Supplementary meeting: synopsis

by Moxy 31 Replies latest jw friends

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  Moxy

  the meetings were held in michigan (bibleexaminer), long island (nytelecom), san diego (elder families only), and here in toronto.

  the stadium we used is the same we normally use for district conventions. unlike the DC tho, which is spread over 2 weekends at the stadium, it was packed absolutely full. it was very hard to find seats anywhere, just a few singles here and there and lots standing in the halls. (same in nyt's) and because everyone drove and parked at the stadium and not at hotels, parking was even harder to find.

  i moved along with the crowds towards the doors and just managed to brush aside my jacket far enough to reveal a bit of green from the corner of my ticket/badge for the attendant as i was corralled in, carrying my large tape recorder (which turned out to be near useless due to sound quality.) nyt is right. anyone couldve easily got in.

  The program: (times are approx)

  Watchtower summary (local speaker - 30m)

  usual for any assembly that preempts the usual WT study.

  Summary of experiences and talks at annual meeting (Splane 15min)

  very brief

  Relief from Crisis - A Practical Remedy (Pierce 15min)

  buildup to announcement of new yeartext, 'Come to me and i will refresh you - Mt 11:28'

  Highlights from special conventions in italy and france (2 parts - local brothers 1hr)

  conducted in interview style, 4 brothers for each country for 8 long interviews.

  Song

  Courageously trusting in jehovah in these critical times (Splane 30min)

  started out with importance of trusting in jehovah and not ourselves as we get ever so close. summary of situations in armenia, georgia, russia, france, and NYC. nothing much new to jws and ourselves who are on the net and get these experiences ourselves. couple interesting comments were:

  'brothers ask if there is anything they can do besides prayer. but prayer is the MOST important thing they can. the most helpful...'

  'we can be sure the heavenly organization is focused right now on the events here on earth. all the angels, the 135,000-some anointed already in heaven...' (thought the 144,000 minus 8,000+ calculation was interesting.)

  the meeting is obviously running long and people are starting to drop off now.

  Moving forward unitedly with jehovahs organization (Pierce 45min)

  now, a full 2 hours and 45 minutes into the 3 hour program and Br Pierce came up to give the last talk and im thinking, 'ok. finally. this is it. whatever they came to say will be now.' He starts out, 'some have wondered why we set up these special meetings. was there going to some momentous announcement? maybe announce a new date for armageddon?' there were light chuckles. i thought it was nice that the GB can joke about it now. theyre really ok guys. he continued, 'no. the governing body just felt that it would be nice to include more people in on the excitement every year that goes on at the annual meeting.' He lamented that their original plans had to be scaled down a bit because of major league sports rescheduling. He then pointed out how much excitement there was, for example, in the fact all the attendees at the 4 locations got to find out what the new yeartext was AT THE SAME TIME. i had goosebumps. he followed with some more NYC experiences and tidbits from the meeting the day previous. as he was finishing up he said, 'the governing body have given prayerful thought to this meeting and have composed this announcement.' could he redeem himself with some actual content, i wondered. the announcement, as near as i can recall was this:

  as we look ahead to these critical days, it is important not to 'forsake the gathering of ourselves together' to 'incite to love' but especially so 'as you behold the day drawing near.' in keeping with this, the governing body has plans to hold district conventions all over the world next year. and in 2003 iiiifffff it is jehovah's will, we maaaaaaaay hold international conventions in certain locations.

  pierce over-emphasized the words just like that. now conventions around the world is a non-announcement of course. and the last international convention was in '98 and these are normally held every 5 years so this is another non-anouncement that only served another opportunity to get people excited about 'how close' we are. after reading the quoted announcement, he couldnt leave it alone but summarized, 'so thats what we plan. we dont know what the world situation will be by then.

  the entire 3hr meeting ran 45min overtime.

  mox
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  safe4kids

  Hey Moxy ,

  Thanks for the info. I'm reading the board at the university library and I laughed out loud at your comment:
  

  He then pointed out how much excitement there was, for example, in the fact all the attendees at the 4 locations got to find out what the new yeartext was AT THE SAME TIME. i had goosebumps.

  Wow, how wonderful it is that god gives us spiritual food at the PROPER time!

  Don't know how you endured it...you da man!

  Dana

  "...I'd walk with my people if I could find them..."

  Third Eye Blind, Deep Inside of You
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  Moxy

  i was expecting there to be at least SOME small interesting announcement that i could spend some time analysing but there really wasnt. like i said initially, the only announcement was that fact that these meetings were being held. the implication was that they would continue, perhaps in different cities each year. i hope they come up with a better name for them. the badge cards/tickets actually say in bold letters at the top: THE SUPPLEMENTARY MEETING FOLLOWING THE ANNUAL MEETING. perhaps that could be shortened. jokes with the word 'supple' come to mind.

  i can barely get up the energy to write out the synopsis, i was actually upset to have to spend all that time to go all the way out there and look around frustatedly, for parking and seats, just to find out the GB is so desperately out of ideas, they can only say, 'well what if we just keep doing what we're doing, but do it MOOOORE.' i imagine the other GBs sitting at the table thinking to themselves, 'heeeey, i like it. i like it a lot.'

  but thank you all for reading thru this and commiserating with those of us unfortunate enough to have had to sit thru it.

  mox
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  messenger

  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

  You had to wait three hours and forty-five minute for that????

