Posts by tim3l0rd

40

Canada Branch Finances - What's Going On?

by berrygerry in

an update on the canada branch hasn't been made (i think).. year-over-year, canada's equity decreased by 11 million in 2012, 17 million in 2013.. however, the 2014 report shows a huge increase (20 million) in the cost of "purchased supplies.

" with the shrinkage of the mags, and the push to online, how the heck did this go from 39 million to 58 million?.

even with this number, the equity in 2014 went down by a staggering 56 million.. what the heck is going on?.

tim3l0rd

Even if the change was due to a tax law change in Canada, the WTS MO is to always make changes appear as if they are doing for a good reason. They want to always cast themselves in a favorable light and not admit that they are dodging taxes or making changes because they are forced to. They did the same thing with removing the charge for the literature. It was presented as if this was a streamlined arrangement to the congregation, but in reality it was to dodge taxes on the sold literature. Even the change in blood fractions was likely due to pressure from the outside and not some 'revelation' or 'new understanding'.

The same applies with this change. If they had only made the change in Canada, then it would have been readily apparent that the change was to dodge taxes. By making the change globally, they can spin this as a blessing from Jehovah and a way to equalize.

45

Why a new "World Headquarters"?

by 4thgen in

i just dont get it.

the gb moved to patterson and are conducting business from there, right?

they are not printing as much literature as they once were and they are still operating walkill for the magazines...er a ....pamphlets.

tim3l0rd

From my latest tour at Bethel, I was told the move was to differentiate the World Headquarters from the US branch. It's really nothing more than a corporate reorg. In the past the US branch was the World HQ. Now they are setting them up as separate and distinct. The US branch can focus on the US and the World HQ will focus on coordinating all of the branches.

47

Cart Witnessing - Thrilling! Productive! Epic! Er.....um, well, not so much.....

by sir82 in

jw
friends

talked with a pioneer recently, she was recounting her first experience with cart witnessing.. she brought the subject up, was going on & on & on & on about how wonderful the experience was, and how great, and how she enjoyed it so much, and it was so wonderful, and oh jehovah's blessing, and on and on and on...... a few questions to her revealed what really happened:.

-- a jw who owns a small restaurant in a strip mall allows jws to set up their cart outside his restaurant.

-- the restaurant is tucked pretty far out of the way, not prominent at all.

tim3l0rd

I like it. It's an easy way to pass time. I don't get yelled at. I don't feel like I'm harassing anyone by knocking on their door. I don't have to spout out something that I no longer believe.

Every time I see one or am manning one, I can't help but think of those guys that hold the "Going Out Of Business" signs. :-D

11

Top Five Things...

by FusionTheism in

jw
friends

what are the top 5 things you hate most about the jw organization and top 5 things you like most?

tim3l0rd

I agree with Giordanno's top four. I would add:

5) No associating with "worldly" people

As far as what I like:

1) Training in public speaking

2) Easy to make "friends", if you tow the party line and don't know TTATT

3) Hospitality for those in ASL or other language groups (can easily find a friend to stay with when travelling, feeling of community/camaraderie). I think this is what most of those (like my grandparents) felt in the early days of the org. It's a close-knit community and they really help each other out.

I can't think of any more at this moment, but I'm sure there are a few more.

22

baptism regional Convention

by antes8080 in

jw
friends

hello friends during the weekend i was in the san diego regional convention and the number of baptisim was way down.. there were 51 who got baptise thats the lowest number i ever seen, the attendance was 14,000 plus .

tim3l0rd

51 out of 14,000! Our DCs never had even close to that number in attendance. I remember being close to 9,000 maybe. I haven't been to an English convention in a while, so I don't know what they are now. ASL conventions and assemblies are always held in assembly halls, so the attendance typically hovers around 1,000.

16

The WTBTS "almost" admits the truth.....

by DATA-DOG in

during the wt session, the org admits that the actions of eldubs can cause an eventual shortage of "qualified " brothers, and it has.

they speak of a lack of teaching as the cause.

in reality, it's the legalism and control issues within the org itself that have caused a shortage of men who are willing to reach out.

tim3l0rd

It's all about perception and what they see. I was told that if I missed a meeting or fs I needed to text one of the elders in my service group so they would know why I wasn't there. He assured me that it wasn't because I needed to report to them or that they were nosy. That one comment really started to make me think about what it is that drives appointments.

