Pioneers and Their Way of Counting "Time"

by Eiben Scrood 32 Replies latest jw friends

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  Eiben Scrood

  In the congregations in my area there was an expression to the effect that 'there's counting time and then there's the way pioneers count their time'. The Watchtower's guidelines were pretty strict on when time could be counted. Some pioneers followed it and others didn't.

  On particularly motivated young man comes to mind, he would work full-time or close to it and pioneer. I once asked him how many hours he expected to get on certain days and I knew that he was basically counting time from the moment he left the house until the moment he got home. I know others who counted their time from when they arrived at the service group even though Mother said in the Organized book that it should only be counted from the first door or possibly phone call.

  Pioneers schedule their hours and get them on those days whether there are breaks or delays. I found ordinary publishers to be much more honest in their reporting.

  It always puzzled me because here these pioneers are making such a show of their service to the Watchtower but didn't Jehovah know that they were cheating?
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  Giordano

  Well if Jehovah doesn't really exist then no he doesn't know.

  Some Pioneers perhaps many (I was one back in the 1960's) realize after a while that they are doing man's work not god's. Your just wired in to the life style and you get some extra respect being a pioneer. When I went away to pioneer where the need was great....the winters were very very cold. We would start our time then grab a cup of coffee then drive way out younder to make a back call.We always rounded up our numbers as well. Of course in those days we needed a 100 hours.

  It was boring work for a boring religion.
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  sd-7

  Realistically, probably all of us were cheating. I think I would probably justify it by saying, the important thing is that I got out there and they saw me out there. Neither God nor man is likely to do an audit on my field service time as long as I start it when I get to the first door and end it whenever we're done or there's a stop at the store [that lasts for longer than 15 minutes]... Ultimately the counting of time had little to do with worship and more to do with keeping the elders off one's back. Which of course didn't work out being a male, 'cause then they'd be on your back to 'reach out', can you come up to the KH, can you do the accounting, can you substitute talk #X, how's that porn habit going?, etc., etc.

  --sd-7
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  Magwitch

  When I pioneered as a single sister I started my time at the first door and stopped my time at the last door. When I married another pioneer, he convinced me that we could start our time when we pulled out of the parking lot and stopped our time when we got home (even if we took multiple breaks, garage sales, shoe repair store, mall etc.)
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  Eiben Scrood

  It’s just crazy that so much emphasis is put on such an arbitrary thing. Your standing in the organization basically came down to this figure reported each month. Whatever ambitions you might have had came down to meeting or exceeding certain expectations statistically. Holy spirit and/or spirituality had nothing to do with appointments. Your time slips are what mattered and yet one person’s 10 hours could be very different from someone else’s. One person could be meeting the national average whereas another could be in the weak under 5 club all based on how they count their time.

  Time spent trying to help or encourage those already in the religion meant nothing. If you can’t report it, then what is the use of the activity?

  There is something fundamentally wrong with the whole system of time reporting. But for a cult, it’s a perfect tool to try to guilt the masses into constantly doing more.
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  undercover

  A pioneer admitted to me one time that he started his time every morning by opening his bedroom window and shouting, "Praise Jehovah!"
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  EmptyInside

  Around here,the pioneers wake-up their poor Bible studies or return visits as they are driving out of the parking lot.

  There was a public housing plan close to the hall,and every morning we'd take a couple doors to start our time. Then drive out to the country to do rural territory. Finally,someone who lived in the housing plan asked,why we only do a couple of doors and leave.

  And the thing was,it wasn't about helping honest-hearted people searching for "truth". It was just a way to get our time started. How many times,I've knocked on not-at-home,knowing they still wouldn't be homes,just to keep time going.

  The worst I ever heard was years ago,when auxiliary pioneering was still 60 hours. One Witness wrote an hour letter,then made 60 copies,mailed them out,counted 60 hours.
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  wha happened?

  That's why half the time reported is donut shop time, Starbucks time, or simply driving around in circles, time. We used to hit a store as soon as we got into the car to start our time. We would also hit a store just around the corner from our house to end our time. It's just a number
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  undercover

  There was a public housing plan close to the hall,and every morning we'd take a couple doors to start our time. Then drive out to the country to do rural territory.

  That's how we did normal service, Empty.

  We would hit an apartment complex nearby, and then head for the country. One door in town, a 30 minute drive out, 30 minute drive back in, and a 30 minute break at a general store and we actually spent about 30 real minutes in the ministry in what would be turned in as 2 hours.

  Then we did one better. Why knock on doors when you can drop off an old magazine at a laundromat? That's how we started our time in town, before heading to the sticks for the morning.

  Another plus to rural territory... no walking. Houses were too far apart. You had to drive from door to door.

  And then mini-vans were invented. I hate em, but they were great for service. You could pile 8 people in them things. Go out in rural territory in a van full of lazy dubs, you might only get one or two houses all morning.
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  ShirleyW

  Any of you former piosneers here ever use the "robocall plan"during your pioneering years?

  My friends sister in law does that, just like those annoying calls, it's a recorded message but she fills in the appropriate name for every call. How does that work? She reads the phone book onto her own recorded message or something? So liket he phone company used to say she let her fingers do the walking thru the phone book instead of knocking on doors.