The Way Corps that we had in the mid-nineties witnessed regularly, when they were on "full time" status it was three hours per day. One PFAL class had 6 of the 7 people witnessed to by him.
When the infamous and now dead Highlander came to our area, fresh from in-residence Corps training that included "how to confront", "smoking out homos", and "weeding out weakness" one of his missions was to teach us how to witness.
As I stated above, he was no slouch at getting out there and speaking up, and even bringing folks to fellowship and getting them into the class, although they usually left pretty quickly because he was such an idiot. I think people came to fellowship because they were half afraid that this psycho would camp out at their door if not.
Anyway: teaching us how to witness. Our area was full to bursting with folks who had been around for awhile when he showed up. Almost all the adults were advanced class grads and WOW vets. About half had coordinated fellowships at one time or another. My ex-wife had been involved since 1971, I had been around since 1978. Several others had been around since the late 70's and early 80's. We had all witnessed to hundreds, maybe thousands of people over the years, and signed up our fair share for PFAL. We had also gone through all of our family and friends (the ones we hadn't run off) and learned that the workplace is not the place to witness (it's the place to...work). To summarize: we already knew how to witness!
Mr. & Mrs. Highlander were required to witness for three hours every day. They started insisting that one or more of us go with them each day. To teach us -->
One particualr day we were annoying the shoppers in Kmart or Shopko or someplace when Mr. Highlander started talking to a Mormon couple. Well, Donnie & Marie gave back as good as they got, addressing each of Highlander's points until Highlander started yelling at them, IN THE STORE!!!! and called them INSANE at the top of his lungs.
You bring up an excellent point. When I was involved with the cult, I happened to have been pretty good at "witnessing" and "signing people up."
It's something that I still regret to this day, unfortunately.
The sad thing was, I believed in what I was doing, and really thought that the poor souls were better off "knowing the truth." I so wish I could take it all back. :(-->
My impression was that you are not alone on both fronts. Sorry if I brought up a bad memory for you.
It probably shouldn't be a surprise that as the corps became more dictatorial that less and less people responded to them. (In AND out of TWI). It seemed like a good idea to try to (at least in our own unscientific way) poll the crowd to see if others had the same experience.
If it's any consolation, you've been a pleasure for me here. Even if it doesn't make up for the bad memories.
I sponsored someone who did that bear lighter thing--they told me they got chewed out after they came back big time and then they got sent back out "to do it right"
I especially noticed this after Craigee-poo announced that the Word was over the world...
The only WC I remember in my 10+ years witnessing were those that were in training. Most who already had their "diploma" thought they'd done their time - it was now someone else's job to do the dirty deed.
I remember one fellowship (which I nicknamed "The Dead Sea" because it had no outlet) I was in that was run by WC hadn't had a new person brought to it in over TWO YEARS - I couldn't believe it. I was pretty okay at witnessing - got some people involved (they're out now, like me). I got some new people to that fellowship but then the local WC decided I was "rebellious & aloof"...
Whatever....
Anyhow, I never saw fruit from any of those windbags - they were too busy being busy bodies about who was doing what in their area that didn't amount to squat - why bother with new people?
I and my partner didnt get chewed out at all after producing little fruie in our two sessions at Durant, OK in 1978...although we had plenty of evidence of effort, setting up a meeting after arranging free use of a hall with the city folk. We didnt get much response, and our individual witnessing efforts didnt get anywhere.
I heard the chewing out was mostly reserved for the "senior" (last residence year) corps, and I didnt quite make it that far into my last year.
For the most part, witnessing was something that most people loathed but were willing to pretend that they liked because of the associated guilt. Many corps took it seriously and were good at recruiting...others simply made sure that the rest of us were witnessing, while they attended to something else "more pressing" at the time. I thought that the folks who genuinely liked to go witnessing were "weirdos" and I usually tried to avoid them. Some of the most dread filled experiences of my life include going out "witnessing"...especially door to door. It took every fiber of my being to not feel like a Jehova witness...it was painful.
When I was a wow...it was a year filled with guilt. We never spent 8 frickin hours a day witnessing! I would slip into a neighborhood bar with my wow brother and we would spend 4 hours drinking draft beer and shooting pool...on the way home we would eat a box of breath mints and try not to slur too much when we got home for twig. ;)-->
Hmmm, this reminds me of our branch leader's wife telling us how deeply she delved into Romans and how it lived for her while we were all out witnessing.
And in my true brain buried beneath the waybrained one, I was thinking, "Why did she get to stay home and read Romans while we were out witnessing?"
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imbus
I came to my first twig mtg. by invitation of a 6th corps grad. Miami Fla."76"
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Oakspear
The Way Corps that we had in the mid-nineties witnessed regularly, when they were on "full time" status it was three hours per day. One PFAL class had 6 of the 7 people witnessed to by him.
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Belle
How's about post-piffle?
I can't remember EVER in my 15+ years with TWI having seen any WC bring a soul to fellowship, much less register one for a class.
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JustThinking
Belle,
Maybe I should have added that. There were many stories about the "old days" when I first showed up but never saw them in our area.
JT
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johniam
Most of the lightbearers I saw were actually pretty good at witnessing.
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TheSongRemainsTheSame
Bowling allys, malls, door to door, apt comPLEXES (no soliciting), family... oh my the heart of wc and those hearts involved with them.
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Oakspear
When the infamous and now dead Highlander came to our area, fresh from in-residence Corps training that included "how to confront", "smoking out homos", and "weeding out weakness" one of his missions was to teach us how to witness.
