Posts by Earnest

23

Transparency in Field Service Hours

by Earnest in

i notice that in the recent instructions for new regular pioneers (2020-08-s-236-e) it lists a number of assignments for which a pioneer can be credited (up to 75) hours in a month.. these include:construction oversight, assembly hall oversight, assembly oversight, and convention oversight, as well as serving as temporary volunteers at bethel, commuter bethelites, remote volunteers, bethel consultants, hospital liaison committee members, patient visitation group members, disaster relief committee members, local design/construction department field representatives and maintenance trainers, and so forth.

approved assignments also include assisting with kingdom hall construction when such is done at the request of the branch office or its representatives overseeing the project, assisting with pre and post-assembly or convention work, assisting with work at assembly halls, conducting or participating in congregation meetings held in prison, as well as attendance at a theocratic school or class .

when i was pioneering and doing pre and post-assembly work i was told i could include the time spent working in my monthly report, which i did.

Earnest

slimboyfat : I think the whole concept of “pioneer” is a bit of a throwback anyway. At one time pioneers were allowed to purchase the literature for a reduced price. This was the primary material benefit of being a pioneer, and in that context it made sense to ensure that publishers “qualified” to access this “provision”.

I believe the original reason for reporting field service was because colporteurs / pioneers were entitled to keep the income from the literature to defray expenses. In the article I Am Learning to Love the Colporteur Work More Each Day (Watchtower, May 15, 2012) it says :

By 1897, nearly one million Dawns had been distributed, largely by the colporteurs. Most of them lived on the small reimbursement they received for each Watch Tower subscription or book they placed.

In Zion's Watch Tower of April 1881 it first presents this idea of remuneration in the article "Wanted 1000 Preachers". It says (p.214) :

As few could afford to travel, pay their board and clothe themselves without some income, we propose to furnish the TRACTS and DAY DAWNS free, and to allow any such person to take subscriptions for the WATCH TOWER, using the money obtained from both of these sources, ("Day Dawn and Watch Tower," - the Tracts are free and must not be sold,) in defraying necessary expenses. Should your receipts be more than would be needed to pay expenses, (not at all probable,) you would be expected to make some returns to us.

It was only in 1943 that there was a time requirement and so a report was needed to show the number of hours spent in the ministry. In an article "Righteous Requirements" in The Watchtower July 1, 1943 it says (p.205):

[The Lord] says, 'Let us assign the field, the world, to special pioneers, regular pioneers and companies of Jehovah's witnesses in an orderly way,,,' He says the requirements for special pioneers shall be 175 hours and 50 back-calls per month ,,,; and for regular pioneers 150 hours and as many back-calls and studies as can be properly developed during that time. And for company publishers he says, 'Let us make a quota of 60 hours and 12 back-calls and at least one study a week for each publisher.'

Thereafter the number of hours spent became a measure of spirituality and a requirement for all of Jehovah's witnesses and not just pioneers.

23

Transparency in Field Service Hours

by Earnest in

i notice that in the recent instructions for new regular pioneers (2020-08-s-236-e) it lists a number of assignments for which a pioneer can be credited (up to 75) hours in a month.. these include:construction oversight, assembly hall oversight, assembly oversight, and convention oversight, as well as serving as temporary volunteers at bethel, commuter bethelites, remote volunteers, bethel consultants, hospital liaison committee members, patient visitation group members, disaster relief committee members, local design/construction department field representatives and maintenance trainers, and so forth.

approved assignments also include assisting with kingdom hall construction when such is done at the request of the branch office or its representatives overseeing the project, assisting with pre and post-assembly or convention work, assisting with work at assembly halls, conducting or participating in congregation meetings held in prison, as well as attendance at a theocratic school or class .

when i was pioneering and doing pre and post-assembly work i was told i could include the time spent working in my monthly report, which i did.

Earnest

slimboyfat : The phrase “some time should be spent on the ministry each month” at the end gives the game away. It indicates there were some “pioneers” who were fulfilling their entire monthly quota using time spent on assignments and none on the ministry.

Thanks for your comment, slim. That thought entered my mind as well. You're right, it doesn't say these credited hours are not included in the annual report although that is what I inferred. I suppose we'll never know but I'm inclined to think the Society is so pedantic about what can be counted, these hours are more likely to be included in hours spent on charity work or similar.

Edited to thank Drearyweather for his clarification on credited hours.

