Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)

[BradandJanet]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

I'm curious about the printing business. I thought at one time JillR stated they printed tracts and donated them. Does Mr Rod have actual paying customers?

And other than the Fundy church community who would use them? I'm thinking printing chains would be much cheaper.

Donating the tracts doesn't mean there's no compensation. I'm sure he accepts food, supplies, money, or whatever as a "thank you." How else could he afford to do this? Paper, ink, and a dozen kids aren't cheap.

Maybe Jill can grift her internet connection from the farmhouse neighbors. How will we know how wonderful she is without her having a way to tell us? A traveling diorama with spokesmodel still has a very limited audience. 

[Oldernowiser]

As someone who has a psychotic neighbor, I feel so bad for that couple. Their bucolic, peaceful life in the country is about to be blown to smithereens.

OTOH, if anyone is likely to recognize the problems with how these whackos are raising these kids, it’s close neighbors who are highly educated.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Oldernowiser
Because I just woke up and apparently reading things that aren’t there.

[emma675]

I just realized I'm confused about something. All of these church visits the Rodrigii do, what is the point? Are they invited, and if so, why? Why do they travel all over the US to these different churches? 

Maybe it's because I was raised in a conservative Methodist church, but we rarely had traveling singers or speakers or large families visiting or being a part of the service. We would sometimes have guest preachers or a Christian soloist singer, but never random families.

Edited January 4, 2020 by emma675d

[zoomama]

2 minutes ago, emma675 said:

I just read I'm confused about something. All of these church visits the Rodrigii do, what is the point? Are they invited, and if so, why? Why do they travel all over the US to these different churches? 

Maybe it's because I was raised in a conservative Methodist church, but we rarely had traveling singers or speakers or large families visiting or being a part of the service. We would sometimes have guest preachers or a Christian soloist singer, but never random families.

in my experience, we did not have these types of visitors in any church i have attended. now, once in a while a local group (teen challenge choir etc) would be there but in general what the grifters do, nope not at any church i have attended.

[Churchhoney]

This is what their crazy website says: 

"The Rodrigues Family is currently traveling on deputation [?????WHAT????] to raise support for their family and ministry, and is open for meetings to present their work. [the printing, I guess]

"The Rodrigues Family is also very musical. They not only travel to present their printing ministry work, but they also travel to provide godly, Christian music. Their thirteen children sing with their parents and they all play instruments. Camp meetings, revival services, missions conferences, etc. are all opportunities the Rodrigues Family would love to come and provide music for your church!

"Jill has always had a burden and gift to encourage others. She loves to encourage her fellow sisters in Christ to live a victorious Christian life. She is open to speak at ladies meetings.

"So, as the Rodrigues Family strives to serve Christ and lift up HIS NAME alone, they would encourage you to invite them to your church and to be sure and browse the pages on this site to learn more about their family."

I wonder whether they go to IFB churches only or whether they go to some other nondenominational churches......I guess the church'd have to be KJV-only, but I don't know what their other parameters would be. 

I wonder whether they don't sometimes just drive to towns where there are several "suitable churches," show up at one church after another with all the kids, "offer" to sing, and then stand there until somebody feels terrible about those starved-looking children and says, "uh, sure, if you're still in town next Thursday, we could have you sing at the potluck," or something like that. 

I assume they must make arrangements in advance with some churches (and camp meetings, revival services, missions conferences!), though. 

It's as odd as their move to Amish country.....

...but JRod moves in mysterious ways. 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Churchhoney

[galaxychaser]

The kids are so scared/brainwashed I doubt they would even say hi to anyone much less ask for help.

Since they travel so much I don’t think they will be home much. 
 

I agree imagine living next to them. Jeez.

[Zella]

Agree 100% with @Churchhoney on HSLDA. They'd back the Rodrigues family in any sort of dispute over homeschooling because they really seem to believe that a parent's right to control their child is absolute and trumps the child's rights to anything. I despise that organization. And I say that was someone who was homeschooled and am not opposed to homeschooling when it is done properly. IMO, the HSLDA enables abusers and shitty homeschoolers who give the rest of the group a bad name. 

[GeeGolly]

I find it hard to believe someone actually lived there, yet the bedrooms and large closet make me think so. Maybe a long haul trucker and his wife? A couple of pot growers?

Weirdly, the black and white floor room has a garage door.

The listing agent must be thinking WTF, because that property listing has been viewed more than 7000 times.

[BradandJanet]

13 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I find it hard to believe someone actually lived there, yet the bedrooms and large closet make me think so. Maybe a long haul trucker and his wife? A couple of pot growers?

Weirdly, the black and white floor room has a garage door.

The listing agent must be thinking WTF, because that property listing has been viewed more than 7000 times.

The agent is a neighbor, according to Jill's post. Maybe not the neighbor, however.

The agent must know how famous the Rodriguii are because Jill would have told her, so the uptick in the listing viewings might not seem strange. 

