garybuss

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Posts by garybuss

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  43

  Reasons for change in meetings and book study

  by JWRESEARCH in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there were already a few topics and posts about the motifs behind the changes, but i think we can unite them all in just one topic.. for a start i will say thar the letter that is going to be read next weekend, says that gb wants to reduce the burden (quotes acts 15:28), and adds that in many countries the gas (petroleum) is at a very high cost for some families.

  then it makes a suggestion to use the same day for study at home with family.. of course that the text of hebrew 10:25 is not quoted!

  - if we are more close to the end it should be taken the opposite measure!.

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  garybuss

  You wrote: "Garybuss ... Do you remember when they discontinued this practice?"
  
  No I don't. I mostly quit book study night when I was 18 and started working in a bakery. I had to get up at 3am. Yawn, scratch . . . fart . . .
  
  
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  43

  Reasons for change in meetings and book study

  by JWRESEARCH in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there were already a few topics and posts about the motifs behind the changes, but i think we can unite them all in just one topic.. for a start i will say thar the letter that is going to be read next weekend, says that gb wants to reduce the burden (quotes acts 15:28), and adds that in many countries the gas (petroleum) is at a very high cost for some families.

  then it makes a suggestion to use the same day for study at home with family.. of course that the text of hebrew 10:25 is not quoted!

  - if we are more close to the end it should be taken the opposite measure!.

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  garybuss

  You wrote: "Great description of the history of the real estate development and publishing cult. But one detail you missed. There was a large board at all KHs with all our production statistics and each month the congregation would review magazine and book sales and compare these statistics to the benchmarks established by the society. If we were behind in production the numbers would be in red."
  
  Good save! I almost blew it! Our company had two swing out boards. One for the west unit and one for the east unit. Those were years of objective growth. They sort of had something to brag about. The statistics weren't religious statistics though, there were a sales company's distribution record.
  
  We did actual cash sales. No giving books away! We bought the books and magazines at a discount at the literature counter at the government hall, went out in the cold and sold em and pocketed the two cent spread on the magazines. The sales price was printed right on the magazine cover.
  
  We did our best to hide who were selling for at the doors. We'd lay the Awake! magazine over the Watchtower, we'd tell the homeowner's we were Bible Students, we'd tell them the Jehovah's Witness literature was non-denominational. All deceptive!
  
  We were under-qualified people representing an unpopular group, delivering an unreliable message, to unappreciative people in a deceptive way.
  
  All that work, all those sales meetings, all that paper wasted and nothing of value was accomplished, nothing at all.
  
  
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  7

  The preaching work has been accomplished! The Watchtower Society is now a..

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  construction company!.

  please pardon the wild speculation.

  i'm just thinking about the money.

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  garybuss

  The Society always was a construction oriented company. Their ideal project is rebuilding the whole planet infrastructure after Armageddon destroys the current real estate improvements. This is a remodeling company with VISION!
  
  I guess it would be a long term solution to unemployment.
  
  Hic . . .
  
  
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  43

  Reasons for change in meetings and book study

  by JWRESEARCH in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there were already a few topics and posts about the motifs behind the changes, but i think we can unite them all in just one topic.. for a start i will say thar the letter that is going to be read next weekend, says that gb wants to reduce the burden (quotes acts 15:28), and adds that in many countries the gas (petroleum) is at a very high cost for some families.

  then it makes a suggestion to use the same day for study at home with family.. of course that the text of hebrew 10:25 is not quoted!

  - if we are more close to the end it should be taken the opposite measure!.

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  garybuss

  The book study home locations here in my corner of the United States were called "service centers". All service was done out of that location. Tuesday evening we met at 6:30, did door to door literature sales until 7:45, then we had the book study at 8pm. Wednesday evening we met at the "service center" for back call night and we did back calls for 2 hours.
  
  Thursday evening we arrived at the hall at 6:45, the meeting started at 7:30 and usually ended at 10:00pm. Saturday morning we met back at the "service center" at 9:00 am and did door to door magazine sales until noon. Summers we went out all day a lot.
  
  Sunday morning in the summer we met again at the "service center" and spent all day in door to door direct sales with the literature "special" for the month, usually a hard bound book and three booklets for a quarter. Sunday evening we were back at the Hall for the talk, smoke break, and then the Watchtower magazine study. That meeting also went till 10:00 pm.
  
  We never met at the Hall for service unless the traveling sales manager was visiting, then it was only Saturday mornings. The sales manager was called circuit servant, and would visit one "service center" and go in the sales work with the sales people assigned to that group.
  
  The "service center" locations were selected pragmatically. They were put in the homes of members with "weak" sales reports because it put pressure on them to go with the group that met in their homes 4 times a week. That tactic worked pretty well. We even had "service center" locations in homes where nobody in the whole host family were baptized Witnesses. That wasn't at all uncommon here.
  
