Posts by dontplaceliterature

44

The Phasing Out Of The Public Watchtower Magazine

by dontplaceliterature in

i've been thinking about this for a while now.

it seems to me that the wtbts is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of the watchtower.. here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:.

1. the monthly "start bible studies on the initial call service day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members.

dontplaceliterature

Yeah, but the Awake! is the least "weird" of the two, in my opinion.

44

The Phasing Out Of The Public Watchtower Magazine

by dontplaceliterature in

i've been thinking about this for a while now.

it seems to me that the wtbts is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of the watchtower.. here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:.

1. the monthly "start bible studies on the initial call service day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members.

dontplaceliterature

There is no question that $$$ is the real motivating factor here....

44

The Phasing Out Of The Public Watchtower Magazine

by dontplaceliterature in

i've been thinking about this for a while now.

it seems to me that the wtbts is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of the watchtower.. here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:.

1. the monthly "start bible studies on the initial call service day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members.

dontplaceliterature

The Watchtower brand is defintely associated with that "cultish" structure. People are afraid of/disgusted by that magazine, not drawn by it.

44

The Phasing Out Of The Public Watchtower Magazine

by dontplaceliterature in

i've been thinking about this for a while now.

it seems to me that the wtbts is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of the watchtower.. here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:.

1. the monthly "start bible studies on the initial call service day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members.

dontplaceliterature

@Terry....lol...I don't think so man....

44

The Phasing Out Of The Public Watchtower Magazine

by dontplaceliterature in

i've been thinking about this for a while now.

it seems to me that the wtbts is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of the watchtower.. here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:.

1. the monthly "start bible studies on the initial call service day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members.

dontplaceliterature

People do not become Jehovah's Witnesses by reading The Watchtower. The rhetoric from Circiut Overseers in our area for the last 5-6 years has been that of steering people away from using that magazine in the ministry, honestly.

One Circuit Overseer in particular told the publishers to stop being "Watchtower-Dropper-Offers" and to start focusing on Bible Studies instead of trying to build a good "Magazine Route."

What about the possibility of coming out with a series of 20 (or so) "Watchtowers" that replace the brochures? These will be on various topics, and will be one-time standard issues, that people will use for several years. So the name "Watchtower" is still there, but the endless printing/writing of the magazines comes to a stop...and, a publisher can only place so many of them with a Return Visit before they run out of options.

44

The Phasing Out Of The Public Watchtower Magazine

by dontplaceliterature in

i've been thinking about this for a while now.

it seems to me that the wtbts is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of the watchtower.. here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:.

1. the monthly "start bible studies on the initial call service day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members.

dontplaceliterature

@undercover,

I was thinking that those would be the reasons not to do it. But honestly, the Bible Teach book is pretty fluffy stuff, especially if the conductor spins it the right way. I think that the dominance of brand "The Watchtower" may be exactly the reason to get away from using the Public Edition of the journals. It repels people, rather than lure them, IMHO. I've frequently been asked in service "Are you with 'The Watchtower?''. If the Society recognizes that it's getting a bad wrap for not being "Christian" enough, dropping the peddling of the magazine alone would do wonders in improving the public perception of the organization.

It would be funny to see people start calling us "The Bible Teach" organization. But that will never happen.

44

The Phasing Out Of The Public Watchtower Magazine

by dontplaceliterature in

i've been thinking about this for a while now.

it seems to me that the wtbts is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of the watchtower.. here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:.

1. the monthly "start bible studies on the initial call service day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members.

dontplaceliterature

I've been thinking about this for a while now. It seems to me that the WTBTS is taking steps towards phasing out public editions of The Watchtower.

Here are a couple of points of evidence to see there is a real possibilty for a move in this direction:

1. The monthly "Start Bible Studies On The Initial Call Service Day" is evidence of a more direct drive to recruit new members. On this day, Publishers are actively discouraged from placing magazines.

