i was appointed as an elder when i turned 30, 25 years ago.
which was the norm back then.. now, i very rarely here of a young man becoming an elder.
in our town we have 2 english congregations.
In the last 25 years at my hall we've had ONE ministerial servant appointed as an elder.
The MS was about 55 when this happened.
In the same time frame we had three elders die from old age and two others reduce their activity on the platform due to age.
The average age of our elder body is now in the high 60's, with no elder under 50.
We had a few elders move in from elsewhere, but that's movement, not increase.
i'm reading a very interesting book right now "your god is too small" by the atheist republic.
it makes the point that there are two creation accounts in the bible!.
in one humans are created after the animals in the second humans are created before the animals.
I don't see the contradiction in the creation accounts.
The second account reads:
(Genesis 2:18, 19) Then Jehovah God said: “It is not good for the man to continue to be alone. I am going to make a helper for him, as a complement of him.” Now Jehovah God had been forming from the ground every wild animal of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one;
God 'HAD' been forming... It's past tense. Other translations I looked at render it the same or similar.
This says that God created Adam, and the animals God HAD created were then brought to Adam to name.
It doesn't say that Adam was created, then animals were created afterwards.
how can i describe alex rance?
if i was from the uk or europe, imagine your best football goal keeper.
if from the usa, imagine your best defence player in the nfl.
That will offend the elders, that he ignored their 'wisdom' and counsel. I doubt they would refuse any of his "self-glory" riches though.
They will get vindictive when he starts modeling underwear and releasing his own fashion/male products/grooming lines.
Let's be honest, any of those elders would give a limb if they could earn what he does, but there's just not that much pay for low skilled manual labour.
someone sent me this from jwtalk.
a guy on there just posted this regarding changes to the way the jws volunteer at conventions in spain and the changes seem fairly major:.
we had a special meeting today called a training session for volunteers.
saw this in the paper today:.
the jehovah's witnesses church in australia is the latest religious group to come to the attention of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.. the child sex abuse royal commission will hold a public hearing into controversial christian group the jehovah's witnesses, next month.. the inquiry, to be held in sydney, will hear from people who were allegedly sexually abused within the jehovah's witnesses church in australia.. it will examine how the jehovah's witnesses church and its company, the watchtower bible and tract society of australia, responded to claims of child sexual abuse within the organisation.. a victorian inquiry into how churches handle child sex abuse claims has previously taken submissions from former jehovah's witnesses who alleged instances of paedophilia, sexual assault, blackmail and death threats.. the organisation has 64,000 active "disciples" in australia but has also been described as a cult.. jehovah's witnesses believe their church is the one true religion and all others are wrong.
they are among a number of religious groups which have been examined by the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse including the catholics, anglicans, australian christian churches and the salvation army.. the jehovah's witnesses australian headquarters has been contacted for comment about the inquiry which is scheduled to begin on july 27.. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/jehovahs-witnesses-to-appear-before-sex-abuse-royal-commission-20150622-ghue73.html.
I can't imagine trying to defend a policy where an abused minor has to relive the intimate details in front of three old men, then being told they are in the wrong because there was not another witness to the abuse, and if they say anything they will be in huge trouble.
Oh, and by the way, the man being accused has a history of abuse but no-one was allowed to share that information so people could protect themselves.
For an organisation that takes pride in how it looks to everyone else, denies there's a problem and denies they practise shunning, this public stream will knock down many of their walls.
i listen to one of these all time in our hall.
she brings it up constantly about how they would do this or that but he has to work that saturday.
i think she should get a job and then he could find a lower paying 9 to 5 job..
She sets her mind on a field and buys it;
She plants a vineyard from her own labors
She sees that her trading is profitable
She makes and sells linen garments
And supplies belts to the merchants.
Give her the reward for what she does.
That is just hideous!!
And the sunglasses don't make it any better either.
i believe this is the first year that the uk wont have a summer dc at this historical old rugby stadium (which is now one of the finest arenas in the uk) the costs to rent it must be astronomical these days, and it appears they are having multiple dates at the excel arena in london plus milton keynes is being used , many memories for me from a baby onwards making the yearly trip there, the dusty old stadium, the long walks to the car parks, working on the field security, getting burnt to a crisp or being poured on, binoculars !
food tickets, meeting at the lion gates checking the talent, and on the final day drinking the local pub dry the barny arms, end of an era!
I remember watching Concord fly over.
The seat rows were so steep, it made you dizzy when you stood up at the back!
i note stillin has had a recent problem with this.
i also know of two cases were an elder went through a brothers phone to get dirt on him.
and another were a sisters email was hacked into to get dirt on her.. in both cases apparently it was for their spiritual protection (!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33201010.
story just broke in uk!!!!
a woman who claimed jehovah's witness elders failed to protect her from sex abuse carried out by a convicted paedophile has won a six-figure payout.
Lett claims these reports on child sex abuse are "apostate driven lies and dishonesties".
