Actually this "change" shows up so many of the problems with that organization. They still have a book study, still want people to study for one, and still expect an elder to conduct one. While I admit that the extra night at home is nice and they may have cut down on BSOs (we haven't seen the correspondence to the bodies yet), they are so stuck up on their "cooking" of spiritual "food" they can't for a moment see that the real benefit would have been to scrap the whole meeting entirely.
If there is anything that this does say it is something that most JWs will probably miss entirely. THIS IS A CLEAR SIGN THAT THEY DON'T EXPECT THE END TO SHOW UP ANYTIME SOON! I say this because the whole rationale for book studies was in large part future persecution, and the need to have small clandestine meetings. The GB may not be feeling that pressure anymore in the free world.
I also wonder how all of the COs who advised my elder body to push the book study arrangement will feel now. The downturn in the congregation was always attributed to a lack of following the book study arrangement. That was one reason for the change not so many years ago from Book Study Conductor to Book Study Overseer. In a place like here in NYC it was very hard to have service groups at book studies. We struggled hard to make this work. Now the "best" arrangement for shepherding is now gone. What does that say? Was it ever good to begin with? Or is a matter of a group of inconsiderate men asking people to do too much?
One good thing: This MAY cut down on the amount of work the elders and in particular the Service Committee does. Especially in a large congo such as my former one many hours were spent assigning the publishers to groups. Further renters in my area move a lot and our congo was very transient. Therefore it was a full time job tracking constant changes in assignments. Admittedly this is not true organization wide. But for elder bodies like my former one, this may be a relief provided that the GB does not replace the old arrangement with something just as complicated. The letter does mention keeping service in smaller groups.
Isaac Carmignani
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I tend to think that all those over-stressed families and those parents will try the arrangement but over time will use that time to relax and recharge.
The load placed on the brothers and sisters was far too heavy and this was reflected in the number of individuals with chronic fatigue and depressive disorders.
I remember reading a Watchtower were the Gov. Body admitted that they kept people busy on purpose, so that they couldn't get into trouble. I came away from reading that feeling disgust that adults were part of a massive baby-sitting club.
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