What the Family Worship Evening Arrangement Really Entails

by cantleave 61 Replies latest jw friends

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  sspo

  I was an elder for 21 years and found that most elders do not study themselves or with the family, very few

  kept up with the latest magazines,very few family heads conducted a study with their children or study the

  watchtower or the other meetings. No matter how many local needs we had to encourage others to do so,

  it did not happen. If the heart is not motivated you cannot pressure or force others.

  It's a religion of rules and regulation and not heart driven.

  This new "worship night " will be another complete failure from the GB.
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  Quandry

  I don't think there is too much to worry about. The CO's always made plans for the elders, then left. They may push them to visit each family once, but are they going to have time to follow up with each and every family? No....maybe it will be hard to meet with each family. Some invariably get left out anyway.

  Do they honestly think that anyone is going to schedule FOUR HOURS to get children to sit down, and....what? Rehearse plays about Bible characters? Every week? Or read publications, but not the study articles, and do that at yet another sitting?
• 

  bluecanary

  At least with old bookstudy arrangement if you had a good conductor it could be interesting and fun and there was an opportunity for a coffee, biscuit and chat afterwards.

  eyeslice, I wish I went to YOUR bookstudy.
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  cantleave

  Quandry - you are right, not only that it is CO change overtime so our next visit will be someone we don't know.
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  cantleave

  Eyeslice, Your comments are very true. To make an evening of family worship work requires skilss and effort. To do this once is hard enough, to do it week in and week out is for most impossible. How long do you think it will be before the WTS brings out a wekly Family Worship schedule out to create a structured approach?
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  Bumble Bee

  sspo that doesn't surprise me, how could elders have family studies with all the other responsibilites and prep work they have to do. I would have hated to have been an elders wife or child, I would have never seen the man or spent much time with him. Atleast with other churches, the clergy is a paid position and that's their job, to shepherd the flock and visit and do what needs to be done, not like the elders that need to work full time, and then go in service, prepare for their parts, visit people in the cong and deal with their problems with no training.
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  eyeslice

  cantleave - I agree with your speculation that it won't be long before there is some sort of schedule for the fanily worship evening. That would be certainly one way round the problem. Perhaps they would outline most of the items and then have a 'special needs' item like in the service meeting. I also agree with your observations about elders not studying with their families. When I was an elder I always tried to lead by example but sad to say this wasn't always the case with other elders.
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  bluecanary

  Perhaps they would outline most of the items and then have a 'special needs' item like in the service meeting.

  I knew a family that used to make every family study about something one of the kids had done wrong. Each week they knew exactly who was in trouble and for what. I don't think a single one of them is a witness anymore.
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  cantleave

  Bluecanary - sounds like the studies my mum used to do with me.
• 

  boyzone

  Our PO, Doug Mansbridge (now deceased) never studied with his kids. He said he totally disagreed with the Society about doing this as the kids get enough from the meetings 5 times a week and they didn't need to be stressed out anymore. Anytime a talk featuring family bible study came up, another elder was assigned to take it.

  With that kind of thinking, the Society would likely tell you that his kids would all leave the "truth" but instead they're all still in.

  So I reckon, this famiy worship night is a good thing in the long run. It'll stress out the dads, the kids will hate it, mums will dread the conflict and more will throw in the towel and leave.