Posts by lehighjoe

We rather like the "old-time" style, ourselves, and have actually found a charming Congregational church about an hour from our home. Unfortunately the theology is based on the trinity, and that makes it very difficult to fully immerse in the consideration for that day.

(I'll also take a minute to clarify: some churches belive in the same-entity concept of Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; others have a duotheism of Jehovah and Jesus being the same individual, and the Holy Spirit a separate entity. I use the term "trinity" to descibe both theologies, although I know it's *technically* incorrect for duothesim.)

There are a glut of rock and roll evengelical churches all over, but the show-business aspect turns us off.
We feel like we're in a bad music video.

In addition, the evangelical churches in our experience try to be a lifestyle one-stop for people - a meeting place, counseling, day care, radio station, field trips... etc. They're also big... the small ones we attended had well over 500 people. There's no way any intmacy can be derived with the responsible members of the church. I asked, and was told across the baord, we'd be "assigned" to a group or a "membership director".

Blondie, thanks for the list, but we burned through that list two years ago.
When we do research before we go into the field, we do heavy-duty research on anything we can obtain.

I'm not flaming anyone or any denomination, just passing along our personal experiences after a lot of "field" research and attendance. I also will not flame any JW for their attendance. Over time, the Society wasn't for me, and I stepped aside to let those it *was* for move along without me causing a negative effect on their day.

To each their own. As we continue to search.

Thanks to all for their replies, and we wish all of you the best.

17

Looking For A New Church

by lehighjoe in

jw
friends

being raised as a jw is a double edged sword.

on one hand, you get a phenominal boot-camp education on the bible, what it means, how to use it in your life (even long after leaving the society).

on the other hand, it makes looking for a new home-church a bit of a challenge.

lehighjoe

Being raised as a JW is a double edged sword. On one hand, you get a phenominal boot-camp education on the Bible, what it means, how to use it in your life (even long after leaving the Society). On the other hand, it makes looking for a new home-church a bit of a challenge. We're having a very difficult time finding a non-Trinitarian church to associate with. It seems that all denominations that were non-Trinitarian have since co-opted into other denom's that are. We've even relaxed out stand on the "cross", and have investigated a few churches that seem to use it more as an identifier than a sacred icon. (We have found NONE that didn't display it in some way.) We've even considered those that pass the plate" and the memorial emblems once or twice each meeting. From all the churches we've visited in the last few years, they all seem to have the same playbook, which is nothing more than a revised playbook from Catholicism and theological derivations. Believe it or not, only the LDS represents a non-Trinitarian alternative to JW's in our area, and they're not an option. Any thoughts on this subject? Thanks in advance.

19

Public Speaking

by lonelysheep in

jw
friends

how do you get over the jitters to talk in front of people??

i have a speech class and make my first one tomorrow.

i'm f'ing petrified, despite everything we've talked about in class.

lehighjoe

It is all in the breathing. Before you go up, deep breathe for a minute or so beforehand. You'll likely get a little light headed, but do slow and deliberate breathing exercises. Your heatbeat will be maxed out, but keep the breathing deep and deliberate. Most people breathe shallow when nervous, and you run out of oxygen... and then start gasping like a landed fish. Deep regular breathing also encourages your body to relax. When you're up... make eye contact and SMILE. TAKE the attention of the people you are speaking to. Don't think you're up there by permission. Be there by demand. If you get loopy, focus on the back wall for a second, then back to eye contact. Make those people think you are speaking one-on-one to them... which, you are doing. If you get lost with your notes - no worries! Take a second, pause, and catch up. Then power in to your next thought. Jitters and nervousness are normal. Acept that, don't try to fight it. Work WITH your body, and make those jitters become the strength you pull from to FOCUS on what you're doing. Those four minutes will pass in four seconds, and you will have a blast. And breathe. Breathe. Breathe. A little rehearsal will help, too, but not so much you end up blowing through your notes like memorized rote. Best wishes.