The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie

[Albanyguy]

11 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I don't see how the Vuolo parents could afford to support Jing and Jer unless they moved in with them. He's a preacher and she's a part-time musician - they seem very middle class to me, which in this day and age is more lower middle class.

I suppose that Chuck could give Jeremy a job as his assistant and let his church pay Jeremy a modest salary. They could do a nice little "father and son preachers" schtick (like Billy and Franklin Graham or Jerry Falwell Senior and Junior) and when Chuck retires, Jeremy could step right into his shoes. That kind of nepotism wouldn't fly with a lot of mainstream Protestant churches, but Fundie pastors usually seem to dominate their congregations and get their own way. 

[Churchhoney]

18 minutes ago, Albanyguy said:

I suppose that Chuck could give Jeremy a job as his assistant and let his church pay Jeremy a modest salary. They could do a nice little "father and son preachers" schtick (like Billy and Franklin Graham or Jerry Falwell Senior and Junior) and when Chuck retires, Jeremy could step right into his shoes. That kind of nepotism wouldn't fly with a lot of mainstream Protestant churches, but Fundie pastors usually seem to dominate their congregations and get their own way. 

Yeah, he probably could if there's any money left over. But I think "modest" might be a compliment to the kind of salary Chuck could rustle up. At this point, according to the interwebs, there are already two pastors involved. And they've got a congregation of 100 people in a rented building........And their three main outreach programs seem to be for falling-away Amish, single/widowed/divorced women in a sort of rural area, and prisoners. Not much money coming in through those enterprises....Meanwhile, .I'd bet actual money that Jer's got his sights set on something significantly bigger, which is why he's been conspicuously hanging around the honchos of a megachurch-for-the-well-off in LA!

"When you visit New Life Community Church you will find a friendly gathering of serious disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are a group of about one hundred people currently meeting in rented facilities at Beachmont Christian Camp in Kingsville. On Sunday mornings we begin the day with a class for adults and young people, Sunday School classes for children ages 4-12, and a nursery for infants and young children.

"Our morning service is a time of joyful, reverent, and Bible-saturated worship of our great God. We sing a blend of solid traditional hymns, spiritual songs, and scriptural Psalms. You’ll find us dressed in anything from suits and dresses to shorts and slacks. Within the bounds of the biblically directed elements of worship, various men lead our time of worship with a range of format and order.

"Preaching responsibilities are primarily provided by Pastor Paul Hamilton and Pastor Chuck Vuolo. The Lord’s Supper is currently observed on the second and fourth Sundays in the morning service. We are in the practice of enjoying a fellowship meal on the first Sunday of the month, after which we have the afternoon prayer service and then dismiss for the day.

"Home groups meet during the week in members’ homes. In these more informal settings we seek to “know, grow, and show.” We study and discuss the Bible with the goal to increase our knowledge of God’s Word and one another. We grow in our understanding of the Scriptures and the use of our spiritual gifts. We pray together and look for opportunities to show the love of Christ in the Gospel to others.

"We have sensed the Lord’s blessing on our activities and services, and we invite you to come join us!"

http://www.newlifemd.org/what-to-expect/

Edited December 31, 2018 by Churchhoney

[bythelake]

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Chuck has never worked for a mainstream denomination nor has he ever been part of a megachurch; so it is doubtful he has any sort of retirement plan/pension other than what he managed to save on his own.  Diana seems to have mainly done part-time, free lance work, so it is unlikely she has any retirement plan from that.  Even if they were very frugal and saved a lot over the years, they still would've never made a huge income and it is unlikely they have a huge nest egg.  I seriously doubt that they have the sort of savings that could support their adult son and his family for any length of time; even if they all lived together. 

When the show ends, I suspect that many of the kids will go about earning a living the same way their parents did before TV: running around to various fundie churches and religious organizations with their hands out, expecting to be supported because they are so special to God.  See also: Jill Rodrigues.

After my previous post, I searched the tax records for Chester County, Pa. The Vuolo’s home in Downingtown, purchased in 2002, is taxed at 362k, and assessed at over 400k. That’s a big chunk of change for a small town preacher.

Maybe, Diana comes from a wealthy family ?

[galaxychaser]

I don’t think Jeremy and wife will have many kids. I see 2-4 total. 

[Churchhoney]

14 minutes ago, bythelake said:

After my previous post, I searched the tax records for Chester County, Pa. The Vuolo’s home in Downingtown, purchased in 2002, is taxed at 362k, and assessed at over 400k. That’s a big chunk of change for a small town preacher.

