And I thought that it was just me. In our congregation, here in Australia it's the same. The normaly lower attendance is even slightly lower. Only by 2 or 3 mind you but still its noticable. Additionally, meeting participation is definatly lower with the conductor having to almost beg for answers.
no-zombie
JoinedPosts by no-zombie
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31
Midweek meeting
by loneranger inalmost 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.
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What's next?
by Grey Goose inhi everyone.. thanks for the welcome a few days ago, it was nice to hear your support.. this is a pure speculation thread, but what do you think the next changes are going to be?.
will we see tything come into play?.
more evangelical style meetings?.
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no-zombie
Going by past behaviour, the Governing Body will continue to work in a re-active manner as opposed to the problem solving pro-active path that is needed to stop the rot that is fast eating grass roots support. Deluded and totally isolated from the real world of the average publisher, I expect the Governing Body to continue tinkering at the edges theologically while adding just a bit more "bling" to keep the drugged masses happy. But the problem of going down the road of being "new-and-improve" is that past changes quickly go stale and the Brotherhood, like drug adicts, will requiring biger and bigger hits to keep the hype of Jehovah's blessing rolling along. Unfortunatley, there is no happy ending for the Governing Body. Unlike Damocles who had only one sword over his head, the Governing Body has many and sooner or latter one of those threads will snap bringing catostroic changes to system of worship long time witnesses have always known. -
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Need advice
by Darkknight757 inhi.i've been pouring over this site for the past few days looking for some advice and i hope there is someone here that can help a guy out.
i'm desperate.....short bio: i came into the organization after high school and shortly after married a wonderful girl who was born-in.we have been happily married now for nearly 20 years and things were well until 2015 hit.
by the way, i currently serve as an elder and have the ""privilege"" of being the "watchtower overseer".. either here nor there, we were told we would never have children but late last year my wife became prego!!
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no-zombie
Hi Darkknight757,
It sounds like you are quite stressed about what going on around you and while you may feel like you are going to pop, the best thing you can do at the moment is to fake it until you know what you really want to do. Many of us here are in your shoes, either currently serving as elders or ex-elders with wives still in the organization. It a hard problem when the people we love don't understand things as we do, that for sure. And because it would be wrong for me to tell you what to do, I have decided not to tell my wife everything and just slow down theocraticly and wait for the organization to implode and be there to pick up the pieces. Of course i'm viewed at lazy but for me and my circumstances better that other alternatives out there, as you know. Hang in there, you'll work it out.
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Intriguing - but Unsubstantiated!
by The Searcher inaccording to one source on a western european 'apostate' website, the org's plan is to abandon the name "jehovah's witnesses" in the future, and replace it with "worshippers of jehovah.".
http://www.bruderinfo-aktuell.de/index.php/fixnews/#comment-4313 .
the gist of the account appears to be a repeat of rutherford's re-branding and debunking of old predictions made by the previous shower of fakers.
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no-zombie
The whole issue of renaming the Organization would have a lot of benefits (as discussed already) however there is always risks associated with it because the GB cannot go back once they've pulled the pin. However, we all know that the Organization will die in its present form, something which they must know too. So, in some ways the GB doesn't have much to loose. And if it goes all pear shaped and large numbers of brothers do drop off; they could write in a few years time that its was a part of a great 'sorting' work or link it to the words of Matthew 24:10-12.
On a side point however, if the name change did go ahead, could you be disfellowshiped by an organization that doesn't exist anymore? Just thinking.
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Introducing...ME
by Heartsafire inlong time lurker here.
i'm a fifth gen born-in baptized jw.
to say i've been struggling with doubts is an understatement.
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no-zombie
Hi Heartsafire,
A lot of us here have wives or husbands who are still fully committed to the organization. I love my wife and we've been married a very long time but unfortunately she just doesn't want to see what going on. And while many have already given some advice, I have a little too. Use this site to vent or ask questions. Its helped me a lot to come to terms with the fact that I'm not alone in the way I'm thinking. And in regards to your husband, you know that most witnesses do try to do the right thing and I'm sure he is trying too. But trying to change how someone else thinks is very hard indeed and may only cause other unintended problems. Clearly though, the society is dying and recently events has shown it has taken a turn for the worse. I'm hoping is that soon, it will become so obvious that the things are not right that even the most die hard brother or sister will see it. And we can be there to pick up the pieces when our family finally catch on. Hope its been helpful.
No-zombie
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You have to admit, the carrot is pretty alluring.
by John Aquila inthere were several families that were visiting my mom today and i was sitting in and just listening to all of them talk..
they started talking about the recent shooting at the university.
and its so easy for them because all they have to say is;.
