Shepherding Calls

by R.F. 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  WTWizard

  I remember back in the 1980s, they were done to prod people into doing more. Those who were doing reasonably well could expect a houndingshepherding call about 6 months after baptism, and another hounding shepherding call about once a year. The reason for those was to discuss pioneering and doing other service, like reaching out for extra burdensprivileges. Younger ones were hounded to go to Beth Hell. And of course there was the ever-present "You know you really could be doing more in the service".

  Then shortly after 1990, the regular hounding shepherding calls stopped. After that, they started focusing on those who were becoming irregular in the misery, or who they thought might be listening to bad music or watching bad videos, or doing other questionable things for which they could be led for a marking or disfellowshipping later. I remember getting one because they felt my apartment wasn't tidy enough (what could they expect from a single brother that they were hellbent on keeping single, in addition to all the pioneering they wanted out of me?).

  And of course, just before I began making things miserable for them by slipping between two congregations, the lead hounder actually had the nerve to tell me to just meet other men at the Great and Grand Boasting Sessions. This was presented as theocraptic arrangement for me, and of course I didn't accept it. They tried that "rebelling against theocraptic arrangement was the same as the sin of divination" crap on me, only to start having a very hard time getting me to go to the meetings at all. They never figured out why I stopped going, or why I ultimately went apostate (and I doubt they even know I turned apostate or that I even have a computer, since I didn't tell them and I want them to have to waste as much time and thinking as possible trying to catch me).

  I wonder how many hounding shepherding calls they attempted to do on me, but I didn't answer the door or the phone. I have had three "care packages" (a card, a letter, and the month's Puketower and Asleep! magazines) sent to me, which I promptly shredded. I also got an invitation to the 2007 Crapmorial, which I blew off (I also blew off the 2006 Crapmorial and got a Ouija board that day instead of going). I am going to do all I can to make it as miserable as possible for them to try and arrange a hounding shepherding call with me.
• 

  R.F.

  As we were walking back to the care, the PO told me to be sure to count your time because there were unbaptized kids there.

  Ahhh....it's all about the precious field service time.
• 

  undercover

  I remember when I was being "groomed" to be an elder (thank god I never made it) and I got to go on some sheparding calls. Most of them were just run of the mill visits with people who were pretty average JWs. But a couple of them I remember...

  One was that we called on an old sister in our hall. Nothing extraordinary about that in itself...except even though I had heard her name mentioned from time to time over the years, I had never met her nor ever seen her at a single meeting. She was never hooked up to the system where invalids could listen to the meetings from home. I had to be introduced to her in her own home. She went on and on about her hardships and troubles and why she couldn't come to the meetings. While I don't doubt some of her health problems, she wasn't as sick or as invalid as she made out. I sensed that she was just looking for pity. I also sensed that she wasn't going to be told what to do or how to do it either. The elder in charge piled all kinds of praise on her and how Jehovah was blessing her efforts. I never figured out if the elder was on to her and just wanted to get it over with and leave or if he fell for her BS stories.

  Another sheparding call had me very nervous. A sister in our hall, about my age (early 20s at the time), had been seperated from her husband who had run out on her and subsequently was DFd. After their seperation, she had started missing meetings and service. I tried to beg out of accompanying the elder for, as I told him, that this was a delicate matter that maybe I didn't need to know any details on...especially since sexual matters were involved and I was single. What the elder didn't know was that after this couple seperated, this sister had started hanging out with the group of young single JWs that I was hanging out with. We had gotten to know each other and were pretty friendly and had some parties at her home at the home of a couple other dubs. I had seen her drunk, and she me. We had flirted while in our inebriated state, though nothing major happened every really happened (nothing DFing wise, maybe just reproof). When we showed up at her door, she had a look of terror on her face. She thought I had ratted her out. I was trying to give her a sign, any sign that it wasn't the case. She figured it out though as the sheparding call progressed and I sat there quiet as a church mouse while the elder encouraged her back to the meetings and warned her about not dating or associating with the single friends since, technically, she was still married and would be until her divorce papers were final. We both squirmed during that part, exhanging glances as the elder recapped some experiences of other young people going out, getting drunk and ending up doing things they shouldn't. I was just glad to get out of there. But me, her and a couple of others met up later that night and went to the movies and had a good laugh about it then.
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  Honesty

  So you former Elders and Ministerial Servants....did you enjoy doing the shepherding calls?

  Yes, until I realised it was just a guilt-tripping session designed to get more out of 'weak' publishers of the Good News of the Watchtower about their False Christ.