dear brothers:.
we are writing as a follow-up to the letters dated january 24, 2014, and march 29, 2014,. to all congregations regarding the adjustments now underway to accelerate construction of king-.
dom halls and assembly halls.. .
And a scripture:
(John 10:7-10) So Jesus said again: "Most truly I say to you, I am the door for the sheep. 8 All those who have come in place of me are thieves and plunderers; but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved, and that one will go in and out and find pasturage. 10 The thief does not come unless it is to steal and slay and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance."
Splash
dear brothers:.
we are writing as a follow-up to the letters dated january 24, 2014, and march 29, 2014,. to all congregations regarding the adjustments now underway to accelerate construction of king-.
dom halls and assembly halls.. .
Looking for WT principles which may apply here:
*** w81 1/15 p. 29 Do Not Fall Prey to Modern-Day Judaizers! ***
Christendom, which claims that all her members are spiritual Jews, can boast of her size, her wealth, her many temples, and so try to prove that she is God’s organization.
*** w77 12/15 p. 761 par. 11 “They Will Not Prevail Against You” ***
The vast wealth of the churches of Christendom brands her as a worshiper of materialism. Active friendship with this world makes her Jehovah’s enemy!
*** w75 12/15 p. 743 Christendom’s “Holy Place” Soon to Be Desolated ***
The religious systems of Christendom have constructed magnificent buildings throughout the earth. They have also amassed great wealth in other forms. In many lands, these vast holdings are, by reason of their claimed sacred status, exempt from the assessments and taxes imposed upon businesses in general.
*** w72 12/1 p. 724 Will Greedy Ones Perish? ***
That harlot organization includes the hypocritical church systems of Christendom, which, like the rest of “Babylon the Great,” have “lived in shameless luxury.” (Rev. 18:7) Is it not true that the churches of Christendom have often sought to gain the favor of the rich and influential classes? Has this not led to oppression of the poor while providing religious leaders with a comfortable, yes, even luxurious life? Are not many religious edifices and the regalia of ecclesiastical dignitaries adorned with precious jewels, gold and silver? Has not much of this wealth poured into the coffers of church systems at the expense of the poor?
On account of such selfish greed, “Babylon the Great” will be destroyed.
*** w71 7/15 p. 420 What Kind of Bread for a Hungry World? ***
That “plundering” has been done and that Christendom’s churches bear a responsibility cannot honestly be denied. History shows that in many lands Christendom’s churches and church leaders leagued with and favored the wealthy over the poor. It shows that often the churches themselves became very wealthy.
*** w69 4/1 p. 208 par. 3 Why Is Your Ministry Successful? ***
Material possessions and personal prestige carry no weight with God. The clergy of Christendom seek both and, in doing so, imitate the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. “Now the Pharisees, who were money lovers...
*** w55 3/1 p. 153 par. 26 Supporting Jehovah’s Organization ***
How Christendom has misappropriated and misused the great wealth collected in God’s name! “Should man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed thee?’ In the tithe and the contribution! With a curse are you accursed; for you are robbing me; this whole nation!” (Mal. 3:8, 9, AT) All the money extorted from her adherents by Christendom does not bring words of praise to Jehovah nor comfort of his purposes to the people. Instead, Christendom’s wealth is used in idolatry.
Splash
i will probably use this line in my bible highlights tonight!
it's from the 5/1/1950 wt article " a christian use of material wealth.
the money which is contributed by persons who accept the printed bible-study helps from jehovahs witnesses aids quite a bit in keeping the work going.
I wonder if the publishers know that the money they put in the WWW box will go to the society, and the money they put in the Local KHall box will now also go to the society.
The WWW benefits two times over.
I'm going to ask if we need to contribute into the WWW box at all, now that we're sending them a regular amount from our own savings each month anyway.
Splash
so proclaimed the brother that read the wt letter tonight that explained the new kingdom hall funding arrangement.. everyone in the hall claps .... well, like it was the last talk on the district convention.. he says 'what bank would wipe out a debt of $200,000 ???
only jehovah's organization!
isn't this wonderful !!!".
