Any thoughts on the real reasons for droppng the 'school"

by sparrowdown 71 Replies latest jw friends

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  LisaRose

  I haven't been in a kingdom hall in fifteen years, so I don't know if my speculation is worth anything, but I can't sleep tonight and I thought of some possibilities. My guess would be they are having a hard time getting and keeping enough qualified elders, so the ones they do have are struggling with the demands of being an elder while also maintaining a full time job and having a family. Think how many parts the the elders have to do each week, conducting, reading, talks, service meeting parts, etc. Maybe they are getting burned out and stepping down or leaving the religion all together, leaving fewer elders, thus making the problem worse. Young men are not reaching out as much (and why would they considering what they have to do?), current elders are aging out, they had to do something.

  This may be simply a way to take some of the workload off of the elders, and make the meeting more relevant to everyone else. Video presentations will take up some of the time, sisters can give door to door demonstrations, possibly the new "our Christian life and ministry" will be beefed up so there is less for the elders to prepare, possibly a lot of question and answer parts.

  Another factor is that the the TMS was a failure anyway, it's not obligatory, so some don't even join, people often forget they have a talk or get sick. And for all that, most JWs can't even do a decent presentation. They should have gotten rid of it twenty years ago and focused on making sure everyone can at least do a decent magazine presentation.

  Really, they should just cut the meeting down to an hour or give it up entirely, but they can't let that happen, it's a cult and they need to keep everyone running on the theocratic hamster wheel, busy, busy, busy. I doubt all this will help much though, they are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
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  sparrowdown

  I'd say you are spot on with qualified brothers being thin on the ground LisaRose. The School Overseer was one of the most loathed assignments to draw the short straw on I gather from the harried sighs of the brothers who spent before and after meetings chasing down the students and trying to find last minute replacements for the cancellations.

  The novelty of the new meeting will wear off pretty quick too I expect, because as you say just rearranging the deck chairs.....
• 

  Vidiot

  Syme - "Religions and cults are stronger than a rational man would wish..."

  Corporations, however...
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  stillin

  Well, whether the TMS is done away with or not, I, for one would miss it. I still go to meetings with my wife and I enjoy the efforts of especially newer ones and little kids. I also give talks, so the opportunity to un-witness with an occasional thought which is not found in WT research would be taken from me!

  the school helped me overcome my fear of public speaking. I think I could speak to almost any group now.
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  done4good

  WT does all things for one of two reasons: Control of members or economic reasons. These two motivators are about the organizations survival, and that is what it is trying to do. Always start from there.

  In this case, I think they realized they lost control of people with respect to reliably caring for assignments and the use of "qualified" men for those parts. So in a way this is about saving face and making things appear less of a malaise than they actually are. It fits more into the control camp, albeit indirectly.

  d4g
  
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  steve2

  This may be simply a way to take some of the workload off of the elders, and make the meeting more relevant to everyone else. Video presentations will take up some of the time, sisters can give door to door demonstrations, possibly the new "our Christian life and ministry" will be beefed up so there is less for the elders to prepare, possibly a lot of question and answer parts.

  LisaRose, I think you are correct. If I hear anything from family still in about the "burdens", its the consistent stories about the mid-week meeting being poorly attended and elders having to make up for the increasing likelihood that brothers and sisters don't show for their parts - something unheard of in earlier decades.

  I recall a time when the Witnesses would crow on about how well, compared to the churches of Christerndom, the brothers and sisters supported mid-week meetings. I haven't heard anything like that in years. It's an embarrassment in some localities.

  There are also frequent anecdotal reports of COs trying to motivated congregations to improve mid-week attendances. Kind of like flogging a dead horse.

  So, will this meeting "re-fit" turn apathy around? I very much doubt it. All it will signal is that elders now need to do less, individual publishers will not be called upon as often and the inclusion of the once-a-month use of JW.org broadcasting videos will be successful - and - my prediction, but I acknoweldge others have already stated this - it will signal a trend towards using videos in place of "live" presentations. A win-win for a stagnating organization.

  So, the dumbing down continues: Even less is required. Hardly a sign of a thriving organization.
• 

  Brokeback Watchtower

  This way the rank and file get a beefed up well rehearse dose of bull shit to keep them more indoctrinated and hopefully getting regular spiritual food as the Governing Body sell one meeting place after another and they got no where to go but these regular broad casts to keep them spiritually up to date.
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  westiebilly11

  I personally enjoyed the school and readily stood in at last minute for those who didn't turn up. I enjoyed the research and preparation. But on reflection I think one real reason for dropping the school is that it is a weak link. It's an archilles heel..because it allowed students the opportunity to discover and expose ( even inadvertently) doctrinal weaknesses and flaws. It was also the only part of the meeting that gave students the power to demonstrate reasoning and their own take of doctrine. It therefore stands that beyond setting the item or topic the gb had no control ( ah..that word) over what was said/taught to the congregation.....it allowed independent thinking...(a sin.!!).....
  
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  Oubliette

  steve2: So, the dumbing down continues: Even less is required. Hardly a sign of a thriving organization.

  Agreed. Instead of raising expectations, they are lowering the bar.

  I ran the first 10 paragraphs of the Bible Teach book through a Gunning Fog Index calculator. It rated it at a 6th grade reading level. And yet the GB, in their "infinite wisdom," feel the need to create a version that is even more simple!

  Probably because the current edition is too difficult for Stephen Lett to understand.

  It has become a religion for the mentally impaired and the integrity compromised.
  
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  Beth Sarim

  I agree. I think the Ministry School could(was) a weak link, in a way. You could get some guy up there who could express his opinion on something causing people in the congregation to start thinking, or questioning things.