The Duggalos: Jinger and the Holy Goalie

[SMama]

Is Jeremy close to graduating? I thought someone mentioned he still has a year to complete. Man, that’s the longest masters program, unaccredited to boot. 

[farmgal4]

9 hours ago, Zella said:

Yeah it kind of taints the whole enterprise, doesn't it? 

I thought it was really odd the way the bottle was highlighted in that photo. Like he thinks showing off that he eats sriracha somehow means he has a sophisticated palate? It just seems like a weird thing to be so self-congratulatory about, though that is true of most everything he has posted lately. 

I follow quite a few people on IG and Jinger’s & Jeremy’s are hands down the most boring ones I’ve seen.  I stopped following them when they stopped posting pics of the children, and I’m not sure why they have any followers tbh.

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, SMama said:

Is Jeremy close to graduating? I thought someone mentioned he still has a year to complete. Man, that’s the longest masters program, unaccredited to boot. 

Most likely he has two more years to complete after this semester, actually. It's possible I'm wrong about this, but what I've been able to dope out suggests that he should get the degree in the spring of 2023.

It was a three-year master's program until recently. But now it's a four-year master's program.  I think the change was made at least in part because a lot of students were struggling to complete all the courses in the three years previously allotted. (Blogs and FAQs connected with the Seminary were carrying a lot of articles advising students not to worry if they couldn't complete all their courses in the three years and advising them just to relax and attend school a while longer.) One reason for that may be that, unlike with some Master's programs, many of the entering students, like Jer, had never formally studied any of this material before because as undergrads they'd studied to be something other than pastors. 

The switch to a four-year program wasn't made until sometime during or at the end of Jer's first year in the program. But I'm pretty sure he immediately went onto the four-year track. Besides the fact that the program is now newly laid out to take four years, at that point he was already behind, apparently. It looks like he had to complete one of the scheduled first-year courses -- introductory Greek -- in the summer between his first and second years. (he doesn't appear to have completed much or any of the work during the short time he was enrolled in the Seminary's distance-learning program in Texas)

Presently, at least, you can't get ahead in the course schedule by attending summer classes. They offer only a handful of their required language courses in the summer, nothing else, although I suppose that could change. 

I doubt this change bothers Jer! I think he likes living on somebody's dole in LA, while having what may be just a student job, and nothing with real responsibilities. 😁    I mean, that leaves him with plenty energy to eat Sriracha-laced food, play Phase 10 and buy clothes be a tv and social-media star.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Churchhoney

[GeeGolly]

Is Jeremy tagging the products in his posts? Maybe he's fishing for gigs that he actually would want. Otherwise maybe they're just posts. Boring posts. Like many of the posts on IG.

[Churchhoney]

9 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

Yeah, sriracha is only a small step above ketchup, really 🤣.

Well, to be fair we should acknowledge that they really are pretty different, nevertheless.

Ketchup has a lot more sugar and sriracha has a lot more salt. 

[MargeGunderson]

Sriracha is so last year. Chili crisp is the new sriracha. Another influencer fail.

[BitterApple]

When does the eviction moratorium in California end? If MacArthur hasn't seen any return on investment from giving Jeremy all these freebies, I wonder how long he'll let him squat live rent-free in his house? 

[GeeGolly]

13 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

Sriracha is so last year. Chili crisp is the new sriracha. Another influencer fail.

I'm still a ketchup user. 🤭

[rue721]

17 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

Sriracha is so last year. Chili crisp is the new sriracha. Another influencer fail.

Oooooh I hadn't heard about chili crisp! I'll have to try it.

I actually like Huy Fong's garlic chili sauce even better than sriracha. I eat it on sardines, because that's how I roll (cheap and stinky 😂). It was IMPOSSIBLE to get when lockdown started last year! I was hitting every store I could think of (online) and they were all out. It was a very sad time to eat sardines, for a while there.

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, rue721 said:

Oooooh I hadn't heard about chili crisp! I'll have to try it.

I actually like Huy Fong's garlic chili sauce even better than sriracha. I eat it on sardines, because that's how I roll (cheap and stinky 😂). It was IMPOSSIBLE to get when lockdown started last year! I was hitting every store I could think of (online) and they were all out. It was a very sad time to eat sardines, for a while there.

I have a tin of mackerel in my pantry I got as a freebie. Hung onto it for the pandemic. I should really eat it. 

[Westiepeach]

8 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I'm still a ketchup user. 🤭

I make my own!

