Many threads have consumed space here on the topic of WT reform. In the end, the futility becomes apparent and the threads die.
For a long time, I felt "reform" was the ticket. When a man I've known for many years was appointed to the GB, I wrote him a long, detailed 8-page letter which I labeled a report from the front lines; in it, I outlined a number of changes in congregational/meeting structure which I thought would be beneficial and that were based on private conversations I have had with many brothers and sisters including other elders. Before I mailed the letter I heard from a sister that this GB member had been the featured speaker at some special event on the other side of the continent and that in his closing remarks he had said a number of reactionary things clearly identifying him with the Neanderthal wing of the JW party. So I changed my mind; the letter remains filed away.
If you're interested, the plan was roughly this: Cut meeting schedule back to one night a week and encourage publishers to use the other night for personal study, meeting preparation, bible reading. The new one-night-a-week meeting would last for an hour so as to allow the friends plenty of time for socializing. The format: 40 minutes for a school with all talks focused on biblical topics and scriptures; 5-10 minutes for announcements; a service-related talk not to exceed 10 minutes. The book study, already dealt a mortal blow by spending 3 years in a verse by verse fantasy based on Isaiah, would be laid to rest.
The Sunday meeting would be shortened to one hour, with a 30-minute talk based solely on scriptural admonitions aimed at living a better Christian life, and a 15 minute summary of an the current WT article done in the form of a talk, convention style. The rest of the time would be devoted to announcements, song and prayer.
Do away with field service as a requirement, and replace it with a Saturday morning Meeting for Christian Service and Good Works. At this meeting, my (former) vision was an informal gathering where the elders would have 3x5 cards and would sit at a long folding table with signs indicating the various service "options." Friends could go to the appropriate "desk" and get an assignment. Options would include: Cleaning the KH interior; exterior yard work; visiting JWs who are ill (name, address, phone, map on the 3x5 card); visiting new members of the congregation and taking a 'welcome basket' to them; organizing and leading youth activities, such as softball, field trips, etc. The list was longer and included optional, voluntary evangelizing work loosely based on the present field service arrangement, but you get the idea. All of this "service" would be reported monthly without establishing any special credit to one form of service or another. The results would be shared with the congregation each month so people would know what was being accomplished.
I also included a total revamping of the entire judicial process, including a provision that an elder be appointed as "defense counsel" to accused persons; in the new scheme of things, no announcements would ever be made; discipline would be probationary and for short, specific periods of time, and would be limited to service restrictions; banishment, or DF, would be highly unusual and limited to heinous acts where the perpetrator was clearly unremorseful; such punishment would be subject to automatic review by a "higher court" of area elders who would be selected from among those with many years of experience and who would undergo specialized training.
Further suggestions included creation of a Relief Society, to be run by mature sisters who would care for the sick, depressed and destitute among us. Their work would be funded by the congregation, and these sisters would get professional training in mandatory seminars presented by professionals in the mental health, welfare and social services field.
A "youth ministry" would be established, in which qualified and well-screened volunteers would get special training and then advise youngsters on such topics as: Doing well in school; getting an education; playing on school sports teams without compromising Christian integrity; how to get in to a good college. Other topics would include identifying bad behavior on the part of abusive adults, including parents, and what to do about it.
Re-reading this, it all sounds pretty good, and there may be other suggestions that might be made. However, and this is the most important thing on this page, THIS IS ALL JUST A PIPE DREAM. It ain't gonna happen in our lifetime (unless you're, like, 12). Recognizing that, I have set this dream aside and moved on.
