After the first memorial campaign a few years back, Guy Pierce was the guest speaker at our circuit assembly. A sister from our hall asked him, "How are people responding to the campaign?" His reply was shocking. He said, as per her words to me, "We don't care about how people are responding. We care about how YOU respond."
leaving_quietly
JoinedPosts by leaving_quietly
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The reason the Society keeps everyone busy with "campaigns"
by stuckinarut2 inim sure that many have had an experience where we try and keep little kids "occupied" while on a boring trip, such as a car ride or plane flight.. we come up with "games" like..."lets see how many green cars we can count", or "lets try and see who can sit still for the longest time".
"the winner gets a prize!".
obviously, until they are wise enough to cotton on, all we are doing is keeping them occupied to prevent them asking things like "are we there yet?!".
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WITNESSES CAN STOP REPORTING FIELD SERVICE!
by The Searcher inthe lawyers acting on behalf of the wtbts/g.b./'mother' during a paedophile case a couple of years ago, have stated on record that - .
a) "field ministry is not controlled or monitored by the elders, the congregation, or watchtower".
b) "an individual publisher's field ministry activity, including the time and manner it is carried out, is a personal matter between the publisher and his god.".
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leaving_quietly
This is indeed a great find. I haven't finished reading it, yet, but it is full of gems. JWs don't have to go to a meeting for field service, either! I was surprised to see regular publishers called "rank-and-file" in an official court document, though. Most telling.
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CO Special Meeting with MS & Elders
by Syme inwhen the co visits a cognregation this semester, a special meeting with elders and mss is sceduled tuesday night, right after the normal meeting.
does anyone know what this meeting is about?
this special meeting is held at the beginning of the co-week, and is different from the standard meeting with personnel which is held friday evening.
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leaving_quietly
Didn't somebody say in an earlier thread that the meeting is to inform elders (& maybe ministerial servants) that the GB wants them to call on all inactive ones during the week of the visit and maybe report to the CO the results at the end of the week?
At our last circuit assembly, the DO said this was the new arrangement.
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International convention in Seattle
by Lynnie injust found out that the university of washington is letting the jw's use their football stadium for the.
convention july 4-6. don't think the uw has ever done this before and i'm curious to see if anyone else.
might have some more details on this.
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leaving_quietly
Yes, Husky stadium is going to be used. They do rent out their facilities (they have multiple facilities). Don't know if they've ever rented out the actual stadium, but they do have provisions for doing so (at least in part).
http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30200&ATCLID=208588960
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If your not baptized in the name of the father, son and holy spirit. was your baptism official
by goingthruthemotions inmatt 28:19 "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit,.
i don't ever remember hearing at my baptism nor any other baptism of a jw.
the person giving the baptism talk or person doing the dunking saying that i/we are baptized in the name of the father, son and holy spirit.. so i have come to the conclusion that my/our baptism's are not official.
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leaving_quietly
Crazyguy is right. Only the 144K are baptized into Christ. w08 6/15 p. 29 par 7:
What is meant by baptism into Christ Jesus and baptism into his death? When Jehovah anoints followers of Christ with the holy spirit, they are united with Jesus and become members of the congregation that is the body of Christ, he being the Head. (1 Cor. 12:12, 13, 27; Col. 1:18) This is their baptism into Christ Jesus. Anointed Christians are also “baptized into [Christ’s] death” in that they live a life of sacrifice and renounce any hope of everlasting life on earth. Their death, therefore, is a sacrificial one, as was Jesus’ death, though their death does not have ransoming value. This baptism into Christ’s death is completed when they die and are resurrected to life in heaven.
Did you know that is the only place in the bible where baptism is mentioned with those three entities. Check the NWT. The other references are only "in the name of Jesus (Christ)" "the name of the Son"
Correct. But JWs don't even baptize in "the name of the Son". They baptize "on the basis of Jesus' sacrifice". Their baptism is the baptism of John.
Acts 13:24: Before the arrival of that one, John had preached publicly to all the people of Israel baptism in symbol of repentance.
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Do you think it will be easier or harder to be appointed elder under the new arrangment?
by toto555 inwill it be easier or harder to be made an elder without all the nepotism and favortism under the new 'co appointing elder arrangment'?
what are your thoughts?
how do you think this arrangement is going to work?
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leaving_quietly
I agree with baltare447. But I suspect this counsel will be offered to COs:
Today, too, the matter of sharing in the sins of others needs to be given due consideration before any man is chosen to serve as an overseer. We should never forget that the congregation is God’s, purchased with the blood of his Son. Therefore, if there be any mistreatment of the flock, the men responsible as well as those who shared in choosing unqualified persons will have an accountability with the Most High, who purchased the flock at great cost to himself. So men having any share in the making of appointments need to be very conscientious in letting themselves be guided by God’s Word and his spirit. - g79 7/8 p. 27
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JW Literature... Lots of it... what to burn and what to keep?
by ILoveTTATT ini have lots and lots of watchtower literature... and i don't know what could be useful in the future to have as a reference or as a keeper.
i am definitely keeping the 1993 and 1994 bound volumes of the awake!
(no, we are not false prophets... down in the same page, the generation of 1914 will not pass... also the youths who put god the watchtower first).
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leaving_quietly
If it's available in PDF form somewhere, toss it and get the PDFs instead. The PDFs take up a whole lot less space.
