RunningMan

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Posts by RunningMan

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  11

  What is the Average age of JWs?

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does anyone know what is the average age of a jw?

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  RunningMan

  I would love to know the answer to this question.

  I am certain that the average age is increasing at a rapid rate. Consider some factors:
  - Conversions are way, way down.
  - Half of the young people leave.
  - Defections are up
  - Every year, everyone gets a year older

  Since most people change their religions when they are fairly young, these trends mean that they are losing a lot of young people, and not refilling them with new converts.

  I would bet that their average age is rising by about 1.5 years annually.

  In my area, there are very few youths. Many rural congregations are filled with 70+ members. Every year another rural congregation is disbanded.
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  54

  I Went in Field Service Yesterday!!

  by Valentine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i must say i thoroughly enjoyed doing streetwork for the first time in my life!!.

  it was really cold here in chicago yesterday,snow clouds looming in the sky.

  about 10 am i decided to run home for my cofee break.. as i rushed down the main street,walking quickly,i saw 2 groups of jw's w/ their mags on the main street near home.. i haven't seen any around my territory since last spring.. humph i thought.. i double-timed it home,bundled up,grabbed my stacks of silentlambs posters and ran back to the main street.. i stood on the corner,several feet ahead of them and started saying hi to passers by.

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  RunningMan

  Since this is Thursday, your post must be part of this board's "Service Meeting".

  Thank you for that educational demonstration, Sister Valentine.

  Now, does anyone in our audience have an experience that they would like to relate. Perhaps someone has recently run into a householder who was praying for the Witnesses to go away - and then found that holy spirit has guided an apostate to their door?
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  25

  the latest WT PR

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the latest media hype on the wt site is amazing:.

  http://www.jw-media.org/releases/default.htm?content=020101.htm.

  for immediate release .

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  RunningMan

  5,000 baptisms a week sure sounds like a lot, until you realize that it is half of what it used to be.

  I like the comment "the religion's most sacred observance". What other observances have they got?
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  12

  Questions on Stephen Bates Article WT attack

  by messenger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thought you'd be interested to know that i have just been forwarded a note from the watch tower, belatedly in response to the tiny little story i got in on 17 november about that chicago jw couple accused of beating their daughter to death.

  it is interesting that they shld respond - on headed notepaper, apparently from pennsylvania - nearly a month later about something that really got very little space and i can't help feeling it's not unconnected with the other stuff i was writing at that time.

  this is it, in full:.

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  RunningMan

  The Watchtower has a fool proof method for ensuring that the perceived purity of their organization stays in tact.

  If any person ever does anything criminal or stupid, then they simply say that this person was not a "real" Witness. Maybe they were inactive, disfellowshipped, disassociated, or something else. Even if the person is an elder, they can always say that he was leading a double life and wasn't "really" a Witness.

  So, then it becomes simply a word game. If a JW is defined as any non-criminal who submits a service report, then, by definition, there are no JW criminals. And, isn't it a credit to Jehovah's organization that it is so pure?

  In reality, there is a huge number of persons who are on the fringe of this organization, who have been emotionally damaged. The Watchtower must take responsibility, not just for its inner core of supporters, but for the wreckage within its entire sphere of influence.
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  3

  Is this site important?

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a lot of us come here on a regular basis.i like to read what's going on most days.mostly now to make sure i havent missed some important news , less and less to learn more of the corrupt teachings of the org.. but at one time it was a revelation to meet people who felt like me , maybe now i take it for granted.. so how important is this site , has it directly effected your life and is it vital that sites like this ,where people can disscuss issues carry on in existance?

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  RunningMan

  Yes, this site is very important.

  It is refreshing and encouraging to know that we are not alone. Yeah, we disagree and bicker a lot, but that's all part of the beauty of freedom.

  We shouldn't be discouraged by people leaving. People will come and go. For most, this site serves a purpose in their lives. Once it is fulfilled, they may move on. So, in many ways, leaving the site is as necessary a phase of their growth as coming here was.

  This site plays a specific role in the development of those who are leaving JW's. There will always be turnover.
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  11

  Service Year 2002 so far

  by GermanXJW in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  by means of km2/02 we already have the numbers for the first two months.

  firstly, i looked at it because i was curious if there would be any effect of the events of sep 11th.

  but when i went back down to 1993. i hope i did the format correctly.

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  RunningMan

  Yes, your analysis is precisely correct. It is necessary to compare each month(s) of the service year to the same month(s) in previous years.

  I have noticed the same thing in Canada - a tiny increase in September, followed by the usual decrease in October. Canadian baptisms for the same period are down by 65 - a 20% decrease.

  So, the Sept 11 tragedy did not have much impact on JW zeal. The rotting continues.
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  17

  The timewaster's guide to field service

  by RunningMan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  last week, i posted evidence of the monumental inefficiency of the field service work.

  you might be wondering how it is possible for people to put in so many hours, and produce so few results.

  well, the answer is really quite simple.

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  RunningMan

  "The unbaptized publisher's guide to counting time" reminds me of a morning in service many years ago.

  I was working with a friend who was not baptized, and we were short of magazines, so we shared a set. I would present them, get turned down, then pass them to him to do the same. Every time I passed him the magazines, I counted a placement. Sweet.
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  3

  News article Knowledge Book

  by messenger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/2002/01/14/ffxr7y05fwc.html.

  going through the sin cycle .

  sian prior.

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  RunningMan

  How ironic. The serious book is considered to be a bad joke, and the humorous book is considered to be valuable literature.

  And yes, it is good to see God's name being made known. The JW's are seeing to it that he is a laughingstock and butt of jokes. If they really wanted to honor his name, they would shut up.
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  2

  LeakyTeepee Rehab Nears Complete-FoolishJW Comment

  by MadApostate in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  volunteers give hall needed makeover.

  by michael van sickler, palm beach post staff writer.

  thursday, january 10, 2002. west palm beach -- if there's a promised land for the jehovah's witnesses in palm beach county, it's the old leaky teepee at 1610 palm beach lakes blvd.. officially, it was known as the west palm beach auditorium.

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  RunningMan

  I hope Thompson clips this article and keeps it. He can use it to start a fire in his dumpster to keep him warm when he retires.
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  15

  QUESTION: will the WTS ever fall? if so, how?

  by badwillie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  maybe some of you who have been out for many years can answer this.. do you think that the flow of people leaving the borg has been increasing?

  and do you think that we will ever live to see their complete downfall?

  if you do think this is a likely scenario, how do you see it unfolding?.

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  RunningMan

  Lack of conversions is lowering numbers. The youth are not staying, and the internet is taking its toll. Shrinking numbers and aging demographics will hurt them more than any scandal.

  The fall of an empire begins at the edges. The Roman Empire remained strong at its core for many years. But once the provinces started to fall, the end was beginning.

  Watch what is happening to the small town congregations in rural areas, the ones that are far (spiritually) from the core. In my area, a rural congregation is disbanded almost every year. The ones that are left are getting older. Soon, there will be little or no JW representation in rural areas. Then, no in-migration will fuel city growth.

  The organization is stagnating and facing serious problems. But, they are still fairly powerful. If they reform quickly and decisively, they can fix themselves. However, their geriatric leadership is too ingrown and slow to do it.