Did you loathe going in field service, if so why?

by HappyGuy 60 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Chalam

  Hello Happy Guy,

  I loved God (at the time), so it wasn't that. I don't know, something about field service just didn't feel right.

  The idea of selling magazines and calling it preaching just made me feel like I was hit in the stomach with a baseball bat.

  I don't know that many ex-JWs but it seems like one thing we all have in common was a strong distaste for field service. I wonder if it is because we all knew deep down inside that it is disingenuous, that it is not at all like the preaching that the apostles did.

  This says it all

  Galatians 1:6-10 (English Standard Version)

  No Other Gospel

  6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

  2 John 1:7-10 (Contemporary English Version)

  7 Many liars have gone out into the world. These deceitful liars are saying that Jesus Christ did not have a truly human body. But they are liars and the enemies of Christ. 8 So be sure not to lose what we have worked for. If you do, you won't be given your full reward. 9 Don't keep changing what you were taught about Christ, or else God will no longer be with you. But if you hold firmly to what you were taught, both the Father and the Son will be with you. 10 If people won't agree to this teaching, don't welcome them into your home or even greet them.

  Blessings,

  Stephen
• 

  snowbird

  In the beginning, I loved it!

  I thought I was really taking part in a life-saving work, and was filled with zeal, vim, and vigor.

  I never pushed the literature, and if people wanted to use their Bibles, I was all for it!

  Later on, it became pointless and dull.

  Who were we to tell others to come to our side when we couldn't get anything right?

  Sylvia
• 

  moshe

  Like most JW's I knew, I never like it either. It get worse the longer you're in, too. I guess the householders get smarter ever year, so the presentations don't work. There is so much negative stuff on the Internet about JW's today, that WT damage control must be nearly a fulltime job for JW's in service now.
• 

  tjlibre

  The WT/GB now wants to turn JWs into telemarketers. The CO have been pushing preaching over the phone for the past 2 years now, and there is a supplement in the Feb KM with a script for phone witnessing, telling the JW what to say and how to respond. It will not surprise me if 2 to 5 years from now they’ll ask the JW to make phone-calls asking for donation…for the….drum roll…Borg! (first time I use that term).
• 

  yknot

  My feeling about FS are always reflective of the congregation I was attending......

  Great social atmosphere with willing support structures congregations....... I was out all the time!

  Enslaved, desperate for the end to come, bitter and clique-y congregations........loathed!
• 

  sd-7

  For me, I was pretty much just scared. 'Cause sure, we got a presentation to use, but it just didn't seem like we could possibly be flexible enough to deal with every situation. The fact that our presentations had to be scripted for us in the first place indicated that much. The Reasoning book--well, the reasoning's been done for us! When I ran into true intellectuals who wanted to discuss real questions, I found that I had no real background of knowledge to bring to the table. That made me feel embarrassed and helped me realize [unconsciously] that I was too dependent on the Society for information.

  Some days I felt good about it afterwards, but it wasn't necessarily because of talking to someone about the Bible; it may have been because of the chances for spiritual conversation with my partner. Or maybe just the belief that making a certain number of hours would keep the divine heat off my tail. Or maybe I did believe I was doing the right thing. It was never really consistently enjoyable for me, though.

  Once I figured out something was out of place, especially pertaining to what we tell the public versus what's in the Study Edition, I kept field service to a minimum. (I actually noticed that years ago, but just figured it was justifiable.) It's been at least a few months since the last door-to-door activity.

  Weird thing was, whenever I lived in some other cong.'s territory, they would usually act as if I wasn't a Witness even after I told them I was. I might as well have told them "I have my own religion", the way they responded. So much for worldwide brotherhood.

  SD-7
• 

  straightshooter

  I also was one who loved the preaching work. I enjoyed meeting people and conversing with them.

  It became impossible to preach when I came to the understanding that the WTS was not the true religion. How could I tell another to accept the WTS teachings when I no longer accepted them.
• 

  undercover

  I absolutely loathed it. Hated it. Despised it. Of course, I would have never admitted that at the time. But deep down, I knew I didn't like it and no amount of preperation, practice or prayer was going to change that.

  Why did I hate it? At the time I never explored the reason why. I thought I just needed to adjust my attitude. Now though I can say it was because I knew, somewhere deep inside, that it was an invasion of people's privacy to knock on their door and try to shove our religion down their throat. And to ask for money to boot. And then to never give pause to their objections.

  When I first quit going in service I felt like I just been released from prison. I was free! Saturdays were mine to do what I wanted. No more dressing up and pestering people. No more going out in pouring rain, freezing temps or heatwaves (which looking at dubs in service now - that is really, really stupid. Who in their right mind puts on a suit to walk in the rain?)
• 

  OUTLAW

  It was fun when I was little..

  I could be with my dad..

  One day I decided I did`nt want to go..

  That was the day I found out I did`nt have a choice..

  That was the day I started to F*ck`n hate it..

  ...................... ...OUTLAW
• 

  nugget

  I worked in marketing and could see that as a way of attracting customers it was a dud. It was obvious that the householder didn't want us there. One territory where I worked no one ever got more than the first sylable out. "Go.." "He..." etc. It was almost as if the doors were on elastic. As a youngster I hated calling on school friends it made me so nervous. As a parent I tried to ensure that if my children were out with me we would be working territory outside their school catchment area. As an elders wife I was rubbish.

  It is a control mechanism for believers. Keeping people subserviant and busy on useless activity. Knowing that I hate it even more.