by John Aquila 50 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
talesin
To answer the OP's questions: No, No, and a big YES!
I did a little 'research' and found an interesting article "This Is Our Place of Worship", and the section "Providing and Financing Kingdom Halls TM", seems to confirm what you are saying. Here's just a smidgeon.
Watchtower TM July 2015, study edition
Thanks talesin, I hadn't noticed that on the magazine, it's an eye opener.
Interesting thread.
I've spoken to a couple of people recently who are close to Bethel in the US and UK. They have both provided anecdotal "evidence" that jw.org gets lots of request for bible studies, especially from areas where there are few witnesses.
What the facts are about this I don't know but bearing in mind you only need a handful of requests from each country each day to get some fairly impressive figures then it could be true.
I really don't believe the carts are effective. I have seen the carts in lots of situations now and it's simply a good way of counting time. I have watched the carts in areas like Oxford Circus and several of the London main line stations and never ONCE seen anyone come up and take literature.
Interestingly enough, the carts do make effective use of literature. If no one takes anything then you don't need to restock much. If carts were used instead of the D2D work then the literature requirements would drop massively.
It would be very interesting to see some analysis of the publications over the past 10 years and see what the stats are of the mentions of D2D ministry v construction & donating. I know it's probably not possible to do but I would suspect there has been more and more mention of donating and construction support than people realise.
I don't think the D2D work is going away any time soon. It's a great distraction for the masses. The other thing is it's a great barometer for judging "faith". The WTS has always equated lack of zeal for the ministry with spiritual weakness. They've spent years banging on about the D2D activity being done by the 1st century Christian. It's also considered a command from Jesus therefore they would need to find a way of mitigating any U-Turn on D2D work. Regular field service is a key aspect of the Witness profile and there is not enough cart work to keep all visibly occupied.
What I think we are seeing, however, is an increase in the discussion of construction projects, especially the numbers. The goal is to keep the numbers looking large so people are prompted to donate and give their free labour.
There was a piece done for a UK newspaper a while back about JW cart witnessing.
The writer actually called the London Bethel to ask about it in context of the door-to-door work, and was actually told by the Bethel rep that the WTS was "moving away from that kind of ministry".
You have to admit, it'd be a pretty effective way of mitigating any "pedophiles-knocking-on-your-door" problems without tipping off the R&F.
“Perhaps volunteering in the construction work is a better option,
And if you are not able to volunteer in construction work, then---
You can help FINANCIALLY-$$$$, by supporting monetarily to Jehovah’s Organization.
Wow what a great move. Basically you can buy your way out of doing preaching work if that ends up being true. Maybe at the rate of $5 per hour, so instead of preaching 10 hours a month, you can just pay $50 and be done with it. Money well spent in my opinion - anything to avoid doing that horrible field serve-us work. What a fine arrangement from Jehoober.
They'll be selling Indulgences by 2025, at this rate.
"They'll be selling Indulgences by 2025, at this rate."
Assuming they even last that long, given recent developments.
Last Friday I was called by an elders wife. They are devoted to the "truth". And although I am not baptised but raised in this religion, they overlook that fact when it come to trusting me to take care of the dog and cat. They won't ask any other JW. They know I will be loving to the animals. They also think I'm crazy in a nice way.
That was the preamble to the point about "cart witnessing". Sitting there with the dog on my lap and hearing about this elders wife on the topic of cart witnessing she said..." It's really easy. I we did was sit there and catch up on our "gossip" have a coffee and watch people go by. It was a good break from other more stressful things".
I asked her if she had some decent conversations with the locals and she said no, they were busy getting about their day. "Anyway, the message is going to change soon. It will be a different message and afterwards, the preaching will stop. You know, like in Noah's day".
I asked her what exactly she meant. She said that Armageddon was around the corner and like in Noah's day he climbed into the Ark and Jehovah sealed the door.
"But, what about those who will never hear of this preaching work due to bans?" She said that it was possible the news would reach them some other way......People over here are going to where the need is greater.........But Portugal? I don't know what the situation is like over there.
But no d2d means no monthly reports. How will the elders assess your spirituality without a monthly report?
They will have to find something else to measure, judge and rank you on.
Ahh, let's think on that one.
Tithing?
Giving up all material possessions (or if you're rich, just taking the time) so that you or your children can 'serve where the need is greater' TM in dangerous and exotic countries. This could be a 6-week or 6-month plan, or longer, depending on factors such as health, wealth and visa availability.
~ Volunteering on new builds - even if you are a senior, they will use you to do overnight security. I kid you not, in their late 70s, my father did overnight security on a huge build, for weeks.
Spiritually will be measured in dollars and deeds - the preaching work has already shifted to parts of Europe and the East. Africa was the big push in the 60s and 70s.
Think like a 21st Century CEO = bottom line $$ is the only factor. We have a lot of savvy business people here, I'm sure there's many things.
; )
t
