I was the fast food minister. I knew all the good spots to stop for breaks.
atypical
JoinedPosts by atypical
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What Was Your "Ministry" Like?
by minimus injws are supposed to all be "ministers".
actually, because of their status, they can avoid the military, perform wedding ceremonies and have the same rank as "clergyman".
all witnesses, once baptized automatically become "ministers"........ describe what type of "minister" you were.
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Lurker comes out of hiding : )
by happy1975 ini've been lurking for months, reading your posts nearly every day.
i finally decided to come out of hiding because i need help.
i post on another board that has nothing whatsoever to do with religion and i saw this post-.
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atypical
Welcome!
I would start with her assumption that only JWs live a clean, moral, upstanding way of life. I would use jw tactics against her; start with a common ground, which is the fact that you also place a high importance on such a moral way of living. Then I would ask her a question, like "has someone been able to prove to you from the bible that the watchtower organization is god's only approved group of people on the earth?" Then recommend that she prove that fact to herself before dedicating her life to an organization. Ask her if she understands what her position will be if the society ever changes it stance on something she feels strongly about. Will she be allowed freedom of thought, if she can solidly back up her opinion? Or will she face possible expulsion if she does not follow the watchtower's new outlook?
Then back off and let her know you are available if she has any questions.
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atypical
Ok, so it is just a few months old.
Thanks, inbyathread!
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atypical
Thanks for the info. I did not realize it was in print. That new organization book came out when, about a year or two ago? So you're right, I guess the brothers in my hall weren't caught up with the new light.
I guess I can't expect it to make sense. Basically they have removed some of their liability but none of ours, right?
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atypical
As far as I am aware, they just started doing this new announcement a few months ago. About a year ago, two people in our hall were disfellowshipped, and they announced, "So and so has been disfellshipped." Then, several months later, a letter was read about someone else:"So and so is no longer one of Jehovah's witnesses". I checked around with witnesses I know and they all said it has been similar in their congregations.
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atypical
You are right, ocsrf, that is exactly what happens. I just can't begin to understand how the elder body can enforce a stand that they can't even come out and tell everyone exists. The new announcement doesn't give anyone a basis for not speaking to the person. For all we are told, we know no more about him than any other person in the entire world. But I am guessing that they would discipline me if they knew I was socializing with this person.
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This concerns an ' 03 Topic about ex-elders and should they apologize
by juni ina poster on this site was kind to direct me to an ' 03 topic for discussion that dealt with the question whether ex-elders who were on a jc should feel responsible for the hurt and damage to families that suffered df in their family and therefore seek these ones out and apologize.. some felt that these elders were only following what they felt was expected of them and others felt it was a good idea.. how do posters here who were former elders on jc feel about this now?
thank you to all for your input.
juni.
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atypical
It seems to me that it would be impossible for an elder to undo even a fraction of the past, no matter how bad he feels about it. I think if someone is no longer an elder and feels bad about harm he may have done, that is much better than one who stays an elder just because he can't admit he's wrong. I think the major weight of the blame should go to the incorrect policy that is imposed upon the elders. They really just get suckered into doing someone else's dirty work.
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This concerns an ' 03 Topic about ex-elders and should they apologize
by juni ina poster on this site was kind to direct me to an ' 03 topic for discussion that dealt with the question whether ex-elders who were on a jc should feel responsible for the hurt and damage to families that suffered df in their family and therefore seek these ones out and apologize.. some felt that these elders were only following what they felt was expected of them and others felt it was a good idea.. how do posters here who were former elders on jc feel about this now?
thank you to all for your input.
juni.
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atypical
I was never an elder, but I am ashamed to say that I was partly responsible for someone getting disfellowshipped (tattled on him for smoking.) After I realized how wrong I had been, I made a point to tell him that I was sorry and I really tried to make amends, although realistically I know the damage had been done. I still feel bad every time I think about it.
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atypical
I can tell you that I have heard one such announcement at the kingdom hall, it was just a few months ago. I couldn't believe my ears and started asking everybody - what is that supposed to mean, "no longer one of jehovah's witnesses"? Is he disfellowshipped? When no one could answer the question, I asked the person himself. It turns out he had been gone for at least 2 years. He had been tricked into meeting with a brother under the pretense that the brother wanted "to encourage him". One brother turned into three, and they immediately started asking him about a weekend he had spent with an ex girlfriend over a year prior. He was truthful, and so they told him that he would be disfellowshipped. He did not even know about the new announcement until I told him. It just blew my mind.
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atypical
Damn, the enter key got me again!! Newman.......
Anyway, something that has been really bugging me: Most of you probably know that they changed the announcement; when someone gets df'd or da's themselves, they just announce "So and So is no longer one of Jehovah's witnesses".
So my questions are these:
1. Was there ever an announcement or talk to explain this change?
2. How can they expect the congregation to enforce the shunning of somebody who is not even publicly disfellowshipped or disassociated? Because technically nobody from this point on will be. If someone is just simply "no longer one of Jehovah's witnesses", then we shouldn't have to treat them any different than 99% of the people we talk to and interact with every day.
3. How can they discipline anyone for associating with someone who is disfellowshipped if that was never technically announced?
I realize that the society is trying to minimize their liability, but this volunteer work thing has gotten out of control. They are expecting everybody to draw a specific conclusion, from something that wasn't exactly announced, and then enforce the punishment.
I think they have opened a can of worms with this one.