by Orgull 78 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Guys, the organization reported 3,624,773 publishers and 263,855 baptisms in 1989 ( 90 Yrbk)
They reported 6,491,775 publishers and 248,327 baptisms last year. Given that the number of
baptisms was less than 17 years ago, somebody tell me what those 'extra' 3 million Witnesses
were doing all last year? And keep in mind that baptism now has never been easier,
with study of ONE book needed - and that doesn't even teach them about disfellowshipping!
metatron
I always gave the older ones an hour of time and a RV...shame they had to become "irregular" or "inactive" just because they got too old to go door knocking (reduced to 15 min increments when that arrangement came into play).
you know we are always told what a loving arrangement that is to have elderly ones be able to track 15 mins. But if you think about it, would this also NOT cause the number of publishers to decrease as millions of witnesses get VERY OLD??
I would think there are thousands of very elderly ones that can only do a few minutes of time (and thousands more every year as so many get old in "this system"), even a little chat with a nurse and they are one more on the tally in the Jan 1 WT.
So the question is: is this really a loving arrangement or a tactic to keep the numbers looking good at the end of the year???
That's like asking a woman if she ever faked an orgasm. Of course field service reports are faked. If only by virtue of 'guessing' because you did not right all the placements down or rounding up hours. Can't say I just made one up from scratch though.
I am still an elder.
I have a wife, a full time job, small children, congregational obligations and field service. It was really all too much for me.
Until I started to fake all my service time. Bible studies, return visits, house to house work. All of it. I have devised a scheme whereas I insist that I only work in the field with my wife and children. The brothers are aware that we go in service on days that are convenient for us.
I now have some relief and my life is not nearly as hectic as before.
Besides that, my hours are well above the national average.
I recommend that all witnesses fake their service reports. There is nothing in the Bible that says that we must put in a certain amount of hours preaching each month. It is a man made requirement and those men do not deserve my respect or obedience. They do not "need to know" what I actually do with my time. So to appease everyone, I just write out a service report every month and hand it in. Everybody's happy.
I had to laugh it brought back memories. I was married to an elder. I hated field service. So I wouldn't go out. Well he would remind me to turn in my time I wouldn't because I had none to turn in. He would tell me I will give you 2 of my hours to turn in. Or he would say I turned in 5 hours for you but you have to make them up next month. Or he would say I will give you the 4 hours that are allowed to study with the kids, He would claim an extra 4 hours on his monthly time for the kids study which never took place. He was such a hypocrite. He didn't like it when the CO would come and they would pass out the family time to the elders and they would get lectured in front of each other from the CO about their family time.
I of course divorce and I am a free women remarried to a WORLDLY MAN... But now by son who is 28 yrs old has a great job is married and has his own house. He gets a call from his dad (the Lying Elder) to turn in his time and to increase it because it makes the dad look bad to the CO. And he tries to tell us he worship Jehovah, He worship Man the Circuit Overseer......
There is nothing in the Bible that says that we must put in a certain amount of hours preaching each month. It is a man made requirement and those men do not deserve my respect or obedience. They do not "need to know" what I actually do with my time.
I only wish I had thought to do it earlier. Only near the end did I put down fake hours, but it was an amazing relief. I was serving as a MS, commuting to college, working, and helping my sister take care of my mom. My friend, whose situation was very similar to mine, refused to put down fake hours when I suggested the idea to him. This was even after he and I stopped believing in the Organization. He agreed that they had no right to demand an account of our time in the ministry and that it was wrong for time slips to be the primary way of judging someone's spirituality, but it still bothered his conscience to lie. I respected that, but it did not change my attitude. I felt that their definition of "sacred service" was arbitrary. The goal should be for every moment of one's life to be "sacred service" to principles like rationality, compassion, creativity, etc. (i.e. all the stuff God is supposed to represent). Not only are 10 hours of formal ministry per month a difficult and almost unreasonably high expectation of ordinary people, but a mere 10 hours of true "sacred service" is an unreasonably low expectation of people who claim to be imitators of Christ.
I used to only report what I actually got. Pioneering, young and stupid. Some months only reported 30. The elders were all over my ass. My visibility was great. I could have put 90 down, no one would have questioned my time. I was out more than anyone. Life would have been alot easier not having to chase down those numbers.
That all changed with my young rebellious wife. She showed me the light. Time is just a number. We still send in fake time for political reasons, although we don't go.
NL
Not only are 10 hours of formal ministry per month a difficult and almost unreasonably high expectation of ordinary people, but a mere 10 hours of true "sacred service" is an unreasonably low expectation of people who claim to be imitators of Christ.
I have never heard a more true statement in my life..............