I hope wherever the children sleep has heat. David and Jill will take the space with the electric baseboard and the walk-in closet, so I'm not hopeful for the kids, who might end up like feral cats making do with what they find. 

[emma675]

Can someone pm me a link to the property? I can't seem to locate it and I'm having a hard time envisioning this house!

[Westiepeach]

19 minutes ago, emma675 said:

Can someone pm me a link to the property? I can't seem to locate it and I'm having a hard time envisioning this house!

Just pm'ed you the link!

[Temperance]

I agree with @galaxychaser that Jill R isn't planning on staying at the Ohio homestead. She wants to go back to traveling around the country like they did before Janessa was born. Jill doesn't like being tied down to one area. Prior to the birth of Janessa, they owned the house in WV, but didn't spend much time there. 

Someone can pm the link too. 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Temperance

[Lunera]

I just Googled Wooster, OH and "barndominium" and the listing came up lol

[Temperance]

5 minutes ago, Lunera said:

I just Googled Wooster, OH and "barndominium" and the listing came up lol

okay found it! The same google search also yielded a video of a meth bust from 2016 (in Wooster Ohio)!

[galaxychaser]

Feral cats have a better existence than diarama kids. Their dad is a lazy bum who doesn’t work. His printing press hobby is a joke. Unless he launders $$$ for Jim Blob.

[BitterApple]

Wow, so I went down the rabbit hole and found the house on Zillow. I can't believe the Rods are moving into a converted garage. The land looks really nice, but the dwelling itself is soulless and depressing. 

Edited January 4, 2020 by BitterApple

[Churchhoney]

20 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

The land looks really nice, but the dwelling itself is  Jill and David are soulless and depressing, 

...and their kids gradually become sock puppets of soulless, depressing people as they "grow up" under that "guidance." 

The Duggars also stash a ton of kids in a big tin garage by choice. I see a parallel there. 

To both sets of soulless parents, their kids are about as valuable individually as sardines. 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Churchhoney

[absnow54]

The Fixer Upper episode for a barbdominium just played on HGTV. They converted the entire barn into a house though. 

[sugarplum]

4 hours ago, emma675 said:

I just realized I'm confused about something. All of these church visits the Rodrigii do, what is the point? Are they invited, and if so, why? Why do they travel all over the US to these different churches? 

Maybe it's because I was raised in a conservative Methodist church, but we rarely had traveling singers or speakers or large families visiting or being a part of the service. We would sometimes have guest preachers or a Christian soloist singer, but never random families.

I’ll attempt to answer this. Let me preface by saying - I’ve never seen or met The Rodrigues family. I did, however, grow up fundie, in a fundie family, and attending an IFB church until I graduated college. So, I have some experience. 
 

Basically, the Rods are serving as missionaries - their “field” just isn’t international. they print these tracts and other literature, then disperse them to other missionaries and churches to hand out. I haven’t been to their website or done a lot of research on the family, but they most likely have a home/backing church, and are tied to a mission organization since the quoted above says they are traveling on deputation (which is basically traveling to “sister” churches to raise funds for their ministry, introduce their family to supporting churches, and solicit prayers). When I was growing up, our church was involved with the BIMI organization. My pastor was on the board or directors and we frequently had missionaries/families at our church that would preach, sing, some even provided skits. They always set up a table in the vestibule filled with photos of them in their field, educational materials, prayer cards, and a way to sign up for their mailing/prayer list. A “love offering” was always collected for them (that was in addition to the regular church offering). My church supported missionaries regularly. A portion of the weekly offering went directly to missions. I don’t remember the exact break down because it’s been quite a few years since I attended, but close to 50% of tithes were devoted to missions. The remaining was used for church expenses. The church prided itself on financially supporting missions. So, while the Rod family is taking printing jobs, they truly may not be getting paid directly for each job. Their supporting churches pay them at certain intervals (weekly/monthly/quarterly) and that money is used for their ministry. Basically all of their supporting churches are funding the printing, even though they may not be placing orders. It’s all done for the “greater good”. It’s viewed as outreach and even if my church may not be in need of their tracts at the time, another church would be, and both churches had the same mission - win souls for Christ. 
 

The only way to get support from churches, is for the churches to get to know your ministry. So they travel around the country, getting their name and mission in front of people to garner more support. 
 

While I’m still a believer, I haven’t been fundie for a long time and no longer attend an IFB church. But much of my family still attend, so I feel as though I still have some ties. I have an aunt and uncle who frequently welcome visiting missionaries into their home, treat them to nice dinners out, and constantly send supplies when they are in the field. When I was a senior in high school, I went on a mission trip with my church and we spent much of the trip folding tracts like the Rods print and going door to door in a foreign country, passing them out. As an adult and mother now, I shudder at the fact that my parents allowed me to do this. It was a different age then, and we had a greater sense of being safe, but I would never allow my kids to knock on strangers doors now and hand out ANYTHING, including bible literature. But I guess at the time, it was just assumed by the church (including my parents), that God would protect us. And thankfully, the worse thing that ever happened to us was people pretending to not speak English, people slamming the door in our face, or cussing us out. 😉
 

I hope that explains it some. As I said, I’m no longer a part of this lifestyle and haven’t been for years, but I spent the better part of 25 years as a fundie and am happy to answer questions as best as I can from my experience. 

