Pioneering !

by iknowall558 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  sir82

  So, why do you need to be 'exemplary' to be a pioneer ? Why are requirements needed in order to make it 'official' or to have the 'title' of 'pioneer'.

  Aside from the above responses, it's a shortcut to being judged positively by fellow JWs.

  When JWs meet other JWs for the first time, they immediately try to size up and judge the other as quickly as they can. If you can whip out a title like "pioneer", elder", "ministerial servant", etc. the other guy will immediately know what "level" you are on, and accept you that much quicker.

  If you don't have such a title, the process takes longer, involving multiple questions ("What congregation do you belong to? How long in the truth? How many elders/pioneers/publishers in your congregation [if you don't immediately know, you're a bit shaky]? When is your next assembly?").

  JWs are anxious to appear acceptable to other JWs, and having an official, Society-appointed title is a huge deal to most of them.
• 

  Titus

  In all congs where I was pioneers were everything but not "exemplary".

  I hate it!

  I hate it!

  I hate it more and more!!!

  The presiding overseer in my former congregation once told me (literally, word-to-word): "WE HAVE ONLY PROBLEMS WITH THEM [pioneers]. THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT, AND WE CAN SAY NOTHING TO THEM, SINCE CIRCUIT OVERSEER ALWAYS PROTECTS THEM. THEY ARE THE WORST KIND OF PUBLISHERS WE HAVE IN CONGREGATION."

  They are always (I hate it!!!) protected, since (we-all-know) COs and DOs have to report how many pioneers did they make in their mandate.

  Disgusting!
• 

  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  For many, but not all, it's about "bragging rights". When you are a "pioneer", you obviously have a better relationship with God and everybody better honor you for that. Most pioneers will include it in their introduction, "My name is John, and I've been a pioneer for 2 years."

  "My name is Billy, and I've been in the full-time service for 15 years, serve as an elder in a foreign language congregation, and am hung like a horse."
• 

  poppers

  and am hung like a horse.

  LOL! Now that's something to be impressed with.
• 

  Titus

  I always laugh on Billy's comments. Especially when I see his face in avatar.
• 

  DrJohnStMark

  Pioneering does give some prestige. Sometimes it is not to the humble pioneer him/herself but to his/her spouse or parents.
  
  I remember a game between two notable families in the congregation I was in: It was somehow important for one elder to be the presiding one, and even more important it was known to be for his wife (what a hawk she was). However, their son had had some good time and been flushed through the comittee, which became an obstacle. It was then announced in a meeting that their daughter was beginning full-time pioneering next month. (I had a crush on her so I remember too well.) After the announcement the daughter of the competing family in the congregation was biting her fist and said (quite loud) to her brother: "I knew this! I knew this would be their next move!"
• 

  jamiebowers

  It's just another control mechanism...give a title in exchange for complete submission.
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  Finally-Free

  It gives little people with no education or intellect the opportunity to "reach out" for a title. It makes them feel good when they can use this title as an excuse to look down on others in the congregation.

  W
• 

  Jazzbo

  Pioneering is a ploy by the organization to create a divisive class structure in the Organization and another mechanism for beating up the membership.
• 

  doublelife

  When I was pioneering I was always told by the elders and CO that pioneering was the closest a sister could get to being a MS. It made all of the women pioneers feel really special. But something about that never settled well with me.

  The month I was baptized the CO assigned a family from a different circuit to move to our congregation because there were no complete families(both parents plus children) in our cong. We only had single parent families or married couples without children. Anyways, I always felt like everything was a competition between us. (I won't lie, I'll accept the same amount of blame that I accuse her of). We were talking about signing up to pioneer and I got the feeling that she was trying to talk me out of it because she didn't want to do it herself. So after I turned in my application I told her and the first thing she did was turn hers in. My mom watched the whole thing and told me later that night that she could sense the competition that girl had with me. Of course, I had my mom fooled. She thought the competition was one sided.

  Wow. That's the first time I admitted to being that type of person. I didn't like myself back then.