Posts by Queequeg

this question is really for elders or ex-elders (or ministerial servants in the know).... did you find that some elders would tend to "white-wash" the true state of the congregation when they had their sit-down with the co every 6 months?.

did some elders feel pressure to hide certain things from a co for fear of being "removed" from the boe?.

(judging by the "fakeness" that some elders displayed during co visits, i have to wonder whether they were really worried about being removed for not seeking out inactives or encouraging more participation during the wt study, book study or fs...).

Queequeg

As a ministerial servant I was assigned the territories. No one explained to me that the congregation(elders) might experience the shame of having an outside group assigned to help them cover their territory. So, when the secretary(or was it the service overseer... who cares!) would call me in a panic a few weeks before the co visit telling me I needed to get the unworked territories turned in, I would think "that's kind of dishonest" and blow it off. That was back when I really believed that it was the "truth" and that things should work in an honest fashion. Oops.

In one of my first meetings as an "elder" with the co, the co asked the po what we had done to fix the terrible state of shepherding in the congregation. The po (a man who really should have been a career polititian), looked the the co in the eye and said very confidently, "we've addressed that brother Nelson". Technically, that was true because it was discussed in a previous elders meeting, but nothing had actually been done about it. I found out later that there were couples who had been begging for "shepherding" because their marriages were falling apart, who moved to other congregations (the marriages still failed) to get some help.

Also, it appears to be helpful to have a world class golf course in your area. Pray for circuit overseers who golf...A nice day of golf, paid for by the po and his cronies seems to be very helpful in shaping the "true state" of the congregation for the co.

51

the Ireland branch--> issues over the years

by WildeLover in

hi all.

the irish branch has had lots of drama over the years from john may in the 1980s to the recent removal of practically all the branch committee in the mid noughties to its being closed down quite recently.. i heard on the grapevine that two of the branch committee had actually come to physical blows and there was blood on the carpet.. also many many witnesses spoke of the totalitarian environment there.. does anyone have anything further to corroborate or add to this?.

wildelover.

Queequeg

Feck...arrrrse...girrrrls!

42

Did you ever "feel" the holy spirt "apon you"?

by highdose in

jw
friends

some jw's claimed that when they were out door to door that they could feel the angels guiding them and jehovahs spirt apon them.. others claimed this when having prayed felt a sense of calm afterwards.

self induced?

physcological suggestion?.

Queequeg

I thought I did...nope, it was just gas...

21

Land SELL-OFF DREAMING BIG

by Refriedtruth in

jehovah's witnesses' land sell-off has brooklyn dreaming bigcrain's new york business - amanda fung-1 hour ago.

at stake are 34 mint-condition properties in brooklyn heights and dumbo that the jehovah's witnesses spent decades accumulating and now are considering ...it's always has been about the money...they talk about pristine real estate and the excellent pool of skilled craftsmen/women .

hey what about the paradise for my family 4 generations that slaved?.

Queequeg

Mrs. Queequeg pointed out the last sentence of this article that says the neighborhood will miss the skilled craftsmen.

Uh, the Bethelites take a Vow Of Poverty, and are not supposed to take side jobs while they are working at Bethel. This has been in force for a long time.

So, the neighborhood is gonna miss the Bethel workforce for something that they are not supposed to be doing!

Isolate them Governing Body! Yes, that's the answer!!!

49

Anyone wanna place a bet on what will happen to me when I have to go to the Kingdom Hall this Saturday??

by Coffee House Girl in

jw
friends

well since there is no "betting" (as it reeks of gambling) in jdub land, lets place a friendly wager on what will happen to me when i go to my father's "memorial" service at the kingdome hall this saturday..... to give you newbies background info: i am neither df'd or da'd- i left 2 years ago with no explanation.

i have been hounded by elders in my cong because they have suspicions that i am living with a man, but they have no proof (well, no proof in jdub land- you know...two witness rule).

after many attempts to get me to meet with them- i finally sent the elders a "cease & desist" letter after one of them spied in my miniblinds to see me eating breakfast with someone (they couldn't identify who).

Queequeg

B is what "should" happen. But, don't be surprised if weirdness happens...

81

Here i am....

by makersmark in

here i am - born in truth, hard-core spiritual everything all my life, early reg.pioneer, ms, elder, assembly parts, tour at bethel, etc, married now...... i'm trying to examine jw teachings a little closer...... i've spent the last two weeks reading many many posts, info , references on where ex-jw's are coming from.

i'm kind of concerned about a few things lately..... honestly - some points make sense to me - some don't - here are my general thoughts:.

-wt getting un membership for access to library - doesnt bother me - some passports and other governement documents have similar forms and requirements..... -blood issue - some counterpoints to the jw 'rules' makes sense (original intent of scripture is unbled animals, white blood cells similar in mothers milk) etc -however a lot of 'apostate' reasonings and proof are inaccurate.

Queequeg

Hey,

Welcome! Have you taken a look at jwfacts.com yet?

31

Demonstrations From the Platform

by DarioKehl in

good evening, all.... still relatively new here so if i'm posting about a topic that's already been run into the ground, i apologize.

but i just wanted to acknowledge the typical "demo" we all see at meetings, assemblies and conventions.

even back when i was a good-goody teen dub, my brother, friends and i would jokingly refer to demos as "5-minute illustrations on how to say 'no.'".

Queequeg

BTW the official WTBS term for the solo demos is soliloquy. I had a few, and felt completely stupid the whole time I was doing it!

61

Wow, This is Getting Tougher!

by Franklin Massey in

jw
friends

i'm having a really hard time giving my meeting parts.

i had a service meeting part this week and i could hardly get through it.

i am no longer convinced of some of the things jws teach and so i try to either eliminate those things from my parts, or reword them so that i'm not speaking about that which i do not personally believe.

Queequeg

Hey Franklin, your post is bringing back bad recent memories!

You describe a lot of the feelings and situation I went through a couple of years ago. We were in a very small cong., and had been asked to go there because they really needed help. Sometimes I would and up doing most of the parts that required a "brother" on the school and service meeting. Like you described, everyone noticed if we weren't there.

It got to be harder and harder to do public talks (like you said, being hack stuff out of talks to make them only 30min. did help a bit). Other parts, I had a little more control over, like instruction and bible highlights, they were a little easier. What started to become very difficult was reading the Watchtower! Especially articles with GB worship etc., I literally choked through some these passages.

Conducting bookstudies was ok, because I could control the direction that things went.

Eventually, I just couldn't do it anymore. We went back to the cong that we had been in. That made it a little easier, but my "condition" kept getting worse. After about a year and a half I resigned as an "elder", not specifically for that reason but it contributed. This eased things up but by now I was seriously stressed just having to sit there and listen to untruth. Interestingly, reading directly from the bible was the only thing that didn't bother me.

I really think I was headed for a heart attack, because of the extreme feelings that I was having. This process took about four years or so, going from being completely comfortable and relaxed on stage (even at assemblies), to not being able to even sit in the audience.

I'm so happy not to have to do any of that anymore. I really wonder if I could have survived another six months of that.

At first I was frustrated because I couldn't control those feelings and fake it any longer. My conscience just wouldn't let me anymore.

I'm so glad not to be contributing to and living the lie!