[Sew Sumi]

Do the Rods have a sponsor church, though? It didn't seem as if their church in WV operated in that capacity. WHO is sending them on "deputation?" 

I kind of think that Jill is deputizing herself.

[Churchhoney]

46 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Do the Rods have a sponsor church, though? It didn't seem as if their church in WV operated in that capacity. WHO is sending them on "deputation?" 

I kind of think that Jill is deputizing herself.

@sugarplum noted that they also might work through a "mission organization." And when I was at their page earlier, I noticed such a thing and didn't know what to make of that, either. (still don't, in detail of course -- and it might be a solely a grifting orgnaization, as far as I know....but it calls itself, at least, some kind of missionary group).....

BUT they get paid through it. And it calls itself a mission organization -- I don't know that it's the type of mission organization Sugarplum was talking about though. It seems really just to be an organization that funnels the money. So this still leaves unanswered what organization they actually work as a part of or represent -- if any ... 

Here's the name and what they say -- 

*Please note, if you make a donation in this manner, a tax deductible receipt will not be provided.  If you would like to make a donation and receive a tax deductible receipt, please donate through Central Missionary Clearinghouse.  (Information below)

Send Monthly Financial Support to:  

Central Missionary Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 219228

Houston, Texas    77218-9228

CMC Phone # (281)599-7411

Make Checks payable to:  Central Missionary Clearinghouse

For a tax deductible receipt donate here: 

According to this Clearinghouses' 990 at GuideStar, they passed along a little over $27,000,000 in what they term "grants" in 2017. I assume that's the kind of donation that the Rods get from them....But they don't say much at all about anybody else they're affiliated with......

The Clearinghouse itself says they funnel funds to 650 missionaries around the world. They don't say they work with any missionary-sending groups, churches or the like. They seem to me to imply that these people at least use this clearinghouse agency independently. The clearinghouse lists no groups or churches as affiliates of any kind. 

They publish a list of most of their missionaries -- they say some aren't listed, for reasons of anonymity and safety. 

The Rods are on their list. But they only list their "printing ministry" 

Rodrigues, David & JillPrinting Ministrydrodriguesfamily@gmail.comhttp://rodriguesfamilyministries.com

https://www.cmcmissions.org/missionaries

 

Here's a story on the Clearinghouse website about a missionary family they're spotlighting -- But I don't see anything about a sending church or other sending group for these people either...

Honoring Maurice & Sherry Young - Missionaries to Taiwan

  

"During his time in the Air Force, Bro. Young spent two years in South East Asia during the Vietnam War.  In January 1973, while stationed at Ching Chang Kang Air Force Base in Taichung, Taiwan, God called him to return to Taiwan as a missionary.  After returning to the United States, Bro. Young attended Grace Baptist Church in Springfield, MO where he met Sherry Willis.  One January 8, 1976, Maurice and Sherry were married at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Joplin, Missouri by Pastor Frank Showmaker.  They have seven children; Schillie, Mary, Sarah, Rebecca, John, Stephen and Charity.  On January 27, 1989, Maurice & Sherry Young and their family arrived in Taiwan as missionaries.

"Since their arrival in Taiwan in 1989 until this date, they have been actively involved in fulfilling the Great Commission in Taiwan and Mainland China.  During this time, the Lord has enabled them to start three Independent Baptist Churches and pastor a fourth one while a fellow missionary was home on furlough.  Romans 15:20 says, "Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation."  The Youngs have and will endeavor to start churches where there are no Independent Baptist Churches.  The Lord has also enabled Bro. Young to write two salvation tracts and two commentaries in Chinese.  

"During their latest term in Taiwan, they started the Victory Baptist Church in Hua Lien, Taiwan.  Their first church service was on September 23, 2007 and they are in the process of teaching a local Chinese man to take it over as pastor.  Through the leading of the Lord, the Youngs started Victory Baptist Church with no help from other missioanries or Chinese help.  Their goal is to preach the gospel, pass out tracts, teach the saved and establish Victory Baptist Church with a national Chinese pastor supported by the tithes and offerings of the Chinese People.  

"They have recently been joined in Taiwan by their daughter Rebecca Young as a single missionary.  She has started a Woman's Ministry at Victory Baptist Church.  In the future, she will be moving to another location to start a Woman's ministry that will later be turned into a local, New Testament, Independent Baptist Church.  The Young's currently have a Building Fund started to help the congregation purchase their own facilites.  If you would like to help the Youngs with the purchase of these facilities, you can send donations to Central Missionary Clearinghouse, PO Box 219228, Houston, TX  77218-9228.  Please put a note with the gift stating that it is designated for the Young's Building Fund. "     

               

It's strange. But it sounds to me like these people are operating entirely on their own. They kind of make a point of that, it seems to me.....

