Question.

About how many active members are apart of this church/temple?

It waxes and wanes over time but I would estimate around 100 at any given point.

Jester can give you a clearer answer as he deals with lots of the changing of rank.

Is it being around 100 at a given point bad? Shouldn't we attempt to gain more members.

Answer me this, why seek out people?

Do you suppose we are building an army?

Not an 'army' perhaps ... but hoping to share with as many as are ready to share with us.

There have been many times hundreds that come and go ... then come back, or do not. The Jedi way is perhaps not for everyone. Or it is just not the right time. Or ... the reasons for such traffic are many.

The main thing is, people can leave the Temple, leave the Order, and go out to pursue whatever they are called to pursue. We are not a sect that enforces strict attendance.

It also requires dedication to be a Jedi - not simply to log into a website and chatter about one's opinions - but to actually pursue self knowledge, to liberate oneself from the social, cultural and religious conditioning that one's self-image is based upon, to pursue a truer experience of the World.

Then there is also that it is hard. Its difficulty lies in that we prescribe no "method", no "set path", to 'self-actualisation'. The Jedi faith is 'freedom' from our handicapping illusions about what 'should be' and focus on 'what is' in the here & now.

Here and now we greet those who are here now. It would be nice if there were more of us, yet we are all simply one whether we are many or few.

We rarely think about how many we are. Except for Maître Jestor who has to do the paperwork. We give him cookies ...

Connor Lidell wrote: Answer me this, why seek out people?

Do you suppose we are building an army?

No No,It is my own opinion. It is not necessary to have many people. I just feel like when we have more people we have a bigger impact, not saying we have zero impact. I also like seeing more faces, and many other elements and benefits of having more people. Am I in the wrong to not want more people in this organization?

Alexandre Orion wrote: Not an 'army' perhaps ... but hoping to share with as many as are ready to share with us.

There have been many times hundreds that come and go ... then come back, or do not. The Jedi way is perhaps not for everyone. Or it is just not the right time. Or ... the reasons for such traffic are many.

The main thing is, people can leave the Temple, leave the Order, and go out to pursue whatever they are called to pursue. We are not a sect that enforces strict attendance.

It also requires dedication to be a Jedi - not simply to log into a website and chatter about one's opinions - but to actually pursue self knowledge, to liberate oneself from the social, cultural and religious conditioning that one's self-image is based upon, to pursue a truer experience of the World.

Then there is also that it is hard. Its difficulty lies in that we prescribe no "method", no "set path", to 'self-actualisation'. The Jedi faith is 'freedom' from our handicapping illusions about what 'should be' and focus on 'what is' in the here & now.

Here and now we greet those who are here now. It would be nice if there were more of us, yet we are all simply one whether we are many or few.

We rarely think about how many we are. Except for Maître Jestor who has to do the paperwork. We give him cookies ...

Thanks for the explanation. One of my hobbies is running a Video Gaming community, and we always seek out to find more people to create more of a community, I was just applying those senses here.

I would rather service bring people to us. Not that our doctrine brings people in, but that the people bring people in.

I have a friend who is learning the Jedi arts from me because she loved me as a person. She wanted to know about me. And, she wanted to see the "why" of what I did.

I imagine that people will join the Jedi when we make newspaper articles for serving at a soup kitchen. And, suddenly, people come to our doors and think it's really cool about what we're doing. And, they'd ask if they could join in the service.

Slowly, over time, people get interested in the actual doctrine.

And, eventually, jediism takes hold.

This is one way that Jediism could spread. It should be by example, not by attempting to make people join.

So, instead of attempting to gain more members, we should strive to be beacons of light. People come toward the light.

itsNickEbel wrote: Is it being around 100 at a given point bad? Shouldn't we attempt to gain more members.

No, its actually very good...

Sigh, ...

OK, first, tell me what your criteria of "active" members is...



That aside, we are a religious website (for the most part, lol), but we discuss many things, broadly we could say "Existence; and all that it encompasses" is our focus...

We are the most visited, and active serious Jedi website on the internet...

Someone check out activity at other religious websites, I'll bet we do pretty good against them too...

And it can all change in the blink of an eye...

No vanity, statistics are available.... lol...

+++++++
As to the second sentence....

Tens of thousands of kids go to school every day...

I would venture the same for those who are church goers....

But, more than half (I'm guessing) probably don't want to be there...

Generically looking at students, or church goers, the ones who get the most out of the experience, are the ones who 1. want to be there, and 2. "Do the Work" (lol, something I like to say...)

So, while we could "fill the seats with butts", I'd prefer quality, over quantity....

As we get more quality people, (those who want to be here AND "do the work") here at totjo, our numbers will rise...

There are some groups, religious or otherwise, that go door to door....

We don't wanna be seen in a similar light... lol...

Be ready for questions, yes...

Accepting, yes....

Supportive, of course...

Actively seeking new members... Mmmm, I'll get back to you... lol...

Jestor wrote:

itsNickEbel wrote: Is it being around 100 at a given point bad? Shouldn't we attempt to gain more members.

No, its actually very good...

Sigh, ...

OK, first, tell me what your criteria of "active" members is...



That aside, we are a religious website (for the most part, lol), but we discuss many things, broadly we could say "Existence; and all that it encompasses" is our focus...

We are the most visited, and active serious Jedi website on the internet...

Someone check out activity at other religious websites, I'll bet we do pretty good against them too...

And it can all change in the blink of an eye...

No vanity, statistics are available.... lol...

+++++++
As to the second sentence....

Tens of thousands of kids go to school every day...

I would venture the same for those who are church goers....

But, more than half (I'm guessing) probably don't want to be there...

Generically looking at students, or church goers, the ones who get the most out of the experience, are the ones who 1. want to be there, and 2. "Do the Work" (lol, something I like to say...)

So, while we could "fill the seats with butts", I'd prefer quality, over quantity....

As we get more quality people, (those who want to be here AND "do the work") here at totjo, our numbers will rise...

There are some groups, religious or otherwise, that go door to door....

We don't wanna be seen in a similar light... lol...

Be ready for questions, yes...

Accepting, yes....

Supportive, of course...

Actively seeking new members... Mmmm, I'll get back to you... lol...

See, I come from my main hobbie, Gaming in a Online Gamming community. Our goal in those styled communitys is to gain many members to establish a community. I was in a styled "culture shock" as someone put it in the Saturday Google+ hangout. I was just applying those skills here. Sorry If I was in the wrong guys.