We used to have skating parties once a month. They were so popular, folks from the surrounding congs would come also. Good, clean fun for all, good chance to fellowship, no one got in trouble or anything like that, but after about a year we got a new stuffshirt CO named Gobitas that came in and basically started a crackdown on all virtually all social gatherings,saying that too many from surrounding congregations were not going to their bookstudies so that they could attend our skate get togethers. And that was the end of it. Best as I recall, that man left a path of destruction in his wake. He was probably the most hardcore travelling servant I ever encountered during my 30+ yrs in the org.
owenfieldreams
JoinedPosts by owenfieldreams
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31
Remember how great the get-togethers were in the 1980's??
by PaNiCAtTaCk ini remembers skating parties at least once a month, volleyball at the park, get-togethers where everyone would play bible charades and sing kingdoms songs, going to the river to swim with the whole congregation after the sunday meeting, spending the afternoon at the lake eating watermelon and water skiing.
it was a great upbringing!
also, i dont want to leave out the strong feelings of eliteness that i had even as a child, of having the truth.
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Ghosts in the machine...
by LtCmd.Lore inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/129464/1.ashx.
tetra's recent 5000 posts post made me think... what happens when a valued board member dies?.
what if tetra had died?
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owenfieldreams
Didn't the Police have an album entitled "ghosts in the machine"?
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So what random rules did YOUR elders impose?
by brunnhilde inevery cong has them, the petty dictators who make up arbitrary rules and insist that the rank and file follow them or pay the penalty.
a couple mine had - sisters could not have skirts that were either too short (above the knee) or too long, below the mid-calf - either extreme was worldly.
also, in order to have privileges (cause there were so many wonderful and fulfilling things for women in the borg) sisters must wear pantyhose.
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owenfieldreams
Just a few, actual ones that I can remember:
1) No 'fade' haircuts for brothers; no beards or goatees, no matter if they were neatly trimmed. if you had them, you absolutely would not be used
2) No neck chains for brothers; if you wore one, that meant you were imitating the "gay" lifestyle
3) No sports cars allowed, especially parked or visible at the hall
4) sisters' earrings could not be bigger than a dime
5) Don't dare eat turkey on thanksgiving
6) What, attend college?--don't even think about it(this is the one that frosts me to this day...) If you broke this rule, you were black- balled
7) What I used to hear called the "20 minute rule"--If you're weren't at the meetings 20 mins. before they start and didn't stay 20 mins. after they concluded, you weren't following the counsel at heb. 10:24, 25
8) No blouses or dresses for sisters that show shoulders/skin
9) No slits in sisters' skirts allowed
10) R-rated movies not allowed(some hardliner elders that I knew even tried to widen that to include PG-13)
11) No windchimes on your porch or front entrance to your home(supposedly some connection to spiritism)
12) No two-piece swim suits to be worn by sisters--anywhere
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What is your take on birthdays?
by honest inhi i am still yet to introduce myself, but i will soon i promise!!
i am a very open minded jw and currently have not been happy with their techings on alot of subjects.
one issue i have is birthdays, i do not agree with their techings on this subject, i never have.
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owenfieldreams
as a fader, i have to honestly say this is one carryover i've had since leaving. even though i am not opposed to others celebrating the holiday, i don't see a need to do so myself. it's kind of like valentines day to me--it's just sort of a 'made up' holiday that really has little importance. just my two cents.....
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Will the change to the Watchtower be followed by a change to the meetings?
by yaddayadda ini expect that a significant change to the meetings is on the horizon, most probably in the form of a shift of the bookstudy from a weeknight to a condensed saturday morning version.
some congregations already hold bookstudy groups on saturday mornings.
a universal change to this for the whole organisation make senses as it would help resolve a number of growing problems for the society, specifically, meeting attendance is clearly diminishing at the rate of knots in the western world, many elders are burning out and resigning because they cannot cope with all the pressure heaped up on them that so many meetings in no small measure contributes towards, and magazine 'sales' are apparently down and such a change would work in very well with the upcoming new change to the watchtower magazine in january 2008. .
