Circuit Overseers are under pressure to produce - My experience

by BonaFide 23 Replies latest jw friends

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  BonaFide

  So we have all seen the Yearbook or the Wt with the yearly statistics.

  When I became a C.O., at my first meeting with the other C.O.'s and D.O.'s at the branch, I was handed a piece of paper with statistics on it for that past year, both of the circuit I was assigned to serve, and the total stats in the country.

  Here are the stats that the Branch keeps track of:

  Publishers, Congregations, Bible Studies, Baptized, Memorial Attendance, Pioneers, Aux Pios, etc. These numbers everyone has.

  BUT THEY GAVE THE TRAVELING OVERSEERS MORE STATISTICS: (Annual)

  Memorial Partakers

  Number Disfellowshipped

  Number Reinstated

  Number Irregular

  Number Inactive

  Number Reactivated

  Percent Publisher Growth

  Number of Elders and Ministerial Servants

  At our C.O. and D.O. meetings with the Branch that we had every year, we went over and over these numbers. The C.O.'s with the highest percentage of increase were asked to tell us how they did it. We got into some serious competition to have the most growth.

  They also focused on the contributions, although we did not get numbers about that. They told us that a circuit's spirituality can be measured by its contributions to Jehovah.

  Thought you might like to know.

  BF
• 

  SirNose586

  Not surprising. Spirituality by the numbers. When they told me Jesus purchased my meeting seat, I was a bit disturbed. But this is the logical conclusion of a lawyer's take on Christianity.
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  leavingwt

  They told us that a circuit's spirituality can be measured by its contributions to Jehovah.

  Thank you for providing us with this insider perspective. I was previously unaware of this.
• 

  Scott77

  BonaFide,

  You have my two PMs.

  Scott77
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  winstonchurchill

  They told us that a circuit's spirituality can be measured by its contributions to Jehovah.

  Furthermore, we were told that a low level of contributions could signal concealed wrong-doing; the 'theory' is that if someone is doing something bad, and it doesn't come to light and the congregation is not 'cleansed', Congregation starts to lose influence of the Holy Spirit and bros and sis are not compelled to contribute.

  Once my then supervisor at the branch told me that CO's seemed to handle spreadsheets better than Bibles. He was (is) a very incisive man, with a keen vision; he would tell me that the whole obsession with statistics in the organization was like a curse. He blamed the coordinator (a 'Knorr-ite' he would call him). Now that I like to think I have a clearer vision, I believe that he was against the whole time-reporting arrangement, but wouldn't tell (certainly not to me); years later I learned that some in the GB wanted to nix or at least simplify that.
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  leavingwt

  Furthermore, we were told that a low level of contributions could signal concealed wrong-doing; the 'theory' is that if someone is doing something bad, and it doesn't come to light and the congregation is not 'cleansed', Congregation starts to lose influence of the Holy Spirit and bros and sis are not compelled to contribute.

  I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. Wow.
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  OnTheWayOut

  I was going to ask about contributions being in the statistics but it was explained before I finished reading. Thanks.

  The organization really is a product of the 4 presidents of WTS (up through Franz).

  Russell- started it all down the road of numerology and "invisible presence" and declaring the end soooooooooooooooooooooooooo close at hand.
  
  Rutherford made it more controlling and made it important to have the organization in charge of the flock.

  Knorr made the whole thing into an efficiency experiment. How do we get more out of everyone? That was the big question.

  Franz really was in his heyday before he was president. He was given the power to run amok with his theory that the end was coming in 1975. This was done to grow the numbers and be more "efficient" under Knorr's grand experiment. It took the old fogeys back to the good old days and they liked it. It paid for the new equipment in Brooklyn to modernize. It was wonderful. They just made Franz the president as a way of honoring all that he did, and maybe to keep him from writing anymore.

  Circuit overseers are stuck in the Knorr-ite mode. I love that term. It's all about the numbers. They are going to use the bad numbers (they are coming) as the excuse to cut off the CO program. I know it. I am sure of it. It will happen. "If you guys cannot produce, what good are you?"
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  Doubting Bro

  And that's why so few COs really connect with the rank & file. Of the COs I've had during my tenure as an elder, I noticed that the ones liked best by the rank & file (and the elders) were the ones that were not overly concerned with the numbers.

  Thanks BF & WC. I had no idea that they were tracking contributions on a circuit level and then basically making the COs accountable for poor contributions. I'm not suprised at all but I think the average JW would be taken aback if they knew it.

  The COs are nothing more than middle management of a book publishing/distribution company. Now I understand a little better why they are in such a bad mood during those meetings with the BOE.
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  chickpea

  They told us that a circuit's spirituality can be measured by its contributions to Jehovah.

  soooo .....
  jesus was just kidding about the widow's mite, then?
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  Elsewhere

  > They told us that a circuit's spirituality can be measured by its contributions to Jehovah.

  Jezus neeeeedz you're muuuuuuuuuuney!