Churchhoney

Last year could have a fairly big money year for them, I think.... They probably got money for both books. Amd they were still on tv last year, weren't they? Those three sources together could have gotten them quite a ways toward $100,000 gross, probably.....And Jer certainly gets paid extra for some of his stuff -- and last year he spoke at some real and virtual conferences, for example. So maybe Jingle was basically right about the amount but just a little confused in attributing most of their 2021 money to social media? I mean, by the end of the year, the book money and tv money weren't in the mix any longer. So in the closing months of 2021, social media was probably the main contributor to the income, but not earlier.

Wow. Has she got a secret OnlyFans account for handmaid fetishists or something? That seems to be a lot of cash for somebody who seems to post very little.

They got called out agnrily by various former students and former faculty for handing people advanced degrees, for no work or achievement during the WASC investigation. That ended with them eventually sneaking back in after a long time stuck in the wilderness, seemingly with extra support from some other small sectarian institutions, who possibly feared that coming down too hard on the Master's Seminary could be a slippery slope for conservative-Christian schools who want to avoid some of the norms of other more liberal institutions in the accreditation group operate with.. But seems to me it's possible that after that lengthy kerfuffle the MS is now being a little more circumspect than they were in the past when it comes to rewarding people just for being super-suckups to TPTB. So -- no 4.0 for you, Jer. Just a simple diploma, no cord.

When you study and achieve to get your degree, you get a cord to hang around your neck. When you brown-nose your way there, you get frequent skybox seats and a free house. Shows the relative value of these things, doncha know? Seminary Motto: It's Not What You Know, It's WHO You Know (and we don't mean Jesus!)

You fight with the army you have! I think what disturbs me most is suspecting that, the Duggs being what they are, some of them actually may kind of believe that the alarm clock and the help with cracker crumbs ARE testaments to somewhat superior character. The bar seems to be set pretty damn low in the Duggar circle, especially for some of their "godly men," who seem to get a pass on a lot of stuff based on the belief that they're ordained to be Jesus's most special people.

Well, her husband huffed to the judge that he, JBD, would not ALLOW certain testimony, and essentially dared the judge to go against his so-holy opinion. So I guess appropriate attitudes in courtrooms aren't something the Duggs care about. Which, of course, doesn't surprise any of us, I'm sure. Really this is exactly what comes of people holding the hardline arrogant beliefs they do, insulating themselves lifelong from outside influences and ideas, and then having their deluded egos massaged for years by a tv network, other celebrity-kissing media, and millions of viewers, many of whom think they're role models because they're on televition. Thank dog these asses are no longer on tv.

Pastor Weaselly Shitstain, Master of Divinity, that is.

I think "ministry" has a pretty broad definition, though. For one thing, I'm sure it applies to any and all efforts to contact people and bring them into your specific church -- a form of "conversion," basically. And Grace Community Church (like most churches now) is trying hard to bring in and keep lots of people in younger generations than the already-on-Social-Security crowd to flesh out their congregation. If they don't, they'll eventually go broke. So they'd absolutely count as "ministry" anything somebody was doing to mix and mingle with these desired populations, I think. Even social events. .... And Jer's been involved in a lot of stuff with younger members and prospective members, it seems....For example, he's been officially listed as being part of the GCC initiative to reach out to students and alums from virtually ALL the local college and university campuses. Can't remember what they call that program exactly, but they have talks and discussions and such at various locations around the area for those groups -- basically each institution has some dedicated events. And Jer's been photographed at some of those. And doctrine and donuts certainly counts as ministry because he's "teaching" in some way. .... I would bet that even a lot of the photographed social events we see Jer and Jinge at are also counted as ministry. Seems like when somebody rich offers a skybox or tickets to a musical and we see Instagram photos of J and J at the event with a lot of younger people that that's viewed as Jer cementing the church's bond with either newish young members or prospective ones by being a "pastoral" type hanging out with those people and schmoozing over free of steeply discounted tickets....So -- ministry. And ministry with fun times that get posted on social media for everybody of younger generations to see. Message: "We're the church that you want!" As many have previously said, it's the road to being Carl Lentz before everybody knew quite what a creep Carl was. And until (or if) you turn into a full-fledged creep AND that fact gets discovered -- it's ministry the whole way.... .I'm sure Jer sees himself as the Good Version of Carl L already -- "The Shoe Surgeon" party, come on......And for the church -- it's fun and publicity that may help them hold onto members who'll be alive to tithe for multiple decades. So, it's all a winning ministry.

