated- and it shows. This is becoming increasingly evident, even to dubs. Find something else- like real estate ; )

  1. Cut back drastically on the door to door work, maybe to once a month (voluntarily), because let’s face it, the dubs look just plain weird out there now every week. Dubs like to have the distinction of witnessing, but not every freakin week. Diversify into alternate forms of service and volunteer work. Take advantage of the idealism of kids and promote more volunteer work.

  1. Allow more freeness of thought. Go back to the mentality of the Bible Students- always searching for a truer truth, but never being dogmatic enough to claim possession of an absolute truth.

  1. Totally revamp/remove the blood policy- a very tough but necessary change. This will be the biggie. Cut your losses and move on. There will be big losses, but coupled with the following, they would bounce back eventually.

  1. Realize that JWs are JWs not so much because of the theology anymore, but more for the social. It is already becoming a social club. Most dubs couldn’t defend their theology, even with the literature now. But people do want to be around others like them that they can generally trust. And JWs are basically decent and good people. Some people need this. In fact, there will always be people who need this. Spend money to make money (i.e. build a more satisfying subculture).

  1. Stop denigrating higher education. The rationale is just not flying anymore, even with diehard dubs. They missed out, and want more for there kids. You should too- more education= greater satisfaction. Don’t worry about the contributions, they will come. I’ve seen people give money to far more ridiculous things.

  1. Get away from the OT and concentrate more on the gospel accounts. I think you would be amazed at the result.

  1. Stop trying to invent stuff just to be different. Not celebrating Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, or Thanksgiving? Come on, give us a break! These are rules where they are not needed or appreciated, and a stretch to justify. Let them have something.

  My fingers are tired now, but that should get you started. But you should hurry, because the hemorrhaging is increasing.

  Axel
  
  

  
  
  
  
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  30

  Do you feel 'Disconnected' since leaving the borg?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i mean - many of us had a history that was exclusively in the 'truth'.

  nothing else.. now having left, do you long for a discussion with some who share your past culture, understandings, and lifestyle?.

  is that the 'appeal' of this board to many?

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  Axelspeed

  is it like we have no history - like a blank page has been inserted in our biographies

  Absolutely. This becomes even more evident when filling out an application, and it ask for personal references...and sadly, none are available. Its like, don't you know anybody?

  This becomes more of an issue when compounded with the hardships in creating new relationships.

  Axel
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  58

  If You Had Internet Access Years Ago----Would You Have Gotten Out Sooner?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know if i could've 15 years ago because of having nowhere else to go, but now i know i couldn't stay.

  what about you??

  ?

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  Axelspeed

  Another quick point:

  I believe the intenet is a big threat to the WT because through information, it exposes so much of their misinformation.

  But the bigger threat is that of networking with others who have been there done that. When jws can see that they are not alone in their depression in the "spiritual paradise, that they are not crazy, and that their thoughts are shared by many others, this is the bigger threat. It will provide many the courage to peek behind the curtain. That number is increasingly reaching a critical mass. The internet will provide the support.

  Axel
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  58

  If You Had Internet Access Years Ago----Would You Have Gotten Out Sooner?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know if i could've 15 years ago because of having nowhere else to go, but now i know i couldn't stay.

  what about you??

  ?

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  Axelspeed

  I was already on my way out. I was miserable in the seemingly endless cycle of meetings and preparing for parts. I was a young elder with more and more responsibility being piled up on me. Everyone seemed to be happy with my life except for me. I still somewhat believed even though I had serious questions that no one wanted to tackle, and I didn't want to press too hard. I wont get to far into it, but I was what could be termed the pinnacle of my JW career, which made my next moves all the more unexplainable, discomforting and disquieting to those around me. There was no label to place on me.

  At this point I changed congos, resigned and reduced my attendance to a trickle. I was willing to just live and then die at Armageddon.

  I eventually went on the internet, and I cant quite remember what I typed in, but in had something to do with being a free spirit. I started going to sites about being a free thinker. I knew that I wanted to re-engineer my whole life. While researching reethinking and reading more about personality types (i.e. Jung and Myers Brigg) I literally stumbled onto the freeminds site. I read everything. It expressed a lot of things I had already thought and filled in the gaps in a lot of other areas.

