slimboyfat

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Posts by slimboyfat

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  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

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  slimboyfat

  It seems a bit pointless arguing about whether the number of congregations is shrinking when we actually have those numbers available. From what I can remember there has been a small drop in the number of congregations over the past few years but it is a very small drop of around 1 or 2%, and in the latest report the figure is rising again. Some countries had a higher drop than all others, including Germany and the US. Britain is pretty flat.

  Whatever way you look at it, the small drop, or stagnation in the number of JW congregations is nothing compared with mass closure of churches in western countries. Other denominations are talking about the need to close hundreds more congregations (around a third) in the next decade, on top of hundreds of closures that have already taken place.

  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65645891

  This article says churches are closing so quickly they are struggling to cope with the process while not to lose all the historical items and history inside these buildings as they are converted or demolished.

  https://www.scotlandschurchestrust.org.uk/blog/recording-scotlands-closing-churches/
• 
  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

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  slimboyfat

  In Scotland some Kingdom Halls have closed (Anniesland and Craigton in Glasgow) but the number of congregations is the same, or is in fact increasing. (Anniesland now meet in Kelvin, not sure about Craigton) For example there have been two congregations in Aberdeen for decades (Deevale and Bucksburn) but recently increased to three (now named North, South, and Central), not to mention the extra Polish congregation, all in the same Kingdom Hall.

  So when you notice Kingdom Halls being sold, are you sure the number of congregations isn’t actually staying the same, or even increasing?
• 
  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

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  slimboyfat

  I didn’t say there aren’t reasons, or it is a good thing. I just said KHs aren’t emptying the way that churches are emptying, that’s all.
• 
  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

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  slimboyfat

  https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/27/scotland-losing-churches-morham#:~:text=The%20data%20suggests%20Scotland's%20two,only%2060%2C000%20worship%20in%20person.
  

  Congregations are in steep decline, its clergy are ageing and its finances are in disarray. Like hundreds of other churches earmarked for sale, Morham church should be on the market but that has been halted by an unprecedented row over the fate of the nine people interred there more than 300 years ago.

  The data suggests Scotland’s two largest Christian faiths, Presbyterianism and Catholicism, may be in terminal decline.
  In 1982 the Church of Scotland had nearly 920,000 members; last year, that stood at 270,300, a decline of 70%. The average age of its congregants is now 62, and only 60,000 worship in person.
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  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  I am just saying what I see. I’ve known the same congregation since the early 1990s. The attendance is down from the peak of the 1990s, for sure, but up a little since before the pandemic. Other congregations nearby seem to be doing fine, plus a few congregations abroad that I know slightly. The Scottish convention had around 8000 in attendance, similar to attendances for the past 30 years or so, not up, but not down either.

  I don’t see any evidence of Kingdom Halls “emptying”. But the main reason I find the statement ironic is because churches truly are “emptying” at an astonishing rate. In Scotland alone there are hundreds more churches set for closure in the coming years and many church congregations are down to a handful of old people. One Methodist church I visited had 8 people in attendance, all over 70. A Unitarian church I attended had 13 people, all over 70 except 2 in their 40s. The Christian Science church was down to a handful of old people and closed a few months ago. A Baptist church that once had around 100 on a Sunday was down to 25 when I visited last year. Churches of Scotland are closing all over the country. I attended the Church of Scotland that has the second highest membership remaining in the whole country. They had 80 people in attendance, 90% over 60 years old, and only one child. This is hugely down on attendance before the pandemic when they had around 150 on a Sunday, including some families.

  My own firsthand experience is that, in the Kingdom Halls and assemblies/conventions I have seen, the attendances are holding up well, whereas the churches are emptying rapidly.
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  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

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  slimboyfat

  How many Kingdom Halls are you visiting Slim'?

  In the past year I’ve been in four different Kingdom Halls.
• 
  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  slimboyfat

  as the halls of the kingdom are emptying, the brothers vanish.

  People always makes there assertions on the forum, but I see no evidence for it. Kingdom Halls are pretty full. There are a few more JWs who stay home and watch on Zoom after the pandemic, mainly older ones, but overall attendance is, if anything, slightly up.

  The churches, on the other hand, are emptying fast; of this I also have firsthand knowledge across a broad spectrum, including Catholic, Church of Scotland, Free Church, Methodist, Unitarian, Christadelphian, Brethren, and Christian Scientist churches.
• 
  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

  1. 
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  slimboyfat

  If it was health reasons why remove his videos from the website and his image from photos?
  I’m not saying a Bethelite didn’t say that, or believe it was heath reasons and voluntary, but there’s no reason bethel gossip can't be wrong.
• 
  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

  1. 
  2. 
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• 

  slimboyfat

  Giacomo = Commentary on the Letter of James

  Yes, Ray Franz even printed the original versus the revised version in one of his books.
• 
  100

  The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

  by ukpimo in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

  perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

  how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
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  slimboyfat

  Why? Is there more information to this than just the lateness?