Just remember, when they first announced this campaign, they prophesied that is was going to be 'historic' and 'the greatest witnessing campaign ever'. They must of realized after the fact that they made this campaign for what is historically known as the worst month of witnessing activity of the year due to it being so HOT (at least in the U.S.). So, in order to fulfill their man-made prophecy, they have to drum up soldiers to carry it out. Good luck with that, WT. Maybe your prophecy will come true. Maybe not.
leaving_quietly
JoinedPosts by leaving_quietly
-
34
What is this latest letter from the GB about?
by stuckinarut2 inwe have been told this week that all in the elder and ms body will be read a letter from the gb about "make this the greatest month of activity ever"..... has anyone else had such a letter read out in their cong / servant body?.
i presume it will be all about "recommending strongly/insisting" that all these men should pioneer for the month?.
-
-
-
8
Don't we normally hear about the new convention releases by now?
by average joe inam i missing something here :) whats the deal google isnt bringing up any names of the new releases or anything from the conventions.
i am curious as to what this year will bring?
.
-
-
leaving_quietly
New tract - can't recall the title
Two new brochures - one for kids, one for families
New book - God's Kingdom Rules! (with an exclamation point - GB member S. Lett made much to do about this)
New DVD - These Words Must Prove To Be On Your Heart
-
6
RC's and IC's: Are buses the new profit center?
by zed is dead inlocally there was a very strong push for everybody to ride the bus to the international convention.
they discouraged driving to the stadium and were not as crazy about booking rooms through the society.
my guess is that they are getting a cut of the bus fares that they organize.
-
-
leaving_quietly
No. Sorry. No.
Having just been through this, the buses were an absolute necessity as the parking was just not enough and way too far away. Here in Seattle, the parking area our circuit was assigned to was 1.3 miles away. Friday morning, the traffic was horrendous as the backup was over 2 hours long for some people. They didn't make it to the convention site until 11 or 11:30am, well after the convention started. Lots of congregations hired buses themselves and each person who wanted to take the bus paid for it (plus driver tip) themselves. WTBTS had no involvement in hiring buses, except for the school buses they used for shuttling people from the far parking lots to the site. And each congregation came up with their own "rules" as to how to organize the buses. There was no rule from WTBTS about not riding with family from other congregations. That would appear to be a rule local to your congregation. Although it makes sense because the price of the bus would probably be split by each person riding as it was in several congregations that I'm aware of, and prices varied from bus company to bus company. I know of a congregation that was two hours away from the site that only cost $20 per person to ride. But the bus company our congregation used where we are less than an hour from the site charged over $50 per person. It all depended on the bus company. Some congregations hired school buses, whereas most hired charter buses (way more comfortable).
Why was the parking so terrible? One elder told me that the Huskies normally paid the city over $100,000 per game to close down the streets around the stadium to help with traffic flow. WTBTS didn't do that, so traffic was a mess. Another factor is that one of the big parking lots was closed down to normal parking and reserved for the buses. Another factor is that WTBTS didn't pay for ALL the parking available around the stadium. There were lots that are normally used for other things that would typically be available during a game (for a fee), but WTBTS didn't pay for those, and attendees weren't about to spend the money on them for three full days. That would be expensive for normal families.
There is a problem for football games. Don't kid yourself there. A non-JW told my wife that when they went to a game, they had to park far away, and the walk in was really long. The difference is that people who go to football games are generally willing to put up with that because it's for one day, not three, and they're in much more comfortable attire for walking, and they're not dragging bags of books, food and for the most part, small kids/babies with them. Oh, and non-JWs don't complain nearly as much about this stuff as JWs do. Go figure.
-
65
Seriously considering stepping down as Elder
by fader77 ini have been an elder for 6 years.
it's been the last 2 years or so that i've really seen the hypocrisy, but the ability to know the shenanigans of the society through the body of elders letters has kind of kept me in there.
i'm to the point now that i can't stand the hatred and bitterness that the body of elders has towards myself and my whole family.
-
-
leaving_quietly
Recently I went back to school for my Masters degree and I'm almost done.
Wait... what??? How are you actually still being ALLOWED to serve as an elder? This is a HUGE no-no.
Seriously, though, good for you. I stepped down a couple of years ago after starting to learn TTATT. There were several reasons. One of them was James 3:1: "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment."
I could no longer, in good conscience, teach this stuff from the platform.
-
68
A "follow up" meeting?!?!
by DATA-DOG inwell, now they want a follow up visit!
when you tell the elders that you have doubts and they say " its okay, we have had our doubts.
having doubts is not apostasy.
-
-
leaving_quietly
I guess a question that only you can answer is: what do YOU want out of all of this? If you are not prepared to not be a JW, then you have to placate them.
