We moved, went to one meeting at the new hall (arrived right before the meeting, left quickly after), got the names and numbers of the Secretary and CoBE, sent those back to our old hall for a transfer of records and never went back. We got a few initial "we've missed you" phone calls from the two elders we met and one attempted visit to our home but otherwise, we've been left alone, are now officially inactive and enjoying the peace of mind.
Franklin Massey
JoinedPosts by Franklin Massey
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18
Question for Faders
by Daniel1555 inhi friends.
i have some questions for all who are fading.. .
do your friends in the old congregation know, that you maybe don't attend the meetings in the new congregation?.
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36
Get ready for phone calls from Elders either this week or when the next CO visit happens.
by EndofMysteries ini got a call the other day, it looks like the gb is telling everyone to contact all inactive ones, let them know they are missed, etc, and to do it within a week.
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Franklin Massey
@leaving_quietly Yep. That's exactly what happened for us. The CO told the security office that he was only in town for a week and really needed to talk to us.
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Get ready for phone calls from Elders either this week or when the next CO visit happens.
by EndofMysteries ini got a call the other day, it looks like the gb is telling everyone to contact all inactive ones, let them know they are missed, etc, and to do it within a week.
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Franklin Massey
We recently got our call/visit. We've moved and faded but the local elders know the community that we live in. We got a "We're in the neighborhood..." voicemail with a visit about 5 minutes later. It's a gated community but that didn't stop them from stopping by the main office and asking which house we lived in. Kind of creeped us out. I'm glad we have good security staff.
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ELDERS STEPPING DOWN
by ADJUSTMENTS inbetween two congregations that i know of four elders have stepped down in the last two months!
there is something really going on in this mandmade organization!
it's busting at the seams!.
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Franklin Massey
@donny - Regardless whether it's a removal or a resignation, the announcement is that So-and-so is no longer a (whatever position). It's a cold announcement and can often get the congregation wondering, "Oooh, what did he do?" If the brother giving the announcement has the forethought and heart to soften the tone, he may add something like, "We appreciate their service to the congregation."
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ELDERS STEPPING DOWN
by ADJUSTMENTS inbetween two congregations that i know of four elders have stepped down in the last two months!
there is something really going on in this mandmade organization!
it's busting at the seams!.
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Franklin Massey
Besty said, "If I was an elder wanting to resign I would inform the CoBE of my decision. End of story."
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Even if the rest of the elder body is supportive of your decision, the CO and Society will likely make it difficult for you to step down.
When I resgined my position for personal reasons, my CoBE and Service Overseer were very supportive. They accepted my decision and respected my request for privacy. The CO, on the other hand, asked them to spend more time with me in an effort to keep me on. I stood my ground and a letter was sent to the Branch, who denied my request to step down unless I gave specific reasons for doing so. They were not concerned with my privacy at all, despite my assurance that I had done nothing sinful to disqualify myself and my insistance that the other elders had done everything in their power to assist me. The whole thing dragged on far too long and I felt bad that my local brothers had to deal with the headaches. My CoBE told me that the CO said something to the effect of, "If we let every brother who asks to step down do so, we wouldn't have enough brothers to serve."
It's a business.
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AGM 5 OCTOBER 2013 (UNOFFICIAL RUMORS)
by WatchTower87 in- 23 day to go .. annual meeting unofficial rumors.
- new bible.
- new nwt (revision).
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Franklin Massey
Marked.
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July 15 Watchtower - Contradiction on Page 22 paragraph 10
by Indian Larry inthe paragraph says:.
who, then, is the faithful and discreet slave?
that slave is made up of a small group of anointed brothers who are directly involved in preparing and dispensing.
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Franklin Massey
OP, damn. Nice work.
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Gay MS??
by andysmiles inabout me, i am being raised in a jw family.
all of my family expect for one aunt, who had left but not disfellowedshiped thankly, are in jw.
my father is an elder and so is my grandfather.
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Franklin Massey
Neverendingjourney, I'm not going to say where I live exactly but I will give you a region: Northeastern US.
A lot can change in 10 years. A little less than 2 years ago, our CO made a special point during one of his talks to mention the society's stance on gay JWs. He said, in essence, that we hate the sin, not the sinner. That we're all imperfect and some JWs deal with homosexuality as in imperfection. He also mentioned that some of these ones include elders, servants, and pioneers. We should never judge someone by their inherent imperfection, as we are all trying not to act on our sinful tendencies.
Here are a couple of quotes from JW.org:
"While the Bible disapproves of homosexual acts, it does not condone hatred of homosexuals or homophobia. Instead, Christians are directed to “respect everyone.” — 1 Peter 2:17"
"The same struggle is faced by millions with heterosexual desires who wish to conform to the Bible’s standards. For example, those who are single with little prospect of marriage or who are married to a partner who is unable to function sexually choose to control their sexual urges despite any temptations they might face. They are able to live happily, and those with same-sex urges can do so as well if they truly want to please God. — Deuteronomy 30:19 ."
I know of two recent cases where after coming out to elders and trusted friends/famliy, gay JWs who agree with the Watchtower's take on homosexuality have been treated in a very kind manner, getting support and encouragement.
Are there still plenty of cases where people are treated harshly or unfairly? Yes. But I see a number of people slowly trending away from the hateful, close-minded attitudes that dominated the group in the past.
For the record, I totally disagree with the Society's take on homosexuality. I think it's condescending.
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Gay MS??
by andysmiles inabout me, i am being raised in a jw family.
all of my family expect for one aunt, who had left but not disfellowedshiped thankly, are in jw.
my father is an elder and so is my grandfather.
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Franklin Massey
The Watchtower Society is currently pushing the following stance: Being gay is fine. Acting on the sexual desire is not.
Homophobia is rampant among JWs, especially older generation believers. The Society is trying to take a more compassionate approach to the situation. It's still condescedning and unfair but it is some progress. There are many NPGs (Non-Practicing Gays, a term that I believe came out of Bethel) in the Organization. I have quite a few friends, both current and former JWs, who are gay. They had/have privileges and positions. A couple have publicly come out as being gay JWs trying to cope with that pesky "thorn in the flesh," their sexuality. Most of the time, the congregation at large rallies around them to offer support and to keep them busy and free from temptation.
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*Facepalm* What do you make of this cultish email I just got from my JW friend? What do I say to her?
by Julia Orwell ina bit of background: she is a sweet sister who has hard a really hard life: mum killed in an accident when she was young while once-an-elder dad was off having an affair after having been released from jail after serving time as a pedophile; she spent months in hospital after the accident which killed her mother; brothers jailed as pedos, ex husband left her cold with their 6 month old son- she's had a tough life and is a really sweet lady.
she's intelligent, caring, forgiving and articulate.
far too good for jws.. she 'brought me into the truth' as they say, and as such we've always had a pretty good bond.. now, after the gossip/slander fiasco of another so-called friend running around telling everyone i'm an apostate and not to talk to me, i unfriended my jw friends from facebook with an explanation.
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Franklin Massey
Konceptual99 nailed it: "If you really want any hope of remaining friends then you have to really tone down the anti-JW rehtoric. You have to turn off all the critical stuff about dates, hypocrisy, pedos etc. and just go back to being "tired". There are none so blind as those who won't see so don't even think you persuade them. Even quiet faders lose friends so don't expect to be able to be open with people and still keep a half decent relationship with them. You, me, them - we were all conditioned to distance ourselves and it's only us that have realised that." If you want to remain friends, you need to put your agenda aside as much as you want her to. You have the upper hand here. You see the bigger picture. Take that advantage and make the most of it. And to her credit, I thought her email was very nice, considering the source material.