Why you still go on Field Service? Why Elders posts on JWD?

by tooktheredpill 28 Replies latest jw friends

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  tooktheredpill

  Hello!
  
  This morning, a poster asked me why I still go on Field Service:

  Just wondering if your conscience bothers you that you are continuing to "spread the JW gospel"? Do you have plans to stop fs soon? Just curious.(http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/11/149410/2719209/post.ashx#2719209)

  I started looking in the forum for people that are in the same situation, and I found this thread titled “Active Elders who post on JWD”. (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/139686/2496757/post.ashx#2496757 ) It is from August 2007. I started posting in the forum in October, and never noticed it until today.

  I think that it will be appropriate to re-open this thread, because I know that there are many newbies like me that are going throw the same issues. I noticed that some people think that having “privileges” in the congregation and posting here in the forum makes us hypocrites. I explained the last poster why I’m still inside JW:

  To tell you the truth: Yes. My conscience bothers me most of the time. I still do it because I have all my family inside the Borg, and I have to figure how to help them out. If I get disfellowshipped, I will lose my communication channel with them...

  What do you think? Do you have any recommendations for people that have "privileges"(tm) and want to step down??

  TTRP
• 

  darkuncle29

  I say its your life, you do what you have to do for your family or friends. Try not to get too many strangers hooked and baptized, but other than that, who cares what people not in your shoes say.

  It is interesting I think to see how many elders and MS and active JW there are here. If I'd have known enough to google the WTS when I was still in, it might have helped me grow a pair and have some fun with still being in and being free of the beliefs.
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  leftbelow

  As far as advice goes if you can claim any family crisis or work more hours to take you away from the "ministry" in some halls they may ask you to step down. When I ask to step down the PO acted like he was going to hit me. (Later I found out some elders were trying to remove him from being the PO and he thought I was one of the group trying to make him look bad) but regardless steping down without a good reason or being less active will raise a red flag. Start slow and reduce your field service a little at a time I was able to step down after reducing my field service to about 5 to 6 hours a month for 3 months and be as low profile as you can.
• 

  WTWizard

  Unfortunately, they are making it harder for people with unwanted "privileges" to shed them. No matter how burned out, there will be a Puketower with a fake experience about how a person had the exact same issue, or one that is worse than yours, and successfully continued with even more burden than you have. And they are going to use it on you.

  I have been seeing at one time or another every excuse being taken away. People with depression and other issues can claim not to be able to go on, only to hear about someone that is in even worse straits that persisted and felt that it was the best thing they can do. Of course, they will not tell you that the whole experience is fake. Being disillusioned means you need more study and to go to more meetings and field circus, according to them. If you are not getting your needs met, the answer is, again, more field circus. And so on.

  People still go out in field circus because they have family still in. And that's the way the tower wants it. If one goes, that will bust up the family as it is extremely difficult to get through to the others with the Puketower barriers. They also impose such as losing one's job and/or apartment if you are working for a witless or renting from one, and you get disfellowshipped or disassociate. Becoming totally inactive will, in those situations, likely bring in Brother Hounder to find some fake reason to get rid of you (since they can hold family, job, or housing hostage). Even if they can't find you disfellowshippable at that time, they will likely keep hounding you to do ever more in field circus once they get a foot in the door. Thus, those people are forced to put in the appearance of being out in field circus.

  Worse, in the case of a boss/landlord, they often know when you are out in field circus. That means that, if you put in fake time, they are going to know how much time you actually went out. You might be able to pull a fast one a time or two before they catch up. But it's usually only a matter of time before Brother Hounder catches up to you, thanks to the boss or landlord that rats you out. Another reason not to witness to your family or have a witless boss or landlord.
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  outofthebox

  I am Ministerial Servant (almost elder) and I have to put face and go to the service for the sake of my family too. I think I am making progress with them, so I have to stick to this for a while because I love them. But, meanwhile it is a really hard thing to do go and give people magazines and tell them lies. So, I try to do the less possible. Meaning. If I have to talk I just talk about the Bible and I leave the magz where is no people around.

  -ootb
• 

  BurnTheShips

  some people think that having “privileges” in the congregation and posting here in the forum makes us hypocrites

  Those people have serious issues. When you are in so deep and everyone you love is too when the lightbulb lights up, it takes YEARS to extricate yourself. Not to mention that the dubs NEVER give you a dignified way out.

  What do you think? Do you have any recommendations for people that have "privileges"(tm) and want to step down??

  Be patient. Take it slow. Make personal changes like moving or "worldly" complications. Change congregations. Make excuses. While you are still serving do less and less. A sudden request to turn in the priviledges will raise eyebrows. Make the congo think that you have spiritually weakened first.

  Burn
• 

  drew sagan

  If people want to complain about somebody like you then they obviously have no idea about what makes this board so valuable.
  
  When I first came here I was going out in service, meetings, talks, the works. It was many months before I started to "fade" out of the JWs from when I first became a member here. People helped me with as I made slow progress out of the JWs and then moved to helping my wife out.
  
  Only an ignorant fool would suggest that people who are stuck in the JWs and then post here are hypocrites. It's a comment totally void of any real thought on the dynamics of the subject.
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  Hermano

  To tell you the truth: Yes. My conscience bothers me most of the time. I still do it because I have all my family inside the Borg, and I have to figure how to help them out. If I get disfellowshipped, I will lose my communication channel with them

  I think this is the right way to go if you have family on the inside. If I could back and do it all over again, I would stay inside as a double-agent and try to get my wife to think. Now that I have faded, it is impossible to ask questions that make her think because the Apostarader kicks in.
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  AlmostAtheist

  Try not to get too many strangers hooked and baptized, but other than that, who cares what people not in your shoes say.

  Agreed. It couldn't be too hard to do the ministry poorly, and done well it hardly ever works.

  You need to do whatever you need to do, and if someone wants to call you a hypocrite for it, they are entitled to their [stupid, wrong, ignorant] opinion.

  Dave
• 

  sammielee24

  I think you need to do what you have to for yourself.

  The opinions of others are based on what they have done, might possibly do or their own experiences. One thing for sure - sometimes we value or need our relationships more than the other people in our lives do, so when we compromise our own principles, goals or desires to accomodate their lifestyle, we end up destroying the very part of ourselves that make us the people we are. For many, its self destructive to have to constantly bear the knowledge that family love is only based on your involvement with their religion and not based on the person you are inside that family.

  Every person who is being shunned by their parents, brothers and sisters, children, 'friends' and so on, can hear the words of 'I love you' coming out of their mouths, but it's never followed up by any 'loving' action. It's all talk. Your value and worth to them, is conditional on you being like them.

  One cannot make a person feel hypocritical - a person might feel that themself should they remain actve inside an organization that represents all they do not wish to be part of - but if a person inside and active has no objection to the values and principles of the organization, then they have no need to feel hyprocritical. Taking on more responsibility is a personal choice. There are two words in the English language - yes and no. They are effective when used as meant.

  I wish everyone well wether they are inside or out - it's tough being on either side. sammieswife.