Exactly the same with me [except that it is less than 50 years].
The Field Service will end someday, maybe?
by Quarterback 52 Replies latest jw friends
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Quarterback
Thanks for your comments, friends.
QB
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Gothicus
Yea, it'll end when the Org falls apart! Hardly anyone likes FS these days; it's such a huge waste of time for practically 0 results. A complete joke.
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konceptual99
I can't see that FS will end.
1 - It's such a big part of the activity of witness and is used as a measure of spirituality.
2 - To reduce the preaching work would counter the use of "this good news of kingdom" as a sign we are in the last days
3 - It creates a difference with pretty much all other religions and is therefore used as an identifying mark of the "true" religion
4 - To annonuce a complete end will say Armageddon is iminent and that would be organisational suicide unless they really knew something we didn't
5 - It would mean the videos and pictures in the magazines showing 1st C Christians going round with a bag and scrolls D2D would be out of date
I think the more likely scenario is that the form of the work may change. We are seeing a move to online only material, the size of the magazines is decreasing and there are now at least two leaflet campaigns per year (memorial, convention) with the possibility of ad hoc ones as well (e.g. the Truth leaflet one). The memorial one is now tied in with the reduce aux hours effort.
Interestingly enough the first year (2011) of the 30 hours aux pioneer effort was very well supported (approx 40-50% of publishers in pretty much every congregation I knew). 2012 was a different story - far less support, around 30% less in our cong and similar figures locally with much less "buzz".
The society are downsizing and reducing costs. The above mentioned changes as well as the move to picking up what mags you need as and when suggest they are much more concerned about reducing waste and costs.
There has also been much more emphasis from COs to place books. My experience has been that the CO is measuring out FS activity on the basis of book placements. This does reflect the chance of getting Bible studies as no one comes into the truth on the basis of WT/A only (or, God forbid, just a pure Bible study), but I think also suggests that perhaps the role of the magazines may be reduced as well. It's cheaper to print a leaflet, get a mass distribution campaign and then follow up interest with a book for example.
There was also this in the recent WT 5/15 p20
15 Continuing in the Kingdom-preaching work in these last days re-quires faith in Jehovah’s timing. The changing world situation may call for some changes in how the disciple-making work is carried on. The organization may occasionally make adjustments to address the needs of our activity as Kingdom proclaimers. We demonstrate faith in the God of “times and seasons” by fully cooperating with such adjustments as we serve loyally un-der his Son, the “head of the congrega-tion.”—Eph. 5:23.
Q 15. How can we show faith with regard to orgaizational adjustments?
This may be referring to the changes already made and general things like promoting studies on the first saturday of the month etc. It could also be laying a foundation for changes to come.
Anyways, it's all just speculation but I really don't see them turning around and saying don't bother going D2D, don't bother churning out forests anf forests of literature, just speak to people informally, use your bible and be a good example...
What really is a possibilty is that the effort to reduce costs the public WT/A will all but disappear as far as the FS is concerned. We will be told to do leaflet campaigns and follow up with books to get straight to the point about bible studies, stopping all these route calls and cozy magazine drops. Net result - less cost, more targeted recruitment drive. I can't imagine that pioneers will be happy - trying to do 70 hours of first call again!
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Joe Grundy
I never was a dub.
As far as I can see, all 'field service' achieves is pissing off the dubs who have to do it, and, more importantly, exposing dubs to things that may (just may) question their faith.
Two examples : a few months ago a young dub (about 18?) and a younger companion (about 12?) called on my son's house whilst he and I were in the garage fiddling with my motorbike. I'd just read (here on JWN, of course!) a recent mag which re-inforced JW teaching that Adam (aka mankind) was created 6,000 years ago. So, we had a discussion (there had been a recent BBC programme about an excavated house, at least 10,000 years old, on the NW coast of England). I gave him a note of the link to the programme. Will he check it? Who knows.
Second, I had a 'panic' phone call' from my daughter a couple of weeks ago. Dubs were on her estate. She (knowing and sharing my views) wanted a quick question to ask them. There were four, two late middle-age ladies, an old guy and a young aggressive man. They gave the usual crap, the young guy in the lead, and the introductory question about the 'sad state of the world today'. She asked the young guy if he had access to the internet. He said he did, so she told him to google 'Candace Conti' - then come back and try to explain that. (She had my young grandchild in her arms but warned him that if he tried to take a step over the threshold she'd lay him out (which she would)).
If (and I realise that's this a big 'if') the dubs who are going door-to-door report back their true experiences, how long can the WTBTS let this continue?
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Room 215
No way... it's the only way JWs can scratch the "guilt itch" they develop at the meetings
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Black Sheep
They can't stop that .... that would leave the Mormons doing the D2D. Anyway, they already said the preaching would be over in the 20th century, so it should have stopped at New Years Day 2000
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Aussie Oz
heard that line when i was in...
think it hooks em all again when numbers go down they say it might be winding up and makes them get more excited. They can wind the rank and file up or down continually. They can thus justify cut backs, bethel sell offs etc on the slowing pace/the work almost done...for years!
Oz
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breakfast of champions
The preaching work will end when the WTBTS ends. It's a great way of them rationalizing their downsizing and increasing a sense of urgency: yes, the preaching work is winding down, it's almost over, but get out there and preach before its too late!
Half the Starbucks in the US would go out of business if the preaching work ever stopped.