Posts by James Jack

56

A fresh start

by FormerlySandL in

after the worst introduction i could ever make on the forum i would like to reintroduce myself and make a fresh start on the forum and hopefully over time i will be able to redeem myself.

i have changed my user name which was over dramatic and ridiculous in the cold light of day but for transparency and to show i am not trying to hide anything i have adapted the original name and it now has a more positive feel.

after reading a lot of posts on this forum i am feeling more optimistic about my future.

James Jack

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

3 pioneer schools? thats quite some going, I thought most pioneers only do one.
I Regular Pioneered 14 years and went twice and was invited by the CO for a 3rd time! But I turned it down and came off the list.

161

I am leaving the JW's . I am alone and scared. Advice and help needed please

by scared and lonely in

i am sorry that on my first post i am asking for help and advice but i am at my wits end.

i have been brought up a witness all my life and it is all i know.

i am an ex-elder and pioneer and i don't know anybody outside of the congregation.. i have been unhappy for so long and wanted to leave.

James Jack

What's funny about this story, I thought this was the story about a young Elder(28 years old), Pioneer Couple I know that lived in my Basement 5 years ago. Because he was a MTS Graduate and pretty sharp person and he was used pretty extensively in the Spanish Circuit. He also worked for me Part Time.

He later said some untruths about me to my current Elders and I fired him and told him to leave. Him and his wife moved to another area in Alabama where he became the Cobe and sub CO. Just heard a week ago that he lost his job, could not make ends meet, and left the Congregation to go live with his parents in North Carolina.

But when you said you are from the UK, I said "DAMN", I was hoping this story was about this "A..hole" couple.

This account about "S&L", mirrors their life in many ways, so I can believe it!

51

Hello everyone. New here looking for info and friends

by Harvard Illiterate 411 in

i sometimes was redirected to this page from reddit or another ex-jw site but never bothered to sign up.

i wanted to stay off the radar but since i'm getting dis-fellowshipped anyways and have no plans to come back what the hell.

been 22 years in the truth........... ahhhh i hate to use that expression...... bad habit but you know what i mean.

James Jack

Tell more about your self and you did for the Borg

31

Midweek meeting

by loneranger in

jw
friends

almost two months into the change in format of the mid week meeting from the school and service meeting format to the christian life and ministry (clam) format.

in my congregation, seems attendance is down 10-15% over the normally low attendance for the mid week meeting before the change.

some indicate that the meeting under the clam format is very "intense"...you really need to study and research to be able to participate or get anything out of the meetings.

James Jack

I'm sorry, I actually fell asleep at the meeting this week, very embarrassed.

26

Good idea or bad idea?

by stephanie61092 in

first and foremost, thank you so much to so many of you who have reached out to me over the past few days since my post on sunday.

i'm not totally in the best mental state, however, i do have a very small amount of people that i can lean on for support.

i relayed my feelings to a friend (my only friend, really), who took the initiative to inform my family.

James Jack

As The Account Servant now, when someone that is in a situation as yours, I would let the Secretary know.

It seems since the new arrangement has been in place, our local Elders have been more interested how the donations are doing.

17

We give more to the Watchtower Society than for our local KH

by James Jack in

i have been doing the accounts for our local congregation now for 3 years.

i just thought, wow our local expenses total just $500 a month, yet we have an ongoing expense each month of $600 for the kh expansion work(ie:world wide work), $60 for the traveling overseer insurance and $54 for the local kingdom hall insurance, in addition to the operating committee expense of $525.. so, our one congregation sends $714 a month plus what the publishers contribute towards the world wide work usually between $600 to $700 per month.

in other words, we are at least sending, for our little congregation of 75 publishers, $1314 a month!

James Jack

My figures did not include Assemblies and Conventions, so that number could easily be doubled!!!

FatFreek 200510 hours ago

James Jack. I hope that you've disguised that set of 9 numeric variables because one of headquarter's IT folks can put the ones you've here disclosed into a computer search expression that can pinpoint your congregation -- hence, you

I thought about that for just a second. With some many congregations( I have check around and many mirror my figures), I feel pretty safe.

17

We give more to the Watchtower Society than for our local KH

by James Jack in

i have been doing the accounts for our local congregation now for 3 years.

i just thought, wow our local expenses total just $500 a month, yet we have an ongoing expense each month of $600 for the kh expansion work(ie:world wide work), $60 for the traveling overseer insurance and $54 for the local kingdom hall insurance, in addition to the operating committee expense of $525.. so, our one congregation sends $714 a month plus what the publishers contribute towards the world wide work usually between $600 to $700 per month.

in other words, we are at least sending, for our little congregation of 75 publishers, $1314 a month!

James Jack

Again, that is what we are committed to send. Just the World Wide Work Donations would be an additional 1/2 a Billion Dollars a year!

17

We give more to the Watchtower Society than for our local KH

by James Jack in

i have been doing the accounts for our local congregation now for 3 years.

i just thought, wow our local expenses total just $500 a month, yet we have an ongoing expense each month of $600 for the kh expansion work(ie:world wide work), $60 for the traveling overseer insurance and $54 for the local kingdom hall insurance, in addition to the operating committee expense of $525.. so, our one congregation sends $714 a month plus what the publishers contribute towards the world wide work usually between $600 to $700 per month.

in other words, we are at least sending, for our little congregation of 75 publishers, $1314 a month!

James Jack

I have been doing the Accounts for our Local Congregation now for 3 years. I just thought, wow our local expenses total just $500 a month, yet we have an ongoing expense each month of $600 for the KH Expansion Work(ie:World Wide Work), $60 for the Traveling Overseer Insurance and $54 for the Local Kingdom Hall Insurance, in addition to the Operating Committee expense of $525.

So, our one Congregation sends $714 a month plus what the Publishers contribute towards the World Wide Work usually between $600 to $700 per month. In other words, we are at least sending, for our little Congregation of 75 Publishers, $1314 a month! What other Religion or Church sends this kind of Money per Month to the Mother Organization?

That's $8568 a year. If there are 120,000 Congregations, that would come out to over a BILLION DOLLARS a year of tax free money!!!!

37

Stepping out of the shadows

by contramundum in

i have been lurking on the site for a few months and thought it about time i plucked up the courage to step out of the shadows and say hello.. i am in the process of fading after realizing all is not right with the organization i had trusted implicitly for over 40 years.

there have always been 'truths' i have struggled to accept entirely, even as a child, but was confident that trusting in jehovah, building my faith and remaining patient would be enough to settle any nagging doubts that remained, so i pushed any inconsistencies to the back of my mind and concentrated on being the best witness that i could be.. over the last few years, however, i have been preoccupied with a number of crises in my family and stepping back slightly from 'theocratic' activity has allowed me to re evaluate a number of concerns and research sources other than the sanitized wt publications.. my eyes are now wide open - i found things which have appalled me and left me feeling extremely let down and disappointed by people i had really trusted.. i tried gently raising a few subjects with my mum (who was baptized early '70s and still remains a staunch wt supporter) but she will hear no criticism of the organization.

i understand this because the best part of her life has been invested in the religion and to acknowledge it may have got things wrong would be to recognize the last 40 years have been a vain waste.

James Jack

Welcome,

Would also like to hear more of your stories with the ORG and any responsibilities you may have had.

18

What was your local needs this week?

by dbq407 in

ours was on making use of phone witnessing and letter writing.

both ineffective and wastes of time.

another local cong.

James Jack

Is your DPA up to date. Only had 20 out of 55 on file.

We need them filled out asap.