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no-zombie
I think that witnesses have evolved over time in regards to their motivations in staying in or joining the Truth. In the very beginning I imagine a high percentage of people became believers because of doctrine. A kind of new age protestant reaction to the established churches. However today most witnesses don't know a lot about the organization's doctrine, its origins or in fact; the bible itself (as compared to times past). This is why 'The Hope' has become so large in the minds of the brothers. A fact that has not gone unnoticed the GB. Like most of you, I've invested a lot of time in building up a collection of older publication and other material to one day show the ones' I care for the errors of the society. But recently I came to the realization that its not going to work. Most witnesses don't care about the teachings any more. And when they don't understand a new teaching (aka 'this generation') they just default to the line, "the GB knows best". As a consequence, my new tack is to only attack emotionally. The child abuse issue, the changing blood doctrine and kingdom halls in Africa (instead of $15k watches) gets better traction than trying to fight it out intellectually. -
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On a need to know basis - The Letter
by no-zombie inwe've just had our sunday meeting and the letter was read out to the congregation.. however, there was no mention of the bethel lay-offs or the building program shut-downs.. looks like we are on a need to know basis, here in australia..
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no-zombie
We've just had our Sunday meeting and the letter was read out to the congregation.
However, there was no mention of the Bethel lay-offs or the building program shut-downs.
Looks like we are on a need to know basis, here in Australia.
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Some Watchtower growth projection numbers (5 scenarios)
by Saintbertholdt ini've been doing some watchtower membership growth projections.
the best, worst and most lightly future scenarios.
i've used the worlds population as a barometer of future watchtower growth.
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no-zombie
With deep respect to the work that 'Saintbertholdt' has done in regards to the Witness growth projections, I think that the numbers are too simplistic in just considering the publisher/population ratios as the basis of his calculations. I think that the true situation is far worse for the organization when the average age quotient is put into the mix.
This is because that the average age of a population has always been the true predictor of the future fertility rates.
And as the average age of a country increases (without the immigration of breading couples) and the tipping point of population menopause is reached, the rate of population decline is not linear but exponential. This is the real horror now facing industrialized nations like Japan and Germany.
In a direct application to the organization, first consider the average population country by country. You can quickly see the figures by going to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_median_age. For example, here in Australia the average population age is 37.5 but the average in congregations would have at least 45-50. So then make an honest comparison to your own congregation. What will you find? I'd wager that the average age of the congregation is already least 10-15 years older than your national average.
By looking at the ratio of breeding age individuals as opposed to pre-menopausal and menopausal individuals and you will come to the understanding why so many congregations are dying or being amalgamating. And also remember that as a population ages so does it productive output. As the general publisher population ages, their work participation rate, work efficiency rate and actual effectivity rate to bring in replacement converts rapidly falls off dramatically.
Everything revolves around having children; and lots of them. A historical study of population growth rates reveal that only in countries where women who have 4-6 children in her lifetime are the places where real growth occurs.Without them, nations or religions will die very quickly.
People may lie but numbers don't. -
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Kingdom Halls for sale - Australia
by no-zombie inthis appeared on the abc news website this morning.. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-09/sale-of-jehovah-witnesses-halls-an-expansion-plan/6533544.
and here are the halls.http://www.commercialview.com.au/211-yorktown-road-craigmore-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8894836 http://www.commercialview.com.au/8-james-street-crafers-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8890348 http://www.commercialview.com.au/53-woodside-road-lobethal-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8915140when is the branch going to sell your hall?
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no-zombie
Thanks for the nice welcome but i've posted under another name before this site was re-built. i'm still a little paranoid of big brother, sorry. -
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Kingdom Halls for sale - Australia
by no-zombie inthis appeared on the abc news website this morning.. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-09/sale-of-jehovah-witnesses-halls-an-expansion-plan/6533544.
and here are the halls.http://www.commercialview.com.au/211-yorktown-road-craigmore-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8894836 http://www.commercialview.com.au/8-james-street-crafers-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8890348 http://www.commercialview.com.au/53-woodside-road-lobethal-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8915140when is the branch going to sell your hall?
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no-zombie
This appeared on the ABC news website this morning.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-09/sale-of-jehovah-witnesses-halls-an-expansion-plan/6533544
And here are the Halls.
http://www.commercialview.com.au/211-yorktown-road-craigmore-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8894836 http://www.commercialview.com.au/8-james-street-crafers-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8890348 http://www.commercialview.com.au/53-woodside-road-lobethal-sa/commercial-for-sale-details-8915140
When is the branch going to sell your hall?