Counting Field Service Time

Sour Grapes

Something that always drove me crazy was when the JW's would say after the meeting on Sunday, "I have to go out this afternoon to get my time in." In the car group after service someone would always ask, "So how much time did we get?"

It the Watchtower Company said that turning in time is no longer required because Jehovah knows what we are doing to serve him, there would be a tremendous drop in the door to door activity and the coffee cart work. At first their would be very little decline just to prove to everyone that counting time was not the reason for going into service. Then after going out in service for several months and now not recording hours, magazines, return visits, etc. on a piece of paper, it would get old very quickly.

It is all about counting time. A brother could mistreat his wife and children, not be honest at his place of employment, and flirt with the opposite sex, and still be recommended and appointed by holy spirit to be an elder if he has 10 hours a month in service on his publisher card.

Something that always bothers the Witlesses when they are on their coffee cart duty, ask them if they are counting time? When they knock on your door ask them if they are counting time. Would you be at my door if you couldn't count time? It is just so silly.

Sour Grapes

sparky1

"It's me, Jesus. I know you're in there. Please answer the door. I just need a few moments of your time so that I can record one more return visit and round up to my ten hours for the month on my field service report. Come on...........help me out here. The Elders are on my back about this and have been threatening to take away my privileges."

Bungi Bill

Then by extension, if time cannot be "counted" for an activity - e.g. helping somebody in the congregation who is sick or infirm - nobody is going to be interested. Never mind the fact that such an act of kindness is likely to make more of a "witness" than any amount of door knocking!

Back in 1983-84, my wife of the time became seriously ill and required a total of three months in hospital. We had three small children, two of whom were preschoolers. To get any assistance in caring for my children, I had to turn to a welfare group that was operated collectively by the local churches. This was a small town in which there were very few secrets, and the irony of all this was in no way lost on these very same local churches.

As for our local congregation, I was accused of "using people" when I attempted to get some help from them. That fact became widely known in the community, too. Hours could not be counted for doing this, so nobody was even remotely interested.

A bloody good example of "Agape" love being displayed by "Jehovah's Christian Witnesses" - and thank God for Babylon the Great! (That time, anyway).

SlappySlap

Here's my own experience : I stopped to report field service time 7 years ago. They prevent me from attending field service meetings 4 or 5 month after my decision. Years later they told other publishers who did it, not to go out with me for field service. Now i'm considered inactive because they've never wanted to let me preaching without counting time. Except informal witnessing, i've been banned of every official activity of field service for 2 years now just because i don't want to report time.

Ding

It's all about input, not results.

If you spend 10 hours knocking only on doors of vacant houses, your report will look great even though you accomplished nothing but putting in time.

JWs would visit the sick far more often if the WT allowed them to count the time.

However, I don't think I'd be too happy having someone visit me in the hospital knowing that the reason they did it was so they could get in their quota of hours for the month.

AFRIKANMAN

Ding - By now you must have observed the gaggle that stands guard over the Trolley Carts - They don't preach at all ~ Nada ! A condom vending machine in a Public Toilet has more interaction with humans !

steve2

Hour after hour truding door-to-door, forced to witness when someone (finally) answers.

= Time counted.

Hour after hour standing by literature trolley, not forced to witness when passersby don't look.

= Time counted.

Choice is no brainer for brain-dead JWs.

zeb

During a court case in Victoria (Australia) a wt lawyer stated that the wt does not require anyone to log their hours not the elders nor the cong servants. Hours put in are the personal mission by the individual publisher.

I wish I could find the link to that it may have been during one of the Unthank appearances.

smiddy

Jesus only preached for 3.5 years at most when he was 30 years old. ,From 10 years old till he was 30 he never preached at all according to the Bible .

So I dont think he could boast many hours preached in service compared to some JW`s today ,who started their witnessing as young teenagers, and continuing well into their 60`s ,70`s and even 80`s .

And where did Jesus say you have to report your hours of service in the ministry he gave his disciples anyway ?

stuckinarut2

Witnesses (especially pioneers) are like cats : Its all about "Me - hours"

Get it?

Counting Field Service Time

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