Besides the folks walking with signs at each convention, what was your first taste of "apostasy"? My first interesting experience happened within the Kingdom Hall. My congregation in Dallas (Farmers Branch) was in the same district as the Bonham congregation which was about 70 miles northeast of Dallas.
http://governingbodyletters.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-owns-kingdom-halls.html
It was 1985 and rumors within the district were that some of the elders in the Bonham congregation were being critical of some of the Societys teachings, most notably the claim that they were the failtful and discreet slave and the hangover from the 1975 failure. One of the Bonham congregations elders, Ralph Deal, was scheduled to give a talk in our hall. I was a ministerial servant at the time and I remember the elders informing us to sit near the front of the hall and to be ready to take him down if necessary.
This was all quite exciting to me and I wondered just what could this guy say that caused all of this concern and why is he giving a talk in our hall if it's that big of an issue? But I did as I was told and sat on the front row along with the Presiding Overseer and the Theocratic School teacher. When Mr. Deal got upon the platform he welcomed everyone and then went into his talk. At one point he picked up his New World Translation and said "This is not the word of God!" He paused for a few seconds and then added "What's inside is the word of God."
He obviously was toying with the local elders but he never said anything that would cause his removal from the stage. After the talk, the elders asked him to leave the hall and not mingle with everyone at the meetings conclusion. While they convinced him to leave right away, his name would become infamous around North Texas for what was about to happen.
A few months after the talk, we got wind that the majority of the Bonham congregation had voted to break away from the Society and were refusing to abandon the Kingdom Hall located at 1105 Pecan Street. This forced the dozen or so "loyal" Witnesses to find another place to congregate. The Society quickly filed suit but when the trial came up, the "apostates" presented documents showing the Kingdom Hall was locally owned and put in the trust of three elders, all of whom had split from the Society.
The Society, who had previously denied being an heirarchy, now admitted they were such, but the judge decided in favor of the break away group and they got to keep the building. Within a few months the Society had a new Hall built and had requested some folks in nearby congregations to start attending meetings in Bonham to shore up the devasted former congregation. I was present at the opening talk which was given by governing body member Lyman Swingle.
The last I heard, the congreagtion only has about 30 dedicated members as the "apostates" were able to contaminate the local area in regards to how they view Jehovah;s Witnesses.
So what was your best experince with "apostates"?
More about the Bonham incident