Did You Take Your "Ministry" Seriously? (page 3)

SnakesInTheTower

Although I was a regular pioneer off and on for years...maybe 8 years total out of 20+ years baptized....I hated it... HATED IT ....HATED IT (get the picture?)

I too did the pioneer shuffle. At the end of my first tour of duty as a reg pio, I was accused of turning in phantom time and was removed as MS/pio (judicially) for lying about it. Ironically, at the time of the accusation, ALL of my time was legit and I was anal about keeping good records (NH, RV's BS....field reports...everything)..some months over 100 hours...even 150 one month when I was behind and did not want to be out all summer trying to make it up.

It was only much much later that I started making up sh*t on my records. Going out with the group and then after an hour peeling off to take care of calls (at the coffee shop in another territory, go home to sleep, library, etc)...starting at 7 am and doing the laundromat/parking lot/gas station shuffle until 9...easy 2 hours...considered legit, but really truly nonproductive.

With gas prices now, I dont know how anyone pioneers????!!!

Seriously...at one time...no more....ALL of my time is PhantomTime now....

SnakesInTheTower (of the "dont give a crap anymore, just living life" Sheep Class)

sparrow

150 hours??? Geez I'm glad I never became a pioneer...

WTWizard

This is what I liked to see: Every door on a whole street not at home. Not Interested's. Having the TV on The Price Is Right or having rap music blasting in the territory while we are there. Having it very cold out, and letting the heat out of the car so it would take others longer to warm up. Rain, especially when it pops up suddenly. Poor organization, where the people forget things and have to waste time to get them or are not ready to be picked up when we get there. When no one shows up for service. Excessive coffee breaks and walking slowly.

This is what I didn't want to see: Someone at the door that actually wants to study or has questions pertaining to the misery. Getting to the Hell and everyone is right there and ready within 15 minutes and in the territory. Long streets where people in the lead insist on working the whole thing non-stop. Having it warm enough so we can go non-stop. Territories with more than 100 houses in them. Apartment buildings where there are two or three doors in front and several more in the back (always more risk of getting in). Having to actually talk at the door and actually placing something, especially where the guy working with me insists that I should cultivate the guy call at that door. Going in on studies and calls where they last more than 30 seconds and the guy there is puke-ugly or is smoking non-stop while we are there. Being hounded to dredge up my calls (I always faked out on them so they would go out of date).

keyser soze

I got no enjoyment out of it whatsoever. I always hoped like hell that there would be nobody at home. A lot of times I was just winging it at the door. I rarely had a presentation prepared. I always found the ones suggested in the KM to be extremely lame. I always tried to get into car groups of people that I knew liked to do a lot of return visits and take extra long coffee breaks.

Flowerpetal

I had mixed feelings about it. I hated it when I was working with someone and felt I had to successfully overcome an objection. To me if a person says they're not interested, they mean what they say!

I loved it when I met someone who was interested in having a ~~Bible~~ WTBTS study because I felt I was making a future ~~disciple~~ WTBTS publisher.

Mariusuk.

I had certain rules witnessing

I would not knock on a door with a porch, ie where the householder had to open two doors to greet you

I would not knock on doors I knew had my school friends living there

One knock if no answer leave

Be the first to volunteer for rural witnessing

minimus

Hmmm, if we represent what JWs feel about preaching, no wonder they can't get many converts or keep people in1

LongHairGal

Exwitless:

Like you, I absolutely hated field service. The only good thing about it was that you got to walk around the neighborhood and admire people's landscaping. Sometimes it was good for a nice long talk with another JW that you liked pretty much. Every now and then there was an interesting talk with a non-hostile householder and maybe an r.v. or two but that was about it. Going for coffee or lunch afterwards was always a highlight.

I tried to analyze why I hated it so much and I realized it was because: (a) I didn't really believe we should be bothering people at their homes about it, (b) there were just a few of the "friends" that I could stand working with, and (c) I was not entirely convinced that what we were telling everybody was correct. The third one probably bothered me the most.

LHG

Dagney

Oh man, did I ever.

Even though it got less serious over that last 10 years or so, show up for FS, do some calls (drive bys) then to breakfast outside of the territory (with a car group mostly led by elder or MS.)

I did try to share the "good news" (NOT) everyday with someone, especially at work. I really had some good experiences. Toward the end, I could not in good faith use the literature so I only used the Bible. Then even that became a conflict for me.

**sigh**

No wonder I hate it ALL now.

Did You Take Your "Ministry" Seriously?

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