Posts by neverendingjourney

112

30 Minute Public Talk-CONFIRMED

by stillajwexelder in

i can confirm (as there seems to be some doubt) at the service meeting last night during the item about the new watchtower, a letter was read by the po.

the public talk is to be 30 minutes long.

this is to allow for more association and ministry.. lengthy negative introductions about the state of the system of things/deep last days etc are to be heavily curtailed.

neverendingjourney

My guess (based purely on speculation) is that they're doing this to tighten the society's control on what is said in the public talks, i.e., to lessen the amount of "personal opinions" that the public speaker can introduce into the talk.

As an aside, this will probably come in handy in those kingdom halls where several congregations meet on Sunday. It should give the people more time to get out and let the other congregation come in. I knew of some kingdom halls that had to schedule meetings on Saturdays because they had too many congregations meeting there.

112

30 Minute Public Talk-CONFIRMED

by stillajwexelder in

i can confirm (as there seems to be some doubt) at the service meeting last night during the item about the new watchtower, a letter was read by the po.

the public talk is to be 30 minutes long.

this is to allow for more association and ministry.. lengthy negative introductions about the state of the system of things/deep last days etc are to be heavily curtailed.

neverendingjourney

Lengthy negative introductions about the state of the system of things/deep last days etc are to be heavily curtailed.

WTF? This has been their M.O. for decades.

35

Does Anyone Know Any of the Newer GB Members? Please share your stories.

by neverendingjourney in

jw
friends

i have read some threads here that suggest that anyone thinking big changes are coming to the watchtower due to all of the new gb appointments is fooling themselves.

its been said that ted jaracz has been heavily involved in selecting new gb members and wants to ensure that they all share his hard-line vision for the religion.

i must admit that i thought there would be big changes by now since six of the nine gb members were appointed within the last eight years.

neverendingjourney

Here you go, Seeker:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/130704/1.ashx

35

Does Anyone Know Any of the Newer GB Members? Please share your stories.

by neverendingjourney in

jw
friends

i have read some threads here that suggest that anyone thinking big changes are coming to the watchtower due to all of the new gb appointments is fooling themselves.

its been said that ted jaracz has been heavily involved in selecting new gb members and wants to ensure that they all share his hard-line vision for the religion.

i must admit that i thought there would be big changes by now since six of the nine gb members were appointed within the last eight years.

neverendingjourney

The football remark created a big stir in my area. Quite few elders were openly critical about the comment, which was made by a governing body member. I found that scandalous at the time since I was a faithful dub back then. I said many times that if someone was not willing to a listen to a GB member then they had no business being a JW in the first place. Of course, most dubs are completely oblivious to the JW hierarchy. Many of them had no idea what it meant to be part of the governing body. In fact, quite a few JWs described the comment as "a comment that reflected the speaker's personal opinions, not those of the society," but he WAS the society, at the highest level. It always troubled me that long-time faithful dubs couldn't see that, even many elders. It speaks to how well R&F JWs are informed. I'm glad I'm no longer a part of that mess.

Thanks for the comments.

35

Does Anyone Know Any of the Newer GB Members? Please share your stories.

by neverendingjourney in

jw
friends

i have read some threads here that suggest that anyone thinking big changes are coming to the watchtower due to all of the new gb appointments is fooling themselves.

its been said that ted jaracz has been heavily involved in selecting new gb members and wants to ensure that they all share his hard-line vision for the religion.

i must admit that i thought there would be big changes by now since six of the nine gb members were appointed within the last eight years.

neverendingjourney

Barber, Schroeder and Sydlik are dead.

