If you must, try letter writing. Write up a brief,generic letter about reading the Bible and mail it to some not at homes. More than likely,the letter will get thrown in the trash anyway. Trick is to write it out by hand,make some mistakes,throw it away,start over,doodle,start over,it could take up to an hour while you're watching t.v.
No can I get out of going in service?
by Captain Obvious 46 Replies latest jw friends
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skeeter1
Count your time on this site in your hours! After all the Watchtower is embracing the Internet; and we routinely discuss both Jehovah's Witness doctrine and the Bible.
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Captain Obvious
Count your time on this site in your hours! After all the Watchtower is embracing the Internet; and we routinely discuss both Jehovah's Witness doctrine and the Bible.
Perfect! Only one problem... I would have to report a HELL of a lot more time than usual! Heck I could probably aux. pioneer off of that.
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steve2
The more you keep going out in servce, the more they will expect you to do so, the harder it will be to fade and the more stress you will put yourself through.
How can you ever fade when you are so intent on devious ways to appear active??
I don't often quote him, but didn't Jesus Christ say you cannot serve two masters?
In any other context, you'd be seen as making a choice to keep yourself trapped and therefore a willing sucker for punishment.
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mind blown
I started minimizing my time slowly...I used to do street work as I faded....I'd just stand there or walk around for an hour or two....then one day..... poof.....gone...done...the elders never came knocking.
Riding around with your wife is a great idea....then drop your hours...if they elders have a talk with you.....I heard they don't do well hearing one is depressed.....they don't know how to handle it.....and you have been feeling kinda down haven't you....that's not a lie.......
I would highly suggest counting time on yourself. After all you are re education yourself to the truth. And you can always count time here with a topics you're interested in. I also agree with skeeter! There's many here you're helping by posting and the WTS is encouraging the internet. But in all honestly you can't continue trying to keep up.....it will only get worse.....
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dontplaceliterature
The most realistic answer to your question is this, IMHO:
You are one among many in your congregation who don't want to go out. If you stop, and don't turn in a report, you will still be one among many. You would be surprised how many do not turn in reports, I think. Chances are, your elders barely go out in field service, unless they are retired, or you have an exceptional congregation. So, even if you quit altogether, they will likely not immediatley jump onto you about it. If they do at all, it will only be because they are concerned about having to report you as inactive to the Circuit Overseer, and they know they'll get shit about it from him.
If you don't turn in a report, I wouldn't be surprised if your Service Overseer doesn't call you and ask you for your time, and when you honestly reply that you have none, he asks you if it is just okay to go ahead and mark you down for an "hour" because you "probably talked to someone without realizing it." This way, he can avoid having ANOTHER irregular/inactive publisher on the books, and dodge some tough questions about his capability as a shepherd when the CO comes around.
My advise would be to just stop going if you don't want to. They can't do anything about it besides try to encourage you...and lets face it, they are busy people with lives, and jobs, and families...they won't try to hard.
Just my two cents. My own experience has confirmed everything I just wrote, btw.
-dpl
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Captain Obvious
That is great advice, probably true, I would be one of many. I have heard that there are a TON of faders in my area. We are the only cong for 4 hours in any direction, in a town of 100k people. There's a little over 100 pubs, and 25 pioneers. Off the top of my head I can think of a handful of people who go to probably 1 in 15-20 meetings. You can bet they don't turn in a time. My cong seems kind of divided. There's the Super Dubs, pioneers learning a foreign language, etc. and the rest of us. We live in a boomtown so lots of us work a lot, giving us a good excuse.
We just had the hounder hounder visit before the un-memorial, so it may be a good time.
Thanks everyone for your input!
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tootired2care
How does your wife feel about not going in service?
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just Ron
use matthew 28:16 (Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.) as why only the anointed should be the ones going out in service. read matthew 28: 11-20
Ron
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finally awake
I stopped going out in service while I was pregnant with my youngest kid. By the end of the pregnancy, it was literally all I could do to drag myself to work every day. There was no way I was going to haul myself out on Saturday morning to bang on doors. Then with a new baby, I declined to subject myself to the hassle. I think I went out maybe three times between early 2007 and late 2011. I didn't really get much flack from the elders, only a couple of shepherding calls trying to "encourage" me to go out in service.
My advice to you would be to just stop going. It's just not worth the stress and misery.