Maybe, Diana comes from a wealthy family ?

Yeah, I agree. That -- plus the fact that all three kids chose money-isn't-that-vital fields, i.e., arts and theology -- makes me wonder whether there might be a decent family inheritance on one or even both sides of the family.........

Depending on the situation of people in the age bracket of Chuck's and Diana's parents, they wouldn't even need to have been real moguls to accumulate a fair chunk of change to pass on, especially if they had a fairly small number of kids. 

A lot of frugal, hard-working, competent or even mainly lucky people of that generation were able to accumulate a decent amount of money because of the way the markets and the American economy rose over their lifetimes, the availability of well-paid union jobs, the general frugality a lot of them had, and so on. Maybe two or even all four grandparents were decently fixed because of real wealth or because of factors like that. 

Edited December 31, 2018 by Churchhoney

[LilJen]

4 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

For the sake of the third-generation Duggarlings, I hope that the second-generation Duggarlings have as clear-eyed a view of the future as people around here have. 

I sometimes wonder how seriously any of them consider their future possibilities and options. 

If/when they have any doubts, they will simply be encouraged to "pray about it" and "have faith" that something will happen to keep them in the black. And if they actually do practical things about it, such as looking into career training or cutting back on Starbucks or looking at their asset/debt bottom line, they'll be chastised for their "lack of faith." We can only hope that at least one of them understands that this is a toxic view of faith/Christianity.

[FizzyPuff]

On 30/12/2018 at 6:34 PM, Christina87 said:

As a millennial, before Jeremy gives our whole generation a bad rep...this level of self-obsession is not normal!

I’d rather he was obsessed with himself then those sermons he thinks anyone wants to listen to 😖

[Albanyguy]

2 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

Yeah, he probably could if there's any money left over. But I think "modest" might be a compliment to the kind of salary Chuck could rustle up. At this point, according to the interwebs, there are already two pastors involved. And they've got a congregation of 100 people in a rented building........And their three main outreach programs seem to be for falling-away Amish, single/widowed/divorced women in a sort of rural area, and prisoners. Not much money coming in through those enterprises....

Churchhoney, thanks for the info. For some reason, I was under the impression that he ran a bigger church with a more prosperous congregation; more of a "prosperity gospel" type of outfit. 

[Churchhoney]

5 minutes ago, Albanyguy said:

Churchhoney, thanks for the info. For some reason, I was under the impression that he ran a bigger church with a more prosperous congregation; more of a "prosperity gospel" type of outfit. 

Yeah, now that you mention it, that rings a bell with me, too. I think numerous accounts of what he does have gone around over time.... Maybe he did something like that earlier. I think I do remember that he hasn't been at this particular tiny church for a lot of years... Maybe we heard that he came from a bigger, richer church before this gig. 

In any case, what he's got now is tiny -- and already has two pastors!

35 minutes ago, Puffin said:

I’d rather he was obsessed with himself then those sermons he thinks anyone wants to listen to 😖

Now, see, I kind of thought he gave those sermons partly because he's obsessed with himself!  ;  )

[DangerousMinds]

Too bad his sermons make no sense.

[Churchhoney]

32 minutes ago, DangerousMinds said:

Too bad his sermons make no sense.

You realize that reason merely exists to test the strength of our faith, right? Our obsession with trying to make sense of a sermon is merely a testament to our ungodliness. lol

Edited December 31, 2018 by Churchhoney

[DangerousMinds]

Since I have no faith, I make the mistake of trying to actually understand what he is trying to say. And I never do!

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, bythelake said:

After my previous post, I searched the tax records for Chester County, Pa. The Vuolo’s home in Downingtown, purchased in 2002, is taxed at 362k, and assessed at over 400k. That’s a big chunk of change for a small town preacher.

Maybe, Diana comes from a wealthy family ?

If they purchased in 2002, they paid a whole lot less than 400k, maybe half that since housing prices in the greater Philly area have risen considerably in the past couple decades. It also depends on what their down payment was.  Presuming they put 20% down and have paid their mortgage without borrowing against the house, they could have a goodly amount of equity there. This is, of course, not a liquid asset; though they could borrow against it if the need arises.  However, based on my own experiences knowing a lot of doctors with big, showy homes, there are a heckuvalot of people out there with very nice homes mortgaged to the hilt.  Perhaps they sold a previous home or got an inheritance or gift from family to make the down payment on their current house, that's how most people do it; but I wouldn't assume that it means they come from enough money to secure the future not only for themselves but for their son and his family.  A 400k house in Philly doesn't scream 'family money' to me.

