When things started to "fall off"

by comment 22 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  TR

  The thing the killed field service for me before I walked away was an experience in a meeting for service one morning.

  The elder that was the group conductor for that day chastized me in front of the whole group for not turning in my field service report. Then, and elderly JW chimed in with her 2 cents worth. I felt like shit, and was pissed as hell. No more than 2 months later, I was gone.

  I was the the m.s. people used to rave about, include my experiences as a JW father with an "unbeliving mate" that dragged his three little kids everywhere, including in service and conventions, in their public talks. After I left the cong.,(and this was before I DA'd) not one person took it upon themselves to even give me a phone call for encouragement or anything else for that matter. They were glad I was gone because 1) that cong was cold as hell, 2) glad he's gone, too awkward to deal with a mixed religious couple.

  I didn't need to leave the JW's for their bogus doctrine. Most of the people were just unfriendly. But, I digress.

  TR

  "Kults Suk"
• 

  comment

  One thing the Society does "have right" for the most part, though, is that field service time is an accurate indicator of your enthusiasm about being a Jehovah's Witness (read "spirituality" in their lexicon).

  Let's set aside people whose physical limitations preclude them putting much time in. Personally, I found the times when I was doing the most service also coincided with when I enjoyed being a Witness the most. And when my hours dropped, it was because I wasn't enjoying it anymore.

  No great revelation here. But going in service is just such a huge part of what being a Witness is all about.

  comment
• 

  hippikon

  1) Absolutely. There are much better teaching methods and as for people in the territory. It is an exceedingly rare thing for someone out of the territory to “progress to baptism” Most seem to result from family contact or informal witnessing. (Mostly I think it is because they are at a week point in there life or they are mentally unstable)

  2) I pioneered a lot. Putting my trust in God. So I Trusted and trusted and the more I trusted the harder it got. Then I realised “this shit just ain’t working like it is supposed to”.
• 

  hippikon

  Aren’t the field service experiences presented on the platform soooo exaggerated – “I placed 4 ***** books this week and started a new study with a lovely *****” Then you think hey I worked with that person that day and the householder said nothing of the sort.
• 

  Angharad

  Re: Field service

  All they are interested in is numbers.

  When I left school, I was looking for a job. In the meantime I was 'encouraged' to pioneer. About 2 weeks into the month I was offered a job and I accepted it, as I had been looking for a few months. Because of now working I only managed about 47 hours that month, not the all important 60.

  The meeting after I put my report in, the elder who does the reports made a beeline for me and demanded to know 'what went on last month' I explained about finally finding a job, but all I got was 'caring elderly encouragement' about putting Jehovah and his work first. I've never pioneered again.
• 

  slipnslidemaster

  Towards the end, if I even went out in service, I would pretend to knock on the doors, pretend to ring the bell.

  I would read the title of the Watchtower and Awake to the householder like I was discovering them for the first time that day.

  I would lie on my report and no matter how many hours or books or mags I placed it was always 2 hours, 2 magazines. Made me laugh.

  Slipnslidemaster: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
  - Albert Einstein
• 

  Copernicus

  Comment:

  You said about the field service. . .

  And I also got it eventually in the door-to-door work: something that had passed its best-before date and now felt more like participating in a historical reenactment.

  A few weeks ago I saw an old b&w documentary on cable TV called “Salesmen.” It was basically one guy with a camera following around a bunch of 1960’s era door to door bible salesman as they went through their paces. The pre-movie clip mentioned that they tracked these men as they “rode the roller coaster between hype and despair.”

  Twenty minutes into the show and it was ALL there. What a sense of deja vu! ). The thrice yearly motivational sales conventions (DC’s & CA's), the early morning pre-sales pump up session (service meeting), the same car groups, the same territory cards, the same call back slips, EVEN THE PRESENTATIONS THEY USED were all the same as the WT’s approach to magazine peddling. I almost chucked dinner.

  They copped their tried and true techniques from “worldly sources” in (at least) the early sixties and you’re right, they haven’t changed since. What a tired anachronism the whole thing has become.

  In our organizational world, what does not (or can’t) change must die. The WTS will prove no exception to that rule.
• 

  Francois

  Don'cha just wish you could have back each and every moment, each second, you spent peddling that damn worthless literature? And all that mind-numbing time spent sitting in a stale-smelling kingdom hall with your fanny going to sleep on one cheek or the other?

  I've gotta quit recalling all that wasted time. I'm getting depressed.

  ft

  My $0.02
• 

  Seeker

  Copernicus,

  I saw that same documentary and it was fascinating! You're right, other than the pressure they put on the householder to pay money (and it was a lot of money for back then), it was exactly the same as JWs.

  As for this topic, here's a suggestion for the WTS that is so simple, and so obvious, the fact that they don't do it is something that totally condemns their motives. You've talked about having TV shows, and they like to avoid that for the connotation is would give the WTS -- might confuse them with those evil televangelists, don't you know!

  But what about this idea: They have an official web site. They put selected literature on that web site. So why not put the latest Watchtower and Awake up on that site each week?

  Is that not an obvious idea? Wouldn't that be a great way to spread their message, even to people in very isolated locations? Don't the friends wish this would happen?

  So why hasn't it happened? What possible (legitimate) reason could the Society have for not doing this? Don't they want to let their light shine? Is it because they want to keep the literature away from "apostates"? Then why put any literature up there?

  No, the fact that this incredibly useful, completely easy, and absolutely logical idea isn't followed tells us only one thing: The WTS wants the magazines to be pushed by the brothers. They depend on that money, and would be afraid that if they posted the magazines on their own web site many friends would stop subscribing, many householders would say, "oh, I'll just read them online," and so forth.

  They need money more than they care about spreading their message. I can think of no more obvious example of that than this.
• 

  Cautious

  slipnslidemaster

  Towards the end, if I even went out in service, I would pretend to knock on the doors, pretend to ring the bell

  I didn't go quite that far, but I did knock very quietly, after walking very quietly to the door. I didn't lie about my time, just stretched it a bit - if it was 35min, it was an hour.

  I'm just so glad that all my efforts over so many years didn't result in one single convert to that bunch of out-dated salespersons