35

Does Anyone Know Any of the Newer GB Members? Please share your stories.

by neverendingjourney in

jw
friends

i have read some threads here that suggest that anyone thinking big changes are coming to the watchtower due to all of the new gb appointments is fooling themselves.

its been said that ted jaracz has been heavily involved in selecting new gb members and wants to ensure that they all share his hard-line vision for the religion.

i must admit that i thought there would be big changes by now since six of the nine gb members were appointed within the last eight years.

neverendingjourney

I have read some threads here that suggest that anyone thinking big changes are coming to the Watchtower due to all of the new GB appointments is fooling themselves. It’s been said that Ted Jaracz has been heavily involved in selecting new GB members and wants to ensure that they all share his hard-line vision for the religion. I must admit that I thought there would be big changes by now since six of the nine GB members were appointed within the last eight years. Obviously, no big changes have come through the pipes. The GB usually has around 12 members, so there are apparently three slots waiting to be filled. The type of people that get appointed might make all the difference in the direction the Watchtower sets for the future.

I’ve only seen one of the newer GB members up close, Gerrit Losch. I have to say that I was quite unimpressed by him. He reminded me of the type of hardcore brothers that were around in the 1980s when I was growing up. He mentioned specific titles of movies that JWs should not watch. I remember CO’s used to do that all the time about 15-20 years ago. He apparently almost caused a minor revolt at one assembly when he told the crowd that American football was too violent and therefore inappropriate for Christians. I wasn’t there, but I knew a lot of people that were there and told me about that. Some brothers mentioned that he grew up under persecution behind the Iron Curtain or some such thing as an explanation for his strict demeanor. A few more Losch-like GB members and I could definitely see the Watchtower becoming more cultish in the future.

Have any of you met, seen or heard any of the newer GB members? What are your impressions? Do they seem hardcore or do they seem like people that would be open to mainstream changes in the religion?

10

DC 2007 - PR spokesman caught in a lie

by mineralogist in

jw
friends

at the convention in germany/hamburg some apostates placed themselves right at the main entry.

they have been there on saturday on sunday.

on saturday evening the attendants formed a "wall" and pulled some of the brothers away from that path.

neverendingjourney

When JWs feel their religious belief structure threatened, they turn into the biggest bullies around. It makes me sick.

34

Did you get the personalized JW items?

by reneeisorym in

jw
friends

the bibles rebound with a reasoning book in the end.

the special bookbags made by a jw for jws.

the magazine holders.

neverendingjourney

A fad broke out at the hall I was attending that drove me up the wall. A few of the elders and some other brothers starting wearing Watchtower pins on their ties and on the lapels of their jackets. It was in the shape of the Watchtower logo you see in the magazine. I had the balls to tell a few of them that it reminded me of the way "worldly" people would wear crosses. I pissed a few of them off and they started wearing it more often. It was ridiculous. How could you say that a Christian wearing the symbol of the cross around their neck was idolatrous, yet wearing the symbol of your religion on your tie was perfectly okay?

I couldn't find the exact same model online, but here is one that is pretty similar:

22

2nd in a series of 3 emails I got today

by loosie in

am i an active minister?.

am i an active minister,.

the kind that would be missed?.

neverendingjourney

People used to make copies of this kind of crap and pass it around during pioneer school. It was something of a tradition. In fact, I might still have some of those poems in a box in the attic. This was before the days of e-mail and the internet. I wonder if they still do that.

19

An Assembly "Experience"-and the rest of the story

by CaptainSchmideo in

jw
friends

a brother was on the program for the saturday afternoon session as one of those "life experiences" interviews.

tells the tale about how he left a lucrative, well paying position to "help where the need was greater.

" moved from a major metropolitan area to a congregation in the rurals, was told by managers that the job he was going to was "a dead end".

neverendingjourney

I can't think of any experience given at an assembly that I had first-hand knowledge of the real facts that wasn't fudged in some way to make it seem more appealing, including my own. I gave an experience at an assembly where I said I had passed up scholarships to go to college so I could pioneer. I was never offered a scholarship, but I was told about organizations that offered scholarships that I could contact. My part sounded much better if I left that out. I remember "model families" being interviewed that were complete wrecks, but they were paraded around as role models for everyone else to follow. If they were really honest, they'd follow up with these folks the following year and see how things had gone. But you wouldn't want the "friends" discovering the real truth, now would you?