[ginger90]

18 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

If they purchased in 2002, they paid a whole lot less than 400k, maybe half that since housing prices in the greater Philly area have risen considerably in the past couple decades. It also depends on what their down payment was.  Presuming they put 20% down and have paid their mortgage without borrowing against the house, they could have a goodly amount of equity there. This is, of course, not a liquid asset; though they could borrow against it if the need arises.  However, based on my own experiences knowing a lot of doctors with big, showy homes, there are a heckuvalot of people out there with very nice homes mortgaged to the hilt.  Perhaps they sold a previous home or got an inheritance or gift from family to make the down payment on their current house, that's how most people do it; but I wouldn't assume that it means they come from enough money to secure the future not only for themselves but for their son and his family.  A 400k house in Philly doesn't scream 'family money' to me.

The Voulos paid $197,000.

 

My parent’s house sold for over $500,000 in 2013. They bought it in 1960 for $17,500, and they were nervous about that at the time!

Edited January 1, 2019 by ginger90

[Churchhoney]

42 minutes ago, DangerousMinds said:

Since I have no faith, I make the mistake of trying to actually understand what he is trying to say. And I never do!

moi aussi

[DangerousMinds]

Not sure how he will ever “convert “anyone when no one can comprehend his message.

[Sew Sumi]

Every Sunday that he's at GCC, I really do try to watch/listen to him. Every Sunday, I last five minutes, tops, before my brain starts to glaze over. His overuse of fifty cent words and "brethren" are huge turn offs. I pity the parishioner whose first language is not English. He relies almost solely on his notes, only occasionally looking up to make eye contact with his ...brethren. Jeremy pontificates for himself. I'm sure he loves the sound of his own voice. 

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

Not sure how he will ever “convert “anyone when no one can comprehend his message.

I personally hope he never becomes a better speaker.  The only people who would be impressed enough by Jeremy's preaching at this point to consider converting would be asshatted twits with the same self righteous sense of importance that Jeremy exhibits.

[Loves2Dance]

11 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

For the sake of the third-generation Duggarlings, I hope that the second-generation Duggarlings have as clear-eyed a view of the future as people around here have. 

I sometimes wonder how seriously any of them consider their future possibilities and options. 

It's the third generation that will bring the most change to the Duggar brand. It's always the third generation that takes a look around, says no thank you and rebels. 

[Sew Sumi]

I noticed during the Christmas musical that they're in a new place and from a wider eye, saw more than 25 people. I wonder how many people Jinger's fame brought through the turnstiles? 

[kalamac]

Maybe the reason Jeremy manages to spend so many Sundays away from his church is that his higher ups have noticed what a dismal speaker he is, and have been gently encouraging him to 'help' guest preachers by letting them lead the service.

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 5:15 PM, OpieTaylor said:

This really galls me for some reason - they’ve been to San Antonio at least a couple of times before. They just spent time in Philly. So WHY did they choose another vacation this weekend???

I'm guessing it was another grift, er gift from a friend.

[RedheadZombie]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 9:01 PM, PikaScrewChu said:

Someone was posting a while back about how we all thought that JB would never marry off the J'Slaves and Joy. I truly thought that too. I think what they have as a set up is almost worse because we know most of the children are going to be heavily reliant on JB and Michelle for $$$ once the TV money finally dries up. Now Derick and Jeremy could go out and get actual jobs, but neither seems like job type people. We don't know about Ben but he was heavily groomed to be at TLC's beck and call at such a young age that it may be hard for him to find actual employment when it comes down to the wire.

The daughter-in-laws so far seem to be from families looking to get rid of another mouth to feed. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of Kendra or Lauren's sisters married off to the twins and Jason in short order.

But unlike Jingle and Babe with their designer clothing and constant vacationing, Ben and Jessa seem to actually live within their means.  I feel like they have a good chance of surviving off of a Ben paycheck.

[ChiCricket]

1 hour ago, RedheadZombie said:

But unlike Jingle and Babe with their designer clothing and constant vacationing, Ben and Jessa seem to actually live within their means.  I feel like they have a good chance of surviving off of a Ben paycheck.

Fair point. 

