I'm just curious about something and thought some of the former elders and such could answer.
I know of some witnesses who are sick and can't come to the meetings.
We used to call them shut-ins in church. I don't think that any elders or pioneers ever visit on a regular basis.
It seems to me that it would be easy for a pioneer to rack up some good hours by going by and having a weekley book study and WT study with these people. Is there any reason that such ones are not reached out to by the pioneers or elders?
I mentioned that a pioneer could really get some good hours from this, but it might actually help the people they are visiting.
question about shepherding calls
by blindfool 5 Replies latest jw friends
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blindfool
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Dutchy
As a former pioneer I can answer your question. A pioneer can only count time when talking to a non-baptized person. If these people you refer to are already baptized then the time calling on them or studying with them cannot be counted. Therefore, pioneers have no time to devote to people who are already witnesses and therefore cannot be converted. Pioneers have to get their time in and this is no way to do it.
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blindfool
Thanks for the information Dutchy. I'm sure that explains it.
Didn't Jesus say that true Christians would be recognized by their love?
Maybe I skipped the part where Jesus said true Christians would be recognized by their time slips. I'm not as angry as I sound here,
I really kinda laughed when I typed this. -
rekless
What the pioneer said is true!! As an elder I never had high field service hours because I spent alot of time visiting the sick and elderly.The CO asked me to step down as an elder because of my poor hours even though I explained what I was doing. He told me I was not an example to the flock because I didn't have the national average of 10 hours a month.
I was the one to do the impronptude talks on Sunday when the speaker didn't show up, do a lot of the talks and demos at the TM school.
Not to mention my son had just passed away.
So you see it is all about time how much money you can put in the donation boxes, it is everything about everything, but love.
Good people with honest hearts can't stay in.
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mrs rocky2
The all important time slip - even how you count your time, what kind of service you are doing. One MS's pioneer wife told me I wasn't really going in service on Sunday afternoons when I was driving 20 miles away to an interested person's home (was cultivating a study) who was guaranteed to be at home, was for sure going to ask us in and discuss the Bible for at least an hour. This wasn't a "Good Charlie" call, but an honest possible Bible study. In my mind I thought I was being much more productive than the folks who went door to door for an hour to homes where no one answered. Especially since the area in which I live is remote and rural...we spent a lot of time on the road. But my time slips never looked as good as the pioneers. So glad I'm not playing that game anymore.
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ItsJustMe
Some congregations have weekly schedules for assisting sick or elderly ones with grocery shopping, meals, cleaning, etc.
Another issue that seems to vary from hall to hall.
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