[Zella]

If JereMe wants to go the hipster condiment route, I so badly want him to get super obscure and try to make his own garum.* 😇

*I've read some pretty hilarious anecdotes about the consequences of attempting this. Come on, Counting On, this would actually be entertaining. 

Edited March 18, 2021 by Zella

[Ohiopirate02]

4 minutes ago, Zella said:

If JereMe wants to go the hipster condiment route, I so badly want him to get super obscure and try to make his own garum.* 😇

*I've read some pretty hilarious anecdotes about the consequences of attempting this. Come on, Counting On, this would actually be entertaining. 

I would rather try my hand at homemade sauerkraut.  But an ancient Roman sauce is right up Jeremy's alley.

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I would rather try my hand at homemade sauerkraut.  But an ancient Roman sauce is right up Jeremy's alley.

Yeah I would never want to make garum. I have been intrigued by the idea of it ever since watching a Tasting History video about it last year. Someone else needs to make it, though. 😂

Homemade sauerkraut is very good! My great-grandmother used to make some excellent homemade sauerkraut! 

[Suzn]

25 minutes ago, Zella said:

Yeah I would never want to make garum. I have been intrigued by the idea of it ever since watching a Tasting History video about it last year. Someone else needs to make it, though. 😂

Homemade sauerkraut is very good! My great-grandmother used to make some excellent homemade sauerkraut! 

My mother made homemade sauerkraut and it was really good.  I looked up garum...I'm still queasy...

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

Yeah I would never want to make garum. I have been intrigued by the idea of it ever since watching a Tasting History video about it last year. Someone else needs to make it, though. 😂

Homemade sauerkraut is very good! My great-grandmother used to make some excellent homemade sauerkraut! 

If Jer wants to make a condiment, I suggest harissa. It's not hard to do and even allows creativity or expedience to vary the recipe a bit. With a chili pepper base, it would satisfy his hot-sauce enthusiasm. But it can be sophisticated -- with really subtle fun flavors.  And it's forgiving of the cook. So he might even look smart on tv making harissa. (not sure why I would want Jer to look smart on tv, though....)

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Churchhoney said:

If Jer wants to make a condiment, I suggest harissa. It's not hard to do and even allows creativity or expedience to vary the recipe a bit. With a chili pepper base, it would satisfy his hot-sauce enthusiasm. But it can be sophisticated -- with really subtle fun flavors.  And it's forgiving of the cook. So he might even look smart on tv making harissa. (not sure why I would want Jer to look smart on tv, though....)

Yeah he could get a lot of mileage out of the foodie thing if he wanted to. But I can't say I've ever seen him cook except for that disastrous cake he fucked up. 

I think anything that involves more work than plopping his ass in a restaurant chair or lifting a burger to his mouth is a big no for him. 

[laurakaye]

Jere posted another tone-deaf IG story this morning....one clip asking for urgent prayers for something, followed by a photo of some dude in a suit pointing at a taco stand, and then Jere driving by a billboard that had a quote from Ecclesiastes.  As usual, I understood none of it.   

[iwantcookies]

Jeremy doesn’t make sense. That’s the point. He has no direction in life. 

Edited March 18, 2021 by iwantcookies

[BigBingerBro]

[Absolom]

8 hours ago, BitterApple said:

If MacArthur hasn't seen any return on investment from giving Jeremy all these freebies, I wonder how long he'll let him squat live rent-free in his house? 

I don't think MacArthur owns the house.  It belongs to one of the other pastors/employees at the church.  

[ginger90]

If google came through correctly, the house is owned by Peter Coeler, and perhaps his wife Barbara.

https://www.masters.edu/news/corporate-spotlight-pac-properties.html

Edited March 19, 2021 by ginger90

[QuinnInND]

1 hour ago, BigBingerBro said:

Yeesh. She looks awful. 

[Kiss my mutt]

  More like a summer burn!

[Churchhoney]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

If google came through correctly, the house is owned by Peter Coeler, and perhaps his wife Barbara.

https://www.masters.edu/news/corporate-spotlight-pac-properties.html

I think Coeler's not a church employee but a member of the congregation who's involved in some of the boards of MacArthur's enterprises and such.

Okay -- Yeah, he's a board member of Grace to You -- the MacArthur tv show, media channel, media production company on MacArthurish Calvinism or whatever....And, hello, when I was trying to find what role Coeler plays with MacArthur, I found this interesting new article about the JM enterprises....by Julie Roys, pissed off evangelical journalist ... regrading Johnny Mac's infamous nepotism and so on.... 

Kind of clarifies who and what Jer emulates.....