Well, it is Arkansas. And there are a lot of conservative Christians in Arkansas. Almost half the state identifies that way, pretty much. And all those people have businesses and law firms and nonprofits and everything else, just like people who aren't conservative Christians. I imagine Der would greatly prefer to work for people who are part of the culture he identifies with and would probably look for a workplace where he'd feel at home in that way. I'd be surprised if he didn't. I don't think that has to mean anybody who's setting up Gilead in their office or anything, though. Just because Der and Jill seem to hold to their old beliefs doesn't mean they're any longer really extreme and aggressive holders of those beliefs, though. They may have softened their approaches (or not, of course). Not everybody stays as loudly zealous as they were in their 20s when they wanted to be missionaries for life.

Yep, G3 is absolutely Calvinist. MacArthur attends. As does Jer. It's not every Calvinist's cup of tea, obviously. And the church where Bin preaches is Baptist. .... But the old unbreakable wall that used to exist between Baptists and Calvinists has really been knocked down in a lot of places over the past couple decades, with lots of people from the Baptist side, especially, putt ing a foot firmly on each side of the fence..... That doesn't make much sense if you go by the theologies they've historically held. But that doesn't seem to bother those who do it.

I didn't meant they go to a lot of conferences. I know they don't do nearly as many events as they used to. But they've been to the G3 pretty much every year for the past several years, I think. That's what I was talking about -- https://www.duggarfamilyblog.com/2021/10/jana-and-jessa-at-g3.html Here are Bin, Jana and Jessa at the G3 last October, for example.

That's what's hard to tell! I have no idea how Jessa or Bin treats other people. (or how Bin and Jessa treat each other, really -- Is it some kind of mutual non-agression pact, maybe?) Do the Seewalds ever mix with anybody but their immediate families any more, now that the show doesn't arrange dates for them with Italian chefs and Christian rappers and so on? They do go to some Calvinist conferences every now and then. But they go with other Duggars, so do they interact with anybody else? The church Bin preaches for doesn't seem to have any non-virtual contact going on....so I don't think he's visible interacting badly with other people there......I wonder if the kids ever see their parents interact with anybody except relatives..... ETA: I do remember that incident in a restaurant a while ago when Spurge said something really awkward to the waitress about how she was only being polite because they gave hre money, or something on that order.......And what I remember about Bin and Jessa is that they seemed to handle the incident very badly.....and basically didn't seem to communicate with the woman at all or show any empathy or understanding of the situation.....Now, obviously we didn't get the whole story. But given what we did see, neither Bin nor Jessa seemed to deal very kindly or competently with an adult stranger.....They weren't what I'd want for kids' role models in that.

II think this is generally true. But having listened to some of Bin's sermons from the past couple years, I think he definitely has absorbed SOME new ideas on a more positive way, probably from his Moody education since that seems to be the only non-Duggar-like influence he's had. He does now preach about love and kindness and charity and mercy and so on. He doesn't do that all the time, of course. The other is definitely ingrained in him. But it's something you never hear from the rest of the Duggar gang (or from Jer). Bin, by contrast, has preached sermons on stuff like that fairly often, as far as I can tell.....I wonder if maybe Moody was getting crap from a lot of people about their "sinners-in-the-hand-of-an-angry-god" fixation and how it's likely part of what's driving younger people away from thechurch.... and they started to emphasize some of the more positive messages of the bible as well....

The problem is that their particular belief system absolutely puts them on that road. Hellfire and damnation and fighting to the death against heathens (in the past, the present and the final days) are what they stress over and over. Jessa and Bin are quite well indoctrinated into seeing that as the main point of their religion. And it definitely scares kids. I've been listening to a Great Courses lecture series taught by a prof who's the son of an old-time conservative evangelical pastor. And he mentioned the other day that when he was about four or five he spent a long time with chronically troubled sleep because of bible stories. Cause they don't just hear those stories. They hear them read or told with great intensity, I suppose. And I'm sure Bin and Jessa think that's great.... What they've been told is that you're supposed to spend years of your life worried sick about not being properly saved and committing "sins" left and right through perfectly normal feelings and activities.....

Sometimes self-delusion can be a great! Not great for the kids, though, if they're to have any hope of smoothly locating themselves in a bigger world than the bubble-world their parents live in. And they'll probably have to, since JB's money isn't going to be adequate for the next generation. And it seems unlikely Bin and Jessa will produce much moola to spread around among their brood, either.

