I have to say, I work in NYC and have yet to see one of these things.
I also have not even seen JW in my neighborhood in NJ in several years.
d4g
i am currently having to spend a little time waiting for an appointment in the vicinity of a central london station.
whilst waiting i am catching up on some work in a cafe.
i can see a couple of trolleys and have been watching them for around an hour now.. not one person has stopped to take literature.
I have to say, I work in NYC and have yet to see one of these things.
I also have not even seen JW in my neighborhood in NJ in several years.
d4g
once a month about 15 to 20 elderly jw publishers would meet at the kingdom hall and one elder was assigned to set up the system so they could view jw broadcasting.
these publishers were long time pioneers, former elders, and long time publishers who know nothing about computers or the internet.
they are the last batch of those expecting the generation that saw 1914 or understood it--- to not die off.
The cavalier attitude towards the elderly is disgusting. WT just does not care.
d4g
a few years ago i heard of a story about two jw's being at a green day concert.
i think that the witnesses were bethelites.
the person that told me that story said that the band was about to play but they couldn't.
JW urban legends have a way of repeating themselves in different contexts. While all urban legends have a bit of that facet, the JW type seem to repeat over and over.
I remember the Gloria Estefan, John Denver, and Don Ho nonsense from the 70s and 80s. There may have been some offhanded comment made by these folks at one time or another, (Just as Green Day made a record about losing one's faith, etc.), but clearly it amazes me that JWs don't recall the similarities of these stories. Talk about a persecution complex.
d4g
a few years ago i heard of a story about two jw's being at a green day concert.
i think that the witnesses were bethelites.
the person that told me that story said that the band was about to play but they couldn't.
To edit, I still doubt it much, (it is just too much like other JW urban legends, and I know better), but that album in particular was very important to my exit.
d4g
a few years ago i heard of a story about two jw's being at a green day concert.
i think that the witnesses were bethelites.
the person that told me that story said that the band was about to play but they couldn't.
The story is true. Green Day went on to write an album about the JW's.
It started when an elder called on Billie Joe at home, prompting "American Idiot"
Then he heard about all of the failed prophecies - "Boulevard of broken dreams".
He read Fred Franz Bible chronology - "Wake me up when September ends".
Finally saw some trolley witnesses - "Jesus of Suburbia".
Prior to all this it's rumoured that Greenday met Stephen Lett - "Basket case".
WOW! If that is true, it is the coolest thing ever....That album was played often and loud when I left the JWs! Yes, I took the same losing one's faith message from it.
d4g
i'm finding it more and more funny how every wt article for the public or congregation, including jw broadcast talks about all this "growth" and how fast jehovha's organization is speeding up!
yet everything behind closed doors, insider information, elder letters and sales paint a very different picture.
i have news for you gb members!
OrphanCrow is likely right. (Yes, both times)...At least an icon exists for one of the imbibements mentioned.
let the merging begin!!!.
to all bodies of elders in the united states branch territory.
re: fully utilizing kingdom hall auditoriums.
Oh, and the terms, "auditorium", and "Master Plan", are not accidents...
Really, this is good news. Cash flow problems or not, this is about decline, and preparing for more of it.
d4g
let the merging begin!!!.
to all bodies of elders in the united states branch territory.
re: fully utilizing kingdom hall auditoriums.
I have been saying since the communication came about the book study being eliminated in 2008, that this is where it was leading to. They would never eliminate a meeting without an economic purpose for doing so. All other types of reasons were given for that move, (i.e. eliminate smaller groups for greater control; lawsuits; and of course the Society's excuse of "gas prices"), but it is always about money in the end.
Fewer weekly meetings = fewer halls needed since they can cram more congregations into those halls. This is just the next major phase. It is all being done to address long-term sustainability.
Cash flow is not the likely issue, even though the GB cited that in a broadcast in May. They would never admit to a cash flow problem if they actually had one.
d4g
i was baptized then i was 15 years old and just entering high school.
i had been a perfect jw teenager through out my high school years, although i craved to be a little bit worldly.
when i graduated high school, i moved out and got a job working with my older non-jw brother.
Certainly not my exact story, (I avoided DF, mostly due to a friend on the committee), however I learned there and then the judicial process is nothing more than WT politics at the expense of human beings. I left voluntarily 5 months later.
To add: The judicial process did not cause my initial awakening, (that already was in process), but it surely provided the kick in the ass I needed to leave for good.
d4g
i consider myself smart.
go ahead, laugh.
i have a sense of humor too.. but i grew up a jw and also believed in the bible.
I think a lot of us can relate to this.
It makes sense too. It is neither natural nor convenient to assume your parents are not giving you sound direction, especially when they are clearly trying to do right by their children. By the time we were old enough to reason for ourselves about the matter, we were already too indoctrinated to mentally pull ourselves away from it. That one-two punch of socialization is very powerful, and will last until something jars it loose. This can and does take decades for many, even the brightest of us.
It is all about what it takes to cause that jarring effect.
d4g