On page 10 of the WT paragraph 7 and 8 talks about "Our field ministry is a source of joy."
Do not let work get in the way of pioneering
by life is to short 35 Replies latest watchtower bible
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wasblind
The similarity between pre civil war slavery and the WTS
are IDENTICAL TWINS
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OnTheWayOut
I believe the WT articles about pioneering were designed to increase guilt. If a couple both worked, the guilt factor was applied, causing them to think about whether "the wife" (or the lower-earnings worker) could pioneer, or at least work part time and increase recruiting time. The guilt was applied whenever members took a real vacation or bought a new car or anything.
There was more of this back in the day when they made real money on literature. Nowadays, it's still in the literature to apply the guilt, but I doubt they really want a bunch of pioneers to come out of that guilt. They just want the members to still get out with the literature and remember to drop their money in the worldwide funds.
As far as the inner-congregational support of pioneers, it seems to me that it's always been fake support with every member actually being on their own or just supported by their spouse or parents. A pioneer couple was doing it all for Jehovah and was really on their own to work at night and always be tired and use each other as their recruiting partner for long hours. Other members couldn't be counted on to drive their car more than occasionally and chip in a wee bit for gas. They didn't want to spend the long hours recruiting to support the pioneer's hours. \
I hope as you come out more, you will realize why so many members were not so supportive. They had the sense that they didn't have to sacrifice as much as you thought you did. They didn't enjoy recruiting. They didn't want to spend their money on gas. They didn't want to pile people into their nice car (or even not-so-nice car). Ya see, some of us had it backwards as far as "balance" went. We thought we had to do MORE MORE MORE. And the people we thought were cheap bastards really had a better sense of balance than we did.
So kick those pioneers out of your car. Tell them that their sacrifice is "THEIR SACRIFICE" and not yours. When your husband won't quit recruiting, tell him to stop paying Watchtower for the literature he offers. Tell him that "Jehovah will provide the money to WTS from the field. Just give what householders give you and nothing more, afterall you need the gas money to get out there."
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miseryloveselders
Good thread LITS.
Part of why I stopped donating any money to the WT is because of articles like this. They have a lot of nerve to print this kind of stuff. When you consider the wear and tear on your vehicle, the money spent on clothing and shoes, the time spent "willfully volunteering" for a publishing company, after a while one has to say that enough is enough. What more do you want from us? All the time spent in field service, preparing for field service, preparing for and attending meetings, its never enough for them. Never enough. They want you to pay for the CO and his wife, pay for some mediocre speaker from Bethel to come and deliver a talk at your local congregation, pay for rooms at hotels that they have contracts with to stay during the conventions and assemblies, pay for suits, ties, dress shirts, shoes, brake pads, gas, oil changes, the electric bill at the hall, the gas bill at the hall, the water bill at the hall, the phone bill at the hall, clean the hall after the meeting, spring cleaning at the hall, fall cleaning at the hall, take the CO and his wife out to eat, take the visiting speaker and his family out to eat, occasionally take the DO and his wife out to eat, drive around doing return visits, etc.. It never ends. On top of that, none of that is good enough for them as they want you to do more. Please.
You know, Babylon the Great actually has services and charities for the general public. Everything from hospitals, soup kitchens, temporary shelter for the homeless, funds for people suffering abroad in various countries dealing with disease, earthquakes, hunger, poverty, you name it. What do Jehovah's Witnesses have? A "volunteer" service offerering literature and free bible studies that nobody wants. Those volunteering are routinely and systematically made to feel that their work is never good enough. The only charitable work Jehovah's Witnesses do is provide free shelter, the best medical care, and luxury living to anonymous shysters at Bethel.
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Franklin Massey
None gave us a dime for gas but spent tons of money on junk food while in service.
