Is the ministry really taken seriously by most JWs?

by XBEHERE 32 Replies latest jw friends

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  XBEHERE

  What say you?
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  Diogenesister

  In the 70s 80s & even 90s I knew Witnesses with real careers and good jobs give it all up to go out in the ministry as full time pioneers. There was none of this counting time by dumping a watchtower in the launderette then going on a two hour lunch break, either. So yes, I knew people who took it very seriously. Many others who put in good hours were were wracked with guilt at not being able to pioneer full time.

  Nowadays I've no idea because I'm not in close touch with anyone. I expect they excuse the ineffective cart witnessing as direction from the chariot so there must be a good reason to do it. Right? 🙄
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  Ding

  Some take it seriously. Some don't.

  I think they took it really seriously right before 1975.

  When that came to nothing, many became really subdued, just putting in time.

  That said, there has probably always been launderette "witnessing" and "the pioneer shuffle" going door to door.
  

  It's all about hours, not results.
  
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  TonusOH

  I think that most of us took it seriously, but it was also something of a grind. The lack of enthusiasm was usually due to being in a rough environment and dealing with lots of negative reactions. On days with nice weather, where we were visiting houses and not apartment buildings, it could be pleasant.

  I didn't like feeling as if we were annoying people, even though we felt the work was important. So many people knew that when the doorbell rang at 10:30am on a Saturday or Sunday, it was those -bleeping- Jehovah's Witnesses. And they made sure we knew that they were aggravated. The few times we would find someone who would listen at all were nice, but those got fewer and fewer, it seemed.

  If I had been given the option to stand next to a magazine rack and smile as people walked past, it would have felt as a bit of a relief. It wouldn't have felt like real preaching, but it would have been less stressful.
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  Beth Sarim

  I'm on board with the views shared by others.

  It's just a "busy" work...to keep up an image. Of pleasing people.
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  Journeyman

  I agree with Diogenesister - when I first became a "publisher" sometime last century(!), it seemed many more Witnesses took the ministry more seriously, and even the lead set by GB1.0 supported that. The "society", as it used to be called back then (NOT "the organisation") seemed more serious about 'teaching' and 'reasoning' with people, with a "Theocratic Ministry School", more informative magazines and study publications for "interested ones", and tools like the Reasoning book (for all its flaws).

  However, the two downsides of that were that 1) "fulltime servants" were often treated like some kind of superior grade of JW (and many acted as if they knew it), and 2) there was much more pressure to make your "hours" for the month, which were much more substantial.

  Today, it's more of a sideshow. Noone really looks up to pioneers and other fulltime preachers now (although that's no bad thing). The majority of JWs go through the motions and the ministry itself is a parody of its former self: shadow videos with simplistic "presentations", video clips, constant "next time I call" style Q&As.
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  Journeyman

  I also agree with Tonus - I never used to feel comfortable with some forms of ministry. Street work - stopping randoms as they go about their private business - and calling on homes at clearly inappropriate times, like Sunday mornings.
  
  My favourite part of ministry was actually having Bible discussions/studies, because you knew the person wanted to be there, and it was a chance to really dig deeper and discuss their thoughts and feelings. But opportunities for these got rarer and rarer, partly due to increased lack of interest, but also partly due to the watering down of the study materials we were supposed to use.

  Over the years, the two new tools which could have substantially improved the ministry are the website and the use of public carts (trolleys, as we often call them in the UK) - but even these methods have been watered down due to over-simplification.

  The cart witnessing, which many mock, but I feel could be a good method if used properly, is reduced to advice to just stand there and smile at passers-by, then direct them to the website or swap numbers with them if they show interest.

  I enjoyed it at first before they changed the rules (originally, we could stand offering publications in hand, and engage people in conversation), not once the role just became a mute nodding dog routine, made worse by other witnesses spending the time standing around chatting, drinking coffee and checking their phones.
  
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  Hellothere

  Last 15 years i have read in magazine and heard at assemblys that GB thinks they fulfilled requirements of preaching worldwide. They they feel in ways preaching work is done. Or at least prophesy fullfil about preaching about the kingdom. Seem org has removed the zeal they hade. They don't mention preaching work as much as in the 80-90s. It was a nonstop of preach more more MORE back then.
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  ExBethelitenowPIMA

  When I was in Bethel there were many who took it very seriously.

  Yes many others I knew did take the ministry very seriously really genuinely thinking there is not much time left.

  Just like before 1975 sense of urgency there was again in the 1990s but this has slowly declined in the 2000s.

  then covid happened and zoom was a chance for a good chat while pretending to write letters

  many or most did not want to go back to door to door.

  most COs have suggestions like dropping the zoom option saying in person only, but there are some who genuinely can’t go out so the zoom option remains and this is so much easier in your slippers and PJs.

  for those that do go out in person it’s a long time at the ministry group having a good chatter and catch up with each other and those on zoom if it’s a hybrid group then literally 10mins maybe one or two calls with lots of standing around chatting to each other then coffee break.

  then often ‘going on calls’ which often means shopping then coffee breaks

  so the answer is nobody takes it seriously
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  Beth Sarim

  Coffee breaks,,,is what the Witnesses take more seriously than the ministry, seriously.