[GeeGolly]

1 hour ago, RedheadZombie said:

But unlike Jingle and Babe with their designer clothing and constant vacationing, Ben and Jessa seem to actually live within their means.  I feel like they have a good chance of surviving off of a Ben paycheck.

If he gets a job now. Supporting a family on one minimum wage paycheck is very difficult.

[Churchhoney]

On 12/31/2018 at 11:45 PM, Sew Sumi said:

I noticed during the Christmas musical that they're in a new place and from a wider eye, saw more than 25 people. I wonder how many people Jinger's fame brought through the turnstiles? 

The church website now lists a new address. They've moved out of the house and into a commercial-type building. 

The Duggar draw must be working....Because nobody's going for those sermons ... 

Either that or the "pregnancy help center" they share the building with is getting more traffic these days -- or whoever is paying for it (Grace Community Church San Antonio, I would think) figured out that the old location was bringing nobody in. I don't think I've ever seen another of those centers in a place that looked so residential as the old church/house. The ones I've seen tend to be in small  commercial areas with parking lots, and that's what they've got now. I expect that would increase traffic by a lot. 

EMLTA; Seem to be quite a few changes on the church website. ... Here's a page with sermons (although a lot of them seem to be talks, not sermons) of which only a few are by Jer, several people appear and a guy named Josh Buice has by far the most talks put up there. At least some of these begin with Jer asking Josh a question and Josh (who is at some Baptist church -- that doesn't mention anything Calvinist in its name, though I'd think it must have something....)

Things have changed a lot recently, it would seem. The website has a whole different flavor.... Looks like maybe the San Antonio church decided to make the whole enterprise -- both the pregnancy center and the church -- more professional and upscale-and larger-looking or something....That could be in response to pulling in more members or in not pulling in as many as you'd like so trying another strategy, I guess.  https://www.gcclaredo.com/sermons/

EELTA:  Okay, Josh Buice does use the Calvinist code word "grace" in some of his stuff. And now I really get the connection. He's hot and heavy as a member of the anti-social-justice coalition that created the letter Jer signed and promoted.....

And he's really really big on "'complementarian" roles for women and men.... AKA, Get Out of the Pulpit, You Uppity Women...and Also Stop Complaining That You've Been Oppressed (And Everybody Else Who Speaks of Oppression (POC, I'm Looking At You) Should Shut Up Too Because That's Ungodly)....Traditional Male Headship FTW!

 http://www.deliveredbygrace.com/the-rise-in-women-preachers-and-what-you-should-know/

He's a hero of Jer's, clearly. And it's now quite clear that Jer's signing of the anti-social-justice letter was no casual act but quite central to his views. 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Churchhoney

[magpye29]

All right, JinJer, I'm ready for some cute new photos of Felicity!

[Catfin]

7 minutes ago, magpye29 said:

All right, JinJer, I'm ready for some cute new photos of Felicity!

I’d much rather see pictures of that little one! Sadly, I just had the zolt  of insight that this is no different than what JB and Bitchelle did: whoring out their cute kids for attention and PR. We may be part of the problem by giving them attention.

[Ohiopirate02]

40 minutes ago, Catfin said:

I’d much rather see pictures of that little one! Sadly, I just had the zolt  of insight that this is no different than what JB and Bitchelle did: whoring out their cute kids for attention and PR. We may be part of the problem by giving them attention.

I don't know.  They are posting like all parents in their age bracket with just one kid.   At least they are only posting cute pictures and not constantly blogging about every disgusting little detail about Felicity like some parents.  

[Fallacy]

Reading through the church’s statement of faith, I can tell that church is 100% Calvinist. They’ve got all five letters of CalvIn’s TULIP embedded in their page:

https://www.gcclaredo.com/our-mission/

And here’s the background information on the TULIP for comparison:

https://www.calvinistcorner.com/tulip.htm

The Puritans were Calvinists by the way, but your more progressive Christian churches today subscribe more to Arminianism. https://www.thoughtco.com/calvinism-vs-arminianism-700526

In short, Jeremy believes he is one of God’s “elect” so he really does think he was chosen by God. 

[Nysha]

14 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I personally hope he never becomes a better speaker.  The only people who would be impressed enough by Jeremy's preaching at this point to consider converting would be asshatted twits with the same self righteous sense of importance that Jeremy exhibits.

Amen! Regardless of how most of us see Jeremy, to millennial Christians, he looks extremely successful and competent. If the school he is getting his master's degree from manages to polish up his preaching and teach him how to fake charm and charisma, he is going to reach his (perceived) goal of heading a megachurch. 