OPINION: Phil Johnson’s Defense of MacArthur’s Salaries & Nepotism Raises More Red Flags

By Julie Roys

Phil Johnson, director of John MacArthur’s broadcast ministry, Grace to You (GTY), argued in a recent videotaped interview with Justin Peters that MacArthur’s large salaries don’t reveal greed, but instead restraint, and his alleged nepotism is a farce. Yet when examined, the arguments Johnson presented are full of holes and raise even more red flags.

For example, Johnson’s argument that MacArthur was magnanimous when he declined to take a 10-percent royalty on the sales of his sermons is surprising, given that doing so would violate IRS rules.

Also, Johnson’s argument that MacArthur’s $400K+ compensation from GTY in 2012 was not exorbitant because it included a rare Bible that MacArthur “turned around and gave away” is misleading. It seems MacArthur didn’t give away the Bible until four years later—after news of MacArthur’s $400K+ compensation from GTY became public.

In addition, Johnson omitted key facts when explaining MacArthur’s practice of stacking GTY’s board with family members. And he made dubious claims when dismissing questions of nepotism for GTY paying MacArthur’s son-in-law millions.

Plus, as is his pattern, Johnson accused me of having a motive “that is totally evil and probably rooted in bitterness” for raising questions about payments to MacArthur’s son-in-law.

Give a gift of any size to The Roys Report and receive a copy of “Changing the Landscape of Eternity.” To donate, click here.

The apostle Paul commended the Bereans for searching the Scriptures to see if what he was saying was true. But apparently to Johnson, even daring to question MacArthur and/or his ministries is a grievous sin.

I addressed Johnson’s distressing pattern of bullying, name-calling, and assuming evil motives in part one of my response to Johnson’s video. I also showed how Johnson’s allegations against me are demonstrably false.

In this article, I explore how Johnson’s defense of MacArthur and his financial dealings doesn’t resolve any of the issues in my original article, but actually raises more.

The King James Bible Gift

In the year ending 2012, GTY paid John MacArthur $402,444 in compensation for working 20 hours a week. That’s in addition to the $103,280 MacArthur received from The Master’s University and Seminary (TMUS), the undisclosed salary he received from Grace Community Church, as well as book royalties and speaking fees. (Johnson states in his video with Peters that MacArthur makes “millions . . . on book royalties.”)

In the video with Peters, Johnson explains MacArthur’s large 2012 GTY salary the same way he does in a statement he released in 2014: MacArthur’s salary topped $400K in 2012 because the ministry gave MacArthur a rare, first-edition King James Bible worth about $200,000.

I reported Johnson’s explanation about the Bible in my original article, so this was not new information. The new claim is that MacArthur donated the Bible, seemingly, in short order.  

“He’s not a very good miser if greed is his motivation because he turned around and gave it away,” Johnson said. “He put it in the seminary’s rare book collection.”

Johnson said nothing about MacArthur donating the Bible in his 2014 statement. And after examining TMUS’ 990 tax forms, it’s clear why he didn’t. In 2014, MacArthur apparently hadn’t yet given away the Bible.

Johnson said nothing about MacArthur donating the Bible in his 2014 statement. And after examining TMUS’ 990 tax forms, it’s clear why he didn’t. In 2014, MacArthur apparently hadn’t yet given away the Bible.

From the first part of 2012—when MacArthur was given the Bible—through June 30, 2015, there are no large, non-cash donations of “historical artifacts” reported on TMUS’ 990s.

However, on TMUS’s 2015 990 tax form—the year after MacArthur came under intense scrutiny from bloggers for his large GTY compensation—it shows an “historical artifacts” donation worth $210,000.

So MacArthur received the $210,000 Bible from GTY in 2011/2012. But he apparently didn’t donate it until 2015/2016—approximately four years later. And he did so only after being called out publicly for taking more than $402K in one year for his part-time job at GTY.

MacArthur Foregoes Royalties?

Another factor Johnson cites to ameliorate MacArthur’s large GTY salary is MacArthur’s decision not to take royalties of 10% on sales of his sermon recordings.

Johnson says this in the context of trying to explain his comment from 2014 that for the first 30 years of GTY, MacArthur took no salary.

GTY incorporated in the 1980s and MacArthur has been taking a salary for at least the past 19 years, so the statement is factually incorrect. However, Johnson states that he’s dating the beginning of GTY as the year MacArthur became pastor at Grace Community Church (GCC) and the church started selling cassettes of MacArthur’s sermons.

Johnson said elders at the church suggested MacArthur take 10 cents on every dollar for the cassette sales, but MacArthur declined to do so.

