BOC - I once completely removed the holy spirit from our congregation single handedly when I was 9 years old. Our elementary school let all the kids vote for the presidency (it was Bush v Dukakis that year) and then announce who the kids picked at the end of the day. I voted. Needless to say.....the holy spirit was extracted from our congregation immediately. Thankfully I voted for Dukakis. The holy spirit returned three months later when Bush was inaugurated.
outsmartthesystem
JoinedPosts by outsmartthesystem
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22
shepherd the flock gem
by outsmartthesystem injust reading through the manual that only elders have access to ..........and.
page 58 - "elders should act promptly when they receive a report of serious wrongdoing so as to safeguard the congregation and provide assistance to the wrongdoer.
neglecting to care for such matters can hinder the flow of jehovah's holy spirit to the congregation.
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shepherd the flock gem
by outsmartthesystem injust reading through the manual that only elders have access to ..........and.
page 58 - "elders should act promptly when they receive a report of serious wrongdoing so as to safeguard the congregation and provide assistance to the wrongdoer.
neglecting to care for such matters can hinder the flow of jehovah's holy spirit to the congregation.
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outsmartthesystem
Thanks TS.
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shepherd the flock gem
by outsmartthesystem injust reading through the manual that only elders have access to ..........and.
page 58 - "elders should act promptly when they receive a report of serious wrongdoing so as to safeguard the congregation and provide assistance to the wrongdoer.
neglecting to care for such matters can hinder the flow of jehovah's holy spirit to the congregation.
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outsmartthesystem
Just reading through the manual that only elders have access to ..........and..........I noticed this gem:
Page 58 - "Elders should act promptly when they receive a report of serious wrongdoing so as to safeguard the congregation and provide assistance to the wrongdoer. Neglecting to care for such matters can hinder the flow of Jehovah's holy spirit to the congregation. "
First and foremost.....where is the scriptural backing for this statement? And secondly......are they saying that if a couple of elders decide to be lazy and they don't proactively go after a wrongdoer when they should have......that such non-action would have a negative affect on the congregation's spirituality? So.......old sister faithful may not receive the holy spirit she needs due to the inaction of a couple of elders? I'll bet sister faithful didn't realize that a lazy elder could prevent her from obtaining the propery amount of holy spirit....regardless of how much she prays for it.
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demon posession?
by perfect1 inmy gradmother used to tell me about a catholic icon at her aunt's house which was demon possesed and once blinked at her.
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any other good stories of possession from people you know?.
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outsmartthesystem
Sophie - You'r eright....my bad. I meant "a beautiful mind"
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Evidence For Impending Change Re: "Loose Conduct" to "Brazen Conduct"
by DarioKehl inon another thread discussing possible changes to the nwt, the post refered to a 2nd-hand report of a co leaking possible changes to 5 verses where "loose conduct" would be replaced by "brazen conduct.
" although it is merely speculative at this point, i would like to remind those of you who did attend the 2012 dc this summer about some important evidence that supports this theory.
if the program is still available on jw.org, feel free to see this for yourselves.
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outsmartthesystem
"The WTS is micro-managing and bureaucratic, but not even they would do so much overkill."
But that's their secret. The more they micro-manage....the more the elders think that God is really directing them.
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Evidence For Impending Change Re: "Loose Conduct" to "Brazen Conduct"
by DarioKehl inon another thread discussing possible changes to the nwt, the post refered to a 2nd-hand report of a co leaking possible changes to 5 verses where "loose conduct" would be replaced by "brazen conduct.
" although it is merely speculative at this point, i would like to remind those of you who did attend the 2012 dc this summer about some important evidence that supports this theory.
if the program is still available on jw.org, feel free to see this for yourselves.
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outsmartthesystem
I find it difficult to believe that any elder body (even the most crooked and heinous) would start DFing people just for being late to meetings or not getting enough service time in. But I could easily see more and more people getting the boot for seeing rated R movies or listening to "bad" music etc. Basically.....if the elders have a feeling like you are engaging in such disapproved behavior BECAUSE you are trying to make waves then they'll nail you. Personally I just think it would be hard for them to showcase that being late for meetings or not getting enough service time is TRYING to make waves.
I hope it happens. Aside from the fact that more and more lives will be up-ended via the disfellowshipping tag....i think this could be a good thing. If people start getting DF'd for ridiculous things.....that just means that this organization is one step closer to implosion
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Hall - Elders leave disfellowshiped woman with baby carriage at bottom of stairs...is this insane?
by Witness 007 in -
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outsmartthesystem
"What if a woman who had been disfellowshiped were to attend a congregational meeting and upon leaving the hall found that her car, parked nearby, had developed a flat tire? Should the male members of the congregation, seeing her plight, refuse to aid her, perhaps leaving it up to some worldly person to come along and do so? This too would be needlessly unkind and inhumane. Yet situations just like this have developed, perhaps in all good conscience, yet due to a lack of balance in viewpoint."
Any bet Ray Franz was the architect behind this attempt at being reasonable?
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Why do folks feel it necessary to announce their departure from this board?
by SadElder ini don't post often, and rarely start topics.
but, i've often wondered why folks feel the need to post their departure from this board.
they're free to leave or fade, etc.
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outsmartthesystem
I think there are all sorts of answers. Some want their egos stroked. Some are pissed off at another user or two and leave because of that animosity.....but want to get one last dig in by announcing to everyone exactly why they are leaving. Some want to sincerely express gratitude to others for helping them in their time of need. Some are just friendly - they say hello when they come and goodbye when they leave.
Each person is going to be different
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In Your Estimation What Percentage Of Witnesses Actually Believe They Have The "Truth"?
by minimus ini think 60% think or hope it's all what it's cracked up to be and the others are just there for different reasons.. what do you think?.
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outsmartthesystem
I think the better question is.....what percentage of witnesses actually believe the organization is God's one and only? The VAST majority believe that. Whereas there a quite a lot of witnesses that go to meetings, go in service etc....but aren't too sure that the "current light" is the end all be all.....absolute truth. They think it is God's organization and that eventually God will fix all the problems and clear up all misunderstandings and beliefs.
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26% drop in auxiliary pioneers in "special month" between 2011 and 2012
by sir82 ini don't recall seeing this posted on this board before, my apologies if the topic is duplicated..... in april 2011 and march 2012, the gb made a "loving provision" to allow jws to sign up for the auxiliary pioneer work with only a 30 hour requirement instead of the usual 50 hours.. in 2011, in the usa, about 500,000 signed up to be auxiliary pioneers.. in 2012, per the august 2012 km, only about 370,000 signed up.. that's a 26% drop in just 1 year!.
granted, in many parts of the us, the march weather is far worse than april's.
but on the other hand, there were 5 saturdays in march 2012 - you could get your "time in" with 5 long saturdays and nothing else.. .
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outsmartthesystem
All the society has to do is find 1 and I stress 1 positive "fact" regarding the publisher report.....and that is what they'll focus on. Everything else can be down.....but that won't matter. They'll focus on the one positive and all 7 million witnesses will too. Then.....when we start seeing negative growth in ALL areas (hours, publishers, bible studies etc)......that's when they'll break out the big gun and say "The end is near.....look how the love of the greater number has cooled off!"
Such a bold statement will likely cause thousands to get back into the swing of things....which will increase numbers again....if only for a little while. Then the society will say that such growth is evidence of Jehovah's blessing.
Then the numbers will turn south again
repeat