 

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Churchhoney

[Oldernowiser]

“I was born in the wagon of a traveling show...”

Anybody else hearing “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” in their heads?

[farmgal4]

5 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

This is what their crazy website says: 

"The Rodrigues Family is currently traveling on deputation [?????WHAT????] to raise support for their family and ministry, and is open for meetings to present their work. [the printing, I guess]

"The Rodrigues Family is also very musical. They not only travel to present their printing ministry work, but they also travel to provide godly, Christian music. Their thirteen children sing with their parents and they all play instruments. Camp meetings, revival services, missions conferences, etc. are all opportunities the Rodrigues Family would love to come and provide music for your church!

"Jill has always had a burden and gift to encourage others. She loves to encourage her fellow sisters in Christ to live a victorious Christian life. She is open to speak at ladies meetings.

"So, as the Rodrigues Family strives to serve Christ and lift up HIS NAME alone, they would encourage you to invite them to your church and to be sure and browse the pages on this site to learn more about their family."

I wonder whether they go to IFB churches only or whether they go to some other nondenominational churches......I guess the church'd have to be KJV-only, but I don't know what their other parameters would be. 

I wonder whether they don't sometimes just drive to towns where there are several "suitable churches," show up at one church after another with all the kids, "offer" to sing, and then stand there until somebody feels terrible about those starved-looking children and says, "uh, sure, if you're still in town next Thursday, we could have you sing at the potluck," or something like that. 

I assume they must make arrangements in advance with some churches (and camp meetings, revival services, missions conferences!), though. 

It's as odd as their move to Amish country.....

...but JRod moves in mysterious ways. 

Lard Ass also preaches, so they may do lots of revivals.  The newest posts that Jill did on IG was filled with her praising how good the church (that they were at) treated them, so I wonder how much money she grifted from those people.  It looked like a nice church, so I’m guessing the Rods probably racked in several hundred, maybe even a thousand, dollars, plus gift cards, groceries and who knows what else.

[Totally]

I can’t believe people are so willingly giving money to these people. 
How are the Rod’s missionaries? Aren’t they just singing to people who are already believers? Aren’t missionaries supposed to be out milling with  those who aren’t believers? 
 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Totally

[farmgal4]

5 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I find it hard to believe someone actually lived there, yet the bedrooms and large closet make me think so. Maybe a long haul trucker and his wife? A couple of pot growers?

Weirdly, the black and white floor room has a garage door.

The listing agent must be thinking WTF, because that property listing has been viewed more than 7000 times.

Most of those views are of the “WTF?” variety after finding out the Rods are moving there.

[galaxychaser]

Portly and crazy are grifting plenty. Look at David. He would be thin if they were truly broke.

[Churchhoney]

36 minutes ago, Totally said:

I can’t believe people are so willingly giving money to these people. 
How are the Rid’s missionaries? Aren’t they just singing to people who are already believers? Aren’t missionaries supposed to be out amount those who aren’t believers? 
 

Well, as @sugarplum explained it, it seems to me that people would consider the printing the actual mission, not the singing. (and they do list only the printing in their Clearinghouse information).....

The printing of tracts would be a mission because if you hand them out to believers, then you as the tracts' printers and the believers who received them are seen as working together to fulfill the Great Commission (to go and make disciples of all nations, including your own) when the church members hand out your tracts to nonbelievers. 

I don't think the singing really works as an actual mission that way. Although maybe they sell it as a Great Commission thing because they go to gatherings of Christians and uplift and inspire them to go forth and teach all nations or something.........Jill does specifically mention going to missions conferences -- so I guess there she can claim that they're infusing people who want to do mission or are doing missions with some kind of spirit and energy with their music, thus increasing the hearers' power as converters.

(or causing them to run away with their hands over their ears, in this case....so...points for speed, or something...))

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Churchhoney

[sugarplum]

27 minutes ago, Totally said:

I can’t believe people are so willingly giving money to these people. 
How are the Rid’s missionaries? Aren’t they just singing to people who are already believers? Aren’t missionaries supposed to be out amount those who aren’t believers? 
 

So we commonly think of missionaries as people who go into foreign countries, sometimes even dangerous ones, to preach the gospel. But missionaries can come in different shapes and forms. Some strictly plant churches - they build and get the church off the ground, then move on to somewhere else. The Rods “ministry” is providing printed materials for other missionaries or churches to distribute. They aren’t missionaries in the traditional sense, but fundies who believe gospel tracts are imperative to getting the word out will very much consider their ministry as part of the mission field. 

2 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Well, as @sugarplum explained it, it seems to me that people would consider the printing the actual mission, not the singing. (and they do list only the printing in their Clearinghouse information).....

The printing of tracts would be a mission because if you hand them out to believers, then you as the tracts' printers and the believers who received them are seen as working together to fulfill the Great Commission (to go and make disciples of all nations, including your own) when the church members hand out your tracts to nonbelievers. 