2. Publishers no longer receive a personal subscription, or monthly allotment of the Watchtower and Awake!. Instead, there are general stacks of the monthly journals on the literature counter of the Kingdom Hall for members to use in the ministry. Whatever is not used, is to be returend to the counter at the end of the service day. This is a direct effort to reduce the amount of magazines being printed, and I know that I have been personally less likely to use them, if they are not available at home. So, indirectly, it may be a way to get the Publishers out of the habit of placing so many magazines monthly.

3. A couple years ago, we started using the Study Edition and the number Public Edition sets was reduced to one per month. It could be, in addition to other reasons, that this was developed to reduce the shock that may come to some when the Public Edition is no longer in print. So, it won't be as if there is "No more Watchtower!?", rather it would be viewed as "a loving provision from The Faithful Slave" to streamline the ministry and make service "easier."

I feel like this makes a lot of sense, logically. Here are some reasons:

1. Most people don't read their magazines anyway. I know this, because I frequently am assigned the parts on the meetings to review the magazines, and the same 2 - 4 individuals comment on every article discussed. So, really, they are out placing literature they've never even read. Hypocritical? Most definitely. But, we get so much crap thrown at us, it's pretty difficult to find time to read anything BUT the WTBTS publications, and if we're lucky, The Bible.

2. It would streamline the ministry. It's difficult for many to keep coming up with a new presentation for the magazines. I'm sure this discourages some from going in the ministry, as they feel like they are unprepared. If we only had one publication that we used in the Ministry, such as The Bible Teach Book, and were instructed to offer a Bible Study on the initial call every time, it would make service a lot less embarassing for some, and a lot less work.

3. It would save the WTBTS a ton of money in printing, and would scale back necessary man-power. If people aren't comfortable placing a book at each call, there is a healthy supply of tracts on various topics, as well as brochures. Tracts are a heck of a lot cheaper to print.

4. Really, the magazines are just a distraction from starting Bible Studies, or from having any meaningful Bible discussion with a householder. The majority of the members in the congregation are uncomfortable moving from Point A (Placing Magazines) to Point B (developing a PROGRESSIVE Bible Study).

Thoughts? I apologize if someone else has already suggested this, but I haven't seen it on this forum yet.

30

How many of your elders & servants are "Preachers Who Are Not Believers?"

by Franklin Massey in

many people in positions of teaching others the doctrine of their particular religion do not actually believe the doctrine themselves.

this is a fascinating article from daniel dennett and linda lascola.

i could relate to some of the expressions made.. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/non-believing-clergy.pdf.

dontplaceliterature

My service time has slipped in a huge way over the last 6 months. I have no desire to exaggerate my time on my monthly report to my Service Overseer. I find it funny that I have had single digit hours for the last 6 months, and probably only go out 1.5 Saturdays per month, and my group overseer has never mentioned it to me. I can see why he wouldn't bother this time of year if I were just a regular publisher, but I am Service Group Assistant! I do not set a 'good example' (per WTS avg), and rarely meet with the group. Part of me hopes I get approached about my low service time, so that I can express my lack of desire, and perhaps be "deleted" as a Ministerial Servant. I hate the title, and feel like I can make a positive impact on the congregation without it.

Field Service has become mostly a joke to me, and I wouldn't hesitiate to say it to any elder that probed me on the matter. They know it is true, and likely struggle to justify going out themselves.

Funny story:

I tried to go out last Saturday, mostly because of my wife. The weather sucked, and the roads were still covered in snow. We went anyway to my group overseer's house. None of the other members of the group showed up (SURPRISE!). He opened the door in jeans and a t-shirt, and said: "I really didn't think anyone would be out today." Now, he should have called everyone in the group to actually tell them that service was cancelled. But, the funny thing is, our support is so low, he really didn't need to.

I would say that my service activity is low more because I feel it is a waste of time than it is because I don't agree with some of the WTS teachings.

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