  I read COC and it allowed me to come to terms with the fact that it was ok to leave. ISOCF then showed me Ray's brand of chrisianity, and though I'm still deciding what i believe now, I do know the wt took the wrong path when they came to the fork in the road in the late 70s and 80. I read books on cults, and was finally able to admit that I was raised in one. Other key books were True Believer, 1984 and Animal Farm. There were other books too.

  I enrolled in a couple of college courses. Seeing and learning the cyclical nature of religion, and how it has been used to control, opened my eyes emensely and made quite evident what a sheltered education I had gotten throughout my jw life. Once I saw a more whole picture, I was able to see what a speck the jws really are and have been on the world scene. Jws are legends in their own minds only.

  But there is no way I would have gotten to the point of looking on the internet at jw sites if I wasnt already ready for it. I had no clue these types of sites even existed.

  This is more info than you asked for, but I felt like typing.

  Axel
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  74

  Bethel Downsizing Again!

  by zack in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i do not know if any of you have heard.

  no one in my congo.

  other than one other elder on the body has heard:.

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  Axelspeed

  They wanted everyone to be there so made an announcement ahead of time. The emphasis is being put more on the field and they are going to start to drastically reducethe number of Bethelites. Some will be sent to Gilead, some as sub CO's some as CO's. They asked them to please accept the assignment because itis as if it's a Bethel assignment.

  This should be interesting. Axel
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  74

  Bethel Downsizing Again!

  by zack in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i do not know if any of you have heard.

  no one in my congo.

  other than one other elder on the body has heard:.

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  Axelspeed

  They've been slowly getting rid of their publishing angle. There's no money in it anymore. There's more money in real estate.

  I have been thinking about this as well. As well as for other reasons for the shift in focus, while downsizing. Consider this scenario for a typical in his 50's life-long bethel middleweight:

  I'm in my 50's and not getting any younger

  I'm in my 50's and have no retirement to live on in the upcoming years

  I have no marketable skills to use on the outside in the real world

  I have seen the rough plight of others who have left Bethel and the hardships they are facing, and their dependance on the mercy of the friends.

  I have no children to look after me in my old age

  While at the same time:

  There is this big pile of money and assets that should be able to carry me and my wife through for the next 30 or so years.

  Yes people are leaving in droves, but if we downsize enough, at least we'll be taken care of (the ones left at Bethel).

  I can live out the rest of life in a paid for prime location riverfront Brooklyn condo, while selling or leasing the rest.

  I can get free med care and live off of the friends for the rest of my own life at least.

  I have no kids, so there is no need to have assets to pass on, just worry about me and wifey.

  Just some random thoughts about what may be going through the minds of some at HQ.

  Axel
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  307

  SERVICE REPORT 2005 : WATCHTOWER FEB 1ST 2006

  by BluesBrother in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have had a quick look and found no references to this, so - here goes..as in the mag we picked up on sunday.. worldwide % increase over 2004 = 1.3%.

  memorial partakers 8524 (compared to 8570 in 2004).

  most european and nth american lands show pretty static figs - britain 1% increase, canada 0%, germany 0%, france 1%, usa 0%... but spare a thought for the inhabitants of zambia where 1 person in 90 is a reporting witness, must be hell going down to the local market!

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  Axelspeed

  Why does the Society endlessly nag the friends about college education - but never offer their own college to help preserve

  their own subculture?

  Off topic again:

  This was another mistake. I don't know how they could have done it or the details involved in the whole process, but they should have created their own accredited university open to all jws and whoever else a long time ago. The Mormons did it and their membership thrives, and their members feel that they have gotten something, at least, that they can use for life. Whether it would have been Gilead or a completely separate institution, I don't know.

  They have put nothing into preserving their subculture long-term other than pushing more magazines and books. There is nothing here that serves the practical interests of "the friends" for the long term as far as making a living and growing as individuals. Pushing books and magazines can only go so far, and is now becoming completely obsolete as a way to get more recruits. The friends know this even if they arent saying it.

  The friends are not having success with this method, and this is translating to a dutiful, if not negative, attitude toward the door to door work. They just want to "get the time" to keep the elders and CO happy, and earn the salvation

  The result is that even if they do still believe it is The Truth, as met said, The friends are getting tired of all of it. Many more are willing to just take there chances and just live the best way they can in this old system.

  There is no infrastructure because 1/2 of the WT is really a book publishing business, and the other 1/2 really believed their own around the corner rhetoric.

  Axel