Random Thoughts About the 2018 Jehovah’s Witness Convention

The view from my seat, about 1/3 of the way back from the front.

This last weekend I attended one of the three days of the 2018 Jehovah’s Witness Convention, which was titled “BE COURAGEOUS”!

There are so many things I want to say, and they’re all competing to be picked first.

Okay, the first thing I want to say is that it was so thoughtful of the organizers to provide something right up front for the grammar police. The title of the convention, which I copied and pasted above, has the exclamation point outside of the quotes. Wrong. The exclamation should be part of the quote. Whew, got that off my chest.

Next, I attended one day of the convention, the Saturday. One day. I cannot imagine attending any more than one day. The boredom is excruciating. The points are so redundant and rudimentary. The music is amateurish. The series of talking heads is nearly unbearable. The morning consisted of a “symposium” of eight talks, followed by another symposium of five talks, followed by a baptism-related talk. Then the afternoon featured another symposium of five talks, followed by, surprise, another symposium of six talks, and finally wrapped up with a final talk. Granted, there were some brief videos interspersed among the talks, but they only served to make the whole day slightly less torturous. At times I felt like saying out loud, “Thank God, a video!” During the final talk of the day, I had to escape and walk around outside for a while. I was reminded of the song lyrics “All you can eat for a dollar ninety-nine, but one dollar’s worth was all that I could stand.” I cannot imagine enduring three days of it. But that leads me to my next observation.

There was a whole lot of buzz at the convention about a video that was scheduled for the third day (Sunday) of the convention. Almost everyone I talked with mentioned the “Jonah” movie. There is even a trailer for it, which one man played for me on his phone. (You can see the trailer at their website, jw.org.) Part of the excitement, I’m sure, is the desperate desire of the poor “great crowd” believers to experience a break in the boredom that the video will provide. The schedule shows the length of the film to be 50 minutes, nearly a whole hour of drama (dare we call it entertainment?) breaking up the parade of talking heads! The JW’s were almost giddy about it! My impressions from the trailer is that it will be a pretty high-quality production; it’s obvious that the Watchtower has invested a significant amount of money into it. With its special effects and professional-sounding music, it’s pretty slick. Once again, I’m dumbfounded about the artistic licence taken by the watchtower. Like they have done before, they have added a character not mentioned at all in the biblical account, in this case a sister of Jonah named Joanna. Her name is mentioned three times in the trailer, which seems deliberate to me. What’s up with this habitual use of fictional characters? (For two other examples, see my previous blog posts, one the story of Haman, the other a fictional donkey serving as Mary’s transportation.) The crazy thing is, whatever the watchtower tells its members, they believe, absolutely, unquestioningly, and immediately. So after this convention, I predict that all the JW’s will believe that Jonah had a sister named Joanna, and that she is mentioned in the biblical account. Just like Mary and Joseph’s donkey. (Again, if you haven’t read my account of my run-in with the JW’s about the donkey, see my previous post. If nothing else, it’s good for a laugh.)

Okay, back to my random thoughts and observations. I sat about a third of the way back in the exhibition hall in the Sacramento Convention Center (see my pic above). The crowd count announced for the day was about 4,600 attendees. Compare that with the nearly full Cow Palace (San Francisco) in years past. I think we can safely conclude that there’s downsizing going on, at least in Northern California. To what will the watchtower attribute the decreasing numbers? Will they say that the number of “worthy ones” being drawn by Jehovah ebbs and flows over the years? Or will they say the door of opportunity for repentance is getting narrower, or is about to close altogether? Or will they use this as an opportunity to put pressure on the members to increase their preaching efforts, essentially blaming the workers and guilting them into working harder for the kingdom? Perhaps none of these. They may simply not mention it, ignoring the trend, or somehow spin it to look like success. After all, whatever explanation, or non-explanation, the governing bully gives, the members will believe it. And if they don’t, who would dare to question them anyway?

My blog post is becoming lengthy. I’ll stop here and write a part two. Please share your thoughts about this post, or your own observations of the convention in the comments.

 

It’s Official. I’m an Opposer.

From Pixabay

It’s official. I have been labeled, categorized, and marked as an “opposer.” I might as well have it printed on a t-shirt.

My first clue was when the elders at the local congregation in my town confronted me as I was about to enter the kingdom hall last time I visited. (See my account of that experience here.) But it was all confirmed as I prepared to attend the most recent convention with my friend Mark. I called and asked Mark whether we should go together. He was enthusiastic about the idea, but hesitant to have me join him in the carpool in which he would be riding. When I pressed him about it, he admitted that he was afraid that I would “say things that would weaken the faith of some of the weaker brothers and sisters.” This statement was out of character for Mark, and I could tell he was not comfortable saying those words to me. It was as if he were saying to me words that were not his own. I asked Mark where this was coming from. He admitted that the warning had come from his elders.

Naturally, we talked about how I’m not about weakening anybody’s faith, and quite the contrary, I’m about strengthening their faith in Jehovah, Jesus, and the Bible. He understood and admitted that he knew I wasn’t in the business of weakening others’ faith. Then, as we talked some more, things that he shared with me got really interesting.

Mark said that things that I had discussed with JW’s at their carts got back to the elders in Mark’s congregation.

What? Come again? Conversations I had with JW’s at the carts in the city (San Francisco), got back to the elders of the congregation in a small town in the Napa Valley, about 70 miles away? Can someone please say “Big Brother is watching you”? Oh, and there’s more. Word is, I was attempting to give the cart people my own literature. Oh, horror! Apostate literature! (Their paranoia rears its mole-like head.) The truth is, what I was trying to show them was their own literature, specifically my printout of the article on the subject of “Mediator” in their Insight book, which I downloaded from their own website, jw.org. Apostate literature? Shaking my evangelical head.

Let me just pause and say that I love my JW friend Mark. He knows that their accusations are outrageous, and he wants to continue to meet with me. We talked about how I like talking with atheists and others who challenge my faith, causing me to research and become stronger in what I believe. He likewise appreciates my questions and challenges to him. He’s “old school” JW, from back when they relished discussing, debating, and dialoguing with evangelical Christians. That’s no longer the case for most almost all current JW’s. Recent rhetoric is warning them not to talk at all with apostates and opposers. No dialogue. None. At. All. We have a gag order out on us.

So where does that leave me and Mark? Is my time of opportunity over? Far from it. I drove myself to the convention, intending to find Mark there and sit with him. We did not find each other, but we were able to talk quite a lot on the phone the next day.  And we’re planning on getting together soon. Take that, Pharisees.

I plan on continuing my visits to the local kingdom halls, until they threaten to call the police on me (which is funny, since they’re so anti-military and anti-police). If and when that happens, maybe I’ll stand on the sidewalk holding signs with scripture verses on them. Maybe. I don’t know.

Additionally, I’ll always take advantage of opportunities where JW’s don’t know of my “opposer” status. Jehovah will provide opportunities for ministry, regardless of any human labeling, judgment, and other efforts. The one thing they can’t control is the sovereign work of God!

Your and my identity are wrapped up in our status as children adopted by Jehovah, not by how anyone might attempt to categorize us. Keep doing the ministry God has called you to do!

My Appearance at Witnesses Now For Jesus West Coast

Several weekends ago I attended and spoke at the West Coast version of the Witnesses Now for Jesus Conference. The experience (both as a speaker and as one in attendance) was A . . . MAZ . . . ING.

Here’s a link to my speaking session: Click Here! (Watching myself makes me cringe. Is that true of you, too?)

Note: Clicking the link above will reveal my true identity! Oops! Oh well, my cover is blown anyway. My local JW friends pretty much know what I’m up to; they just can’t do much about it because they still think I’m a nice guy. I think I am too, btw. Perhaps I should call myself “The blogger formerly known as UndercoverJW.”

Anyway, the conference was superb. Some of the speakers were formerly programmed by the “mental regulating” of the Watchtower, and have since had their minds rebooted by Jesus. (I’m sure that’s in the Bible somewhere. Oh, yeah, Romans 12:2! Ha! You didn’t think I could support that scripturally, did you?) Others (including myself) have never been Watchtower-programmed, but love JW’s and want to see them set free. Before, after, and in between sessions, fellowship and interaction was lively. We witnessed as one man who had left the Watchtower a mere two weeks prior was baptized in the hotel pool, formerly a “brother” in name only, now adopted as a real son of Jehovah! Some of us had opportunities to talk with current JW’s who attended tentatively, questioning and curious. I believe they experienced the real love of Jesus through us.