-
68
A "follow up" meeting?!?!
by DATA-DOG inwell, now they want a follow up visit!
when you tell the elders that you have doubts and they say " its okay, we have had our doubts.
having doubts is not apostasy.
-
-
leaving_quietly
It prob hasn't yet, but still could. Many times this next visit is a 2nd-investigation/give-counsel meeting. In other words, they most likely are being sent to give you stern counsel, warnings, share scriptures, pray, yada yada in order to "readjust" you.
Yes, exactly. They are oblilgated to visit you at least twice, per the Shepherding book, using this scripture out of context:
As for a man who promotes a sect, reject him after a first and a second admonition, 11 knowing that such a man has deviated from the way and is sinning and is self-condemned. - Titus 3:10,11
Once the second admonition is given, if you don't respond, they can form a judicial committee. Of course, you are not promoting a sect, which is why this is an out of context application of this verse. In addition, verse 9 talks about "foolish arguments, geneologies and disputes and fights over the Law" which is likely not what you are doing, either. -
12
Seattle Convention - any updates?
by Lynnie inwas wondering if anyone attended the seattle intl convention and what it was like?
saw some pics from instagram, seems like quite the.
big production for sure!
-
-
leaving_quietly
insidetheKH, did you hear 394? I heard 294. When I counted from my seat, I came up with 318, but I thought I messed up along the way. If it was 394, that would be over 1%, which I don't think it was. I wrote down 294. I didn't write down the other regional tie-in numbers. I didn't really care.
-
12
Seattle Convention - any updates?
by Lynnie inwas wondering if anyone attended the seattle intl convention and what it was like?
saw some pics from instagram, seems like quite the.
big production for sure!
-
-
leaving_quietly
294 baptized in Seattle. Among all the tied in Regional Conventions, there were over 400 (424, if I recall). In Seattle (I was there), mostly kids. There was one presumably paraplegic adult (they baptized him on a stretcher... had one leg amputated), and I believe a blind teenager (or somehow otherwise challenged... couldn't really tell... at first, he was led by two people, but when he got into the pool, he was just acting a little off).
tresdecu, you flew in? Where from (general area)?
Yes, tear jerker resurrection video... even yours truly shed tears. I'm a big sap anyway. I told my wife later that they did NOT need to show that video, that is was completely heartless to do so since so many people have lost loved ones. There was NO NEED for that kind of emotional tugging at the heartstrings. She didn't disagree.
Yes, Lett was just as goofy. The attendance was substantially lower than anticipated. They expected between 36,000 and 44,000. Friday was a little over 31,000. Saturday about the same, and Sunday morning, a little over 32,000. With all the regional tie-ins, the grand total attendance was just over 73,000. You can see from the baptism numbers that it's considerably less than 1%.
Friday morning traffic was a mess. People staying just 20 minutes away had to endure a 2.5 hour backup. Parking was pretty bad. Most people had to park a mile or so away. They hired school buses to shuttle people to and from the parking lot, but there were only 3 or 4 of them. Saturday and Sunday, they had their stuff together, so it went more smoothly.
I'd give you a blow-by-blow, but if you read any of the other convention threads, there's no need. They're all the same. Every talk was scripted. Every brother said the same thing at this convention as at others, practically word for word.
The only brothers who gave talks at the International were either bethelites or COs or DOs. No one below those ranks gave parts. Most days, the morning program went overtime significantly, leaving very little time for lunch. The interviews with the international delegates were long-winded. Most afternoons were overtime, too, but not by too much. It was tolerable.
I wouldn't call it a historic occasion. Aside from having the international delegates there, it was just another convention. Although I would say, this one seemed to hype up all the JW accomplishments more than usual. A huge amount of boasting and self-aggrandizing took place. There was more of that than "do more, do more, do more", I thought.
-
3
Awake!
by HappyOutsideTheBox inbbc article :http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28166192.
no mention of the watchtower.. when did awake become the flagship magazine?.
hotb.
-
-
leaving_quietly
In the article: "At weekly congregation meetings, volunteers are encouraged to let passers-by approach rather than trying to stop them."
Not so anymore. This was addressed at the convention. They had a demo where people did simply walk by and showed that to be ineffective. Then they demo'd it where the JW approached someone who was looking at a book. As you can guess, a positive conversation ensued and arrangements were made to call on the person at their home. My point is, be prepared. This tactic is changing.
-
45
"New Book" God's Kingdom Rules
by booker-t ini heard that on sat the jws released a new book at the convention god's kingdom rules.
is it a verse by verse of ezekiel or daniel?
does it mention the "overlapping generation"?
-
-
leaving_quietly
something is out of date that is in a publication only 3 years old
This BRAND NEW book is out of date! They have a picture of Guy Pierce in there with the GB.