respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  20

  My First CLAM Meeting

  by The Searcher in

  1. social
  2. humour

  i carried out my monthly "cover" visit to the k.h.

  tonight.

  as previously discussed on this forum, the clam meeting is just a rehashed, recycled, reshuffled, & rebranded ministry school and service meeting.

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  respectful_observer

  I was in one congregation where no one was answering and the conductor threatened to call on people who didn't have their hands up....and he did. The attendance was lower the next meeting. Then someone clued him in that he was not succeeding.

  I would stand, in silence for what seemed an age after reading the set question . It was a battle of wills and eventually they won. I was replaced with an elder who would either answer it himself or read a scripture instead...

  Back when the Book Study still existed I was attending a rather large group held in the KH. Although there was typically 20-30 people there, the participation was awful. On one even-worse-than-usual night, the poor brother conducting was getting NO help. After having to drag comments out during the first few paragraphs, the next one was read and he asked the question. Zero hands went up. He calmly gazed at the audience and said: "No comments? Okay, let's just move on to the next paragraph then. Paragraph 5, Br. Reader." I just about died.

  
  
  
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  65

  How do I handle this situation?

  by BarelyThere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey everyone.

  i'm sorry that this isn't a very thought provoking post but i could really use some advice on how to handle this.

  there isn't anyone else in my life i can ask right now because, being dfed, all of my friends are "worldly" and don't know how witnesses function.

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  respectful_observer

  To the op, look, it seems like you were in a crappy marriage and wanted out. Who wants to stay miserable forever? I hope you can let go of what happened and move on.
  Ok, to comment on your question. If it were me, I'd switch halls, get reinstated, then print the emails, highlight the nasty things that were said, and have a mtg with them with copies for them and all the elders. Look them straight in their eyes and make them answer for it....

  What cognac said.
  

  First, you never know what other exchanges he may have connected to your email account between now and then. This could end up being one of just many.

  Second, running to the elders now would only make them thing you're just being vengeful.

  Similar to cognac, one option is to wait until you're reinstated, and when you notify them you're moving congregations, explain why, let them try to convince you not too, and then hand over printed copies to the elders, telling them you've also cc:d the C.O. Just let them all deal with it and never mention it, or dwell on it, again.
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  16

  Warwick -How much will it cost to build?

  by TakeOffTheCrown in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there are some good minds on this forum.

  how much will it cost, in your estimation, to build warwick?

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  respectful_observer

  To me the closest cost correlation is a university building project where they have both residential and office components, plus certain infrastructure needs (road access, parking garages, support facilities such as auto, physical plant, etc.).

  Any one element would typically run from the low millions (e.g., auto repair to parking garage $2-20 million) to mid-to-high millions (e.g., most larger scale housing runs $50 million+ these days and a mid-size office complex of this size would probably run in the $50-100 million range depending on complexity).
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  43

  when you went to an "assembly" did you wear a badge?

  by greenhornet in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it embarrassed me.

  when i was young my folks made me wear one and i opened it up and took the paper out making it look like it fell out.

  after my folks ask what happen i said i dont know.

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  respectful_observer

  We gave it up about 10 years ago. Only a few people (mostly family) have ever said anything. Our standard responses are:

  - "Do you know my name and what congregation I'm from?" (Yes) Then what's the issue?

  - "Does me not wearing one prevent you from asking my name and where I'm from?" (No) In fact it might encourage someone to ask.

  - "Are you not allowed in if you're not wearing one?" (No)

  - "My clothes are too expensive to be damaged by a cheap 5 cent badge holder" (They then usually cite an occasion when the pin damages their outfit.)

  By not wearing a badge at all it also circumvents the issue of me taking it off the moment I leave the convention and head to dinner. ("Oh no, Br./Sr. Self Righteous, I didn't take mine off, I just didn't have one on in the first place." If questioned further, use bullet points above.)
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  16

  Warwick -How much will it cost to build?

  by TakeOffTheCrown in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there are some good minds on this forum.

  how much will it cost, in your estimation, to build warwick?