The letter to the elders said in part:
"The elders in congregations without loans or those having standing resolutions to support Kingdom Hall construction worldwide should take a confidential survey of all publishers to determine the amount of the new resolution. This can be done by passing out slips of paper to be filled out anonymously by the publishers indicating how much they are able to contribute monthly toward local congregation expenses, including the resolution to support Kingdom Hall and Assembly Hall construction worldwide."
So it's not down to family heads, it's all publishers. At what age can you be accepted as a publisher these days?
Also, I don't understand the last sentence ..."including the resolution to support Kingdom Hall and Assembly Hall construction worldwide."
Who can explain to me what that bit means?
Splash
i didn't want to hijack the thread about people having to "wait" until the society approves their pioneer status.. i recall once an elder was shocked that i had done the 60 hours a couple of months but not officially on the pioneer list for the months.
i told him that i didn't need the title, that the purpose was to do the work, not get a title.. i then heard a long lecture about how that was not encouraging to others, etc, etc, etc.. he got rather annoyed when i asked him what the purpose of the preaching work is.
of course he said to spread the good news.
If you put in a form, you are under the authority of the elders who will interview you then judge you worthy or unworthy. They also get to tell you to be a better example because of your label, and can threaten removal of your status at whim.
Just do the hours and you remove all that authority from them. That makes them fume!
Splash
im in a bit of a bind and im not quite sure what (if anything) i can do about it.
i was recently hired as a business consultant for a rather large company.
the company that hired me mentioned that they are concerned about a certain department and the way its being run, as this department affects every other department in the company.
Metrics can be your friend here. If you can demonstrate a higher failure rate, lower productivity, higher staff turnover, lower staff engagement, poor collaboration with other parts of the business, low standards, poor processes, lack of training etc, these will determine specifically where the problem lies.
Then look at reasons. Management style, lack of communication, poor leadership, unclear tasks, understaffed, poor equipment, no metrics of the staff productivity etc. This will point you to a solution.
Be solution focussed - this is why you have been employed.
Splash
in the last couple of years the org has gone money crazy, selling off over a billion dollars worth of property and now a new tithing program.
just wonder what every one thinks is the reason for all this now?.
I'm wondering if there's already a huge debt that needs servicing.
Did they borrow to invest and it all went wrong over the last few years?
It just seems like too huge a money grab just for court cases etc.
Splash
ahhhhhh......man....... .
so now we have to count all tracts / leaflets / meeting invitations etc as placements on the monthly report slip???.
is this just another method of control or accountability!
I posted a link to a jworg tract in one thread that has had 1000+ views.
That will look good on my next report!
Splash.
just curious.
add your quotes with no commentary if you like, it should be obvious why you agree.. the dangers of being deceivedthe really sad fact is that very often the person who is deceived or deluded tends to hold on to his belief in spite of strong evidence proving otherwise.
perhaps he gets so emotionally attached to his belief that he simply shuts his eyes and closes his ears to any evidence that might challenge it.. the watchtower, 01/09/ 2010 p10/11.
Shepherd the Flock of God (2010) p.11:
"You demonstrate submission to Christ's headship when you do the following:
(point 3) Avoid imposing personal viewpoints and opinions or arbitrary rules on the congregation -1Cor 4:6."
Splash
besides the bible, songbook, kingdom ministry, and draw close to jehovah book, are there any other books i need in order to attend the tuesday/wensday/thursday night meeting.
do they still use a book for the theocratic ministry school and is it the same one from 7+ years ago?.
Great link from jgnat.
The key pages are 78-82.
These are the student talk points to work on, and the permissable settings for sisters talks, such as setting 14 "witnessing informally in a waiting room" (invariable the doctors), and setting 25 "Working with someone in the Pioneers Assist Others program" (which was discontinued years ago).
Splash