I don't think Jeremy's pride would let him allow him to use his parents for support, and his obvious disdain for his inlaws will keep him from moving into the TTH under Jim Bob's authority. If he can't make it as a preacher, he'll find another field that will support him and his family. He's the most wordly of the inlaws and has a wide range of contacts. There is no way he, Jinger, and their children will be living on a stink bus, surviving on love offerings and potluck dinners.  When the TLC money train stops, I foresee him moving into a gated community with strict instructions to keep anyone named Duggar or married to a Duggar from gaining entrance.

[Churchhoney]

41 minutes ago, Nysha said:

Amen! Regardless of how most of us see Jeremy, to millennial Christians, he looks extremely successful and competent. If the school he is getting his master's degree from manages to polish up his preaching and teach him how to fake charm and charisma, he is going to reach his (perceived) goal of heading a megachurch. 

I don't think Jeremy's pride would let him allow him to use his parents for support, and his obvious disdain for his inlaws will keep him from moving into the TTH under Jim Bob's authority. If he can't make it as a preacher, he'll find another field that will support him and his family. He's the most wordly of the inlaws and has a wide range of contacts. There is no way he, Jinger, and their children will be living on a stink bus, surviving on love offerings and potluck dinners.  When the TLC money train stops, I foresee him moving into a gated community with strict instructions to keep anyone named Duggar or married to a Duggar from gaining entrance.

lol

[cmr2014]

58 minutes ago, Fallacy said:

Reading through the church’s statement of faith, I can tell that church is 100% Calvinist. They’ve got all five letters of CalvIn’s TULIP embedded in their page:

https://www.gcclaredo.com/our-mission/

And here’s the background information on the TULIP for comparison:

https://www.calvinistcorner.com/tulip.htm

The Puritans were Calvinists by the way, but your more progressive Christian churches today subscribe more to Arminianism. https://www.thoughtco.com/calvinism-vs-arminianism-700526

In short, Jeremy believes he is one of God’s “elect” so he really does think he was chosen by God. 

I just don't see how this will work out for him. If he wants to be a pastor of a mega-church, then he needs to preach the prosperity gospel -- that gets bodies into seats. People want to hear that God loves them and wants them to have a McMansion and a boat, not that God hates them and has already condemned them to hell. All of Jeremy's lifestyle suggests that he wants to preach the prosperity gospel, too -- look, God loves me so much that I have a nice house, and nice clothes, and travel all the time, and almost never work!

There just aren't enough pulpits to go around, either. Evangelical Christianity is contracting, not growing. A young man who wants to step into Joel Olesteen's shoes needs more charisma than Jeremy, or Ben, or Derick. It may be the culture that surrounds them leads them to believe that EVERYONE is an evangelical Christian, and there is an endless need for more preachers. This lack of exposure to actual facts may also explain why Derick thinks law school is a good investment even though there is already a glut of young lawyers.

[Albanyguy]

6 minutes ago, cmr2014 said:

There just aren't enough pulpits to go around, either. Evangelical Christianity is contracting, not growing. A young man who wants to step into Joel Olesteen's shoes needs more charisma than Jeremy, or Ben, or Derick. It may be the culture that surrounds them leads them to believe that EVERYONE is an evangelical Christian, and there is an endless need for more preachers. This lack of exposure to actual facts may also explain why Derick thinks law school is a good investment even though there is already a glut of young lawyers.

True. The time to get a foot in the door of Big Time Evangelical Celebrity Preachers was about twenty years ago. That ship has clearly sailed.

[Churchhoney]

23 minutes ago, cmr2014 said:

I just don't see how this will work out for him. If he wants to be a pastor of a mega-church, then he needs to preach the prosperity gospel -- that gets bodies into seats. People want to hear that God loves them and wants them to have a McMansion and a boat, not that God hates them and has already condemned them to hell. All of Jeremy's lifestyle suggests that he wants to preach the prosperity gospel, too -- look, God loves me so much that I have a nice house, and nice clothes, and travel all the time, and almost never work!

There just aren't enough pulpits to go around, either. Evangelical Christianity is contracting, not growing. A young man who wants to step into Joel Olesteen's shoes needs more charisma than Jeremy, or Ben, or Derick. It may be the culture that surrounds them leads them to believe that EVERYONE is an evangelical Christian, and there is an endless need for more preachers. This lack of exposure to actual facts may also explain why Derick thinks law school is a good investment even though there is already a glut of young lawyers.

