Posts by HappyHappyHappy1914

30

What are the economics of cart witnessing?

by slimboyfat in

on another thread shepherdless sketched out the past business model of jws and its demise.

until 1990 they were a straightforward publishing business with the tremendous advantage of free labour in production and free distribution agents.

since then they've been relying on donations for literature to keep the old model going.

HappyHappyHappy1914

I tend to think most on this board tend to overstate how much cart witnessing is done. It is easy to feel that the organization is going almost entirely to carts because they are much more visible. In my area, the carts are only manned by pioneers. And not even all pioneers. You have to be specially recommended. So cart witnessing is more of a status symbol and another class distinction.

I would argue that the main purpose is to keep people pioneering and motivate other to pioneer in a way that appears effective. I know many in my area who have stopped because they can recognize how unproductive house to house is. With cart witnessing, even if no one stops, you can argue that you made a witness simply by being seen.

43

Beards galore at the Assembly

by Truthexplorer in

ok, at our recent assembly, i noticed that there were quite a lot of brothers wearing beards.

not just the older dudes, but right across a range of ages, young men, middle aged men and older men.

is watchtower beginning to relax this rule at last?

HappyHappyHappy1914

I too am interesting on where this was. I have yet to see any beards at my assemblies or conventions in the midwest USA. Ive heard that some locations, specifically Northern Europe, are a little more tolerant.

32

Peer presure to use Ipad

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

earlier this season i advised my retired father to ignore the use of a tablet during his kingdom hall congregational visits.

his response was hopefull, but between the lines i could hear he had no choice.. yesterday he showed me his new 600 euro 64 gb ipad air 2. he had no clue what he has to do with it, he told me one of the elders will install the jw.org apps.. so, i feel he had to deal with presure to buy this ipad and i think he is not the only one.. do you recognize this?.

gorby.

HappyHappyHappy1914

There is definitely strong pressure. At the sample meeting video, nearly everyone has an Ipad. And like good little sheep, many will look at that and start desiring them. In my hall,though, most of the older ones have dug in deep and refuse to get any kind of tablet. Part of me feels really sad for them. I think they get the sense that the "chariot" is passing them by as it pursues younger and more useful victims.

32

What more do they need to see?

by stuckinarut2 in

so bethelites are being decreased...bethel homes even sold off.... special pioneers no longer being funded.. magazines getting smaller and published less frequently.. building work stopping or being reduced.. no large conventions and renting of venues.. etc.... so, money is not coming in anymore to cover the "expenses"??.

didnt the first ever watchtower said that when this occurs, it would be evidence of god no longer blessing the activity....

oh, and throughout the years, we have constantly been told that the "growth of the org and the projects such as buildings and contributions" etc were evidence of gods blessing.... .

HappyHappyHappy1914

I feel like the whole belief structure is built around minimizing your own opinion and to not trust it. When something is off or strange, everyone does a collective "I don't understand, but Jehovahs is taking care of it" approach that after awhile it becomes normal. And despite all the videos, so much is done in secret. I wouldn't be surprised if most peoples reactions to the SPs being removed is...."I'm sure there planning something big they aren't telling us yet. I'm so excited!!!"

50

Coordinator of Elders Problems in One Southern England Circuit!

by The Searcher in

information just passed to me.

let's hope this becomes even more widespread.

i wonder if the britain branch suspects a conspiracy?

HappyHappyHappy1914

We just had our co visit and he made it clear to "remind the brothers of their dedication" i.e. Guilt the, into serving out. Over the next few years, when this problem gets worse and worse expect more pressure to be put on those not serving. Anthony Morris' comments about being 23 and a MS makes it clear how the gb feels about those serving.

15

I bought property, not that far from Watchtower land in Warrwick NY.

by Dunedain in

i wound up buying 26 acres of land in upstate ny, a few years ago.

i bought it strictly as an investment, due to rumors of there going to be huge development of the area.

it seems like casinos, walmart, and tons of building have started in the area, or are now breaking ground, since i purchased it.

HappyHappyHappy1914

it could lovingly house all those bethalites that have recently been booted out.

52

CO Comes Up With A New Way To Be Judgemental...

by JW_Rogue in

at the latest co visit something very strange happened.

during the meeting with the elders and servants he passed out a copy of a hypothetical publisher card and asked us what we could learn from it.

upon receiving it i saw that the average hours were pretty good, it had return visits and quite a few bible studies.

HappyHappyHappy1914

As someone who currently works on the time reports for my hall, I don't find this surprising at all. Many in our congregation are pretty clearly using their studies with their their unbaptized kids as the only means in which they have time. They are never out in the "field" and their report is always the exact same each month. That is also why whenever we have reports about "average hours" it is a complete joke. How many of those hours were parents watching caleb and sophia videos with a three year old?

50

Coordinator of Elders Problems in One Southern England Circuit!

by The Searcher in

information just passed to me.

let's hope this becomes even more widespread.

i wonder if the britain branch suspects a conspiracy?

HappyHappyHappy1914

The lack of serving brothers appears to be spiraling out of hand. In my circuit, there are over a hundred former elders. Many of them have stepped down because of health or because they were "burnt out." The problem is that this puts a TON of stress on the ones now serving, making it nearly impossible for them to handle their responsibility. Many of them are doing their best....but then the CO comes into town and tells them they need to do more shepherding visits, do a better job training the younger ones, and puts even more pressure on them. And the younger ones, who no longer view those appointments as a "privilege," just aren't stepping up in large numbers.

In more ways than one, we are getting closer to a tipping point.

30

Pledge for Global Assistance Arrangement - $15 per publisher!

by nmthinker in

last night our congregation read a letter for the global assistance arrangement combined with the traveling overseer assistance arrangement.

the "recommended" amount was $15 per publisher, which was well over $1000 for our hall.. it seemed steep.

our congregation does not have this type of money.

HappyHappyHappy1914

the best part of the letter is when it mentions how you are more than welcome to donate MORE than the 15 per publisher if you want.

Thank you GB for giving us permission to give even more money. Thank you for that special privilege.

137

Something interesting!

by John Aquila in

i was invited to a small get-together by a long time friend.

we both served as elders for years.

he is in his late 70s.

HappyHappyHappy1914

First post on this board (signed up to post on this topic)

I too am of the 30s and 40s group and would like to make a few comments. While I hate to use this word, I think those in my age group are in a bit of a transitional "generation," We are caught between the more robust organization of years prior and the more user-friendly, re-branded organization of today. Alot of my generation had already left by their teens due primarily to overly restrictive rules, not any issues with doctrine. In fact, most of the ones I stay in contact with still believe its the the truth.

But what about the ones that stayed? It seems to me that most of them have found ways to enjoy the social aspects of the truth and minimize the emotional damage of the rest. But what I find incredibly fascinating is that this generation has little desire to serve in the congregation. And that the WT has noticed.

From a 2015 WT:

Elders in affluent lands may face an added challenge: how to motivate baptized brothers in their 20’s or 30’s to get involved in congregation activities. We asked experienced elders in some 20 Western lands to tell us why they think some young brothers shy away from accepting congregation privileges.

While I can't speak to the rest of the world, in my area their is a huge lack of younger servants and elders. And alot of brothers who remain in the congregation but used to serve. I think most people my age don't see the responsibility of those brothers as something that should be sought after. If you're raising a family, often with both parents working full time, do you really want to be spending your evenings in judicial committees or filling out paperwork? Serving has lost its luster for the vast majority. And the brothers that are left are typically of an older generation (50+) or are younger but are super zealous and trying to climb the JW ladder.