Doubting Bro

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Posts by Doubting Bro

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  188

  World map showing net reduction in publisher numbers

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  mp has asked which country has lost the most publishers, and i decided to investigate.

  one thing led to another, and i decided to produce another world map, this time showing the net reduction in publishers for each country.. this has been calculated by means of the following equation for each country:.

  2011 total no.

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  Doubting Bro

  JW facts calls it percentage that stopped publishing compared to number baptised on his page. I find the breakout by country you did interesting Cedars. Paul looked at a number of different measures on his website:

  http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/statistics.php

  It's hard to measure but the bottom line trend is not promising for the WTS. If the trend continues, they will enter into a period of net decline. The % increase in publishers is down (growth but less growth), the actual number increase in publishers is down and baptisms are down both in raw numbers as well as % of average publishers.

  00DAD has some interesting questions and I'm not sure even the WTS has the answers to those, although I would think they would find it pretty helpful in their retention efforts if they did. I do recall hearing at somewhere around 50% of DF'ed eventually come back but not sure if there's any validity to that. I would say the number who DA returning are practically nil. I would also venture to guess that based on my somewhat limited experience, the ratio of DF to DA is probably like 95% DF and 5% DA. It still is news when someone around here DAs.

  I also believe that the number of baptisms as a percentage of publishers took a major nose dive as a result of the 95 generation change. The effect of that on the urgency level of the rank and file JW while sublimal was important since that was the first time many started to realize that they were going to retire and likely die in "this system".
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  28

  Is your 3-day Watchtower Emergency Kit all ready?

  by FatFreek 2005 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  have i missed something by not browsing each and every posting here?.

  up till very recently, my two sons (one a jw and one, a non-jw) lived in the same community.

  the never-baptized son decided to move to a different u.s. state and within a few miles of my home i'm a df'd person as of 33 years ago.

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  Doubting Bro

  There was a service meeting part last week reserved for local needs. Here, they reviewed what was obviously a BOE letter detailing the disaster prep plan. The information made sense because you never know when a big storm or blackout can knock out power for a few days. What I got out of it was that the elders were going to be harrassing the publishers by field service groups to provide contact information. Phone numbers, email, etc. Also, they want out of state contact information in case of a Katrina like evacuation.

  There was also a bunch of WT references handed out about what needs to go in an emergency kit.

  Here in the US, hurricane preparedness week is either this week or next week and I'm sure the local news will have a little fluff piece on what you need to do. There's nothing special about what the WTS said. The biggest problem I had with it was that the elder giving the part (COBOE) went on and on about how this was life saving information from Jehovah and that we're special that we've been given it. I couldn't stop rolling my eyes.

  My company had an internal article a few months ago on disaster preparedness not only for work but what you need to do on a personal level. These are practical reminders that come from many sources. Pretty sure that Jehovah is not the source of this.

  I will give them some made up contact info just because it's easier than arguing why I don't want them to have my personal info.

  Of course, you know JWs. Many of the crazier ones are going to take this and run with it. Meanwhile, the WTS will use this program as proof that they are performing "charity" work if the IRS questions their not for profit status.
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  61

  I made it!! I'm just so freaking happy!!!

  by Rocky_Girl in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as some of you know, i started college 5 years ago for the first time at age 27. i had been out of the "truth" for 9 years at that time, but had just broken free of the mentality.

  well, on saturday i walked across the stage with the 130th graduating class at rocky mountain college!.

  after 5 years of working several jobs, taking care of two little boys as a single mom, and trying to get the most out of my college experience, i earned my master of accountancy, bachelor of science in business management, and minors in writing and organizational leadership.

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  Doubting Bro

  Well done Rocky Girl!!!! All that hard work will pay off for you in the long run.
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  23

  The Congregation just paid flowers and other expensive for the PO COBE who died two weeks ago?

  by life is to short in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have never in my whole life heard of this being done but at my husband's hall they just asked the congregation to pay about $250.00 to help with the cost of the dinner after the memorial and for flowers.. i was a jw for over 45 years and i have never heard of this.

  when my parents died who had been jw's for years i felt lucky fortunate to even be able to use the kingdom hall for their memorial.

  i am just speechless at them giving money.

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  Doubting Bro

  Wow LITS. That's pretty dysfunctional even for JWs. What a bunch of jerks. I guess I'm way too much of a hothead because if an elder or anyone spoke to my wife that way, I'd have a private (so it would not have the required 2 witnesses) "conversation" with him warning him that if he so much as looked at you again, an ass whipping would be coming his way.