I'm actually putting forth an effort now just to see if I can make MS before I fade. :-)

45

New Thought About Active J.W.'s

by The Searcher in

from my own observations & conversations with selected active j.w.

's, here are my conclusions:.

's are very rapidly falling into two distinct camps -.

tim3l0rd

I wish I was in a more liberal state as I think this would be more evident to me and I would feel more relaxed around the group of dissenters and/or hiders. Unfortunately in the "Bible belt", the backgrounds of those here seem to predestine them to take a hard line, especially if you're a non-native speaker in a foreign language congregation. Some part of me wants to reach the status of elder just so I can speak more freely with other elders about the recent changes.

6

Swahili Congregation in the Midwest -- Why?

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

i almost posted this in the humor section, because honestly, i almost thought it was a joke.

my family and i were driving through a suburb of st. louis, missouri this afternoon on the way back to illinois and home.

i took a back road through a bedroom community and ended up on a 2 lane road that led me right past the last kingdom hall i attended in 2007 before i left for good.

tim3l0rd

I think all the foreign language groups and congregations are to give the illusion of growth to those in the US and other developed countries. Those that join are usually pioneers or are bored in their congregation. ASL congregations have exploded over the last decade. Most ASL congregations have about 50 publishers, but only about 10 deaf who regularly attend and maybe 2-3 deaf publishers. We constantly here about how much it's growing, but it's mostly from hearing people joining.

On a side note, I think ASL is the reason why tablets finally were allowed and utilized throughout the org. We've been using them since the fist iPad to show videos and it's been the only thing most brought to the ASL meetings for quite a while.

17

A Total Waste of Time "In The Field"

by OnTheWayOut in

so i am walking down the street in a spanish neighborhood and two men, obviously jw's, are standing between houses writing furiously on their tiny slips.

i am nearly a block away approaching and they just kept writing the whole time i walked up.

i finally arrive to pass them and they are still both writing.

tim3l0rd

Are you Hispanic? If you had answered in Spanish, they may have engaged you in a conversation. A congregation is told to focus only on the language of the congregation. This is to prevent harassing the same territory/people repeatedly and often. The English/Spanish/ASL/French congregations do not coordinate which territories they will be working. If they happen to see another congregation in that territory, then they will move to another, but otherwise the foreign language congregations will not normally engage English speakers. That is the English congregation's responsibility and territory.

Foreign language groups/congregations have a list of names/addresses that they target and don't usually go from door-to-door. Sometimes they will knock on a few doors to ask if anyone in that area speaks Spanish, French, or whatever language they are involved in, otherwise they focus on the addresses they already have on file.

Source: I'm still stuck in an ASL congregation and have had many friends in Spanish congregations.

164

California Supreme Court Case - S226656

by Gayle in

jw
friends

http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/maincasescreen.cfm?dist=0&doc_id=2109889&doc_no=s226656&search=party&start=1&query_partylastnameororg=watchtower bible and tract.

started 5/27/2015.

tim3l0rd

What were Candace's reason's for the lawsuit? Let's see what the news articles and interviews say:

Candace Cont - NBC News Article

Conti filed the lawsuit after trying, without success, to get Jehovah’s Witnesses in Southern California and in Fremont to change the secrecy policy, Simons said.
“There was no settlement demand from her because she felt the only way to expose this policy and make it change was to bring this case to trial and make it public,” he said.
“The money is the only way left for her to force Jehovah’s Witnesses to stop keep hiding known sex offenders within their congregation.”

Candace Conti - PBS Interview

CANDACE CONTI, Plaintiff: If I were to sum up our goals in this case, it was to attack the policies and procedures that where in place that let a serial molester continue to molest children.

The only way to enforce change from the outside on an organization or business is through their bank accounts. That is standard for the American judicial system. You can't take a business to criminal court. When an organization's or a business's policies are responsible for someone's loss, the only solution is to sue. There have been many, many lawsuits brought forward against WT, but all of them up to this point have settled out of court with gag orders on the plaintiffs. It seems clear to me that Candace was not afraid of putting her face out there and wanted this to be a very public shaming of the Watchtower's policies with the hopes that the policies would change as most businesses do when they lose a lawsuit like this.