What kind of things did you do when going door to door to add time?

by whyizit 28 Replies latest jw friends

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  whyizit

  I was intrigued by an earlier post. The point was made that the JWs are going door-to-door to meet a quota and are not really concerned about the people they are witnessing to, but only in saving their own butts.

  Has anyone ever had a non-JW friend and asked them if they could talk about Jehovah for a while to them, in order to fill the time they need? Right up front and honest about what they are doing? Instead of being phony about it?

  Is there a limit of time you can spend at the door of a prospect? If a car load of 4 goes to a house and someone welcomes them and shoots the breeze with them for awhile, who gets to claim that time? All of them, or only the ones who actually talk to the prospect?

  I noticed the other day when the JWs came over, two guys came to the door, then after about 5 minutes, a lady gets out and she makes sure I go over to the car to meet her mother, etc....and I just wondered if that was a way for the whole bunch of them to count me on all of their time cards.

  And how is this Biblical? Where does Jesus ever tell us to go door to door, and count every minute?

  Where does Jehovah Himself ever instruct us to do this?

  It reminds me of a school fundraiser, where you work your butt off to sell "wha-cha-ma-jigs", with the promise that if you spend enough time and effort, you will win this awesome (cheap $2) basketball for all your effort. Then, inevitably, some kid whose Dad is a big shot at work, sells a boat-load while his kid sits on his butt in his hi-tech bedroom, while the kids who actually spent all the time really working at it get the shaft. That kid gets the basketball, which he will never even look at, while the other kids are disillusioned and bitter from the whole experience.

  Isn't it unfair for a guy who is collecting disability (from a Govt. that he is not even suppose to be involved with), for some "ailment" that prevents him from working, yet he is still able to spend 96+ hours a month in wing-tip shoes, knocking on doors and running all over the place? While other people have to work and cannot spend that kind of time peddling magazines? That is what I have noticed. "Brother 96 + Hours", tells me all about all of his time he spends, yet he is on disability, he uses the VA hospital, and he gets food stamps. Not to mention the govt. housing that gives him a big break in rent. Drives a very nice car, wears fancy suits, ....Looks at his watch and mentions Jehovah and "end times" at least twice in every conversation. Then talks about everything else under the sun. I guess if you mention those two things, it counts as time accumulated??? I don't know about other people, but I think it is rude and I feel used when this happens. I'm just a number. He doesn't care about my salvation. Just adding more points to his own score card.

  Guess he never read Galatians 6:14.
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  greendawn

  They want the dubs to count time in order to better control them, if they don't do enough to pressure them into doing more, the elders check up on those hours and in addition the COs double check to ensure that the R&F offer their ten hours per month in selling the corporation's products.
  
  I had been naive as a dub and never thought about cheating on the hours something easily done since no one would really check on you.
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  stillajwexelder

  Go "out of site" to write calls down.

  Knock lightly so will not be heard then knock again after a few minutes but a bit harder this time.

  When serving as an elder regularly chcek to see how everyone is doing

  All good time wasting techniques
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  TresHappy

  Drink lots of liquid = lots of pee breaks!
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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Country territory :)
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  stillajwexelder

  Country territory :) - yes this is brilliant - very country/rural territory in a car group is a brilliant way of padding time
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  Darth Yhwh

  whyizit, this is a very well worded post. I too have often been on the short end of a school fundraiser that I had worked my tail off only to fall short.

  As far as stalling tacticts in the field ministry? I would pretend to knock and ring door bells. That's about it. When I became old enoug to relize that it was a big scam, I stopped going.
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  The Mayor of Turiwhate

  I jumped at every chance to witness rural territory:

  (i) Call at some door (usually a "Not at Home") before leaving town, drive two hours to get to the territory (We had plenty of those type maps),

  (ii) Still count the time while sitting in the car, when at least someone from the vehicle was at a door.

  (iii) Come up with novel ways of "placing" (more like dumping) huge numbers of Watchtower and Awake magazines:

  - Such as leaving bundles of the things in Forestry Huts.

  ( One of our maps had a Forestry Hut over 1 km from the end of the road. I counted the time taken to walk there and back to that, too!)

  (iv) Finish the day with Step (i) in reverse.

  That way, you could achieve your month's quota of 10 hours in one just day - no need to go out again that month.

  In doing this, I always used to feel that I was giving the Elders plus the CO the proverbial "Two Fingers". Given the way the R&F are continually harassed on this matter of "hours", I would admit to receiving a certain sense of satisfaction from doing this.

  In reading the reactions of others to this post - together with my own memories of the subject - I think that there is an element of "Monkey See, Monkey Do" at work here:

  i.e. By its actions, the WTS shows itself to interested only in numerical increase - NOT in the welfare of the Rank and File.

  (I seem to remember reading somewhere in "Crisis of Conscience" where N.H. Knorr is on record as actually volunteering that the WTS is not interested in the welfare of the R&F. Not having a copy of C of E on hand, I can't pinpoint the exact page. Maybe someone can help me here? Not that you need the words of N.H. Knorr to demonstrate that the WTS has no interest in people's welfare - the evidence is everywhere, and well documented on this discussion board!)

  Given then that the WTS cares nothing of people's welfare - but rather continually harps on about "hours" - it is hardly surprising that the R&F, too, are only interested in that column on the Monthly Report entitled "Hours".
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  stillajwexelder

  Welcome to the board Mayor of Turiwhate - great post - exactly how I feel especially In doing this, I always used to feel that I was giving the Elders plus the CO the proverbial "Two Fingers". Given the way the R&F are continually harassed on this matter of "hours", I would admit to receiving a certain sense of satisfaction from doing this.
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  theinfamousone

  we used to go to breakfast, but make sure we took an unbaptised publisher with us... that way we could count the time...

  the infamous one