^^^ This. While it is absolutely true that their churches are now shrinking, that's not what some of the most influential people in the movement are focusing on at all. Instead, they're focusing on what they envision as a strengthening influence -- even if the numbers may be waning a bit. 

 I think they're very much encouraged to think that their faith is still a growing movement -- and that while it has many potent enemies and while some weak-souled apostates are leaving the pews or embracing heresies like a "social justice" Christianity,  the conservative church is actually now gathering steam to fight back strongly against those enemies and win.... There are a lot of people in their orbit -- and in Jer's especially -- predicting a big new revival movement in America. And on the law end, there are also a lot of people saying that conservative Protestants are finally getting a strong foothold in public life so they can promote their agenda as never before.

It's an integral part of their belief to think the big battle is coming, probably coming soon, and that Jesus more or less promises them that they'll win. So they basically have to believe those things, I think. And it all implies that soldiers are badly needed on both the church front and the legal/political front -- and so they're signing up for the big battle in various ways. 

To feel you're part of such a huge and universally important mission has to give you a big self-esteem boost, I think. And we know how insecure Der is, while the hat collection and carefully manicured photographs, especially the ones with theological reading matter, suggest to me that Jer is probably pretty insecure is well. I know they're hearing all this stuff, because I've heard it a lot over the past few years in research I've done, and I can definitely see the deep attraction it must have for them....

Having a vision like that makes it really easy to ignore mere numbers, I think. 

Edited January 1, 2019 by Churchhoney

[Temperance]

5 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I don't know.  They are posting like all parents in their age bracket with just one kid.   At least they are only posting cute pictures and not constantly blogging about every disgusting little detail about Felicity like some parents.  

But they're not posting them merely for family and friends.  They're posting them for the public, the fans, and the entire world to coo at. And then using to hide some shady beliefs. 

[Christina87]

On 12/31/2018 at 4:37 PM, Churchhoney said:

Yeah, I agree. That -- plus the fact that all three kids chose money-isn't-that-vital fields, i.e., arts and theology -- makes me wonder whether there might be a decent family inheritance on one or even both sides of the family.........

Depending on the situation of people in the age bracket of Chuck's and Diana's parents, they wouldn't even need to have been real moguls to accumulate a fair chunk of change to pass on, especially if they had a fairly small number of kids. 

A lot of frugal, hard-working, competent or even mainly lucky people of that generation were able to accumulate a decent amount of money because of the way the markets and the American economy rose over their lifetimes, the availability of well-paid union jobs, the general frugality a lot of them had, and so on. Maybe two or even all four grandparents were decently fixed because of real wealth or because of factors like that. 

This has ALWAYS been my theory!!! Jeremy to me doesn't seem like new money. I get a strong, STRONG vibe that he is used to shopping at brooks brothers, and has never set foot inside a dollar general. He seems like he comes from money, and isn't planning to live without it. I've always suspected that one or more of the parents has wealth on their side. His parents give me the vibe too of people who are in the doctor / lawyer class, with the way they dress and carry themselves. 

[ginger90]

[GeeGolly]

I'm not thinking Jeremy is from old money, I think he just has expensive taste. IMO, looking at lifestyles and attire really doesn't give a peak into where the money comes from when we're talking upper middle class. And even college choices - if you were never poor, and I don't think Jeremy and his parents were, choosing a field you interested in seems just as logical as going for the money. I think Jeremy was raised in a typical middle class family.

[Zahdii]

4 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Good thing they had God on their side, they'd never have been able to have all that stuff happen otherwise.

[DangerousMinds]

4 hours ago, Zahdii said:

Good thing they had God on their side, they'd never have been able to have all that stuff happen otherwise.

Sure, “god” is kind to them, but what about all of those poor kids in camps and dying at the border? 

[floridamom]

Oh, Jinger, please grow up. You're a mother now, sweetie. Drop all the childish emojis. Glad that life is just one goodie goodie gum drop after another for you, girl.

You haven't experienced life yet. If Jeremy lets you, maybe you will one day.

[Churchhoney]

5 hours ago, Zahdii said:

Good thing they had God on their side, they'd never have been able to have all that stuff happen otherwise.

I'm sure God was especially excited about the gender reveal party. 

