Thanks RayPublisher. Actually I was never angry about it. It was an eye opener. That's when I realized I had been serving the Society rather than God. My congregation had a serious shortage of brothers. The elders were in their 70's with health problems making it difficult for them to get onto the stage. As a MS I conducted the Theocratic ministry school, gave public talks including the special talk. On Thursday I'd conduct the school, have a service mtg part, be in a demonstration, cover the sound board during the other parts so that brother could come up and do his mtg part, do territories and accounts and help with literature. On Sundays if I didn't have the public talk I'd be on the sound board, then I'd be the WT reader. On Tues I'd conduct a book study. And sometimes I'd carry mikes, working both aisles. So deleting me as a MS hurt the elders more than it hurt me. I realized they were puppets. When they wanted to start giving me "privileges" again I was already starting to leave, mentally. from that point on I was just sorting things out in my mind and started lurking on this board.
snakeface
JoinedPosts by snakeface
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27
Anyone With Major Judicial/Service Department Experience?
by A question inis there anyone on the board with a large amount of experience with judicial matters or (preferably) with the service department of the society or perhaps even worked on the service department?
if so, i would appreciate the answers to at least some of the following questions:.
does the society ever take the initiative to remove elders, and if so, how do they do it?
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Is it okay for MS to have a goatee?
by Iamallcool inwell, on his facebook profile pic he had a goatee on him.
it looks like it is very recent and he gave the public talk very recently, after his talk, his congregation invited him for a dinner at someones house.
i see a pic of him, but he is all clean shaven.
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snakeface
It depends on where he is located. Here in the US a brother cannot have "privileges" or offer public prayer if he has a beard, goatee, or long sideburns. (a moustache is allowed) I had a MS friend in Canada who had a full beard and he was giving public talks.
As for the individual you are referring to, he could have grown the goatee while on vacation, then shaved it off when he returned. I've done that myself. Some men - including myself - can grow a full beard in less than a week. If we shave in the morning before work we have to shave again after work before going to a meeting.
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Anyone With Major Judicial/Service Department Experience?
by A question inis there anyone on the board with a large amount of experience with judicial matters or (preferably) with the service department of the society or perhaps even worked on the service department?
if so, i would appreciate the answers to at least some of the following questions:.
does the society ever take the initiative to remove elders, and if so, how do they do it?
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snakeface
And in my case there was not even a committee of any kind. It was just the PO and the service overseer who told me they received the letter from the Society.
I guess there were things going on that I was not even aware of. Maybe the elder friend had gotten removed too. I don't know and of course I don't care now. If he was a friend he would have at least returned my call. I at least was mature enough to tell people (friends in other congregations) that I was no longer a MS "because it was felt I was no longer meeting the requirements..."
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Anyone With Major Judicial/Service Department Experience?
by A question inis there anyone on the board with a large amount of experience with judicial matters or (preferably) with the service department of the society or perhaps even worked on the service department?
if so, i would appreciate the answers to at least some of the following questions:.
does the society ever take the initiative to remove elders, and if so, how do they do it?
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snakeface
Mad Sweeny, at the time this all came down, I called the elder friend but did not mention it. I called just to schedule a visit. He told me to come on a specific Sunday as he was giving the public talk, and we'd all go out to eat afterward. When I showed up, the people there said he had a talk scheduled out that day. I had already driven over 2 hours to get there, so I stayed for the meeting. Of course everyone knew me as a regular visitor and friend of this elder, so they invited me to go out to lunch with them, a group of about 12 people. At the restaurant I exchanged phone numbers and email addresses with some of them. A few days later I emailed one or two and found out they had blocked me. One, an elder's wife, replied something like, "I have no idea who you are and do not know how you got hold of my email address.." I called the elder friend, left a message saying "sorry I missed you, call me so we can get together again.." but he didn't return my call.
A few months later I was told by reliable sources that the CO had stopped serving as a CO and was now in a local congregation. Meanwhile my elders started asking me to do the microphones and sound system. I told them they should do it themselves; I did it before and look at the thanks I got from the Society. And while we're at it let someone else put in 26 hours a month in the field ministry. Maybe one of them? Then I quit going to meetings. NO ONE ever called or came by the house. A year later I started attending a Hall two circuits away and had my publisher card sent there. All was well. Within a few months those elders started offering me privileges, asking me to conduct the field service mtg and so on. I simply just didn't show up anymore. And to this day NO ONE has called or stopped by the house.
I had figured out that the CO had me removed, and my elders had gotten chewed out for not preventing me from associating with this elder friend. But to cover their asses they probably said they had counseled me but I didn't listen to them. Why else would they report back to the Society that I showed repentance?
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Anyone With Major Judicial/Service Department Experience?
by A question inis there anyone on the board with a large amount of experience with judicial matters or (preferably) with the service department of the society or perhaps even worked on the service department?
if so, i would appreciate the answers to at least some of the following questions:.
does the society ever take the initiative to remove elders, and if so, how do they do it?