“That’s the amount I’ve heard—10 cents a tape—which sounds like not much,” Johnson said. “But when you’re selling, you know, 10 million tapes, that’s a million dollars that he decided to forego right away.”

However, giving a pastor royalties on sales of his sermons is forbidden by the IRS, according to Michelle Adams, a nonprofit attorney specializing in Christian ministries and churches.

“Many people seem to think that the following one builds through one’s role in the church belongs to that person alone,” she stated. “But the truth is, in tax-exempt law your employer (the nonprofit) owns the work that you produce on the job.  Specifically, when you are paid to be a pastor, the intellectual property produced through your pastoral duties (which certainly includes sermon-making) belongs to the organization that commissioned you to create it.”

“(W)hen you are paid to be a pastor, the intellectual property produced through your pastoral duties (which certainly includes sermon-making) belongs to the organization that commissioned you to create it.”

Similarly, Frank Sommerville, a Dallas-based attorney specializing in nonprofit law, states in Christianity Today that if a sermon qualifies as work for hire, the intellectual rights for that sermon belong to the church.

He adds that intellectual property rights are considered “charitable assets” and by law, must be used for “charitable purposes” not “private inurement.” (Despite this, the article notes that some celebrity pastors, like Chuck Swindoll, have been able to negotiate contracts with their churches, granting them ownership of their sermons.)

Clearly, MacArthur taking royalties on cassettes of his sermons would be an abuse of the law. But the intellectual property issue also raises another question.

Adams adds that books, study guides, and commentaries resulting from time working for a nonprofit belong to the nonprofit, as well. Given that MacArthur is paid a salary for jobs at three nonprofits, this raises the question: On whose time did MacArthur write all his books, study guides, and commentaries?

As I wrote in my original article on MacArthur’s wealth, MacArthur claims to work from 30- to 60 hours/week for just GTY and The Master’s University and Seminary (TMUS). Assuming MacArthur works a mere 20 hours a week at GCC, MacArthur is then claiming he works a combined 50 to 80 hours a week for all his nonprofits.

Given this fact, it’s almost inconceivable that MacArthur wrote all his books, study guides, and commentaries on his own time and that none contain intellectual property that belongs to his nonprofits.

So, MacArthur isn’t being magnanimous when he takes three salaries from his nonprofits, as well as millions in royalties.

What would be magnanimous would be to forego royalties on books like John Piper. Or, like prosperity preacher Joel Osteen, MacArthur could have stopped taking a salary from his church. Even more magnanimous, he could have followed the example of Rick Warren, who reimbursed his church for his salary once he began making millions in royalties.

Instead, MacArthur for decades has not only taken sizable salaries from every ministry in which he’s been involved, but also has pocketed millions for the many products that bear his name.

All in the Family

Johnson similarly obfuscates and misleads when he defends MacArthur’s practice of placing his sons on the GTY board and paying his son-in-law millions in contracts.

MacArthur’s two sons—Matt MacArthur and Mark MacArthur—have served on the GTY board for decades. Matt MacArthur has consistently served as treasurer for GTY. And Mark MacArthur just rolled off the GTY board last year after being charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his involvement in a $16 million investment scheme.

Yet, in the video, Johnson makes it sound like the practice of having both sons on the board was a one-time thing.

Johnson repeatedly states that “one of John’s sons is on our board” and “there is one family member on the Grace to You Board.” Then, almost as an aside, he mentions, “At one point, two of (MacArthur’s) sons were on the board.”

But both MacArthur’s sons didn’t serve on GTY’s board “at one point”; they served on the GTY board for decades. And Mark MacArthur stopped serving only after being charged with defrauding investors of millions.

But both MacArthur’s sons didn’t serve on GTY’s board “at one point”; they served on the GTY board for decades. And Mark MacArthur stopped serving only after being charged with defrauding investors of millions.

Johnson also defends Matt MacArthur’s role as GTY treasurer with a dubious argument. He says the reason Mark was chosen to serve as treasurer was simply pragmatic: “It has to do with geography,” Johnson states. “He’s the one who’s close by, who can sign check and do things like that when it needs to be done.”

Johnson adds that it would be a “logistical nightmare if one of our board members from, say Atlanta, was our treasurer.”

Yet other GTY board members live in Southern California where GTY is headquartered. This includes longtime board member Christopher Parkening and Peter Coeler, who owns a business in nearby Studio City, California.

Johnson’s explanation seems yet another attempt to obfuscate, rather than deal with the concerning reality that Matt MacArthur, who clearly has a conflict of interest, controls the finances of GTY.