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owenfieldreams
The consolidation of the bookstudy arrangement with sat. morning service, at least in the USA, would probably bring a net benefit to the org, but i don't look for it ever to happen. Having regular meetings throughout the week that the r/f are required to attend is one way to hold sway over everyone in the congregation.
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Economy?
by Outaservice inhas the supposely slowed down economy affected you or do you find yourself having all the money you need and your job holding up well?
do you own or rent?.
if you needed a new car .
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owenfieldreams
The economy here in the US is actually very good. All of the key indicators(inflation rate, unemployment figures, gdp, etc. etc...) bear that out. But that doesn't mean some sectors of the economy and the individuals who work in them are not experiencing tough times. For instance, who wants to work in Detroit for one of the Big Three auto makers? Yea, those jobs pay great, but they are slowly going away. We are transforming from a manufacturing to a services-based economy in this country, and some still having a tough time adjusting to it.
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Reasons behind disfellowshipping over 'worldly divorce'
by needproof inhi guys and girls, .
something came to me whilst i was cleaning this morning.
i was thinking about the jw tradition of disfellowshipping those who seek a 'worldly divorce' .
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owenfieldreams
I know from personal experience that you cannot be df'ed strictly for obtaining a legal divorce without scriptural grounds. about the worst that will happen is the person will receive strong counsel against it and may be the target of a "marking" talk from the platform, and will lose all privileges in the cong. Other than that, there's not much the elders can do to you. Besides, as many of these divorces that are happening now in the org, their numbers would really start to plummet if they started expelling people just for doing this or separating without proper scriptural grounds.
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2008 Changes to the Watchtowers
by Inquisitor ini don't know if someone else has already posted about this.
i tried looking a page or two back in this section, but didn't find any thread on this news.
if someone has, pls add the link in this thread.. no, the watchtowers aren't gonna be monthly like the awake, but apparently the w mags will be designed in this way:.
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owenfieldreams
funny how they want to basically divide the the key instrument of disseminating wt dogma into two branches--one for the public and another for the r/f members. Mmmm...
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If You've Faded, Do You Still Consider Yourself a Dub?
by brunnhilde ini've been thinking about this a lot, because i've chosen to fade and i would never refer to myself as a jdub, but i've read postings from others who do.
i would have written a letter a year ago but i've got older parents who are upset enough about me just not attending.
on another thread someone is also leaving and they were advised to tell the jc to do whatever, to not acknowledge that they have any authority.
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owenfieldreams
One time, Ronald Reagan supposedly said of the democrat party, of which he was a member at one time," I didn't leave the party, IT left ME." I can somewhat compare that feeling to my decision to fade from the org. I don't think my core beliefs or values have ever changed, concerning God almighty or the bible. All of the constant moving of the goal posts as related to the time/generation of the end, the constant flip-flopping on doctrinal issues, the whole blood transfusion conundrum, the hard turn to the right by Jaracz and his lieutenants and other policy wonks in brooklyn who are really the ones who took control of this organization about ten years ago, the watering down, dummying down of the theocratic ministry school and hour requirements to inflate statistics--all of this describes what I think is a totally different org than what even existed 25-30 years ago, to some extent. It is not the same org and it is being ran by totally different people now.
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Jehovah's Witnesses to operate in Israel - scareeee
by Dogpatch ina-g backs jehovah's witnesses' demand for equal rights.
by matthew wagner.
the attorney-general's emphasis on the democratic character of the state as opposed to its jewish character has opened the way for missionary groups such as jehovah's witnesses to operate in israel, according to former justice minister yaakov neeman.
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owenfieldreams
no disrespect intended, Randy, but the fact is JW' s have had a 'presence', albeit small, in Israel for many years. so i am not sure I understand your point. please clarify....