14-11 A Message For Former Jehovah's Witnesses

Our intention isn't to persuade anyone to leave one religion / denomination and join another... that strikes us as primitive. The Lord Jesus Christ never really set out to start a denomination, He was as He was, and individuals followed Him and perceived in Him the Son of God and eternal Saviour of all those who believed in Him. And in essence, that's who He continues to be today. Of course, we must ensure that we are understanding Him correctly, for we can't have a good relationship with someone we misunderstand or grossly misinterpret. The sad example of mainstream Christianity, and the glaring contradictions between it and the Bible (both practically and theologically) have left many people open to the approach of the Watchtower. For they come into our lives with an appeal to get back to the Bible alone, to search for truth and fearlessly reject human traditions... and that in itself is no bad approach. Probably most readers have said "Yes! Agreed!" to this approach. But... then we find ourselves asked to take on board a whole package of teaching which tends to make us a slave to an organization, and our initial hunger for truth becomes replaced by obedience to a human group. Some throw themselves wholeheartedly into this, and become addicted to religion rather than to the personal following of the Lord Jesus. They eagerly fill up "time reports", agonizing over whether to count the time spent from leaving their door to returning home as "witnessing" time... or whether it's just time spent actually "on the doors" that should be noted... others by all means try to get enough hours in so they can be baptized... others sit in McDonalds drinking coffee and notch this up as "street witnessing"... And then, sooner or later, serious inconsistencies appear between the beliefs and practices of our fellow Jehovah's Witnesses, and what we know the Bible to teach. Some repress these doubts and questions, leading to deeply unhappy and unresolved lives, for all the good appearances they put on at the Kingdom Hall. Others eventually face up to reality and break out of their religious addiction. And then the problems really start. People quitting one addiction tend to turn to another- be it alcohol, or finding yet another religion or set of beliefs to which they devote themselves. It's most definitely not our purpose to give you another "religion" to throw yourself into. We're here to provide you with material which will help you decide what's good and what's bad about the beliefs you picked up from the WTBS. Only you can make that set of decisions. All we urge you to do is to not give up! For there is God, there is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for you; and the Bible really is God's word. God's Kingdom really will come on earth, the Lord Jesus really will return, there is the hope of eternal life in Christ. Your association with the Watchtower is, we're sure, a significant town along the road in your journey there, a step up the ladder. It was, an experience which under God's loving hand and plan for you isn't just wasted time. For nothing is ultimately wasted when God is in our life, not even our sins, our misunderstandings, our poor decisions... God works through all these.

A Personal Action Plan

No use crying over spilt milk. In any process of grieving, there's a danger of being caught up on one of the stages in that process. This leads to unbalanced lives, unresolved anger and dysfunction in many parts of our lives and relationships. This is why so many former Jehovah's Witnesses struggle with addictions, with broken lives, withdrawal into themselves... But there is a better way. Get a grip, and consider our suggested personal action plan for former Jehovah's Witnesses...

1) Pray to God for guidance into a deeper relationship with Him and to reveal His true way to you from His word, the Bible. And of course, keep praying through all the stages below! If you wish, contact us at info {at} carelinks.net for a prayer partner who will simply pray with you through all the stages of the action plan- not giving any pressure about anything, but just someone you can be in touch with and who will pray for you and with you.

2) Recognize that you have been religiously addicted, manipulated and abused

3) Admit that you are powerless of yourself to put yourself back on track- you need God's grace to help you

4) Decide which teachings of the Watchtower / WTBS you are going to reject, accept or accept with some modifications (see below for guidance on this).

5) Think prayerfully, Biblically and carefully about the need for baptism or re-baptism. Not into any church or denomination, but simply into the Lord Jesus Christ. For more information about re-baptism, see here

6) If you would like to be re-baptized, there are local world-wide representatives of Carelinks Ministries, speaking many languages, who would be delighted to help you do this.

Truly and sincerely, may God bless you as you work through these stages!

Here's a checklist to help you work through the various beliefs and practices which you've been taught: