I told the elders when I was 15 that we shouldn't have to report time, and the time you spend out preaching should be between you and God. They also annouced who had the highest amount of time spent out in service each month. They did not like when I spoke my mind.
The reporting of field service time
by lepermessiah 26 Replies latest jw friends
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Something odd that I discovered when working with a few of the pioneers, elders, and servants, they were reporting all these hours and placements, but when I actually worked with them in FS, their presentations were terrible and they had almost no return visits. Statistics are just numbers that can easily be faked.
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crapola
Two years ago when I first joined this forum I started a topic about service time. I wondered how many used to add extra hours to their report . I know I would sometimes add 1 or 2 extra just to make it look a little better.I'm sure others did the same thing.
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agent zero
one thing that always really bothered me in my most sincere days, was the way some would start counting time when they walked up to the first door. so in a car group of 4, two people would start counting at the first return visit and the other two ten minutes later at the next return visit, and i never agreed how 2 people get to have an extra ten or fifteen minutes just because their RV happens to be first on the path they're going, while in reality all 4 gave up the same portion of their day to be there.
i think most adopted the practice of starting counting time upon leaving the service group.
after a while i started counting from the moment i started getting dressed for service, reasoning that from that moment on my day became different because of going in service, so in a way, thats when i started "dedicating time" out of my day to the doing of "the work".
now i just randomly come up with an ok-ish sounding number every month.
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MMXIV
after a while i started counting from the moment i started getting dressed for service, reasoning that from that moment on my day became different because of going in service
agent zero - creativity at it's best.
The WTS is run just like a business and they need some way of seeing if certain strategies are effective or not and what new trends are emerging. So I'd expect they will be closely watching whether the reduced meeting lengths will impact FS positively etc. Fundamental to capturing accurate timesheets within a business is that the process and motivations of those completing them have to be robust. Completing FS reports has changed over the years - does anyone remember when results were posted on the notice board - how competitive would that have been??!!
FS reporting is a perfect mechanism for faders - as long as you turn up to a few well attended groups - and go off on RV's you're sorted. I'd like to think I perfected this art.
Last time I went out though - I got caught by the PO who wanted someone to work with. Fortunately I had recent mags with me, was very positive about working with him and then proceeded to be incredibly zealous on each door. He did ask what articles I'd found successful recently to which I came up with a suitably humble response that some unlikely awake had been really popular despite my presenting it badly "sometimes the cover just speaks for itself" :-) I cheerfully carried on till we finished a long stretch in the cold. Last door I ever did.
MMXIV
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teel
The elders plainly told me that they considered me as MS, and I had all the qualities except my hours were low. I remember the congregation loved when I gave talk on the TMS - the reason behind that is not so much my eloquent speech style, as rather the fact that I barely used any of the source material, and I just used the Bible, common sense, and a bit of research outside the org. I felt silly to repeat material already covered in the magazines, and I wanted to give something new to the audience. The elders also liked my speeches, I was young, etc. But I didn't padded my numbers enough, so I was rejected for appointment.
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nugget
It is a control mechanism. The need to report equals the need to be seen to be doing service. No reporting no one would do it, where would be the need?
In order to justify the presses and the branch offices there has to be a visible preaching work. To justify charitable status there has to be a proof of bible education programme. The counting is a way of making money controlling the R&F and justifying tax breaks. It doesn't need to be accurate it just needs to be there.