Well, for one, most people have to be cracking the national average for the national average to exist, right? Do you think it's in the realm of possibility that the published average hours per month are not in reflection of actual involvement?
-Sab
Ohhh, without a doubt!!! When you see articles discouraging ones from fudging their hours, that speaks volumes right there. Another thing, as Franklin Massey mentioned, there always those who are scrambling at the end of the month to get double digit hours or right underneath the average. How far do you think they'd go to avoid ending up on the elder's radar? The same with elder's, how far will they go to avoid ending up on the CO's radar? Another poster mentioned something else in another thread, I can't remember if it was Undercover, or OTWO, but it was sooooo truthful!!! There's publishers who show up at the field service meeting point, on time, well just say, 9:30am. Because the group overseer is hung over from the night before, the group is a little sluggish getting to the territory, and to be fair to the Alcoholic In Chief, maybe the territory is a little bit out of the way from the meeting point. So they don't actually get to the group, and start field service until 10:05am. But there will be publishers who stopped at the laundrey mat and dropped off a couple older magazines on the table beside one of the washing machines at 9:25am. They did this before showing up at the meeting point. So they conclude that they started their time at 9:25, and even though they didn't actually start any doors with the rest of the group until 10:05, they've convinced themselves that they've already got 40 minutes. Ever hear of the Pioneer Shuffle? I've known older sisters who've placed magazines in the windows of their homes, while they were getting dressed for field service and convinced themselves that this was acceptable for counting time. The WT has printed articles of individuals preaching to animals, and counting it as time.
I'll give you one last example, and its one that actually hurts me a little bit to relate. There's an older sister I view almost as a grandmother. I love her, and it hurts me to see her physical health deteriorate. I visited her a few weeks ago, and during my visit, she started crying and sobbing. She mumbled that it pains her that she can't get out into the field anymore. You know, in times past, I would read articles in the literature where it encouraged older ones that their limited service was still acceptable to Jehovah, and I never believed older ones had those misgivings until I got appointed and they started really expressing themselves to me. It hurt me to see her like this. I reassured her the best I could and emphasized that all she's done would not go unnoticed or forgotten by Jehovah. Then the indoctrinated side of me kicked in. I then stated, maybe we can organize letter writing, or phone witnessing here so you can have a share, and at least get 15 minutes in? Later on after giving it some thought, I felt like scum. I wanted to step in front of a bus. The reason I share that with you, is to show you the pressure that some have allowed the WT to put on their shoulders. That pressure will lead some to fudge hours, stretch hours by rounding, and a host of other questionable ways to count time.
The WTS knows this, make no mistake about it, they know whats going on. Their articles reflect their awareness of the reality they try to shield themselves from. The COs and DOs are reporting to the Branches. The Branches are reporting the New York. They have their finger on the pulse of this organization. I don't doubt for one moment they know what they're doing. To answer your original question in yellow, the leadership may be printing an actual national average based off of what congregation secretaries are submitting every month. Whether the figures from the secretary are accurate or not, well that's debateable.
