by carla 25 Replies latest jw friends
Are you saying everybody in the cong is aware of everybody else's 'hours'?!
The average rank and file JW does not get info on everybody else's hours...or at least didn't when I was still going. I'm assuming its just the elders (maybe MS's? who get this sort of report).
I don't know if individual hours are reported to the congregation, but the average certainly is! I've heard our CO quote off the statistics with either pride or dismay. Along with attendance figures, carla (which I thought were padded, based on my own figuring).
Where the individual hours might be reported is at the elder's meetings.
carla,
The elders are all aware of everyone's hours. In most congregations, that means at least some of the elder's wives are aware of anyone's hours they ask about. So, it may as well be posted.
But in nearly every congregation there is at least one Brother or Sister Weneversee, who doesn't EVER meet for service (unless the CO is in town) but gets slightly over the national average every month anyway. The subject of much discussion. How they get so much time is such a mystery. Sister Knowsevery-Jwintown has asked around and Brother Weneversee isn't meeting with their group. He works as an accountant, so it can't be informal witnessing on the job.
And there are other slander and gossip clichés that almost every congregation has. It is the lack of love that proves it can't be God's organization, not charts of contributors.
Respectfullly,
AuldSoul
Vacation pioneers--one month 75 hours, 2nd month if continuous 100 hours
1950's 140 hours/month
1970's 100 hours/month
1980's 90 hours (1000 hours/year/83 hrs/month)
mid-90's 70 hours/month
Do you see a trend? Perhaps by
2020's 50 hours perhaps
I was always put off by the "time"/"liturature placed"/"bible studies held" reporting requirement. It seemed to be at odds with a couple of principles expressed by Jesus.
1.The Widows mite. She gave all she could, even though it wasn't very much.
2. Public showy prayers. To impress others with you piety.
I was still an elder (but on the slippery slope) when I challenged the new CO in his meeting with the elders. He told us that he was going to tell the cong. in his closing talk that if they were 'irregular' or not meeting their service quota that they "could not consider themselves to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses". I knew several sisters in the cong. that had unbelieving mates and were making a huge sacrifice just to get to the meetings, often bringing along their small children. I told him in front of all the elders what I thought of his proposed comment and I didn't mince any words. I was angry. He got very defensive about it but on Sunday he did not mention it in his closing talk. I wrote a detailed letter to the Society of the situation and I then got on the phone to elders in the next cong. he was going to visit and gave them a heads up. They objected to it also and I believe he dropped that tactic in future visits to others.
So R&F JWs now have to do just 1 hour per month?
The whole concept of giving in preaching time is simply ridiculous and it makes the WTS sound like a business rather than a religion.
Only one hour to be counted as an "active" JW. But of course, they will be looked down upon as weak spiritually.
Up until the early 70's, 'publishers' were given the quota of 10 hours monthly, 12 magazines, 6 back calls (return visits), and 1 bible study. There used to be a large board set up on an easel in the front of the hall or some easily seen place and they would examine the congregation's totals monthly. The WTS stopped that they said because it meant that some JWs only put in 10 hours and no more, JWs they felt could be in more, say 20 or 30 hours. But the thought still remains as the national monthly average has hovered around 10 hours since then. National average = 10 hours.
Blondie
special pioneers 120 hours per month
missionaries 140 hours per month
Thanks for that info Blondie I didn't know that the WTS went that far in proving how much this org is run like a business rather a religion. What and how much one preaches is a personal matter not to be revealed to anyone, not habitually anyway.
