Posts by xelder

27

Letter being read tonight?

by mjarka911 in

jw
friends

so my active jw wife is feeling under the weather tonight and told me she won't be attending the meeting, but she was on the fence becase they announced an important letter was being read tonight.

anyone heard anything?

maybe it's just a local thing, but i like to try and see what's coming around the corner.. .

District Convention's - Control Freaks

by xelder in

since for many years i served at many levels of convention administration for 5000-6000 attendance (small conventions), i think back and shake my head at the control freak policies.

do any of you remember?

when i used to attend 8 day conventions, (3 sessions a day 9:00-12:00 1:30-4:30 6:00-9:00) departments were huge to organize.

xelder

Put Conventions on a DVD - I'll tell them I watched it

I'll even send 5 bucks so I don't have to go to the spiritual feast

7

District Convention's - Control Freaks

by xelder in

since for many years i served at many levels of convention administration for 5000-6000 attendance (small conventions), i think back and shake my head at the control freak policies.

do any of you remember?

when i used to attend 8 day conventions, (3 sessions a day 9:00-12:00 1:30-4:30 6:00-9:00) departments were huge to organize.

Since for many years I served at many levels of Convention Administration for 5000-6000 attendance (small conventions), I think back and shake my head at the control freak policies. Do any of you remember? When I used to attend 8 day conventions, (3 sessions a day 9:00-12:00 1:30-4:30 6:00-9:00) departments were huge to organize. So following is the SIMPLIFIED version after conventions were reduced to finally 3 days

Food service - Remember islandizing? You had to stack everything on the serving counter EXACTLY like the diagram. And the bethel representative's were there to check you out. If your 15 year old wanted to help - NO WAY - 16 and up only!!

Rooming - Years ago, we actually used to go door to door and ask for rooms from the public. We would offer 2.00 a day. We used hotels mostly so they finally gave that up. Nowadays, -What a joke. The approved list, was 2 nice hotels and then a declining list of flea and roach traps. If your service meeting schedule is early in the week in January, you "supposedly" get to call first to book a room. - Ha ha ha - all gone JW's don't follow the rules, Hotels don't follow the arrangements, rooming overseers agree to supervise this circus because it gets them on THE CONVENTION COMMITTEE - and a platform part guaranteed. Motels comp about 1 room in 10 for groups, (the bus driver gets a free room) The society gets comp rooms too and make them available to CO, DO, Bethel heavies, and occasionally to a rank-n-file (FOR A "DONATION" - don't dare forget to donate- they will call you in to remind you- seriously) The worst part was JW's with special handicaps that needed special rooms and were willing to pay for them. They have to go through the rooming department brothers to make the special arrangements. Can you imagine year after year trusting some brother who doesn't know your condition to book the right room? People were much better at making there own arrangements.

Accounting - last time I ran this department it took 280 volunteers. This is to ensure ample personally supervised collection boxes, security, counters, the bookkeeper, etc. Why don't they just send a letter with a suggested per publisher $$ to each congregation 1-2 months before the convention (like they do for CO cars and insurance) At a circuit assembly, administration knows all income, expense, and donations. Not so at the big DC. The accounting department collects money, counts it ,drops it in WBTS bank account, done - no checks to write, no reports. Only Brooklyn knows the operation gain after expenses. Direct negotiations for all conventions in that city for the summer go through one brother. Many times a city donates the facility for free to attract all these out-of-towners. Rock bands use the facility, the crowd trashes it, and the band takes the ticket sale revenue from the local citizens and leaves town. JW's come from out of town and spend money in the city, so the city likes that of-course.

Attendants - Recruit 250 - 300 appointed brothers. Control thousands at the opening stampede. People line up hours before to run to the best seats. Caring for the elderly and handicapped was a huge (and important)issue. Policing the hallways for worldly stalkers hitting on young sisters. Helping control the rush for new releases after sessions were over. Big JOB

Convention field service. Let's go out in a strange town in 105 degree heat, with our little kids, get lost, knock on doors to inform householders how grand it is for them that we are having a convention in their town. Who's great idea was this?

Administration Committee members can ask for some re-imbursement from the society for postage-phone-etc. Most don't. However, the Bethel Convention department told us once that they received requests for phone reimbursements from one committee when 'they all lived within 45 minutes of each other and could have just had another meeting'. That's when I really understood how out of touch these people are. Elders need more meetings. Put down the phone, tell the family good-bye again, drive 45 minutes spending gas money, to save a phone call???? Then he said 'even though some of you don't turn in your expenses, are you really showing respect for Jehovah's dedicated funds?'

Ok - thats a few of mine - who else?

6

Guess what I found in an old file cabinet in the Garage

by xelder in

a bunch of blank congregation checks from when i filled in as the account servant many years ago.

and, i can copy the po's signature pretty well - lol .

if it wasn't illegal i would make out $1.00 checks to the salvation army, catholic church, homeless shelter (then they would be giving to charity - oh my) .

xelder

A bunch of blank congregation checks from when I filled in as the account servant many years ago. And, I can copy the PO's signature pretty well - LOL

If it wasn't illegal I would make out $1.00 checks to the salvation Army, Catholic Church, Homeless Shelter (then they would be giving to charity - oh my)

I could redeposit cash into the box at the cong so I know that I didn't really steal.

