carlos

It's clear the GB likes to include brothers from a diversity of backgrounds. We see that from the helpers, they are from many different countries and ethnicities and languages. However, when you look for anointed brothers who have served faithfully for many decades, who speak English fluently and can live in the US, probably the pool to choose from is much more reduced. There are only around 20,000 partakers in the whole world, how many of those meet the requirements above? And those are just some basic requirements, surely the GB has a lot more.

Martin, welcome to JWTalk! Thanks for that detailed post. There are a lot of interesting things to discuss there. The Flood and the canopy are some favorite subjects here and we have discussed them many times. Many members here do not believe there was a water canopy around the earth. This idea hasn't been taught in our publications for several decades, and it poses many problems from a scientific viewpoint. Most recent publications seem to present the idea that the "waters above" are just the clouds. The Bible does say that there will be summer and winter and heat and cold forever, which seems impossible with a water canopy producing a greenhouse effect, so if there was ever such a canopy it doesn't seem it will be back. If you wish, you may have a look at our most recent discussions about the subject to see the reasons some presented in favor or against: https://jwtalk.net/topic/57202-restoration https://jwtalk.net/topic/53731-condition-of-earth-before-flood

I agree. I keep hearing that but I don't think it will make any difference for the authorities whether we use a beard or trousers or a tie. Sometimes we are a bit obsessed with every small detail being a sign that the GT is about to start.

Have a look at this topic: https://jwtalk.net/topic/55712-a-way-to-merge-jw-library-files/ Several such tools are discussed.

That explains everything. You have a huge congregation. In our congregation there are maybe 40 publishers at the meeting for service, which is a lot simpler to arrange.

Jay, I agree with you here. It's quite clear what the brothers meant. Where we were already using jackets and ties, or skirts (which is most of the Western world) that is the standard we will keep using on the platform. However, you know when we wish something we tend to twist words to make them mean what we want. So we have some local sisters who want to wear trousers on the platform and argue that's what the queen of Spain uses even in formal events, so that has to be the standard for this country. Instead of imposing my personal opinion on them, the whole body of elders has decided that the standard of dressing on the platform for sisters in this congregation is a dress or a skirt. Of course we are happy to change that if we receive a different instruction from the CO or the branch --actually we don't have anything against trousers-- but for the time being that is the standard for us in this particular congregation.

That's the way we make the arrangements too in Spain where I live. First you ask if anyone has plans (which are usually the exception), then you manually pair the remaining publishers. It usually works well and doesn't take more than five minutes for a whole congregation. I remember a recent video about two pioneers who used to go together all the time, and one of them realizes she needs to go out with different sisters, and that's the way the brother made the arrangements too, so it must be quite common. Why do you think it's judgmental? Maybe there is some aspect I haven't noticed. I don't understand either why it takes so long in Nnaemeka's congregation.

Burt, maybe I am not expressing myself correctly. If the elders in your congregation decide that the standard of dress on the platform is a jacket and a tie, you will not be allowed to give a talk without a jacket and a tie, no matter what the president wears. Yesterday we had three sisters who had demos at the meeting come with trousers. One was able to change clothes with another sister who had a skirt. The other two had to be replaced by someone else. It's not you or I who decide what the standard is. It's the body of elders. Unless they receive more specific info from the branch, of course.

I don't know of any software to do this, but one possibility is something we learned from our CO: Ask who needs a partner and make plans for those. The rest were already scheduled with someone. Another way is to ask who has plans, then pair the rest with the publisher next to them (within reason, of course). There's also the method of making groups of four. That's half the work than making groups of two.

Well, of course we live in society. The way people dress around us has an influence on us. But if the elders in a congregation decide the standard of dress for the platform is a jacket and a tie, that's the standard for that congregation, not whatever the queen, the president of the pope wears.

Chuck never posted a picture of him on the site. He was quite zealous of his privacy.

Agreed. We wouldn't intentionally hurt our brothers or create issues with them. But that works both ways. Those with a weaker conscience have to respect that others feel differently. Meat at Romans 19, that you mentioned, is a perfect example. Meat was only meat, and idols are nothing, as Paul noted. However, for a Christian who had previously practiced those religious rituals, the idea of eating that meat was disgusting. This is similar to the example I mentioned about entering a church. For me a church is just an old building with interesting history and architecture. But for a sister who used to participate in the rituals of that church, coming into that building would hurt her conscience. It's important to take into account their conscience in this case. On the other hand, having a beard or wearing trousers instead of a skirt is just a personal decision. If someone dislikes it, it's just a personal preference, there is no scriptural reason for it. GB members who have appeared publicly with beards were not afraid that they might stumble some.

It's very important to take into account the conscience of others. But I think there is a difference between people in the territory and our brothers in the congregation. There is also a difference between hurting someone's conscience and doing something they dislike. If certain things offend people in our territory and prevent them from listening to our message, be it makeup, trousers, beards or something else, a mature Christian would sacrifice his right for the good of the territory. "To the weak I became weak, in order to gain the weak" (1 Corinthians 9:22). Now if some in the congregation dislike those things the Slave has said are acceptable, because they are used to the old ways, I don't think we need to please those. They need to adapt. “Stop calling defiled the things God has cleansed” (Acts 10:15). This doesn't mean we don't care about our brothers' consciences. I wouldn't drink alcohol if I am with a brother who is a former alcoholic. I wouldn't enter a church as a tourist if I go with a sister whose conscience doesn't allow her to do that. I don't want to hurt their conscience. But when we speak of details about appearance that really have no scriptural objection and the Slave has said are ok, there is no longer an issue of hurting consciences but rather of personal taste. A brother may dislike brown shoes but I don't need to yield to his likes.

Ubong, I have no idea of what an envoy under the UN ambassador is. Can you explain a bit which kind of work that is? Does he work for a political party? A government? Which kind of tasks he has to do? You won't find any publication that mentions that specific job, but knowing what it implies we can find the Bible principles that apply. Working for the UN is not necessarily wrong in itself. I know Witnesses who work as translators or do administrative work at the UN offices.

We don't allow the friends to freely reserve their shifts. All the shifts are scheduled by a brother. If the publishers who work the carts are more or less the same on the same days, you can use templates to save a lot of time. Just schedule one week (or a whole month), save it as a template, then reuse it for the next weeks (or months).