I understand your frustration. What did you expect, though? Pioneers should be happy to work full time in the ministry with no reward or compensation. Their reward is knowing that God is happy with them and that Paradise awaits, right? Griping over gas money is trivial. Although the actions of the non-givers were inconsiderate, this is a reality for many pioneers and sometimes it breeds an ugly quality in full time minsters, that of feeling entitled to something from others (I'm not accusing you of this extreme attitude. Your post just reminded of how bad it can get). I have always disliked the attitude of certain pioneers, that being, "We're doing the most important work in the universe so those who can't do as much as us should support us financially." In my area, we had a pioneer family of four who looked for handouts from their JW friends. They barely worked, lived with family members, and spoke against those who would purchase new cars or homes. "We're so close to the end! Why would anyone who fully trusts in Jehovah want to make a purchase like that?" They all pioneered but didn't really have enough money to do so. To make ends meet, they would remind the friends of their family size, the sacrifices they make for the ministry, and how hard it is to keep their kids in nice meeting clothes on such a small budget. In turn, generous friends would hand them money, buy them groceries, or take them out to eat. Problem is, we live in an economically challenged area. The friends generosity couldn't go on forever. When the handouts dried up, the family would begin the critical comments against those who they assumed had money that they weren't sharing. Eventually, they would get offended and switch halls and start the routine all over again. They're on their 5th congregation in 20 years.
Articles like the one mentioned above make the crazies even crazier. "I'm broke and should probably get a better job or some additional training but, WAIT! What's this? The WT says that true success comes when you don't let stupid jobs and worldly responsibilities get in your way. God will give me what I need if I pioneer! I hear assembly parts all the time about magic grocery deliveries and unexpected envelopes of money that arrive just in time for those who put spiritual things first." Those who believe in Pioneer Miracles usually burn out fast. Then begins the vicious cycle of self doubt and wondering if God is disappointed in you because you couldn't succeed in the Most Important Work in the Universe.
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cult classic
There were a bunch of us who started pioneering when first out of school. There were a few older pioneers who had all of the calls/bible studies. So of course we wanted to work with them. But the catch was they were lazy and cheap and we always had to drive and use our cars and gas. Here we are straight out of school working pt to pay for our little "field service cars" and they are middle aged and contributed nothing but their stupid return visits.
I know how you feel.
WasBlind - your pictures are cracking me up
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elderelite
Dont forget that door to door is essential! God does not want us to use tv ads that would reach millions... No no, we have to personally go and not talk to them to tell them how important it is.
Years ago i stopped donating. I figured that i was an elder and gave a lot as it was... Now i make up random amounts to tell my wife i gave so she dosent give either..
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snakeface
I remember, the elders who stood on the platform and gave talks about materialism ("Ask yourself, 'do I really need that shiney new car or that bigger and better house?' Can that car or that house give me everlasting life?") were always the ones that had the newest and most expensive cars and homes, whereas those in the audience lived in old trailers and drove 17-year -old clunkers. Those one the platform had stay-at-home wives whereas those in the audience had wives who had to work and who also auxiliary pioneered.
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rocketman
Miseryloveselders wrote:
"
Part of why I stopped donating any money to the WT is because of articles like this. They have a lot of nerve to print this kind of stuff. When you consider the wear and tear on your vehicle, the money spent on clothing and shoes, the time spent "willfully volunteering" for a publishing company, after a while one has to say that enough is enough. What more do you want from us? All the time spent in field service, preparing for field service, preparing for and attending meetings, its never enough for them. Never enough. They want you to pay for the CO and his wife, pay for some mediocre speaker from Bethel to come and deliver a talk at your local congregation, pay for rooms at hotels that they have contracts with to stay during the conventions and assemblies, pay for suits, ties, dress shirts, shoes, brake pads, gas, oil changes, the electric bill at the hall, the gas bill at the hall, the water bill at the hall, the phone bill at the hall, clean the hall after the meeting, spring cleaning at the hall, fall cleaning at the hall, take the CO and his wife out to eat, take the visiting speaker and his family out to eat, occasionally take the DO and his wife out to eat, drive around doing return visits, etc.. It never ends. On top of that, none of that is good enough for them as they want you to do more. Please.
You know, Babylon the Great actually has services and charities for the general public. Everything from hospitals, soup kitchens, temporary shelter for the homeless, funds for people suffering abroad in various countries dealing with disease, earthquakes, hunger, poverty, you name it. What do Jehovah's Witnesses have? A "volunteer" service offerering literature and free bible studies that nobody wants. Those volunteering are routinely and systematically made to feel that their work is never good enough. The only charitable work Jehovah's Witnesses do is provide free shelter, the best medical care, and luxury living to anonymous shysters at Bethel."
This is just about the best two-paragraph summation of the jw religion that I have ever read. Excellent post on an excellent thread.
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wasblind
Yea Rocketman,
Miz laid it on down