Could ''boredom'' at the Kingdom Hall be one reason why some members leave?

by RULES & REGULATIONS 69 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  HayDay

  Speaking of the no beards rule...

  I was out on a long vacation and grew a beard and wore it to the KH. After a few meetings with it, the PO came up to me with a printout and said facial hair wasn't allowed. He snickered and actually said he didn't agree and would like a beard of his own. I sat down to read the article he gave me and I believe it was dated 1968 about a brother with a beard that called on a woman in field ministry and she thought the man was a student protester. THIS! flimsy report is the entire reason the society has for banning facial hair for over 40 years. I asked the elders why a mustache was ok. They laughed and said, "it's just the way things are"....
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  Snoozy

  Well, my heart ws in the right place. I was willing to learn, listen and participate. I would activly study so as to be a part of the discussions. Anything to make sure I and the kids enjoyed the meetings..als. Nothing worked. I often (and I am sure the kids) found myself looking the the time and thinking how much longer I/we had to endure this.

  Funny how long you can put up with something before finally saying enough is enough..but at least I gave it a heartfelt try.

  I so wanted to be a believer..

  I guess the indoctrination wasn't stong enough..
• 

  inbetween

  why they still keep up the service meeting, i dont know, its sooo incredibly boring and repetitive.....

  I get even more bored preparing, when I have a part...

  agree with MSE, highlights are my highlight as well, actually the TMS is not so bad, some talks end up being quite interesting.

  my suggestion to the GB: (sure they listen to me ;-):

  merge the TMS with half hour talk and shorten the Watchtower study to half hour (by leaving all that nonsense and contradictory stuff, as well as the rules and regulations out of it) and make one meeting on the weekend.

  by this, the mental sleepiness will at least reduce a bit...
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  agonus

  The meetings are boring because they are really not "worship" so much as "instruction"... on HOW to "worship". When you need to be instructed how to worship, how heartfelt, spontaneous, or joyful can that worship possibly be? Worship is personal expression of love for God/Jehovah but how personal are you allowed to be in what you say at the KH?
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  DagothUr

  At my ex-KH there was a young and attractive widow sister who had the habit of keeping her feet crossed and she was always kicking the air with the one on top. Just like Peggy Bundy from Married with children. Needles to say I developed the ability to watch her foot without anyone noticing I was not paying attention to the speaker. It was a beautiful leg and I was never bored. And Satan placed unholy thoughts in my mind and Jay Hoover didn't seem to give a damn about that.
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  wobble

  The meetings have always been boring, apart from the odd laugh, when someone accidently farts loudly for example.

  When I was a kid of about 11 my Mum was surprised to see me avidly reading the Bible for ages during a Meeting, she then got suspiscious and had a good look and found the James Bond novel I was reading , tucked inside the Bible, I had to go back to day-dreaming after that.

  I do agree that the boredom is what more often than not causes people to miss meetings, then they have time to find sites like this, and, Voila !
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  dozy

  As a child , I found the meetings unbelievably long and boring. I remember almost crying with the sheer tedium of it , especially when it was a nice day & I could hear the "worldly" children playing outside.

  As an adult , it was a lot better. I was hardly in my seat - doing attendants duty in the car park or the hall foyer or just generally messing about. Invariably I had a talk or an item on the program as well. I don't think that I listened to a single talk on a circuit assembly or special day for decades.

  Certainly latterly the WTBTS have made a few tweaks that have made the meetings a bit more palatable. No more book studies (those painfully boring hour studies studying the Mans Salvation or Revelation book) and shorter , somewhat punchier meetings & assemblies with a lot more demos & interviews.
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  slimboyfat

  Without a doubt pure boredom is a big reason I hardly ever go any more. But the book study was my favourite meeting. There was a lot more freedom to wander from the topic and have your own say. When we did The Greatest Man book the conductor drew up a large map of Israel and we plotted the movements of Jesus and his disciples through the book. It was bit like the Bible classes I remember attending at the Baptist church when I was even younger.
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  designs

  Dag-

  Nice to hear from another "leg man', one of natures finest. What was the lesson about
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  Juan Viejo2

  As a JW child of the 1950s, I remember that we had some great "extra-curricular" activities from time to time that really added to my experiences and fond memories.

  I was raised in Riverside, CA. There were three (and later four) Kingdom Halls within a 10-mile radius of the downtown area. The city had a great civic auditorium and it was frequently used for circuit assemblies. It was also a great location for special events. For example:

  Around 1955, if I remember correctly, one of the brothers from Bethel actually brought out a shortened version of the "PhotoDrama of Creation." It was shown on a large movie theater style screen at the Civic Auditorium. I did not see it again until it appeared on YouTube a couple of years ago. Very impressive. You can see why Russell was so popular at the time and must have gained many converts worldwide as a result of that most magnificent production. The one I saw was tinted (not sure when the tint was added), so you can imagine people in that early period before the first World War being amazed at not only hearing Russell's voice in sync with the movies, but also the fact that they were looking at colored film - possibly for the first time in their lives.

  About a year later, a missionary couple came to Riverside and brought movies, slides and recordings with them. Again, the Civic Auditorium was rented and they made their presentation. I remember that their presentation was fun, educational and emotional. I especially remember their recordings of some of the African brothers and sisters singing songs from their version of the Kingdom Songbook - and even a few of their local cultural favorites (something you'd never see now!). Their harmony and skill was amazing. The whole audience stood up and applauded for nearly five minutes after hearing that beautiful music.

  I also remember that an occasional brother from Bethel would pass through the area and stop by our Kingdom Hall. Sometimes, after the Thursday night Service Meeting, a visitor would stay over and either speak or answer questions about life at Bethel or Gilead. Families who had to leave could do so, but sometimes the visitor's informal talk would continue until 11 or 11:30 at night. We'd have to leave the area before midnight in order not to violate local noise laws.

  I'm sure that some things like this must happen from time to time, but I have not heard of anything quite like what I experienced. Oh, and there is more - but I'll add that later in the thread...

  JV