traveb

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Posts by traveb

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  17

  Big elders meetings?

  by road to nowhere in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i hear of whole circuit meetings being held, taking all day.

  maybe just usual yearly stuff, but it seems the local elders immediately held a followup.

  i am sure it will be about better local control, more charity, kindness, that sort of thing.

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  traveb

  At least 17 congregations in the greater San Jose, CA area dissolved!

  I would love to hear more details about this since I'm originally from that area!
  
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  48

  Are You Still “Technically “ A Jehovah’s Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if we haven’t associated with the congregation in years, could it be said we are not jws?

  or must you be disfellowshipped or disassociated to officially say you really aren’t a witness?.

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  traveb

  Regarding publisher cards, my understanding is that if you become inactive, your publisher card remains with the last congregation you were associated with indefinitely, at least in the United States. You are still technically "on the books", but are no longer counted as a publisher (active member). Depending on how zealous the local elder body is, they may try to contact inactive ones occasionally, especially when the Circuit Overseer comes around and bugs them about it.

  Other countries might have different rules on keeping files like this, but I wouldn't be able to comment on that.
  
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  48

  Are You Still “Technically “ A Jehovah’s Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if we haven’t associated with the congregation in years, could it be said we are not jws?

  or must you be disfellowshipped or disassociated to officially say you really aren’t a witness?.

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  traveb

  It seems to me there is a lot of confusion and wrong info on this topic.

  The membership count given (around 8.5 million) does not include inactive members, only ones who are regularly submitting field service reports. These ones are called publishers, and you do not have to be baptized to be considered a publisher.

  If you do not submit any field service reports for a consecutive six months, you are considered "inactive", and thus no longer a publisher. You would not be counted in their membership total.
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  19

  12 june 2018 what to say

  by LostAdam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi eveyone, my sis told me something like where will i be after that day.

  i couldnt realize at first what she meant, but i found this on net donald-trump-kim-jong-un-meeting-singapore-june-12/.

  i found her reaction so pathetic, but i think she is really sorry for me leaving.. so how to do you reply to jw family or generally when news about world peace comes out?.

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  traveb

  I think we all know who the true King of the North is..

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs4XR4fbY8U
  
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  2

  The Big Sick - movie discussion

  by traveb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i watched this movie recently, which is about a pakistani immigrant living in chicago who falls in love with a white woman.

  i was struck by the similarities to the jw culture when the main character experiences trials with his traditional muslim family.

  essentially, he is shunned and his parents refuse to talk to him.

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  traveb

  I watched this movie recently, which is about a Pakistani immigrant living in Chicago who falls in love with a white woman. I was struck by the similarities to the JW culture when the main character experiences trials with his traditional Muslim family. Essentially, he is shunned and his parents refuse to talk to him. It might make for an interesting conversation with a JW, and possibly assist them to start questioning their own faith. You never know what small things can trigger a person to start thinking!
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsmP1h809F4

  Overall, it was an entertaining movie and I highly recommend it. It's available to stream for free on Amazon Prime (in the U.S anyway).
  
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  23

  Warwick Protest 11-5-2017 - Who's all going?

  by Acluetofindtheuser in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64xhcoowr6y.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhuvmvbjk-q.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bejhmfrzl0.

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  traveb

  A huge waste of time.
  
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  39

  JWs Among the Least Educated in the US

  by jp1692 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  september 6th, 2017: a just released research survey shows once again that jehovah's witnesses are among the least educated people in the united states: .

  america’s changing religious identity.

  it is also interesting to note how jws rank in the categories of: income, insurance coverage and homeownership.

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  traveb

  Of course, everyone has different experiences and anecdotal evidence based on what they've experienced and where they life. Living in Silicon Valley, I can attest to the fact that many JWs here have 4-year college degrees, but not many have post graduate degrees (at least the people that I know). Of course, the majority are just high school graduates, and that number is most likely a much higher percentage than the general population in this particular area.
  

  It's very helpful looking at these independent surveys, which give an impartial and broad snapshot in time.

  One thing I noticed is that the education attainment of JWs closely mirrors that of two other groups: Hispanic Catholics and Hispanic Protestants. Historically, JWs have been more effective at converting Hispanics, and it's been observed that Hispanics make up a huge percentage of the JWs, even more so that the general population. Assuming that's the case, it seems that in addition to doctrinal teachings, there may also be cultural reasons for the overall low educational attainment of American JWs.

  As future generations of Hispanics further assimilate and intermarry, this may change.
  