  These guys are so out to lunch and out of touch with the real world, it is amazing.

  It is like a pep rally for a football game with 90 year old cheerleaders. If this is the rally then the game is over. Just don't tell the cheerleaders they are to senile to understand it anyway.

  Friends let me be the first to announce it:

  THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF WTBTS!

  The numbers will never be higher, the hours will drop, the organization will go into decline while the cheerleaders in NY wave feeble poms poms without a clue as to why. They will blame Satan for their stupidity as usual and some will believe it. So it goes.
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  comment

  This is almost always the GB's approach, unless they're absolutely forced into doing something different: "Let's keep on doing what we're doing, only MORE and BETTER!"

  I remember as a ministerial servant attending the meeting with the circuit overseer and all of us being told that the way to get meeting attendance back up was for us to give better talks with more research put into them, arrive even earlier at the Kingdom Hall, spend more time in field service as an example to the spiritually weaker ones and the sisters (yup, lump those two groups together! *cringe*), and do the supplementary supplementary Bible reading--and so on.

  Of course, there could never be a suggestion that the inherent quality of what was being dished up at Jehovah's banquet of well-oiled dishes wasn't as good as it could be. Or that we were already forcefed it too frequently.

  Thanks for the synopsis, moxy. I'm still in shock from the announcement that the GB have decided to hold district conventions worldwide in 2002. Just imagine what it would be like if they did that EVERY YEAR!!! ;)

  comment
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  Ranchette

  Moxy,

  Thanks for taking the time to fill us in on the not-so-special,
  special meeting.

  I know this must have been painful for you.

  I got a kick out of your "goosebomps" comment.
  Ranchette
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  Marvin Shilmer

  Hi Moxy!

  Thanks for going through that for everyone else’s sake.

  Like everyone else, I too was wondering “why this supplemental meeting?” I also wondered why I didn’t get tickets, until a few days ago. A brother I know who happens to be a president of one WTS corporation told me “I didn’t send you tickets because I knew you would have better things to do.”

  It amazes me how closely the WTS follows the private sector corporate model in its approach to problems. In this case the GB has witnessed a dwindling of enthusiasm, so what did they do? They did the same thing so many corporate entities have--identify an existing source of enthusiasm and capitalize on it. The WTS knows there is unique interest in its Pennsylvania Corporation annual meeting each year. Usually this interest is more of the tempest in a teapot variety, but it is there. (Tempest in a teapot variety because: Rank and file JWs usually have little knowledge of or unique interest in this annual event. On the other hand, ranking members of the Bethel family and other Bethelites hold this meeting in higher esteem than normal conventions.)

  In the private sector this sort of capitalization usually backfires unless a new and meaningful dynamic is added into the mix. People aren’t as stupid as we so often convince ourselves, and they react according unless they see some bona fide improvement--in this case improvement to stir enthusiasm.

  In this case, it looks like the message taken home to congregation publishers is: “Hey, now we have an ADDITIONAL assembly to go to each year.” How many think the average publisher will get excited about THAT? No newly added and meaningful dynamic equals continued dwindling numbers, maybe even at a faster pace than would have been experienced otherwise.

  Little wonder I was told “I knew you would have better things to do.” I did the yard--it looks FANTASTIC, btw. I can now declare that “I was saved!” :)

  What burns me is how a few senior Bethel members were using words like “change” and “new” so much preceding this non-event event. Looking at the business model as a barometer, my guess is this will backfire. For sure next years “supplemental event” will not stir standing room only response.
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  Marvin Shilmer

  BTW, everyone:

  Now we know why the normal insider leaks did not provide an advance scoop on why the supplemental “special” meeting--there was nothing to leak.
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  cyberguy

  Nothing new? Doesn't surprise me! Most doctrinal changes come in the "Questions from Readers" (or is that "Questions TO Readers"). Anyway, thanks for your write-up!
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  expatbrit

  Moxy:

  Thanks for suffering through and filling us in on the great big non-event. I admit to a certain amount of smug satisfaction, since you'll recall my prediction about the international assemblies over lunch. Maybe I'm of the annointed!

  Anyway, like Marvin, I think it'll be interesting to compare next year's attendance figures, when everyone knows what a big damp weeny the whole thing is. I can't believe that the GB dragged thousands of people miles and miles, causing them hassle and expense, for NOTHING!
  These self-centred ego-masturbators take being inconsiderate to new heights!

  Expatbrit