  Kingdom Hall meetings were to pick up new supplies of literature to sell and to learn about the new literature offered for sale and to learn sales pitches and sales tactics like objection defeat. We always offered the literature as non-denominational.
  
  All through the 50's we expected Armageddon any day.
  
  Being a Witness just sucked!
  
  
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  26

  What if they are about to "close the ark door"?

  by Mickey mouse in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we know the book study is about to be cut.

  i am reading talk here of the preaching work being declared "over" and possible changes in disfellowshipping policy.. we know the wbts is running low on funds.

  they don't make money from the literature and the new recruits are going straight back out of the revolving door.

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  garybuss

  The Witness group tried a closed door teaching same as their sister group, the SDA's. Remember the doors to heaven closed in 1935? How'd that work out for em?
  
  
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  23

  Wild Speculations About Future Watchtower Changes

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here are some of my predictions.

  i would enjoy hearing yours.. 1. the new merged meeting will eventually be shortened, perhaps to an hour and a half.. 2. more changes about the generation and 1914. they will talk about 1914 less and possibly drop it or change it when people.

  stop paying much attention to it.

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  garybuss

  If the service centers are being eliminated I see some opportunities opening up.
  
  1) The Kingdom Halls here each become available a couple nights a week. That opens the possibility of a couple more congregations using the halls IF the Society chooses to keep limiting group sizes to the 100 range.
  
  2) I do think the allowed congregation sizes will maybe double. They can easily accommodate that idea since over half of the seating is unused regularly. If the group size increases they could go back to a second and third ministry school using the back rooms.
  
  3) They can now go to open attendance on Sunday meetings like the other churches do on the block.
  
  4) They have too many Kingdom Halls now. Here they could go back to one Kingdom Hall (maybe a slightly larger one than the present two). They could have a Saturday evening service and two Sunday Services open for pick and choose. The only assigned group would be the Service Meeting night.
  
  5) If they are moving away from micro, maybe they will move to macro. Maybe they'll combine several congregations into one larger group. It works for the majority of the other churches in town. If they did that, there would be a whole new sale and building program. Sale of existing Halls and building new, larger ones. It's an industry they are familiar with.
  
  
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  1

  Boxing with elders

  by kzjw in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's my latest offering in my on-going spiritual debate with the good elder of my wife's congo...he challenged me with some basic "truths"...my response is hilighted.

  here is my challenge to you.

  using only your bible, see if you agree with these basic truths taught by jehovahs witnesses.

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  garybuss

  Witnesses establish by speculation and assumption that ideas which seem to be framed and plausable by parable and pattern are fact.
  
  Rationalize one exclusively Jehovaz Witness teaching without assuming there is merit in the hypotheses of the typical (contextual) and the anti typical (modern day fulfillment). It can't be done.
  
  Witnesses' definition of faith is the acceptance of incredible assumptions. Faith of the mystic doesn't need assumption or rationalizing, and it certainly doesn't need defense or explanation. Only the faith of the skeptic needs defence.
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  51

  Meeting schedule rearranged...WHY?

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  official speculation thread.... even if a reason is given for the meeting rearrangement when it is announced on 4/27, we all know how the society spins things (e.g., awake magazine being reduced to one issue per month to "put more emphasis on the bible" real reason.. .

  so why is the society doing this?

  on the surface, it seems to be a loosening of control.

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  garybuss

  One obvious reason for eliminating the "book" study is a lack of "books" to study. The reason for a lack of books to study is the lack of something to write about in any new books. Wild end time speculation with time running dates due to expire (again) seems to be not in the present business plan.
  
  The only book they haven't studied is the Bible and they shut down the meeting before they'd study that one.
  
  You know why they can't study the Bible? No questions at the bottom of the page.
  
  
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  135

  CONFIRMED Book Study amalgamated with the TMS and SM

  by yesidid in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  old timers on the board may remember that i was the first to mention the november 06 blood insert in the km.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/121104/1.ashx.

  the same very, very reliable source has confirmed that the book study will be amalgamated with the tms and sm.. this same source recently had a long and private conversation with a gb member.

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  garybuss

  The book study had poor attendance and it was cancelled.
  
  What's the message in this? :-)
  
  Say goodbye to service meeting . . .
  
  Yawn~~~
  
  
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  140

  huge announcement after the Watchtower study on the 27 of April?

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there will be a huge announcement after the watchtower study on the 27 of april.. for what it's worth, this was just sent to me anonymously.. randy.

  www.freeminds.org.

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  garybuss

  Cool thread! Very clever! Witnesses will still be able to say: "No change! (sniff, scratch, stretch, fart) We still have 5 meetings a week."
  
  Hahahaha! Bookstudy ended for me 34 years ago. Ask me if I'm happy:-)