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  3

  Large suburb in California goes from 7 English congregations to 2

  by traveb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i recently caught up with an old friend who lives in fremont, ca (yes, the same fremont where candace conti is from).

  it’s a good-sized suburb of san jose, with around a population of 230,000. i lived there for a few years during the 90’s, and at the time there were 7 english jw congregations with the following names:.

  north, central, south, niles, warm springs, mission hills, and irvington.

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  traveb

  I recently caught up with an old friend who lives in Fremont, CA (yes, the same Fremont where Candace Conti is from). It’s a good-sized suburb of San Jose, with around a population of 230,000. I lived there for a few years during the 90’s, and at the time there were 7 English JW congregations with the following names:

  North, Central, South, Niles, Warm Springs, Mission Hills, and Irvington

  My friend told me what had been going on recently. Apparently, during the past 10 or 15 years, three of those congregations had been dissolved, leaving just the North, South, Niles, and Mission Hills congregations. Then just this past week, the congregations were informed that Niles and Mission Hills were being consolidated into North and South, leaving just two congregations!

  There are a few reasons for this that I can see. First, housing in the Bay Area is ridiculously expensive. When most of your members are not highly educated and working low-level jobs, it’s definitely going to have an effect. It seems to me that many of the JWs left in the area are older and more established, having owned their homes for a long time. Once they die off or sell and move away, there are fewer and fewer younger ones taking their place.

  In addition, the makeup of area, and Fremont in particular, has changed a lot. Checking on Wikipedia, the city is now over 50% Asian. I don’t know if the JW message has the same appeal to this demographic, or if there is an equivalent growth in foreign language congregations to compensate for the reduction in English ones. Something to consider in any case.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont,_California#Demographics

  This trend isn’t unique to Fremont. According to my friend, this consolidation process is happening all over the Bay Area, but they didn’t have any specifics. Anyone else have any experiences to share regarding the JW congregation consolidation program?
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  25

  It's right there in our faces, how could we NOT see it?

  by NikL in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i know there have been many many posts on here over the years on the deity of jesus.. i am submitting this one because i am feeling a little confused.. the thing is, i am not the sharpest knife in the drawer and i know this.

  so when i am going through my bible reading (to all you haters, yes i still do it) i see so many scriptures that just fly in the face of everything the jws teach about jesus.. i begin to wonder if indeed i am diseased in the mind ,as they will try to paint me, because it seems so plain to me.. i never even gave it a though growing up as to if jesus and god were equal.

  i just didn't.. now when i read scriptures like philippians 9.... 9 for this very reason, god exalted him to a superior position+ and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name,+ 10 so that in the name of jesus every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground+— 11 and every tongue should openly acknowledge that jesus christ is lord+ to the glory of god the father.. .

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  traveb

  For an interesting and extensively researched book about the historical Jesus, I highly recommend reading Zealot, by Reza Aslan. Besides the life of Jesus, the author delves into the disagreements between his early followers right after his death, primarily between James (Jesus' brother) and Paul. He makes the argument that it was Paul who turned Jesus into a divine figure.

  https://www.amazon.com/ZEALOT-Life-Times-Jesus-Nazareth/dp/140006922X

  It's a fun read.
  
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  26

  Observations from an Ex-Elder Part 1

  by doubtfull1799 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was thinking about the fog model this morning, particularly about the "obligation" part.

  my mind went back to the last elders school i went to.

  one of the parts in the section on appointments was discussing how we should not place too high a bar (human standards) for brothers to try and jump over when we are considering them for appointment as a ministerial servant.

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  traveb

  A few years ago I called this mentality out to an elder who was "counseling" me on my hours. Apparently, I had been yanked off the stage setup crew because my hours weren't up to snuff.

  I asked him, "How many hours am I supposed to be putting in?". He replied, "We like to see the brothers reach the national average, which is around 10 a month." I then said, "So there's a monthly quota of 10?"

  You should have seen his face! He almost look embarrassed, as his eyes darted around. He stammered something that I don't quite remember, and then I repeated the word quota to him. "Ah ok, I got it. I need to hit that quota every month!".

  It's funny, the power of a single word. The WTS leadership does everything in its power to resist using that word, but it's totally appropriate. It's powerful because the word quota carries the idea that the ministry is a sales job (which it is), where publishers "have to hit their numbers every month", instead of the ministry that publishers carry out in their local communities out of the goodness of their hearts (which is how the WTS likes to portray it).