Meeting schedule rearranged...WHY?

by sir82 51 Replies latest jw friends

  • Peppermint
    Peppermint

    Could there be a health & safety issue with meeting in homes? Maybe they have to take on extra insurance for a public meeting in a private home, or something like that.

  • pratt1
    pratt1

    I definitely think it is because of the lack of "quailified" homes to have the bookstudy in.

    Remember, you need to be an example in the congo to have the bookstudy in your home. That means no disfellowshipped children, active in the service and a clean, well kept and safe home.

    This eliminates about half of the congo.

    It is a real burden to have the book study in your home every week on the family.

    My mom's hall had a hard time finding enough homes to service the congo.

    They have allowed my mom to have the bookstudy in her home for many years although dad is an unbeliver and at one point quite the smoker.

    Calling quits on the book study is just a way for the borg to bow out gracefully and quitely without letting on that they just don't have enough "privledged homes' to have the service in.

  • Evidently
    Evidently
    Ignore Blondie's post and go back to the WILD speculations. More fun.
    It's that damn treat night.....the GB is pissed because everybody is stuffing brownies, cookies, cakes and pie down there pie holes and they're getting fat and lazy. Who's gonna peddle magazines if they're too winded to walk more than a block or two. Besides that the GB is pretty pissed that they don't have treat night at the bookstudies they ayttend and they're missing out......No donuts for them means no donuts for you. Capeesh!!
  • BizzyBee
    BizzyBee

    Someone mentioned that BS attendance is down. Perhaps it is easier to skip a BS because only a handful will know you missed, whereas at the KH meetings everybody in the congregation knows that you missed.

    So, is the Society going with the trend that is already emerging of blowing off BS nights?

  • sir82
    sir82

    Here's one possbility: Maybe there aren't enough good book study conductors to go around?

    With each congregation having 6 or 8 or 10 or whatver CBS's, odds are that most if not all CBS conductors are boring at best, utterly incompetant at worst. How many really good speakers/teachers were at the last congregation you attended? If you had 3 or more you were far above average. At one of my previous congregations, they were forced to use an older elder more than bordering on senility and nearly deaf because there weren't enough conductors to go around.

    The Society saw the need to go thru the Revelation book for the 4th time ....they've covered the "Greatest Man" book 3 times...apparently people still aren't "getting it". Since the Society's literature so wonderfully written () it must be the fault of the conductors, right?

    Plus, with just one congregation book study conductor, it lessens the odds of a rogue CBS conductor introducing uncomfortable ideas to his mini-flock. Sometimes there were only 6 or 7 paragraphs, with few scriptures, to cover in the whole hour dedicated to the CBS...it would be easy to introduce "outside" material during the study, if the conductor were so inclined.

    I don't know that that explains everything, but it seems like that must be part of it.

  • Nosferatu
    Nosferatu

    The WTS realized that Armageddon REALLY isn't coming at all and all religion will never be banned, so they decided keeping the BS meetings in individual homes was pointless.

    This may just wake up a few JWs. "Where will they go" to meet when all religion is banned?

  • kwintestal
    kwintestal

    I would suggest for a few reasons.

    1. Not enough elders. (my first thought)
    2. Not enough houses willing to host.
    3. Not big enough turn-out (consistantly) thus boosting attendance averages
    4. Less time = less comments = less individuality = less thinking

    I might think of more, but those are the main ones. I'm actually surprised that this might happen. I remember years ago them going on about how the bookstudies will more then likely be the only contact we have with the JW's once the work is under ban. I don't know if this is written somewhere, but we could really use it to our advantage if it is as it would seem that they're not too worried about the whole persecution thing any more.

    Kwin

  • RubaDub
    RubaDub

    1) hard to find locations in private homes or schedule them at the KH when 2 or more congregations share one building.

    I totally agree with Blondie's comments.

    Most KH's in our area here in South Florida have 4 or 5 congregations meeting in them. Ours has 5. There is no available time to have a book study in the KH since there are congregations meeting there every week night, all day Sunday and Saturday afternoon and evening. Plus, with the meetings for field service, there is little if any "free" time to schedule other meetings.

    And it is VERY difficult to get brothers to open their homes weekly, expecially when there are children involved.

    Plus, with the increased cost of fuel, it gets very expensive for a poorer family with kids to drive or take public transportation just for a one-hour meeting.

    Rub a Dub

  • journey-on
    journey-on
    Could there be a health & safety issue with meeting in homes? Maybe they have to take on extra insurance for a public meeting in a private home, or something like that.

    I agree with the above statement. The WTS is probably getting more and more lawsuit conscious, and an officially sanctioned "church" meeting in a private home most assuredly has insurance issues to consider. People are more and more lawsuit conscious nowadays, and I know I would be looking at my home insurance policy if I were allowing an official meeting to take place in my home. People that get injured are more likely to sue the one with the most money....the organization rather than the home owner or home renter.

  • changeling
    changeling

    Here's my take:

    1- It's always been difficult to find "suitable" homes for book studies. Either people don't qualify (they are not the perfect family) or no one volunteers their home, or too may live out of territory...

    2- Book Study attendance is notoriously low and this brings down averages.

    3- Having all meetings at the KH gives the Society and the elders more control.

    4- The Society may feel threatened by "goodie night". ;)

    changeling

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