Posts by freddo

22

A lot of "forbidden" talk is going on among witnesses

by nevaagain in

jw
friends

me and my wife are still "in".

we had the "talk" a couple of times, but shet is not ready to leave yet.

while a couple of years ago she started crying on the thought that i am an "apostate" and even gave me an ultimatum until she would rat me out to the elders (never happened), now i sense that she might is a little bit more open to the the thought to leave one day .... anyway, all out friends and family are still in the truth and whenever we are meeting with other witnesses topic #1 is always the recent changes to the meetings / conventions (reduced to one day) which always lead to the changes to the magazines and the recent lay offs of the special pioneers and bethelites.

freddo

I have had "very interesting conversations" in the last two months with two elders I used to serve with and one who is a relative in a different circuit. They are all in their 60's - about ten years older than me.

Elder 1. "We'll probably die before Armageddon" was one comment I got in response to my ""I don't know if I can follow this "overlapping generation" stuff ... ""

Elder 2. "Strange that they need all this money when there is all that property to sell off in Brooklyn and London and they've (he said "they" not "we") stopped building."

Elder 3. "My son got out of Bethel just before this cull (he actually said cull) began; he's so glad he did. He told me he was talking to one of his mates up there (London) who said that the atmosphere was awful."

I tell you - if you know one of them well enough to put a drink in their hands - they don't stop blabbing ...

In vino veritas!

2

Authoritarian vs Open To Experience

by scotoma in

jw
friends

follow the smell of the "service department".

that's where the power rests in the watchtower.. do a little research on wikipedia about the psychological traits.

opennes and conscientiousness (big five personality traits).

freddo

Jackson - if Jackson believes he is accountable to the almighty, how does he sleep at night after that ARC debacle?

Either he must believe that "following orders" (of the GB as a whole) gets him off the hook with Jah or he doesn't believe at all and is in it to retain his position and authority.

22

CO's never say thank you for the green handshakes

by suavojr in

jw
friends

ever noticed how co's and ex-do's never say thank you for the hard earned money they get from the friends?

they truly believe they are entitled to live an easy life at the expense of others.

this makes my blood boil!

freddo

Suavojr - there are many irritating, mind-blowing and downright cowardly things CO's have done over the decades. Occasionally they may not thank someone who has given them money.

Usually - probably mostly - they do.

Sweeping statements and over generalisations do not help.

13

The book of Ruth... destroys the bible

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

lets pretend two things:.

1. god (yhwh) exists.

2. the bible is his word.. now we follow genesis to judges ok... judges resets at chaper 17-21 but for the purposes od this posts lets ignore that.... ruth we are told lives in the time of the judges... ok no problem/ until the end.

freddo

Look folks Ruth to David is easy! Overlapping generations of course.

43

Counsel from Bro Losch (GB Member) to the Elders about the NFL

by James Jack in

while attending a week long training class for elders in patterson, bro losch gave the concluding talk about loyalty to the borg, which i was in awe of(i went more in detail in a recent post about a s.a.d.

where losch was the speaker).

at the end of his talk, here's what he said: .

freddo

How long ago was this event?

10

Who really is assigned the Congregation Charity Tax return in the congregation?

by Quarterback in

i have this poor friend that has so much to do.as an account servant.

i recently noticed that he got additional work loaded on his back by the secretary who told him that it was his responsibility to fill this register charity form return.. i remember from long ago that this was a job that the secretary had to do, but can't find it in writing.

does anyone have anything in writting on it?.

freddo

OK here's how it goes.

Each of the Service Committee has responsibility for things in "their" department.

Service Overseer oversees territory, mags and literature depts and usually has MS's and assistants helping out. Oversees "Trolley/Cart" ministry although the actual schedule will be done by a MS or another brother. Any of them might fill out forms but it is the responsibility of the S.O.

CoBE oversees Hall Servant and Sound Dept - now audio-visual (besides organising elders meetings, CO visit and most of the meeting schedules.

Secretary oversees Accounts (often done by another elder or a MS and he or the Sec can sort out charity tax reclaim forms), oversees (through group overseers) reports and sends "hours" to the branch. He looks after all the judicial records and child protection files and the policy (letters) file. Much of this is on line now anyway. Keeps minutes of elders meetings.

46

Bethel layoffs of oldies

by I am a Bible Student in

is this true?

has anyone heard of it?

saw it on my facebook.. "jan. 6 bethel update 108 elderly bethelites getting the boot.. brooklyn, ny.

freddo

@James Jack

Good point.

10

Who really is assigned the Congregation Charity Tax return in the congregation?

by Quarterback in

i have this poor friend that has so much to do.as an account servant.

i recently noticed that he got additional work loaded on his back by the secretary who told him that it was his responsibility to fill this register charity form return.. i remember from long ago that this was a job that the secretary had to do, but can't find it in writing.

does anyone have anything in writting on it?.

freddo

When I was Accounts Servant as an MS I did it. When I was Secretary I did it myself. But we had a "good" time when we had ten elders and one of them was Accounts Servant and he did it for me for a while.

It depends on workload and number of appointed (and semi-competent) men.

At the moment in our hall the Secretary works secularly and the Accounts Servant is a retired MS. The accounts servant does.

Final responsibility for all things financial is the Secretary. (Well whole BoE as trustees actually)

46

Bethel layoffs of oldies

by I am a Bible Student in

is this true?

has anyone heard of it?

saw it on my facebook.. "jan. 6 bethel update 108 elderly bethelites getting the boot.. brooklyn, ny.

freddo

In UK they are definitely laying off those in their late 30's through late 50's and some of whom have given 10, 20, 30 years of Bethel service. Absolute definite FACT.

I have been told at least four of them are moving to two struggling congregations in our circuit (these are Elder plus wife couples) in February.

Really old ones - 70 plus I have not heard of. I don't think I know of any in their 60's either.

37

Infighting at the top?

by JeffT in

jw
friends

we've all been trying to decipher what is going on at the top of the watchtower organization.

clearly, the game's afoot, we just don't know what game we're playing.

item: the constant harping about money and donations.

freddo

Fisherman is right. There is more. Mainly the "spiritual" legal team and the "spiritual" accountancy and investment team who exert a lot of influence upon the Governing Body.

I don't know but I believe what we are seeing is a panic reaction to several converging forces coming against the Governing Body's intended course. (GBTV - PropertyGB and ObeyusGB)

The "A"'s that are causing this problem for the GB:-

Abuse; advancing Apathy; awaiting Armageddon; = accounts anguish against angry Assholes.