Whatever you liked, JFJ took away.
It seemed like JFJ figured out quickly which things gave an individual pleasure. If you liked to write music, you were given no chances to write music. Instead, you'd be given a job in the Department of Mobile Evangelism.
If you liked to lead worship, you were told to usher instead.
If you could sing and lead music, you were not allowed to sing the songs you liked.
If you wanted to do drama, you were told you would do childcare instead.
If you liked being with your spouse, JFJ saw to it that you were separated as much as possible.
If you liked to write, none of what you submitted for publication was ever published by JFJ.
If you wanted to teach, someone else was selected to teach in your place.
If you didn't want to cook, you ended up being put in charge of banquets and potlucks.
If you wanted to travel far to meetings, you ended up being scheduled close to home.
If you liked Chinese food, you were told you were not allowed to eat it because it gave you too much pleasure and you needed to suffer in order to do "the work."
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6 comments:
This is a vague memory, but I do recall a missionary being told he could not order Chinese food from his favorite restaurant for a few weeks.
There was a missionary that was told to get rid of her dog. I own a dog and she is like family. An order like that would make me very sad.
It did seem to be an unwritten rule that you didn't get to do what you really wanted to do. They key to happiness was to make sure no one else knew what you really wanted to do, so it couldn't get taken away!
Every time I wanted to do something ministry related in Jews for Jesus I wasn't allowed to do it. Most of the time it went down like this:
They found out what my heart was for doing something. That something would be offered to me. Then right before I was about to start doing that something, I would be told I couldn't do it and was given something distasteful to do instead.
Toward the end of my time with Jews for Jesus this was most likely done by Brickner, who was my supervisor. He would offer for me to do something he knew I really wanted to do. Then I would procede with making plans for that something to actually happen (even if it meant moving accross country and beginning to send my belonging to that new city), then he would at the last minute tell me that I would not be going there! Insteat I would be going somewhere else and wouldn't be allowed to do the fun things I had planned (and he had previously agreed I could do). When I would question him on he indian-giving, he would say, "I never said the words, 'I PROMISE'"
Brickner always reserved the right to change his mind. His Yes always meant maybe. One will have to wait until after Rosen goes to the great beyond to see how Brickner's speaking out of both sides of his mouth plays with the old guard.
JFJ would always rationalize when someone was told to do something that they hated or had no aptitude for by telling the person that this would cause them to depend on God and not themselves. I saw this as one of the main indications why the Jews for Jesus ministry is not led by the Holy Spirit but the flesh. A true spirit-led ministry would use their workers according to their giftings and abilities. Maybe there would be more people saved, plugged into churches/congregations and living for the Lord if JFJ were run this way.
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