  I'm sorry you've had to deal with such things in the past and understand your bitterness. At some point, such bad behavior is going to come home to roost.
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  23

  The Congregation just paid flowers and other expensive for the PO COBE who died two weeks ago?

  by life is to short in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have never in my whole life heard of this being done but at my husband's hall they just asked the congregation to pay about $250.00 to help with the cost of the dinner after the memorial and for flowers.. i was a jw for over 45 years and i have never heard of this.

  when my parents died who had been jw's for years i felt lucky fortunate to even be able to use the kingdom hall for their memorial.

  i am just speechless at them giving money.

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  Doubting Bro

  @ carla - LOL - they view fs as a "personal ministry" not as a part of the operation of the kh so no chance on reimbursement locally. However, I have seen some publishers record their mileage used in fs and then claim it as a charitable contribution. I believe the IRS allows that or at least the folks that I know have done it have never been audited. As a taxpayer, that really ticks me off. If you want to waste your time driving around bothering other people, fine but don't ask the government to pay for it!
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  23

  The Congregation just paid flowers and other expensive for the PO COBE who died two weeks ago?

  by life is to short in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have never in my whole life heard of this being done but at my husband's hall they just asked the congregation to pay about $250.00 to help with the cost of the dinner after the memorial and for flowers.. i was a jw for over 45 years and i have never heard of this.

  when my parents died who had been jw's for years i felt lucky fortunate to even be able to use the kingdom hall for their memorial.

  i am just speechless at them giving money.

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  Doubting Bro

  I've seen the local congregation provide flowers before. Seems like a nice gesture and hopefully one that they would do for all publishers and not just elders. It sounds like maybe that's not the case. Collecting money for a meal afterwards does seem a little odd. I've been to many of these (both JW and non-JW) and in most cases where it's at a fellowship hall or a private home, my experience has been that people donate food. I've been to a few in restaurants both those are usually very small, family affairs and the patriarch ends up picking up the check (again just what I've experienced).

  Question on the flowers for the assembly & SAD. Why didn't your husband turn in a receipt for reimbursement? They would have processed the payment and cut him a check. I used to buy stuff for the hall all the time and was account servant and secretary and have seen plenty of even small expenses reimbursed. I had a cutoff in my mind as to what I'd turn in and what I would donate. However, I've seen people turn in receipts for $5!
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  58

  An email sent to me- we are reallly close to the end

  by Sour Grapes in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  subject: short illustration regarding the "cowbird"hello, we recently dedicated our remodeled kingdom hall here in los angeles , and our guest speaker was bro.

  javier hernandez from brooklyn bethel.

  bro.

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  Doubting Bro

  Yes, the last seconds of the last days. Just like I wasn't supposed to finish the 1st grade (I started in the fall of 75)!

  I remember 3 years ago, a friend of mine is a WT conductor in one of the local congregations. I was riding in the car with him and his wife and he was talking about the WT study he had conducted earlier that day. It was the Sunday before the convention and he said that he forgot to mention how this convention could be the last one we have this side of Armageddon. My response? That's ok, you can do it next year!!

  He wasn't too happy with my comment and especially when I mentioned how Jesus said that no one would now the day or hour and at a time no one would expect it, it would come. He just changed the subject.

  Maybe I'll ask him this year if he made that comment!!
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  322

  My son was murdered today

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have been on this site daily, almost from its beginning, since i left the jws in 2001, but i have been more of a reader than a poster, as you can see from my post count.

  i know few here know me, although i know many of you through reading your posts.

  maybe it is not right to ask for support, when i generally stay quietly in the background of this forum, but i want only to speak a human misery of the deepest kind.

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  Doubting Bro

  Truman - my deepest condolences on your terrible loss.
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  63

  A JWN Member just lost her Husband and She could use some encouragement.

  by ohiocowboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on 4/6, the poster orphan annie posted about her experiences with jw's and her ill husband.

  unfortunately, her husband died monday, and she is feeling very sad.

  i just wanted to make others aware of it, so that we can encourage her and give her some much needed support during this rough time.. her original thread is here.

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  Doubting Bro

  Orphan Annie - I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.
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  72

  Menlo Park KH - Elder Tells All - and more

  by Juan Viejo2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i've published part one of a three part series about the menlo park kh scandal.

  http://ex-jw.com/menlo-park-elder-tells-all-1.

  this has been a tough one for me.. the original federal case was dismissed in january.

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  Doubting Bro

  BTTT - thanks for compiling this and we appreciate your hard work in keeping us informed.