I don't think the singing really works as an actual mission that way. Although maybe they sell it as a Great Commission thing because they go to gatherings of Christians and uplift and inspire them to go forth and teach all nations or something.........Jill does specifically mention going to missions conferences -- so I guess there she can claim that they're infusing people who want to do mission or are doing missions with some kind of spirit and energy with their music.  

 

Exactly. The printing is the ministry. The singing/preaching they do is a “blessing” to the church they are visiting, it’s not their mission. But by doing those things, they get in front of congregations so they will be known, and as a result, they get more funding and more prayers. 

[sugarplum]

1 hour ago, Churchhoney said:

@sugarplum noted that they also might work through a "mission organization." And when I was at their page earlier, I noticed such a thing and didn't know what to make of that, either. (still don't, in detail of course -- and it might be a solely a grifting orgnaization, as far as I know....but it calls itself, at least, some kind of missionary group).....

BUT they get paid through it. And it calls itself a mission organization -- I don't know that it's the type of mission organization Sugarplum was talking about though. It seems really just to be an organization that funnels the money. So this still leaves unanswered what organization they actually work as a part of or represent -- if any ... 

Here's the name and what they say -- 

*Please note, if you make a donation in this manner, a tax deductible receipt will not be provided.  If you would like to make a donation and receive a tax deductible receipt, please donate through Central Missionary Clearinghouse.  (Information below)

Send Monthly Financial Support to:  

Central Missionary Clearinghouse

P.O. Box 219228

Houston, Texas    77218-9228

CMC Phone # (281)599-7411

Make Checks payable to:  Central Missionary Clearinghouse

For a tax deductible receipt donate here: 

According to this Clearinghouses' 990 at GuideStar, they passed along a little over $27,000,000 in what they term "grants" in 2017. I assume that's the kind of donation that the Rods get from them....But they don't say much at all about anybody else they're affiliated with......

The Clearinghouse itself says they funnel funds to 650 missionaries around the world. They don't say they work with any missionary-sending groups, churches or the like. They seem to me to imply that these people at least use this clearinghouse agency independently. The clearinghouse lists no groups or churches as affiliates of any kind. 

They publish a list of most of their missionaries -- they say some aren't listed, for reasons of anonymity and safety. 

The Rods are on their list. But they only list their "printing ministry" 

Rodrigues, David & JillPrinting Ministrydrodriguesfamily@gmail.comhttp://rodriguesfamilyministries.com

https://www.cmcmissions.org/missionaries

 

Here's a story on the Clearinghouse website about a missionary family they're spotlighting -- But I don't see anything about a sending church or other sending group for these people either...

Honoring Maurice & Sherry Young - Missionaries to Taiwan

  

"During his time in the Air Force, Bro. Young spent two years in South East Asia during the Vietnam War.  In January 1973, while stationed at Ching Chang Kang Air Force Base in Taichung, Taiwan, God called him to return to Taiwan as a missionary.  After returning to the United States, Bro. Young attended Grace Baptist Church in Springfield, MO where he met Sherry Willis.  One January 8, 1976, Maurice and Sherry were married at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Joplin, Missouri by Pastor Frank Showmaker.  They have seven children; Schillie, Mary, Sarah, Rebecca, John, Stephen and Charity.  On January 27, 1989, Maurice & Sherry Young and their family arrived in Taiwan as missionaries.

"Since their arrival in Taiwan in 1989 until this date, they have been actively involved in fulfilling the Great Commission in Taiwan and Mainland China.  During this time, the Lord has enabled them to start three Independent Baptist Churches and pastor a fourth one while a fellow missionary was home on furlough.  Romans 15:20 says, "Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation."  The Youngs have and will endeavor to start churches where there are no Independent Baptist Churches.  The Lord has also enabled Bro. Young to write two salvation tracts and two commentaries in Chinese.  

"During their latest term in Taiwan, they started the Victory Baptist Church in Hua Lien, Taiwan.  Their first church service was on September 23, 2007 and they are in the process of teaching a local Chinese man to take it over as pastor.  Through the leading of the Lord, the Youngs started Victory Baptist Church with no help from other missioanries or Chinese help.  Their goal is to preach the gospel, pass out tracts, teach the saved and establish Victory Baptist Church with a national Chinese pastor supported by the tithes and offerings of the Chinese People.  

"They have recently been joined in Taiwan by their daughter Rebecca Young as a single missionary.  She has started a Woman's Ministry at Victory Baptist Church.  In the future, she will be moving to another location to start a Woman's ministry that will later be turned into a local, New Testament, Independent Baptist Church.  The Young's currently have a Building Fund started to help the congregation purchase their own facilites.  If you would like to help the Youngs with the purchase of these facilities, you can send donations to Central Missionary Clearinghouse, PO Box 219228, Houston, TX  77218-9228.  Please put a note with the gift stating that it is designated for the Young's Building Fund. "     

               

It's strange. But it sounds to me like these people are operating entirely on their own. They kind of make a point of that, it seems to me.....