I would love to watch them scramble to figure it out

21

Recent Example of Molestation Policy

by xelder in

in the 80's a very righteous elder in our congregation was caught molesting his 2 stepdaughters.

he was df'd.

within 5 years he was 60 miles down the road serving as an elder in another congregation.

xelder

flipper -

just to clarify, he had no current allegations to go to the police with - or else that of course would be first step - we were worried about future ones. thanks for your excellent comments.

21

Recent Example of Molestation Policy

by xelder in

in the 80's a very righteous elder in our congregation was caught molesting his 2 stepdaughters.

he was df'd.

within 5 years he was 60 miles down the road serving as an elder in another congregation.

xelder

In the 80's a very righteous elder in our congregation was caught molesting his 2 stepdaughters. He was DF'd. Within 5 years he was 60 miles down the road serving as an elder in another congregation. (His wife stayed with him) Later he was removed again and now he doesn't serve as an elder. Since then the WTS has made a few (but not enough) improvements in policy. But the legal system in the 80's was behind as well. (There wasn't Megan's law, etc.)

Very recently, we had an older convicted child molester, recently out of prison, attending our congregation. He was not baptized, but his wife was. (Yes, she stayed with him). A sister found out who he was because of seeing it on the "evil" internet. It turns out that the molestation had ocurred to a young girl in another congregation. We needed some information so our elder body had 2 elders call the WTS and the brother at Brooklyn was quite impatient with them and said, 'all you need to know is in letters we've already sent to you, go look in your file'. We disagreed because this was regarding a NON-WITNESS attending our meetings with his JW wife. We wanted to know what warnings we could give our congregation. We wanted to know how many times this had ocurred. What was the extent? Did he fondle her chest or rape her? Can we write to the last congregation for details? So we sent a written request of these issues to WTS.

Answer back was: Give a general talk if you want but no names. Do not mention named molester to anyone. If you see a need, make a shepherding call on a family to give a non-specific warning. Protect Ecclesiastical priviledge. Elders, moniter this individual, follow him into the bathroom - etc. I told the elder body that I would tell at risk families details because this was too important. If that's a problem, I shouldn't serve as an Elder. I told the CO and he said, "I think the legal department makes too many decisions anymore"

I know of elders who take turns with the other elders in there congregation to follow a molester at the assembly. If he sits in the cafeteria, so does the elder and his family. The Elders family has no idea why they have to sit in the cafeteria since all is confidential. But the molester is protected so that he has opportunity to turn around ?????

On the other hand. I've seen an issue when a couple is getting divorced and the wife accuses the husband of molesting a daughter. The daughter has no memory of it. Is it repressed? Is the divorce because of abuse? Or is the abuse accusation because of the divorce. The man is immediately not qualified for congregation priviledges. Given, maybe he's not being a good family head, what if he's innocent of molestation?

What if a 19 year old gets in trouble with his 17 year old girlfriend? Should the congregation view him forever as a molester?

8

Do Most Pioneers really Get there time quota?

by xelder in

do most pioneers really get there time quota?

over many years, i've known only a handful who were conscientious and actually seemed to work hard and efficiently.. i have long thought that counting time was really stupid.

all on us would kill time inefficiently, but for many years as i served on the service committee, we would review the pioneers activity twice a year.

xelder

Oh yeah - plus

Many times the unemployed were encouraged to not look for too hard work. Just pioneer until God provides.

8

Do Most Pioneers really Get there time quota?

by xelder in

do most pioneers really get there time quota?

over many years, i've known only a handful who were conscientious and actually seemed to work hard and efficiently.. i have long thought that counting time was really stupid.

all on us would kill time inefficiently, but for many years as i served on the service committee, we would review the pioneers activity twice a year.

xelder

we would have special campaign months every spring around the memorial of Christ's death and get 20 - 30 extra people to pioneer for a month. Then we never could come close to giving them enough territory, so they had to kill time. I'm sure Jesus is very impressed by the awesome little paper reports that he personally reads every month.

8

Do Most Pioneers really Get there time quota?

by xelder in

do most pioneers really get there time quota?

over many years, i've known only a handful who were conscientious and actually seemed to work hard and efficiently.. i have long thought that counting time was really stupid.

all on us would kill time inefficiently, but for many years as i served on the service committee, we would review the pioneers activity twice a year.

xelder

Do Most Pioneers really Get there time quota?

Over many years, I've known only a handful who were conscientious and actually seemed to work hard and efficiently.

I have long thought that counting time was really stupid. All on us would kill time inefficiently, but for many years as I served on the service committee, we would review the pioneers activity twice a year. I would say only 20% actually made their time by the end of the year.

And much of that time was fake. If the way they worked was at a secular job, they would be fired. Early morning laundry mats, in rural territory, driving as far and slow as possible between making calls on houses, crossing the county, and then driving all the way back to where they started, then coffee break, then a garage sale, then pick up a prescription, then work a couple houses, etc.

I didn't care how they counted time, it was all about the pioneer title for many. I wouldn't recommend a person to begin or continue pioneering if they couldn't get their time (even if it was fake - but that was on them). But the CO's would always want to keep low hour pioneers and put on new pioneers who had been low hour publishers because it made there circuit look better.

24

Jesus' Role as Mediator

by sd-7 in

i just had a thought--never a good sign, right, ladies?--about jesus' role as mediator, as defined by the watchtower society.

i personally experienced a particularly interesting moment with my mother back when i first started to lose faith in the borg.

(i'm actually going to use that term, borg, now because "organization" makes me cringe every time i hear it, even when it's used at work.

xelder

excelent logic. Thats a new way of looking at it for me