23

Transparency in Field Service Hours

by Earnest in

i notice that in the recent instructions for new regular pioneers (2020-08-s-236-e) it lists a number of assignments for which a pioneer can be credited (up to 75) hours in a month.. these include:construction oversight, assembly hall oversight, assembly oversight, and convention oversight, as well as serving as temporary volunteers at bethel, commuter bethelites, remote volunteers, bethel consultants, hospital liaison committee members, patient visitation group members, disaster relief committee members, local design/construction department field representatives and maintenance trainers, and so forth.

approved assignments also include assisting with kingdom hall construction when such is done at the request of the branch office or its representatives overseeing the project, assisting with pre and post-assembly or convention work, assisting with work at assembly halls, conducting or participating in congregation meetings held in prison, as well as attendance at a theocratic school or class .

when i was pioneering and doing pre and post-assembly work i was told i could include the time spent working in my monthly report, which i did.

Earnest

I notice that in the recent Instructions for New Regular Pioneers (2020-08-S-236-E) it lists a number of assignments for which a pioneer can be credited (up to 75) hours in a month.

These include:
construction oversight, Assembly Hall oversight, assembly oversight, and convention oversight, as well as serving as temporary volunteers at Bethel, commuter Bethelites, remote volunteers, Bethel consultants, Hospital Liaison Committee members, Patient Visitation Group members, Disaster Relief Committee members, Local Design/Construction Department field representatives and maintenance trainers, and so forth. Approved assignments also include assisting with Kingdom Hall construction when such is done at the request of the branch office or its representatives overseeing the project, assisting with pre and post-assembly or convention work, assisting with work at Assembly Halls, conducting or participating in congregation meetings held in prison, as well as attendance at a theocratic school or class

When I was pioneering and doing pre and post-assembly work I was told I could include the time spent working in my monthly report, which I did. After all, it was all sacred service. However, I notice the instructions now given to pioneers is that they

should report this activity to the congregation in the 'Comments' section of your Field Service Report (S-4). The hours spent working on an approved assignment should not be combined with the hours spent in field service.you should keep a record of all the hours spent working on the assignment during the month. You should report this activity to the congregation in the “Comments” section of your Field Service Report (S-4). The hours spent working on an approved assignment should not be combined with the hours spent in field service. Although your theocratic assignment is part of your sacred service, some time should be spent in the ministry each month.

I occasionally read on this forum the suggestion that the amount of field service is exaggerated, so while I personally don't see this record keeping as a scriptural requirement I do applaud their transparency.

21

No, They Will Never Notice!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

since the watchtower has already made this bible public, i can put a link out here.. no, the rank & file will never notice the words "governing body" have been inserted into acts 15: 1-35 in the 2019 new world translation, matthew to acts.. click the image to make it larger if need be.. https://postimg.cc/sqvdl10w petra!

Earnest

jp1692 : Does the NWT actually have the phrase “governing body” in the text of the Bible or is it just in that index?

Good point, jp1692. "governing body" is only included in the overview, it is not part of the translation. Acts 15:22 (NWT Study Edition) reads:

Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole congregation, decided to send chosen men from among them to Antioch, along with Paul and Barʹna·bas; they sent Judas who was called Barʹsab·bas and Silas, who were leading men among the brothers..

Compare this with the Gideon bible here:

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers

15

Using gods name

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

i've never thought about it before, but isn't it some sort of blasphemy and extremism to use a god's name in the official name of your religion?.

g..

Earnest

Lots of Jews included God's name in their personal names (e.g. Joshua/Jesus) so it can hardly be blasphemous or extremist.

16

Some notes on early Christianity - its evolution and "sacred text"

by Half banana in

in the scope of this site, it’s not possible to go too deeply into historical research in a single post but we can give the flavour of things formerly hidden from us when we were jws.. like most things, christianity evolved.. it has unseen roots but many visible branches, 40,000 is the often quoted number!

there never was a moment when it arrived fully formed in the middle of the first century.

its roots in folk mysteries were deliberately concealed by fourth and fifth century christian leaders.

Earnest

Half banana : It is most telling from critical-textual examination that ... the idea of “Christ” which in all the earliest copies of texts, later incorporated into the Bible, used instead the term chrest not christ which meant “good”.... There are Koine Greek Bible texts extant which show the spelling alterations from chrest to christ, these have been known for a couple of centuries but so far have received little publicity.