Whether you’re a current JW, former JW, or never-been, I highly recommend attending the upcoming conferences in Missouri (July 27 – 28, 2018) and Pennsylvania (Oct 5 – 7, 2018), or next year’s conference in Cali. Here’s their Facebook page: WNFJ

Start asking God now to provide for your participation. He did it for me!

 

 

Random Observations From My Most Recent JW Convention Experience

The month of July saw a number of weekends at the Cow Palace (San Francisco) dedicated to the annual Jehovah’s Witness convention. These are 3-day conferences repeated identically, so as to accommodate a number of “circuits” or regions of JW congregations. My friend Mark and I attended this last Saturday only (not all three days). Here are some of my experiences and observations.

1. The Watchtower Society is investing in some high-tech tools. There are now 2 large screens flanking the stage, rather than one as in the past. Several professionally produced videos were used to illustrate practical applications of the teachings, in contrast to the live dramas of the past. And one longer, rather well-produced video depicted a modern version of Job’s trials. (I was actually impressed with it–there was really not much to criticize.) The video was the newest “release” announced at the end of the day, another high-tech deviation from the usual book format.
2. Despite these efforts to bring the presentations more in line with the current culture, the convention is still boring at best and annoying at worst. Simplistic and obvious lessons are presented in monotone by talking heads, and the only thing keeping me from nodding off were the occasional eye roll-prompting diatribes against apostates, “opposers,” and “christiandom.” Also, warnings against specific sins that stretch the limits of one’s suspension of disbelief. (e.g. gambling leads to greed, which was Judas’ downfall. You don’t want to become like Judas, do you? Yikes.)
3. The music used for “worship” is exceedingly bad; dirge-like and with arrangements that just don’t work. Even I, a musical neanderthal, can recognize the awkwardness of the amateurish and clunky progressions of notes. I always think of the scene in Amadeus where Mozart improves on Salieri’s composition, saying “That doesn’t really work, does it? How about this?” (Salieri scowls like a governing body member would.)
4. The last session was presented by (Surprise!) one of the members of the governing body, David Splane. I must acknowledge that his speaking style was good. Boring, but good. I should call it professional. Very good diction and control of his voice. I think he has had public speaking training that sets him apart from the other, more local speakers. The surprised audience gave him their undivided attention. To them I’m sure he had the very voice of Jehovah. To me, he was just a boring, out of touch guy who has the marketable still of giving a good, but less-than-dynamic presentation. Of course he announced the latest “release,” which was the video mentioned above. My friend Mark seemed disappointed that it wasn’t a book. I imagine other JW’s being relieved that it wasn’t another book that they were expected to add to their already full study schedule.
5. Despite the numbingly boring content and presentation, I had a very enjoyable day. Not only did I have conversations with several individuals and/or couples, but I spent hours talking with my friend Mark, both in the car and at the restaurant where we stopped to eat on our way home. I must say that if I had attended a JW convention ten years ago, I would have just dismissed it as a colossal waste of time, vowing to never return. What has me so eager to return to the conventions and kingdom hall meetings are several things. First, the Holy Spirit at work in me. I have come to cherish my conversations with JW’s, whether strangers, acquaintances, or friends like Mark. I love those dear JW’s, even the grumpy ones. They’re like sheep without a loving shepherd, but with a bully pushing them around instead. Second, I love seeing God at work around me, making divine appointments happen, directing conversations, giving me words to say (or telling me when to shut up), and protecting our conversations from the bullies. And third, gaining an appreciation for the things we have in Christ that the JW’s are missing out on. A real relationship with God and Jesus. Freedom from fear, guilt, and shame. Holy Spirit guidance and power. And the realization that as flawed as your church’s services may be, they have to be light-years better than any JW meeting. Perhaps attendance at a JW meeting should be mandatory for every Christian believer, just to give them a new appreciation for their own church experiences. I highly encourage it. It’s for your own good.