 

 

I’m not familiar with CMC specifically, but just glancing at the website, it looks very similar to BIMI which I AM familiar with. This is the organization that more or less doles out money to them. But chances are, they still have a sponsor/home church. With BIMI (and I would assume CMC is similar), you can’t just go to the organization and declare yourself a missionary and want to join. There has to be a church/pastor that sponsors you. Depending on the field, BIMI also had specific qualifications before you were able to serve as a missionary in a certain field/location. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by sugarplum

[Churchhoney]

14 minutes ago, sugarplum said:

I’m not familiar with CMC specifically, but just glancing at the website, it looks very similar to BIMI which I AM familiar with. This is the organization that more or less doles out money to them. But chances are, they still have a sponsor/home church. With BIMI (and I would assume CMC is similar), you can’t just go to the organization and declare yourself a missionary and want to join. There has to be a church/pastor that sponsors you. Depending on the field, BIMI also had specific qualifications before you were able to serve as a missionary in a certain field/location. 

I am surprised that as far as I can see,  none of the missionaries in that CMC list say anything about the churches or whoever who are their actual sponsors. .And that the story about the family in Taiwan kind of (to me, anyway) seems to imply that they've been working very much on their own. 

It's been my experience that churches are usually pleased about the missionaries they send out and support and like to talk about them and point to the connection.....

If you're sent out by a denomination like the SBC, for example, that fact -- and often the particular church from which you were sent -- seem to get mentioned pretty often......Partly, I guess, so congregants who don't do missions can feel part of them.......

So I'm confused about the lack of talking about that here......I've never seen the Rods refer to a sponsoring church or group at all, I don't think.......Which always has and still does seem strange to me. But I guess that must be the practice with IFB and other independent churches? .... Wonder why. I can't say I see why it would be so different. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Churchhoney

[Sew Sumi]

Yeah, the lack of sponsoring church seems rather glaring in this case. You'd think that Jill would give them a shout out every now and again, but it's been crickets. 

[sugarplum]

4 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

I am surprised that as far as I can see,  none of the missionaries in that CMC list say anything about the churches or whoever who are their actual sponsors. .And that the story about the family in Taiwan kind of (to me, anyway) seems to imply that they've been working very much on their own. 

It's been my experience that churches are usually pleased about the missionaries they sent out and liked to talk about them and point to the connection.....

If you're sent out by a denomination like the SBC, for example, that fact -- and often the particular church from which you were sent -- often seem to get mentioned......Partly, I guess, so congregants who don't do missions can feel part of them.......So I'm confused about the lack of talking about that here......I've never seen the Rods refer to a sponsoring church or group at all, I don't think.......Which always has and still does seem strange to me. But I guess that must be the practice with IFB and other independent churches? .... Wonder why. I can't say I see why it would be so different. 

Full disclaimer - I didn’t dig deep in the CMC website. I glanced/skimmed and looked at the FAQs. But I did see this, which kind of backs up the sponsoring church: (https://www.cmcmissions.org/about/faq)

 

[Churchhoney]

3 minutes ago, sugarplum said:

Full disclaimer - I didn’t dig deep in the CMC website. I glanced/skimmed and looked at the FAQs. But I did see this, which kind of backs up the sponsoring church: (https://www.cmcmissions.org/about/faq)

 

Thanks! I missed that. 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Churchhoney

[OpieTaylor]

On 1/2/2020 at 3:40 PM, Sew Sumi said:

The boys will probably sleep in the barn. 😔

Where are you seeing pics of their new house?

[sugarplum]

2 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Thanks! I missed that. 

 

No worries! You would think it would be more prominent on there. 🤷‍♀️

[Sew Sumi]

8 minutes ago, sugarplum said:

Full disclaimer - I didn’t dig deep in the CMC website. I glanced/skimmed and looked at the FAQs. But I did see this, which kind of backs up the sponsoring church: (https://www.cmcmissions.org/about/faq)

 

So, how will this affect them now that they will have a new home church? 

[sugarplum]

4 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

So, how will this affect them now that they will have a new home church? 

I’m not positive, but I would think where they are attending now wouldn’t matter unless they left the original sponsoring church under bad terms. The original church that sponsored them would still be their sponsor/sending church. Growing up, a young family in our church became missionaries to Newfoundland. The husband had grown up in our church. Our church commissioned them, but once they were in the field, when they returned home, they attended the church that his wife was from. They would visit our church anytime they were in the area, but when they came “home”, it was where her family was located - over an hour away from us. We remained their sponsor and stayed in close contact. But again, I’m not familiar with CMC, so I don’t know specifically how they would handle it. 

[sleepysuzy]

7 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

So, how will this affect them now that they will have a new home church? 