It's probably the Universe Of What Will Be The Most Successful Click Bait....... Not a lot of room in that Universe for any other criteria.....And after somebody's moved into that universe, you don't usually see any other kinds of thinking or observing from them....I've seen a lot of people who I'm pretty sure don't even believe their own headlines. .... Yet their clickbait-y headlines keep appearing....Dunno what the case is with Balls-y, since I don't think I've seen more than about 20 minutes of her stuff, total, but I think it's pretty clear she's a Click Bait Universer, in any case. ....So accurate or thoughtful observation aren't high on her to-do list.

I loathe Meeechelle, Dim Bobblehead and Bill Gothard with every ounce of my being. And now the next generation of 'adults" they've created in the image they want are warping the hell out of a new bunch of "Christian" children. Bending out of shape in the actual HOPE of making them unsuited to this world. ... And they're succeeding at that. And they all think that that's great and that they're great. The only tiny bright spot is that they aren't on tv any more, so they're unlikely to convince many more people that their way is so cute, and loving, and moral, and virtuous and funny and just sweetly eccentric and old-fashioned, and utterly harmless "family viewing" and on and on. And that's a damn tiny bright spot. Those poor kids. Sickening.

If they ever decide to name another "family business," I suggest "Foot and Mouth"

Well, I assume this is a church-related group. And in that case, they have to be. Or at least act as if they are whenever they're somewhere they can be seen Their church is deeply misogynistic and endlessly "nostalgic" for a men-first, ladies-be-quiet-and-wear-gloves past that never actually existed.

I'd guess those women do this kind of 19th-century cosplay because their religion, their whole religious culture, their parents and their husbands all infantilize them. The rules they live by give them no agency ..... So for lack of any recognition of them as complete adults they go in for cosplay and fantasy like seven-year-old girls from the 1950s. Some may get a bit of agency -- in a part-time job or the like, for example -- by stealth or because theit husbands turn out to be irresponsible babies so they quietly-- and probably secretly, at least as relates to their church pals -- take over a lot of the agency within the family.. But the culture they perform in tells them they're required to be meek and that they're suited for no positions of power, influence and agency at all. So when they're all together posing for cameras -- and potentially audio -- in a situation like this, I'd bet you hear absolutely nothing but approved-by-their-massively-sexist-culture talk. Officially, they're infantilized....and placed somewhere back in a fantasy past that their infantilizers express "nostalgia" for. They're supposed to find this throwback activity fun, so they do. They don't have a lot of choices, especially when it comes to things they do in groups that are viewable to their coreligionists. I hate to see all these young people joining up for this damaging nonsense. Would like to think that patriarchy-friendly entertainments would be dying out. But I guess not.

Me neither. To me, it's the most abominable part of an abominable outfit....Among other things, it doesn't match the dress fabric at all, in either color version of the dress we've seen. But I can imagine somebody who grew up in the Duggar household looking at it and subconsciously seeing it as a "chic" callback to a modesty-for-the-clavicle collar.

Yep. And that's the way their parents and their pastors and their cult leaders have planned it. Friends lead you to the devil! ... Having no friends makes your life hell bud you don't realize it because all of the above tell you you're actually in heaven....

They did have a "graduation party" for Jed, Jer and Joy all together. And during that time period, some people apparently wondered why those three would have a party together when they aren't the same age. Meeeechelle seemed to feel she had to answer that query, so she said something about how they just decided it was more efficient to only have a party every two or three years instead of having one every time somebody graduated. (!!!!) ....(Because, you know, who the heck cares if somebody "graduates"? Even if it is only the "Duggar Academy diploma," it's all these people will ever get....But, I guess it's not baptism or marriage, so who gives a crap?) Anyway, I remember the party because we simultaneously laughed about it and felt kinda sad about it because at their "graduation party" the vast majority of "guests" were little kids and moms and there were a bunch of little-kid activities available. Meanwhile, if there were ANY actual "friends of Jed, Jer or Joy" there, there weren't enough of them to be visible.

Suitable for its subject, though!

This is how it is when you're "too cool for school." .... It totally enraged me when Jessa captioned that depressing picture of Spurgie sitting all alone in the living room strewn with toyw, wearing his head band, doing his workbook About the only thought I've given to teh Duggars recently has happened when suddenly that line and the fury I felt when I saw it popped into my head. I even dreamed about it once. That poor child.