The official term was “Congregation Servant”, although they were commonly referred to as “Overseers”. Whatever, they were the congregation’s “Big Ratu” when it came to most things. The more honest amongst them had to admit that after the elder arrangement came in, they had to “adjust their attitude”. Others had issues. In at least one congregation that I recall, the former Congregation Servant attempted to maintain the status quo by not recommending anybody else as an elder. He got away with that for quite a number of years, before he himself was dumped as an elder.
Rivergang
JoinedPosts by Rivergang
-
19
Elder Arrangement
by vienne inhi everyone, (including the person who down votes all of my posts).
as some of you know, i'm working toward my master's degree.
comments from those associated when the elder arrangement was introduced would help me with a research paper.. what was the reaction among adherents?
-
-
-
19
Elder Arrangement
by vienne inhi everyone, (including the person who down votes all of my posts).
as some of you know, i'm working toward my master's degree.
comments from those associated when the elder arrangement was introduced would help me with a research paper.. what was the reaction among adherents?
-
-
Rivergang
When the coming elder arrangement was first announced, which was about 12 months before it was implemented, there was considerable speculation as to its consequences.
Many wondered if it would result in the similar sort of upheaval that followed the WTS’s 1938 move to henceforth directly appoint the congregation’s “Overseer” (prior to that, these had been chosen by election). That, in its time, caused some congregations to completely break away. In fact, in one city at least, those that separated themselves from WTS control outnumbered those who remained.
It was speculated whether the coming elder arrangement would result in similar such division.
-
8
"Why would anyone build a house in this system of things?"
by Queequeg inrecent posts about elders telling people to quit their jobs etc.
reminded me of this.. when i was in my early twenties i decided that i really wanted to build a house (id always wanted to, even as a kid).
i justified my "selfish" desire in my own mind by thinking that once we were living in it we'd have more freedom and skills to volunteer to do things like quickbuilds and international construction (actually, it really did work out that way).
-
-
Rivergang
Waton.
It was yet another case of “obey and be blessed” - and the “good” (ie. obedient) JWs the ones most likely to suffer.
-
8
"Why would anyone build a house in this system of things?"
by Queequeg inrecent posts about elders telling people to quit their jobs etc.
reminded me of this.. when i was in my early twenties i decided that i really wanted to build a house (id always wanted to, even as a kid).
i justified my "selfish" desire in my own mind by thinking that once we were living in it we'd have more freedom and skills to volunteer to do things like quickbuilds and international construction (actually, it really did work out that way).
-
-
Rivergang
This was very much the case during those years of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Then, anybody who even bought their own home was viewed as either “worldly”, barking mad, or both. Rather, the expectation was that anybody who owned property would sell it and “pioneer” on the proceeds. A commonly held belief was that if you owned a house, someone else would only “take it off you in the persecution”.
Talk about mad people and mad times!
-
61
Elders hounding members to quit their jobs due to missing too many meetings
by RULES & REGULATIONS inhow many times did you see elders hounding congregation members to quit their jobs due to missing meetings?.
my brother worked at a grocery store at 16 years old.
he would miss tuesday's ministry school due to his work schedule.
-
-
Rivergang
In the day, they tried that one on my father, while he was still a “bible study”. They would have had him throw in his job and move in closer to town, so as to be able to “attend the meetings.”
Being the fiery-tempered Scotsman that he was, though, my father promptly told them where to go - and what to do with themselves once they got there!
-
39
Climate propaganda
by neat blue dog ingotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.
-
-
Rivergang
Volcanic eruptions are more likely to produce an overall cooling effect than anything else, because of the large amounts of sulphur that get released.
More recent examples of this are Mt Pinatubo:
Global Effects of Mount Pinatubo - Philippines | ReliefWeb
and Mt ChiChon:
Looking Back at the 1982 eruption of El Chichón in Mexico | WIRED
-
39
Climate propaganda
by neat blue dog ingotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.
-
-
Rivergang
There has been considerable speculation about the role of volcanoes in the release to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases.
Going by the example of the Mt Pinatubo eruption (Philippines, 1991), the short term effect of a major volcanic event is to in fact cause lower temperatures. That volcanoes release large quantities of sulphur is self-evident to anybody who has ever been in a volcanic area (For example, the city of Rotorua in New Zealand's Volcanic Plateau, throughout which the "rotten egg" smell of hydrogen sulphide gas permeates everything!).
This results in an "aerosol" of fine particles of sulphuric acid in the atmosphere, which reflect the sun's rays - see the following link to a CSIRO discussion about this effect, and the result it has on surface temperatures.
(CSIRO = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
-
39
Climate propaganda
by neat blue dog ingotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.
-
-
Rivergang
Sea Breeze,
Not sure why that article you quote includes a link to NASA, because if you follow that NASA link, it mentions nothing about Arctic sea ice being greater in extent in 2021 than in 2007? Rather, it confirms that the area under sea ice in the Arctic (as measured each September) has consistently decreased every year from 1979 until the present.
FEE writes:
In 2021, the Arctic sea ice extent was 4.72 million square kilometers, about 11 percent more than the 4.16 million kilometers in 2007, according to NASA’s estimates.
-
39
Climate propaganda
by neat blue dog ingotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.
-
-
Rivergang
Solar activity is something else which also affects the earth's climate. (For example, where I grew up, the annual rainfall peaks with the 11 year sunspot cycles. During a peak year in sunspot activity, 97 inches of rainfall in just a three month period is not at all uncommon).
For those who are interested, though, the following discussion outlines why it is thought that the current warming trend is not the result of increased solar activity.
Is the Sun causing global warming? – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet (nasa.gov)
-
39
Climate propaganda
by neat blue dog ingotta love jwdotorg as usual regurgitating the financially/politically motivated (and thoroughly disproved) climate change propaganda:.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/ruining-the-earth-bible-meaning-hope/.
-
-
Rivergang
Further discussion from NASA, re. the Milankovitch Cycles