The sponsoring church doesn't have to be the home church (where they attend), depending on the structure of their organization. My denomination has a network of sponsoring churches assigned to each missionary family. Since we sponsor them in the field, there are rules about what they can do during deputation that vary from sponsoring to non-sponsoring churches. During deputation,  they are often required to raise enough funds for a year or more when they return to the field. It usually is all laid out in the church bylaws. 

[Sew Sumi]

That makes sense. I just had the thought that this organization might be different. 

[queenanne]

6 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

I am surprised that as far as I can see,  none of the missionaries in that CMC list say anything about the churches or whoever who are their actual sponsors. .And that the story about the family in Taiwan kind of (to me, anyway) seems to imply that they've been working very much on their own. 

Well, from reading the description it sounds like the Taiwan-based family is actually doing something tangible (four church plantings); and have also acquired a respectable working knowledge of Chinese, so there's that separating them from the Rods.

8 hours ago, sugarplum said:

As I said, I’m no longer a part of this lifestyle and haven’t been for years, but I spent the better part of 25 years as a fundie and am happy to answer questions as best as I can from my experience. 

Glad to have you here.  I grew up in mainstream generic "Bible-believing" fundie-adjacent, and the idea of "domestic missionaries" is completely (no pun intended) foreign to me.  This has clarified a lot for me, as my church would never have thought of sponsoring USA-based missionaries or making it official that they were doing so, I'm used to reading about the exploits of so-and-so in Indonesia or Japan on a weekly basis in the church bulletin.  (I, personally, also don't think the Rod parents do enough good or are industrious enough that the congregation members should give them anything; but if this is "a thing", I guess this is "a thing"; and that it's A-OK not to produce any results and then, I assume, claim that we'll never really "know" the reach of their cheap homemade tract-papering and only God does - not being mean here, we've seen exemplars of David's skill.  I can't imagine any heathen doing more than laughing at the sight of the tracts and their unprofessionalism; so it all seems like a big delusional grift to us that nobody should be supporting with love offerings.)

Edited January 5, 2020 by queenanne

[Zella]

The discussion of domestic missionaries is very interesting to me too.

The churches I attended as a kid were non-denominational but really of a Pentecostal bent, though my relatives were not Pentecostal. The churches were independent and didn't have the level of hierarchy or related churches that one would see in a more mainstream denomination.

So, there were never missionaries, but it was not uncommon for people who were preachers to make the rounds of these churches, usually through word of mouth as people would attend revivals or evening services elsewhere and meet other people of a similar mind and then invite them to come or have them recommended by people they trusted. Many of them also either sang or had wives or kids who sang or played instruments. Unlike the Rodrigues family, many of them were quite talented musicians. 

I met a lot of perfectly nice, sincere people who did this and essentially all their free time from work revolved around making the rounds in numerous churches throughout rural NW Arkansas/SW Missouri. Didn't necessarily agree with their theology or their politics, but they were often well-meaning folks. And they often were very well-treated by the congregations they visited. 

However, I also met some scam artists extraordinaire this way, and they could bilk a gullible but generous congregation for a lot. Like, there was one family that actually reminds me some of the Rods, with much fewer children, who sat up camp in one church because they could see it was a real cash cow.

It took years to root them out, but they scammed food, restaurant meals, housing, vehicles (including a motorcycle), God knows how much cash, clothing, and even job opportunities (which never lasted long because these bastards were lazy as hell) off the congregation. That's not to mention the offering money regularly going to them for their preaching and musical "efforts." While they had this going, it didn't stop them from hitting up other churches. 

I can totally see the Rodrigues family making similar rounds--and being at an advantage in apparently having a much larger territory to make those rounds and some additional status as "missionaries"--and bilking well-meaning people into generously handing over a lot of freebies. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Zella

[Oldernowiser]

7 hours ago, Zella said:

I can totally see the Rodrigues family making similar rounds--and being at an advantage in apparently having a much larger territory to make those rounds and some additional status as "missionaries"--and bilking well-meaning people into generously handing over a lot of freebies. 

And it certainly doesn’t hurt the grift to have a passel of hollow-eyed, dark-circled skinny waifs singing for handouts.

[Zella]

Just now, Oldernowiser said:

And it certainly doesn’t hurt the grift to have a passel of hollow-eyed, dark-circled skinny waifs singing for handouts.

Agreed! The family I knew always had a sad story, and the kids were kind of pathetic. Even people who didn't like the parents would give them stuff for the sake of kids. I seriously doubt they got whatever they were given, though. 

[Jeeves]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

Agreed! The family I knew always had a sad story, and the kids were kind of pathetic. Even people who didn't like the parents would give them stuff for the sake of kids. I seriously doubt they got whatever they were given, though. 

Sad, but I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. I learned a lot from the book "The Sociopath Next Door." First, a sociopath has no empathy or conscience although they can fake it, and they are basically running their game, whatever it is, on people. Also, the number one ploy sociopaths use to manipulate regular people (i.e., people who have a conscience), is: pity. I'm sure those parents didn't spare a minutes' worth of worry over using their kids that way. 