ELTA: Looks to me that maybe all the stuff she liked was or will be on TeeVee. ... So...you know....pretending to write something personal but actually it's just advertising.......I wonder if avoiding this kind of uncomfortable straddle is why some of the younger married Duggarlings stay farther from social media? 

Here she is writing this thing about what's supposedly been most meaningful in her life in 2018, and all mention of Jer's church congregation, for example, is conspicuous by its absence.... Or maybe they really don't mean anything to the pastor's wife......Either way it's kind of depressing to me. 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Churchhoney

[DangerousMinds]

1 hour ago, floridamom said:

Oh, Jinger, please grow up. You're a mother now, sweetie. Drop all the childish emojis. Glad that life is just one goodie goodie gum drop after another for you, girl.

You haven't experienced life yet. If Jeremy lets you, maybe you will one day.

Someone tell Jessa about the emojis, too.🤣

[Loves2Dance]

On 1/1/2019 at 7:02 AM, GeeGolly said:

If he gets a job now. Supporting a family on one minimum wage paycheck is very difficult.

For the average family it would be, but I don't believe the Seewalds have a mortgage or a car payment. Take away two of the larger bills most households have and that leaves you with utilities, cell phone, food/clothes and entertainment.  

[Sew Sumi]

1 hour ago, Loves2Dance said:

For the average family it would be, but I don't believe the Seewalds have a mortgage or a car payment. Take away two of the larger bills most households have and that leaves you with utilities, cell phone, food/clothes and entertainment.  

Guess who DOES have a mortgage? That's right...the Vuolos. It's not as much as it could be (they used TLC $$$ to put down about 50%). Still, it's an expense beyond clothes, travel, and seminary tuition.

[PikaScrewChu]

On 1/1/2019 at 2:00 PM, cmr2014 said:

There just aren't enough pulpits to go around, either. Evangelical Christianity is contracting, not growing. A young man who wants to step into Joel Olesteen's shoes needs more charisma than Jeremy, or Ben, or Derick. It may be the culture that surrounds them leads them to believe that EVERYONE is an evangelical Christian, and there is an endless need for more preachers. This lack of exposure to actual facts may also explain why Derick thinks law school is a good investment even though there is already a glut of young lawyers.

I was watching a documentary on Elizabeth II last night and about how she invited Billy Graham for a private audience when he visited the UK in the 1950s. It lead to a friendship that lasted until Graham's death. Anyway, they were showing old footage of Graham and he was very charismatic when preaching in London. Now it's a different time and Billy Graham probably had a lot less competition than he would have had he be starting out today. He also seemed to have a plan to succeed, while it seems none of those three have one.

[Churchhoney]

33 minutes ago, PikaScrewChu said:

I was watching a documentary on Elizabeth II last night and about how she invited Billy Graham for a private audience when he visited the UK in the 1950s. It lead to a friendship that lasted until Graham's death. Anyway, they were showing old footage of Graham and he was very charismatic when preaching in London. Now it's a different time and Billy Graham probably had a lot less competition than he would have had he be starting out today. He also seemed to have a plan to succeed, while it seems none of those three have one.

QE II and Billy, huh? Interesting combination!

BG (not Bill Gothard) had plans, all right. And charisma.... Also about 20 X the brains of Der, Bin and Jer all lumped together, I'd estimate....  ;  )

[PikaScrewChu]

21 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

QE II and Billy, huh? Interesting combination!

BG (not Bill Gothard) had plans, all right. And charisma.... Also about 20 X the brains of Der, Bin and Jer all lumped together, I'd estimate....  ;  )

I'm actually not surprised they forged some sort of friendship. Liz is deeply religious. Also not surprised Phil and his mother Alice weren't particularly thrilled with the Grahams either.

John Oliver did a piece on televangelists a few years ago. Yes it's a bit different than what Jeremy is trying to do but I can see how some of those men got where they did. I can also see why Derick failed with his grifting. He's not a good rat faced bastard like Pastor John Oliver, Mega Reverend and CEO (praise be, praise be).

[Loves2Dance]

1 hour ago, Sew Sumi said:

Guess who DOES have a mortgage? That's right...the Vuolos. It's not as much as it could be (they used TLC $$$ to put down about 50%). Still, it's an expense beyond clothes, travel, and seminary tuition.

Yes, but the Vuolos have a slight advantage over the Seewalds. Jeremy has a degree he could use if they absolutely needed him too, Jinger is the most popular Duggar daughter and could likely branch a little on name alone if they had too and he has a paying job.