I don't know your situaton, but keep in mind that you no longer need to obey them. If they invite you to something, you do not even owe them an answer. Think of it this way. Suppose you quit your job and go to another company. The old boss sends you a letter saying you need to be at a meeting or some kind of "exit interview". You do not owe him a response at all because he is no longer your boss.
snakeface
JoinedPosts by snakeface
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29
What are you doing on Valentine's? I was invited to a party... er... a JC
by ILoveTTATT inso i go to that dinner with my parents.
it worked great!
i think i increased my mom's cog dis just by showing her i am the same good person, and having fun.
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25
Qualifications for Elders & MS
by snakeface inwe all know that elders and ministerials are appointed by holy spirit.
i was in the organization for about 25 years and was in 4 different congregations over the years.. in one congregration there was a sister in her mid-50's with an unbelieving husband.
he did not attend meetings.
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snakeface
Lynnie, that's another thing I have seen. Elder families with teens who get into trouble with the law, but it is kept quiet. Then I find out "through the grapevine" that the elder (or wife's) parents or grandparents donated the property that the hall is built on. Meanwhile some other family cannot get appointed just becuse their teen got "reproved".
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Qualifications for Elders & MS
by snakeface inwe all know that elders and ministerials are appointed by holy spirit.
i was in the organization for about 25 years and was in 4 different congregations over the years.. in one congregration there was a sister in her mid-50's with an unbelieving husband.
he did not attend meetings.
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snakeface
You are right, fast Jehu. Publishers have to "support the arrangement." If you're putting in 10 hours/month of street work, or working with a friend/relative in another congregation, the elders still want to see you put in at least 10 hours/month with your own field service group. They want to see you at the hall, at the field service meetings, so that you can "be an example". of course the real reason is so they can tell if you're lying about your hours or not.
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Qualifications for Elders & MS
by snakeface inwe all know that elders and ministerials are appointed by holy spirit.
i was in the organization for about 25 years and was in 4 different congregations over the years.. in one congregration there was a sister in her mid-50's with an unbelieving husband.
he did not attend meetings.
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snakeface
Quarterback, I was just thinking the same thing. I don't recall this Jaguar driver ever being an unbaptized publisher (or being at ANY field service meetings ever) or giving any student talks in the ministry school. But then all of a sudden he's an elder. Meanwhile the black brother was very active and visible for years but never got appointed. To borrow a quote from other religions, "The lord works in mysterious ways."
Except in this case, the "lords" are the elders. It's obvious the Jaguar driver's financial abilities were what got him appointed.
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Qualifications for Elders & MS
by snakeface inwe all know that elders and ministerials are appointed by holy spirit.
i was in the organization for about 25 years and was in 4 different congregations over the years.. in one congregration there was a sister in her mid-50's with an unbelieving husband.
he did not attend meetings.
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snakeface
Well this family certainly met #'s 1-5. Whereas the Jaguar driver could not have.
What I have seen is, the body of elders bends those rules. They appoint whom they want.
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Qualifications for Elders & MS
by snakeface inwe all know that elders and ministerials are appointed by holy spirit.
i was in the organization for about 25 years and was in 4 different congregations over the years.. in one congregration there was a sister in her mid-50's with an unbelieving husband.
he did not attend meetings.
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snakeface
We all know that elders and ministerials are appointed by holy spirit. Right? RIGHT? Of course they are...
Here is what I have seen. I was in the organization for about 25 years and was in 4 different congregations over the years.
In one congregration there was a sister in her mid-50's with an unbelieving husband. He did not attend meetings. I think he used to come only to the memorial but I don't really remember. The only thing I remember is his Jaguar. She did not drive, so he would drop her off at the meetings and pick her up afterward and everyone would admire his Jaguar. She never pioneered; she kept a low profile. She would comment and go out in service but that was about it. Well, after years of being an unbelieving husband, he suddenly "came into the truth" almost overnight. When everyone heard that he got baptiized, they had the same reaction I did: "I didn't even know he was studying." Afterward, within about 18 months he was an elder! Hmmm...
Later, in another congregation...Well first let me explain that the congregations I've been in were about 85 or 90% white (I am white too) and there were never any black elders or MS. Just a coincidence? The above-mentioned couple were white by the way.
Anyway, in this other congregation there was this real nice black couple with 2 teens, a boy and a girl. The teens were well behaved, the whole family dressed properly, were present at every meeting/assembly/event. The husband and son were always helping anyone and everyone with yardwork, fixing things at their houses, etc. The mother and daughter visited anyone who went into the hospital and looked after elderly sickly ones and cleaned their houses and cooked for them. All family members were in the ministry school, always arrived at the hall early and left late, always cleaned the hall and did the outside work. The family auxiliary pioneered every summer. They did "all the right things" and were a model family. When I was a MS I had a few conversations with him, commending him and his family and my intention was to encourage him to "reach out". He explained that he had been reaching out for years and praying to Jehovah about it for years. He really wanted very badly to be a MS. But he concluded that it was not Jehovah's will. He told me that so-and-so (another exemplary black brother) had been reaching out and praying too, for years. But he and his family have to keep on being whole-souled and putting the kingdom first and they have to wait on Jehovah's appointed time etc etc etc.
How sad.
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How to identify Publishers who know TTATT
by His Excellency insince coming to know ttatt, i have always wondered if there are others in the congregation who also share similar experience with me, are there pointers to identifying others who are also faking meeting attendance and fs activities..
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snakeface
There are some who still "have to" attend meetings (or feel they have to) because their family does. Some may be young adults who live at home, some may be wives whose husbands are still "in". Some symptoms of these might be, not arriving early to fellowship, but, instead, arriving at the last minute and leaving immediately afterward. Also, not commenting or rarely commenting. Not singing the songs (as opposed to those who think they are giving a concert and the rest of the congregation are their backup singers). If they go out in field service, not talking at the doors. Not attending any of the social functions such as congregation picnics, not meeting with others who go out to a restaurant after the Service mtg, etc. Usually they are not "friends" with anyone else in the congregation.
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2013 District Convention Program: Gods Word is Truth!
by bats in the belfry in.
unlike god's word, that jws believe to be absolute truth, any one of their directives given at the 2013 district convention could be subject to misinterpretation.. .
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snakeface
Canine apostates? Next year there will be feline apostates. Then marsupial apostates....
What a**holes they are. And to think how millions of brainwahsed robots flock to these BS sessions.Reminds me of a song..."Some people want to be abused. Some people want to be abused....."
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My wife and I went to dinner with a group of "worldly" - NORMAL - people
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my wife and i were invited to dinner by a coworker of hers.
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snakeface
This server needs to be counseled from the New World Translation about the headship principle.
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72
Which of the 5 weekly meetings did you hate the most?
by RULES & REGULATIONS init was always stressed that the five weekly meetings were like the fingers on your hand.
each one was just as important as the next.
which of the meetings were the most boring,bothersome and difficult to listen to?
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snakeface
The Book Study was my least favorite for several reasons. The other mtgs were at the Hall and therefore felt like "real" mtgs, with the sound system, music, and plenty of space. For the school & service mtg at least there was variety; different people handling each part. That broke up the monotony.
But with the Book Study I resented having to get all dressed up just for a 1-hr mtg. Chairs cramped together, same moron conducting the entire mtg every week. No variety. I resented having to help put the chairs away afterward. I hated goodie night because in order to get to any weeknight mtgs I had to skip dinner, and certainly did not want to fill up on sweets such as brownies and banana pudding if I hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime.