"You Can Do Just Enough Ministry To Dislike It"

by pale.emperor 33 Replies latest jw experiences

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  pale.emperor

  When you were "in" did you ever actually enjoy the ministry? I never did. And i made no secret about it. Instead i would joke about me feather knocking, and made sure i had my bible in hand so as they come to the door they know what im about so they can shut me down before i even start.

  I always wondered HOW or WHY there were people who enjoyed it. Did they really enjoy it or were they just saying it? It's like The Emperor's New Clothes, everyone pretending they can see something that isnt there because they're "supposed" to.

  In the experience parts in Thursday meetings the pioneers would always say "well, you can do just enough ministry to not enjoy it" which is saying that if you dont enjoy it its because you're not out there enough. Whenever i worked with elders on the ministry i always said i dont enjoy the ministry and i think people are more likely to ask questions in work or in casual conversation. That door to door surely must feel intrusive in this day and age. Like when you get a charity collector with a clipboard in town trying to get you to sign up. You avoid them and if you do get caught you cant get rid of them unless you sign up (or take their mags).
  
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  tiki

  I seriously wish I had never knocked on a door or rung a bell in my life...but born ins...not an option. I actually totally quit fs several years prior to my escape from the cult clutch.
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  Funchback

  you can do just enough ministry to not enjoy it
  

  Man, in the U.S....Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to be exact....those EXACT words were said all the time. Ugh!

  And, by the way, I never ever enjoyed FS no matter how often or how little I did it.

  Brian
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  stuckinarut2

  Great thread PE.

  Its been over two years since I went out, and I have to say that the very thought of it makes me shudder now.

  It is simply an activity designed to keep witnesses busy. No different to running on a treadmill...

  Honestly, MOST witnesses go out because it is expected of them, and in order to be viewed as "spiritual", they have to be SEEN out in service!

  Its all about outward appearances!
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  sir82

  I think there are a lot who do enjoy it.

  Our sample here on this forum is a bit skewed since, if you really liked the ministry, you'd probably still be a JW and not within a country mile of this forum.

  But my suspicion is that well over half of JWs would give it up tomorrow, if the requirement to report time were dropped.
  
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  Giordano

  Here's what I remember about field service:

  1. Fun to do with a pleasant companion who enjoyed having a free ranging discussion.

  2. Always happy when no one was home.

  3. Always pleased not to be mauled by a barking dog.

  4. Driving around in field service was always nicer. I pioneered with a brother who 'started' our time by calling on a house no one lived in. After the first snowfall it was obvious that his were the only foot prints to be seen. He went on to Bethel........ enough said.

  5. I think in the three years I pioneered I had a total of two bible studies......... both people were in dire need of company. I'd call ahead and bring over groceries. Before I moved out of the area I made sure meals on wheels and social resources were aware of their needs.

  6. In the summer when people had their windows and doors open I'd stand there listening to their radios or TVs that were tuned in to one of a dozen religious broadcasts and realized that millions were listening to that program. They couldn't even hear me knock.

  7. One winter day I was in field service with my wife to be. As we walked to the door one of my galoshes fell off of my shoe I picked it up and when we got to the porch, she rang the bell. I could hear someone approaching the door and unable to get the rubber bootee back on my shoe I shoved the wet snow covered bootee into my coat pocket.

  "Why in the world did you do that?" My wife to be asked.

  "It's complicated." I replied.

  8. I was finally invited into a house...we sat in the living room. "Well young man what did you want to tell me?"

  A long pause then I said "I don't know I've never gotten this far before."
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  eyeuse2badub

  Now that jw's have nothing tangible to sell at the door and there is no revenue being generated from fs, the emphasis on fs has subsided and as a result, most have lost there 'zeal'.

  I always hated fs.

  just saying!
• 

  WTWizard

  What I enjoyed:

  **When I got to fog up the windows in the car. Everyone else went on a call, usually with coffee cups going, in cold rainy weather and I sat in the car fogging up all the windows.

  **When they would drive around the block looking for something, and waste several trips trying to find it. I would know where it was right away, but keep my big mouth shut.

  **Borking a call. It would be funny to see someone screw up at the door, ruining that call.

  **Listening to rap music blasted in the territory. I would hear the record or CD being played, sometimes several times, at high volume while we were in the territory. Alternatively, we would get in and I would get to watch The Price is Right while everyone else is paying attention to the damnation book.

  **Running out of things to do before quitting time.

  **When someone in field circus gets stung by a bee.

  **Having a half meter or more of snow to make things more interesting. Along with plenty of ice, so I could walk like a penguin.

  **Letting the heat out of the car so people would take longer to warm up. That resulted in less getting done.

  **Having them drive across town, running into every red light, for a call. We get there, I see it right away but keep my big mouth shut as they waste 15 minutes and plenty of gas hunting for it. Then, we finally get there, and the person is not home. And that's the whole month of field circus.

  And I hated getting donations, having the person wanting to study (which I usually borked by burying that call and "forgetting" it), and that last call that extended field circus often 20 minutes or more. I also hated having to follow every little rule, where every tiny move is supposed to be scripted. One thing that would really suck would have been to receive monster boxes of silver or gold (or those big bags of silver/gold coins) for donations.
  
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  Wayward

  Hated every aspect of it. I was very shy as a kid and it was sheer torture going to strangers' doors. And then wanting to die of humiliation when a classmate or teacher would answer. Spending summers in dowdy, hot dresses and those friggin nylons while normal people were at the pool. I started having panic attacks out in FS when I was a teen. Know what an elder told me? "It's 'just' a phobia. Get over it!" Ah, the loving shepherds of the flock!
  
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  Ding

  If the organization stopped requiring JWs to report their time, field service would drop to next to nothing.