Interesting. Do you happen to know of any papyri or manuscripts that support this?

18

Unbelievable Freddie Franz Admissions

by Vanderhoven7 in

unbelievable admissions.. freddie confesses he fell for his own propaganda.. https://youtu.be/fkjw-r9oitk.

Earnest

In Fred Franz's life account in The Watchtower, May 1, 1987, he recounts (p.24,25):

A high point in my academic life was when Dr Lyon, the [University of Cincinnati's] president, announced to an assembly of students in the auditorium that I had been chosen to go to Ohio State University to take competitive examinations with others to win the prize of the Cecil Rhodes Scholarship, qualifying me for admission to Oxford University in England. One of the contestants outranked me with regard to field athletics, but because of my comparable grades, they wanted to send me, along with him, to Oxford University. I appreciated that I had measured up to the requirements for gaining the scholarship, and, normally, this would have been very gratifying.

He then writes about his learning of and conviction that the Bible Students had the truth, and his baptism on April 5, 1914. He then writes:

I have never regretted that, shortly before the announcements by the educational authorities regarding the outcome of the examinations for the Cecil Rhodes Scholarship, I wrote a letter to the authorities and advised them I had lost interest in the Oxford University scholarship and that they should drop me from the list of contestants. This I did even though my professor in Greek at the university, Dr. Joseph Harry, informed me that I had been chosen to receive it....With my father's permission, I had left the University of Cincinnati in May 1914, just a couple of weeks before the end of my third term there as a junior classman. I immediately arranged with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society to become a colporteur, or pioneer, as such a full-time minister is called today.

5

Jeffrey Epstein lieutenant JW connection

by Diogenesister in

interesting video regarding a news article surrounding the jeffrey epstein scandal.

shunned teen sarah callan(?

) , from north carolina, became involved with epstein and particularly ghislaine maxwell as a procurer of young girls.

Earnest

Previous thread here.

55

Watchtower Sudy 12 July.the Kings of North & South (from 05/20 issue)

by BluesBrother in

it is a challenge next sunday for them .

due to starting the convention programme the wt study will be a 30 minute run through ,and deals with this prophecy ... i doubt the younger ones are familiar with it at all bur oldies could debate it at length .we on the look out for the king of the north to enter "the land of decoration" (more to follow,maybe next week).

this article makes a grand claim in par 2.

Earnest

The King of the North (Russia) continues to enter into "the land of the Decoration".

According to AsiaNews of 07/23/2020, the press office of the Lower Chamber of the Duma (the Russian parliament) reported yesterday that the effect of a bill passed last year (Article 7 of the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations") foreigners cannot participate in the activities of Russian religious associations, or guide them. In addition to foreigners, the ban on participating and leading religious communities is also extended to people classified as extremists and terrorists, Religious personnel who have studied abroad and who show signs of "religious extremism" are also excluded.

I wonder if this is a reaction to the case of Dennis Christensen.which has resulted in international publicity.

14

New book on early Christianity

by careful in

i'm not quite sure that this post fits under jws/wts since they do not keep up with real biblical scholarship, but i don't know where else to post it.. thomas a. robinson (university of lethbridge) has just published a book through oxford university press on the earliest christians, entitled who were the first christians?

: dismantling the urban thesis.

for some years the idea has dominated scholarship that christianity grew strongly at first in ancient cities like rome, alexandria, and corinth; the notion has been largely influenced by wayne meeks' (of yale) thinking in his book the first urban christians (1986).. i once saw a member here cite meeks' idea of how many christians existed in the roman empire.

Earnest

The fifth volume on urban churches has been released - First urban churches 5: Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea. Writings from the Greco-Roman world supplements 16. (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2019) which is reviewed here.

It includes chapters on Everyday Life in a Roman Town Like Colossae: The Papyrological Evidence, Employing Numismatic Evidence in Discussions of Early Christianity in the Lycus Valley: A Case Study from Laodicea and
The Inscriptions and Oracular Prophecy in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin: Assessing the Book of Revelation in Its Graeco–Roman Revelatory Context:

Overall, the book provides a summary of the Greco–Roman archaeological, numismatic, and inscriptional evidence from Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis and its relationship with the documents of the New Testament associated with the region (Colossians, Philemon, and the message to the assembly at Laodicea described in Rev. 3:14-22).