It is all about counting hours.

by Sour Grapes 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Sour Grapes

  The April KM in the "Question Box" ask "how long should we

  study with a progressive Bible student?"

  It says that there are "two publications that need to be completed

  "What does the Bible really teach? and "Keep yourselves in Gods

  Love." This is true even if the student gets baptized before

  finishing the books. After baptism we may continue to report the

  time, a return visit and the study. If a publisher accompanies us

  he may also count the time."

  In reading this I wonder how a person who is going to start a

  Bible study would feel realizing that the JW is going to clock in when

  the study starts to count time? If the person is newley baptized they

  no doubt are going from door to door. So on a cold Saturday

  morning they are both going from door to door together, both counting

  time and things are not going so good due to bad weather.

  The witnesses says to the newly baptized person, "hey lets

  go to your house and continue to finish the books and I can

  cound my time. The newly baptized person says "is that fair

  that you can stay punched in and I can't?" One could reason

  "well since you are newly baptized JW publisher and you are

  accompanying me to your study well then you might as well stay

  punched in too and keep counting your time and that way it is a

  win win for both of us."

  How many hours a month are reported for Witnesses studying

  with people who are already Witnesses who have not finished

  both books?

  Counting time for helping people learn the Bible is so absurd.

  Howerver, I am sure that Jesus and his apostles counted their

  time when they did their preaching.

  Soour Grapes
• 

  exwhyzee

  I can see the value in keeping track of the time spent in the Ministry in order to quantify what is being accomplished statistically. I think the problem comes when individuals are required to put their name on a time card and when someone else can use this number as a barometer of this persons worth as a Chrisitan or his devotion to God. It puts pressure on the individual and can make the quantity of the time service the primary factor and the counting of time overly important.

  Our Hall had the "Phantom Publisher" who turned in time but didn't put their name on the time card. I don't know if they added his/her time to the Cong. total.
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  therevealer

  During my time "in" there were a few times when KM articles reviewed this subject of time and how and when and what to count. Anyone who was there will remember that they were quite detailed. And even back then these articles bothered me. It just seemed "off" to be laying down such rules and regulations for the way to count time. And what a contrast with how many actually filled in thier "slips". Like the one elder friend who I was with a couple of times where we had to get out time handed in. He would scratch his head and say "Oh I must have gotten ten hours".
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  MrFreeze

  Most newly baptised people won't care. The fact that time is even counted and how much emphasis is put on it should disturb them. I doubt this situation would disturb them at all.
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  OnTheWayOut

  Good point on them both "counting time."

  Pioneers like to get as much as they can out of the "study" before the two books are finished. I was a study past my baptism. Prior to that, I remember how the elder/pioneer that studied with me was disappointed when he tried to "place" some literature with me. I was already going to the Kingdom Hall and said "Oh, I picked that up myself at the literature counter." I figured out later that he and his wife were upset that nobody was "counting" the placements.
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  Alfred

  It's clear that the WT has a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy when it comes to counting hours which is why JWs are given full permission to get "creative"... it's all about inflating the numbers to show increases every year...
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  WontLeave

  36 Now as they were going over the road, they came to a certain body of water, and the eunuch said: “Look! A body of water; what prevents me from getting baptized?” 37 —— 38 With that he commanded the chariot to halt, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

  Very few people realize the original v37 said:

  Philip replied, "Okay, but we still need to finish these two Watchtower publications to make sure you're nice and indoctrinated. -oh, and you need to answer 120 questions."

  I can't wait for the JWised drama about this. Or did I miss it in my absence?
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  alias

  So sad that weak and elderly who love/need company on a Saturday morning are neglected because the time can't be counted. I remember spending a whole morning in service visiting the sweetest shut-in elderly couple thinking to myself...."this is where my love and attention is best served, not knocking on doors!"

  That was a wake-up call to me when I paid attention to what my heart was telling me. I don't think I bothered to turn in time sheets after that experience. I realized something important that day that has never left me. What real service to other humans is.

  alias
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  TheLoveDoctor

  Hers a point, when I pioneered and saw others I was extra honest there was alot of wasted time at the group, trying to get to territory we all just were enjoying our association. However pioneers would call the same study just to see if their having it counting their time early, sometime teaching others that the whole groups time was started, lots of empty time, get to the territory and sometimes it could take 20-25 min then very little time later someone had to go to the bathroom. most of the time the group left, your allowed to keep time going for the bathroom, grab coffee 15 min times 4. Later as i felt guilty and was an elder and felt I must set the lead i try to find a way that only one or to leave territory. this made me feel like i was the service Nazi. When I worked hard to get my time early in year i could do anywhere between 70-120 hours depending on how hard and organized i wanted to be and i was. now no exaggeration here that 70-120 hours I felt others would have had 90-140 cause i just saw so much wast of time that i could not feel comfortable reporting.

  Now we pioneer or do service cause we love others and want to help them. So especially pioneers wanted to have their time in before summer or very close so the could have the summer off, not have to be out in the heat. Then winters sucked, stuck in car riding around wasting gas, most not at home so one could wait for warmer weather, yet few were out during the summer even though householders were always busier summer i found to be the best time and people were relatively in a good mood. Service time is a joke and takes away from any real love or pure motive. The society uses it to gage things, MONEY, PLACEMENTS , WERE WE CAN HELP U TO BE A BETTER SALESMEN FOR THE TRUTH. Cause no matter what u think, the number of people we get involved with us baptised or not ======MONEY MONEY. this ORGAIZATION HAS GROWN IN THE WORLD OF CORPRATE BULL AN HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO BE CORRUPT SOMEWERE. Although some are honest hearted an cant see scope, the size of it all, it to much to big and its not simple
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  WTWizard

  Count time--and welcome hyperinflation. I wonder what happens when you count a few sextillion hours in one month, and about a sextillion placements and 100 quintillion return visits.