This has been an interesting discussion of the Rods and how "ministry" plays out in fundie evangelical churches. I don't have a fundie background but there are lots of Southern Baptists in my extended family. Because sharing the Word (proselytizing) is an integral part of the theology, and most people are busy working and raising families, etc., evangelicals are disposed to be grateful to those who "sacrifice" to be missionaries. It can help them feel less guilty that they aren't spending time proselytizing themselves. 

I do wonder if JillR has deputized herself and her family, vs. being deputized by a church. Didn't the Rodriguii leave a church in NY after David got crosswise with the leadership? I can't imagine JillR not broadcasting the name of a church that has deputized them (or whatever the word is) to be missionaries. I mean, the woman can't take a swallow of Plexus or serve her kids half a piece of pie without posting it on social media. She's a self-promoting shameless grifter, and she can holler Jesus all day real loud but that doesn't change what she is. 

[GeeGolly]

For all we know the JRods were deputized by the church that ran them out. Once deputized, forever deputized, in JillR's book.

[Lady Edith]

Ok. So can we revisit the new Rod house?  There are a few things I’ve been mulling over:

1. My significant other lives near Wooster.  I looked up the new Rod house on Zillow (based on the info here and other places) and it’s not a far drive from his home.  Close enough that when I’m there, it’s a pretty good chance we will run into them at the store or a local “good” Olive Garden.  WHYYYYYYYY?!?!  
2. In my profession I work closely with printers. I frequently visit print shops of all sizes and volumes.  There is a definite...odor.  Shrek has a small offset press, one that requires the use of ink (not toner, as in a desktop printer you may have in your home).  If you have never had the pleasure of smelling offset ink, it’s, well, reminiscent of the smell of those old black permanent markers.  Only stronger.  The kind of smell that permeates everything and makes your chest warm and your head swimmy.  The newer soy-based inks have a slightly lesser smell but there are still VOCs being let loose into the air. It’s not something you want to be around for extended periods of time without proper ventilation.  That being said, living above the shop is going to prove to be a stinky and possibly not so healthy proposal. Unless David installs some heavy duty exhaust into the shop, the Off gassing from the ink will go up through the floor and into their living area. I see a lot of upper respiratory infections in their future. Or worse. I have friends in the industry who have serious health issues from years of breathing in ink fumes.  I hope for the kids’ sake he has an exhaust system planned!
3. And honestly, opening the doors to the garage for exhaust is not an option.  To properly print offset, the paper must be completely flat. As in no waves or curls.  Wavy paper results from humidity and temperature fluctuations.  Printers have equipment to monitor humidity in their closed production floors so that the $$$ they spend on paper is not wasted. David could potentially lose all of the smiley face tract paper if he kept the big door open for even just a little while.  

[Heathen]

45 minutes ago, Lady Edith said:

Ok. So can we revisit the new Rod house?  There are a few things I’ve been mulling over:

1. My significant other lives near Wooster.  I looked up the new Rod house on Zillow (based on the info here and other places) and it’s not a far drive from his home.  Close enough that when I’m there, it’s a pretty good chance we will run into them at the store or a local “good” Olive Garden.  WHYYYYYYYY?!?!  
2. In my profession I work closely with printers. I frequently visit print shops of all sizes and volumes.  There is a definite...odor.  Shrek has a small offset press, one that requires the use of ink (not toner, as in a desktop printer you may have in your home).  If you have never had the pleasure of smelling offset ink, it’s, well, reminiscent of the smell of those old black permanent markers.  Only stronger.  The kind of smell that permeates everything and makes your chest warm and your head swimmy.  The newer soy-based inks have a slightly lesser smell but there are still VOCs being let loose into the air. It’s not something you want to be around for extended periods of time without proper ventilation.  That being said, living above the shop is going to prove to be a stinky and possibly not so healthy proposal. Unless David installs some heavy duty exhaust into the shop, the Off gassing from the ink will go up through the floor and into their living area. I see a lot of upper respiratory infections in their future. Or worse. I have friends in the industry who have serious health issues from years of breathing in ink fumes.  I hope for the kids’ sake he has an exhaust system planned!
3. And honestly, opening the doors to the garage for exhaust is not an option.  To properly print offset, the paper must be completely flat. As in no waves or curls.  Wavy paper results from humidity and temperature fluctuations.  Printers have equipment to monitor humidity in their closed production floors so that the $$$ they spend on paper is not wasted. David could potentially lose all of the smiley face tract paper if he kept the big door open for even just a little while.  

But but but GAWD will provide!

[tabloidlover]

I have a SERIOUSLY SEVERE question...   Why does Jilly ask questions of her followers in her posts when she has commenting turned off?  
 

 

[sleepysuzy]

7 minutes ago, tabloidlover said:

I have a SERIOUSLY SEVERE question...   Why does Jilly ask questions of her followers in her posts when she has commenting turned off?  
 

 

I think she often cross-posts to Facebook, where her friends can comment. 

[GeeGolly]

Is Mr Rod signing an autograph?!