As I stated above, he was no slouch at getting out there and speaking up, and even bringing folks to fellowship and getting them into the class, although they usually left pretty quickly because he was such an idiot. I think people came to fellowship because they were half afraid that this psycho would camp out at their door if not.
Anyway: teaching us how to witness. Our area was full to bursting with folks who had been around for awhile when he showed up. Almost all the adults were advanced class grads and WOW vets. About half had coordinated fellowships at one time or another. My ex-wife had been involved since 1971, I had been around since 1978. Several others had been around since the late 70's and early 80's. We had all witnessed to hundreds, maybe thousands of people over the years, and signed up our fair share for PFAL. We had also gone through all of our family and friends (the ones we hadn't run off) and learned that the workplace is not the place to witness (it's the place to...work). To summarize: we already knew how to witness!
Mr. & Mrs. Highlander were required to witness for three hours every day. They started insisting that one or more of us go with them each day. To teach us
-->
One particualr day we were annoying the shoppers in Kmart or Shopko or someplace when Mr. Highlander started talking to a Mormon couple. Well, Donnie & Marie gave back as good as they got, addressing each of Highlander's points until Highlander started yelling at them, IN THE STORE!!!! and called them INSANE at the top of his lungs.
I didn't volunteer to go with them after that
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TheSongRemainsTheSame
Witnessing what?
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dmiller
Yep. Back in the mid 70's it was common (in our area). But -- not so much so in the 80's. Guess they were too busy doing other things then.
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wwjesuslaughat
Oak,
"Donnie and Marie"...that is too funny!
I can hear it now...
"I'm a little bit cultish..."
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JustThinking
wwjla,
I looooooove your handle!
JT
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A la prochaine
Oaksie,
You're an amazing story teller!!!
Donnie and Marie...oh my!
:D-->
I worked once under the tutelage of this madman Highlander you speak of! I can see him now...screaming with his eyes bulging!
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ex10
Just Thinking
You bring up an excellent point. When I was involved with the cult, I happened to have been pretty good at "witnessing" and "signing people up."
It's something that I still regret to this day, unfortunately.
The sad thing was, I believed in what I was doing, and really thought that the poor souls were better off "knowing the truth." I so wish I could take it all back.
:(-->
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Oakspear
AlaP:
You worked under the Highlander?
--> Are you sure we're talking about the same guy? His first name rhymes with red.
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Steve!
So why did they go around lighting bears, anyway? What did the bears ever do to them?
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JustThinking
Ex10,
My impression was that you are not alone on both fronts. Sorry if I brought up a bad memory for you.
It probably shouldn't be a surprise that as the corps became more dictatorial that less and less people responded to them. (In AND out of TWI). It seemed like a good idea to try to (at least in our own unscientific way) poll the crowd to see if others had the same experience.
If it's any consolation, you've been a pleasure for me here. Even if it doesn't make up for the bad memories.
JT
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JustThinking
Grizzy quote from the Alpha/Omega logo thread:
"Bears are NOT affiliated with CES!!!!!! "
See, bears used to be with CES which made them copouts in LCM's mind. Therefore, lighting them would have been God's will in the OT...
OMG, I can actually hear his voice saying something this stupid. :-( Yuck, I need coffeee...
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Steve!
And from what I heard, Bear Lighters was always a horrific experience.
No one ever came back unscathed, from what I saw.
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JustThinking
Steve!
Unscathed!!!!!
JT
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smurfette
I sponsored someone who did that bear lighter thing--they told me they got chewed out after they came back big time and then they got sent back out "to do it right"
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ChasUFarley
I especially noticed this after Craigee-poo announced that the Word was over the world...
The only WC I remember in my 10+ years witnessing were those that were in training. Most who already had their "diploma" thought they'd done their time - it was now someone else's job to do the dirty deed.
I remember one fellowship (which I nicknamed "The Dead Sea" because it had no outlet) I was in that was run by WC hadn't had a new person brought to it in over TWO YEARS - I couldn't believe it. I was pretty okay at witnessing - got some people involved (they're out now, like me). I got some new people to that fellowship but then the local WC decided I was "rebellious & aloof"...
Whatever....
Anyhow, I never saw fruit from any of those windbags - they were too busy being busy bodies about who was doing what in their area that didn't amount to squat - why bother with new people?
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Lifted Up
I and my partner didnt get chewed out at all after producing little fruie in our two sessions at Durant, OK in 1978...although we had plenty of evidence of effort, setting up a meeting after arranging free use of a hall with the city folk. We didnt get much response, and our individual witnessing efforts didnt get anywhere.
I heard the chewing out was mostly reserved for the "senior" (last residence year) corps, and I didnt quite make it that far into my last year.
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GrouchoMarxJr
For the most part, witnessing was something that most people loathed but were willing to pretend that they liked because of the associated guilt. Many corps took it seriously and were good at recruiting...others simply made sure that the rest of us were witnessing, while they attended to something else "more pressing" at the time. I thought that the folks who genuinely liked to go witnessing were "weirdos" and I usually tried to avoid them. Some of the most dread filled experiences of my life include going out "witnessing"...especially door to door. It took every fiber of my being to not feel like a Jehova witness...it was painful.
When I was a wow...it was a year filled with guilt. We never spent 8 frickin hours a day witnessing! I would slip into a neighborhood bar with my wow brother and we would spend 4 hours drinking draft beer and shooting pool...on the way home we would eat a box of breath mints and try not to slur too much when we got home for twig.
;)-->
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outandabout
Hmmm, this reminds me of our branch leader's wife telling us how deeply she delved into Romans and how it lived for her while we were all out witnessing.
And in my true brain buried beneath the waybrained one, I was thinking, "Why did she get to stay home and read Romans while we were out witnessing?"
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