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Strike 3 for the elderette and me! (???) I never heard a JW talk SO much about Jesus!
by Faithful Witness inmiss k and her friend miss w arrived promptly today.
our scheduled topic of discussion: jesus' claim to be "the way, the truth and the life..." john 14:6 since she was basing this topic choice on the fact that i had quoted that verse, i'm not sure why... she spent what seemed like a very long time, hopping through scriptures that all said that jesus was the truth, the way, or the life.
ok, so we agreed... i kept waiting for her to get to a point, or sway from this principle.. of course, she summed up with scriptures that show how jesus submits to the father, and what does that mean we should do?
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leaving_quietly
So she kept pointing out how Jesus submits to the Father. Ok. Got it. So therefore... we submit to Jesus, and do what... ?? Follow his commands, beginning with his greatest commandment, love.
The thing with JWs is that they view "Jehovah" as the ultimate authority. Ok. That's fine. No issue there. But they also take the OT viewpoint of Jehovah "exacting exclusive devotion". Therein lies the big problem. When God exalted Jesus, this view changed. God made a covenant with Jesus and basically put Jesus in charge. He's the King. He's has "all authority in heaven and on earth." Does Jesus submit to the Father? Absolutely. But who are WE supposed to submit to?
Let's use an OT account and a NT passage to show this.
In the OT, Joseph became second in command of Egypt. Note what Pharaoh told Joseph. Genesis 19:39-44:
Phar′aoh then said to Joseph: “Since God has caused you to know all of this, there is no one as discreet and wise as you. You will personally be over my house, and all my people will obey you implicitly. Only in my role as king will I be greater than you.” And Phar′aoh added to Joseph: “See, I am putting you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Phar′aoh removed his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s hand and clothed him with garments of fine linen and placed a necklace of gold around his neck. Moreover, he had him ride in the second chariot of honor that he had, and they would call out ahead of him, “A·vrékh!” Thus he put him over all the land of Egypt. Phar′aoh further said to Joseph: “I am Phar′aoh, but without your authorization, no man may do a single thing in all the land of Egypt.”
What do you think Pharaoh would do if people tried to do an end run around Joseph? Now, WTBTS likens Pharaoh to Jehovah and Joseph to Jesus, calling them "the Greater Pharaoh" and "the Greater Joseph" respectively. In all likelihood, Pharaoh would be quite annoyed if people tried to do an end run around Pharaoh. Don't you think Jehovah would be annoyed, too?
In the NT, there is a chain of command that is outlined. 1 Cor 3:21-23:
So let no one boast in men; for all things belong to you, whether Paul or A·pol′los or Ce′phas or the world or life or death or things now here or things to come, all things belong to you; in turn you belong to Christ; Christ, in turn, belongs to God.
So, it's pretty clearly outlined who belongs to whom here.
I'm reminded of the Star Trek episode where Picard gets captured by the Borg. Commander Shelby, this hot-shot commander, wants her idea to be heard by the captain. Command Riker doesn't like her idea, but assures her he will take it to the captain. As he walks into the captain's office, he finds Shelby sitting, already having talked to the captain about her idea. As they leave, Riker is pretty annoyed, and in the turbo-lift, he tells Shelby:
"You disagree with me, fine. You need to take it to the Captain, fine - through me. You do an end run around me again, I'll snap you back so hard you'll think you're a first-year cadet again."
Basically, this is how the arrangement between Christ and the Father is supposed to be.
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I need to verify some information
by JeffT inthere have been a lot of threads regarding changes in donations, kingdom hall ownership etc.
and what it all means.
i'm about to put on my accounting hat on and seriously consider the what it all means part (and why they may be doing it).
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leaving_quietly
1) Kingdom Halls are now owned by the WTBS and not the local congregation
Not necessarily. There is a clause in congregation corporation bylaws that states that should the corporation evern be dissolved by whatever methods, the KH becomes the property of WTBTS.
2) Mortgages have been canceled, instead of making loan payments to the Society, the local congregations are pledging contributions of roughly the same amount. Congregations that had already paid off their mortgage are expected to pledge an amount roughly equal to what their mortgage would be if they had one. These payments will never end.
This is essentially correct. However, what is being donated on a monthly basis is to be reviewed every May. It might be possible that a congregation deems that the amount is lowered at some point in the future based on their own calculations as to when a loan would have been paid off.
Personally, I see this as a response to an undisclosed legal issue. Likely something related to banking regulations. Possibly a lawsuit somewhere. Possbily something with some other organization and the WTBTS is trying to get a leg up on it. Who knows? I don't. But it has "legal" written all over it.
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International Convention
by msconcerned inan email forwarded to a friend.
what do you make of it?.
below is a report about preparing for the seattle, washington international convention.
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leaving_quietly
I just happened to look at the lodging list posted on the information board at our KH today. There are no hotels in downtown Seattle on the list. None. Nada. Zip. The hotels are in Seatac (by the airport), Federal Way, Bothell, Kirkland, Everett, Bellevue and Kent, as I recall. But not a single one in Seattle. The most expensive rate on the list is $124 for a 4-person occupancy. Most rates fall between $79 and $105 per night. And these are for hotels that normally are perhaps a little more expensive than that. They probably gave a block-rate discount that they'd normally give to anyone who books a block of rooms. That's just normal hotel business. The hotels on the list do NOT go for $385 per night at any time of year. We're talking Holiday Inn, Mariott, Red Lion, and hotels like that. The Red Lion by the airport is currently going for $79.99 per night (just saw the sign a week ago). Their summer rate is likely a little higher, but not by too much. Just thought I'd provide an update based on official informaion on the official lodging list provided by the Society.