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  respectful_observer

  Hard to estimate since they're using a mix of paid and donated labor. Plus, you should probably factor in the expense of housing, transporting, and feeding volunteers. If this was a 100% commercial project, I'd ball park it in the $300 million range. I'm guessing it's costing them about $200 million, all in.
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  49

  The wonderful things you hear AFTER you step down as an elder!

  by redpilltwice in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well, well, that was quite a heartfelt welcome on this site four days ago.

  thank you all for the encouraging replies.

  one of them was this one from magnum: "hey now, don't just pop your head in and disappear.

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  respectful_observer

  I'm sure he reads this board as well although for the sake of plausible deniability, neither of us have mentioned it.

  Pretty sure at least one good friend reads here as well; he's mentioned visiting JWFacts before. Any time we have an exchange about some crazy thing or another the Org has done/said, he follows it up with "we REALLY need to split a bottle of scotch and chat."
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  39

  To all JDub lurkers: How can you continue to preach knowing that you are telling lies?

  by macys in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this is a damn serious question.

  you must know by now that jerusalem was not destroyed in 607 bce and that 607 was initially picked by ct russell by using his "pyramid scheme" measurements.

  there is no hiding these facts yet you continue to preach this nonsense.

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  respectful_observer

  How can you continue to preach knowing that you are telling lies?

  Unless said lurker decides to just turn in a slip every month with fake hours.
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  32

  The disappointed look on a Jehovah's Witness face - that you're living a good and fulfilling life

  by jambon1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  another thread got me thinking of this issue.

  i don't think you'll ever come across a set of people with such a skewed and twisted outlook on life.. my memory serves me well when i recall a sort of blood lusting excitement over things like the 9/11 atrocities.

  in fact i remember jw's describing the event as 'sad but exciting.

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  respectful_observer

  That analysis seems pretty spot on from my view.

  My perspective is a bit different since we're still "in", but we miss a lot of meetings, mostly because we travel a lot -- for work, pleasure, and family. There are a couple of people in our congregation who ALWAYS start with "it's soooooo good to see you!" at just about every meeting we're at. It's written all over their faces that they want us to voice regret, or somehow skulk around in shame or apologize for not being there for 3 weeks. Instead we have big smiles and tell them how much fun the trip to [insert foreign country, opposite coast, etc.] was.

  We're still young(ish), educated, work hard enough to have nice things, and we're articulate and sociable. However, we've decided that it's not really worth it to waste our time on, or justify ourselves to, people with whom we share no similar interests or circumstances. We don't apologize, nor are we ashamed of how we spend our time, and the great opportunities and experiences we have in life.

  We are, by far, the least "spiritual" of our extended families. Yet, we seem to enjoy the greatest "blessings" out of everyone.

  Basically our life looks (and is) pretty awesome and you can see and feel the frustration/confusion on many of their faces as to why that is.
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  43

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

  by James Jack in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  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: .

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  respectful_observer

  An Elder sitting next to me from Alabama said: "that driver is in the wrong and needs to be counseled! I am going to write a letter to the Branch about this driver and his lack of respect toward members of the Governing Body"!

  Since he was from Alabama, he is likely a Crimson Tide fan, and therefore cannot understand why anyone would prefer the NFL to college football.
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  91

  Is the Watchtower organisation facing the biggest crisis of its history?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  recent developments make me think they might be.

  the problems they are facing are not just lack of funds but also draining authority, and the two could be a heady and explosive mix.

  one of the best analyses ever written of the watchtower was a book called "trumpet of prophecy" by sociologist james beckford in the 1970s.

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  respectful_observer

  While I feel that JWdom could survive, I think it is beginning to go into a downward spiral. I think that spiral could end with a smaller, weaker JWdom or maybe a shake-up in leadership and theology (what some might call a cleansing or reformation). I just don't think it can recover in that it can start really growing again and picking up steam as it did after its former problems or crises.

  I get the sense that the "downward spiral" will be more evident in the "quality" vs. quantity of JWs. Whatever growth the organization has will likely be from those less educated, and from the more economically challenged parts of the world. As a result, the mathematical growth on the Annual Report will really be a representation of true growth in areas just mentioned, but those growth figures will be eaten into by the attrition that results as more and more people with critical thinking skills fade into inactivity.