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snakeface
I know of a case where the PO was having an affair with a publisher's wife. Many of us did not know about it though. Suddenly we had 2 new brothers start attending our Hall - one from the congregation to the east of us, and one from the west of us. They were elders and immediately started giving meeting parts, conducting book studies, etc. They said they were asked to come and help us cover our territory, and left it at that.Within a couple of months the PO was df'd and 2 other elders were removed; all 3 of these moved away. A year or so later the two elders from the neighboring congregations went back to their own Halls.
Here's an example of a MS being removed by the Society: Me. When I was a "prominent" MS, I befriended an elder in another part of the state who also served as a substitute CO at times. This elder invited me to share in various aspects of the ministry with him in his area whenever I visited him. My own elders had mixed feelings about it, and said basically, "Well...as long as it doesn't take time away from your responsibilities here...we need you here.." but they never specifically told me NOT to. (I have to point out that at this time I was single, giving public talks and doing many things in the circuit, working 50 hours a week, and putting in about 26 hours a month in the ministry and sometimes aux pioneering.) Some time later I found out that this elder friend and my current CO had been at odds with each for a some time. Each one would talk bad about the other to me and each told me not to listen to the other. Eventually the CO told me specifically to "tell [elder and his wife] goodbye'" and that Jehovah assigned me to serve in my own territory. I continued anyway, visiting this elder friend and his wife and going in the ministry with them. My elders were aware of this. Then the CO's two years were up and he moved on. Afterward my elders told me they received a letter from the Society instructing them to remove me as a MS immediately. I did not lose any other privileges; I could still comment at meetings, be in the ministry school and so on. The elders told me they did not want to do this but since it came from the Society they had to, and that they would inform the Society that I showed repentance. "whatever"
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Church vs Kingdom Hall
by snakeface insome of you have previously posted your experiences of going to other religions' places of worship.
i'd like to post mine, primarily because i think it would be helpful to any newcomers here who are still in the organization.. i no longer believe god to be an actual person or being.
i am not looking to be taught or led or shepherded.
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snakeface
Well this particular denomination does not have any set of doctrines; you can believe whatever you wish. Like myself, the pastor does not perceive God as being an actual person or being. Therefore she does not believe the Bible is "inspired". But some people there do believe in God, the Bible, some may believe in the trinity, soul, hellfire etc. and still belong to some other religion.
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Not dated in a while - could use some tips, advice lol
by callitquits76 ini guess the title says it all, but i'll expand.. recently met this beautiful girl who through another party expressed her interest in me which was quite flattering to be honest.
im a 27 year old guy and truth is that i have really struggled with this kind of stuff since leaving the dubs a few years back now.
i guess i still have their theories floating around in my head, you know, all the old rubbish about dating some of which goes back to that youth book.. we spoke today for the first time properly and i think it's game on.
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snakeface
Keep in mind that not all "worldlings" jump into bed on the first date. So don't feel like it's expected. Just be yourself. Be honest. Follow the "golden rule"; treat her with the same kindness, honesty, and respect you would like from her. As others have said, do some fun things together such as a concert, restaurant, theme park, etc. Just be yourself and let nature take its course.
If you're not experienced sexually do try to learn a little about such things as condoms, oral sex and so forth. Some websites such as Wikipedia and perhaps some medical sites may be helpful.
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Is Being In A "Relationship" Important To You?
by minimus ini am referring to a personal/sexual relationship with someone, perhaps, that you could possibly love.. i know a lot of people who are very content to date, possibly have sex and look for another partner..
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snakeface
No. I actually do better in life when I'm NOT in a relationship. I get tired of having to drag that extra weight around.
I think it depends on if you're introverted or extroverted. An introvert (myself) receives his motivations and inspirations from within, whereas an extrovert receives these from outside sources.
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Church vs Kingdom Hall
by snakeface insome of you have previously posted your experiences of going to other religions' places of worship.
i'd like to post mine, primarily because i think it would be helpful to any newcomers here who are still in the organization.. i no longer believe god to be an actual person or being.
i am not looking to be taught or led or shepherded.
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snakeface
mrsjones that sure looks like a lively and energetic church! It must be FUN to be there. And I bet the time goes by quickly....as opposed to those torturous Kingdom Hall sessions which feel like hours and hours and hours.....
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"Who else are we to go away to?"
by simon17 into the intellectually honest witness, it seems like it often comes down to this principle.
"fine, if the witnesses aren't the truth, then show me the better answer and i'll consider it.
" and how do you deal with that?
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snakeface
Quoting (or misquoting) that scripture implies that there is nowhere else to go. That is a lie. It is not a matter of "who else are we to go away to?" but rather a matter of "who we need to get away from".