A similar conflict of interest exists with the longstanding contract GTY has with Kory Welch, John MacArthur’s son-in-law. From 2009—2019, GTY paid more than $8.3 million to Welch’s businesses to produce videos for the ministry.

Johnson says my motivations clearly are “totally evil” for questioning this nepotistic arrangement, which is absurd. Anyone who wouldn’t question this arrangement is foolish.

In fact, Welch’s similar contractual relationship with The Master’s University and Seminary (TMUS), another nonprofit MacArthur heads, was a main reason the accrediting body for TMUS—the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)—placed TMUS on probation in 2018.

In its report, WASC stated: “The team notes with concern a pattern of operational irregularities, including the 2017 auditor’s specific finding on appearance of conflicts of interest with the President’s son-in-law supervising a contract from which he benefits . . .”

“The team notes with concern a pattern of operational irregularities, including the 2017 auditor’s specific finding on appearance of conflicts of interest with the President’s son-in-law supervising a contract from which he benefits . . .”

Johnson justifies GTY hiring Welch by explaining that “the great advantage to using Kory is he can get John to videotape special things at a drop of a hat, whereas John, you know, he’s gonna say ‘no’ if some Hollywood producer . . . says, ‘I need you to come down here and sit for a three-hour video thing.’”

This is essentially arguing, “We’re not hiring Welch just because he’s MacArthur’s son-in-law but because he’s MacArthur’s son-in-law.”

If GTY must hire a family member of MacArthur’s so that MacArthur will cooperate with the demands of his extremely lucrative, part-time job, that’s a problem.

However, Johnson also argues that hiring Welch saves the ministry money.

Johnson asserts that GTY had conducted a cost-benefit analysis before hiring Welch. And the ministry determined that hiring Welch as an independent contractor to produce videos was cheaper than employing Welch as a GTY employee and producing the videos in-house.

This is a dubious claim, given that GTY employed Welch for $84K in 2008 to produce videos and paid his wife, Melinda Welch, a mere $17K. But in 2009, GTY paid Welch’s company $741K for “post-production services.” Also, at the time, GTY had already purchased the video equipment necessary to produce the videos, according to Johnson.

I contacted Johnson and GTY CFO David Fisk, specifically requesting documentation for the costs to produce videos in-house at GTY in 2008, but they did not respond. I also asked for documentation for the alleged cost-benefit analyses Johnson referenced in the video, but they did not respond to that request either.

Johnson additionally asserts that when GTY first hired Welch, it collected bids from other video companies and Welch’s bid was competitive.

I asked Johnson and Fisk for documentation of those bids, but neither replied.

Red Flags Remain

Sadly, Johnson’s interview does not resolve any of the financial issues raised in my article on MacArthur’s finances, but instead reveals Johnson’s continued pattern of deception and false accusations.

Equally sad, Justin Peters, who posted the video of his interview with Johnson on his ministry’s YouTube channel, has refused to interview me so I can present the facts to his audience. To date, the video of Peters’ interview with Johnson has received more than 214K views.

https://julieroys.com/johnson-defense-macarthur-more-red-flags/

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Churchhoney

[awaken]

Oh, terrible. She dyed herself orange like in the old days. 

[emmawoodhouse]

LMAO, the bible that Jeremy held was referenced in that article. Worth a couple hundred grand, yet Jeremy wore no gloves when handling it. I hope the thing falls apart. 😂

[Zella]

From the article @Churchhoney shared:

37 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Phil Johnson, director of John MacArthur’s broadcast ministry, Grace to You (GTY), argued in a recent videotaped interview with Justin Peters that MacArthur’s large salaries don’t reveal greed, but instead restraint, and his alleged nepotism is a farce. Yet when examined, the arguments Johnson presented are full of holes and raise even more red flags.

[emmawoodhouse]

Johnny Mac's empire is riddled with inaccuracies and greed. I know I had read about the son who ran afoul of the IRS before, but I don't know what became of him after the fact. I guess he's still working for Daddy, just behind the scenes where he can't be remarked upon.

[laurakaye]

12 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

I don't get it - she's applying an IG filter called "summer tan."  Is she actually tan?  Does she miss being orange tan?  It's not even spring yet, let alone summer.  Is she practicing for summer?  Why did she not also apply the summer tan filter to her neck?  What is the point of this?  Also, where's the baby?

I think that's all my questions for this particular photo.

[Churchhoney]

A few fun facts that show why MacArthu's church appeals to Jeremy -- 

This one may be my favorite. There's a group of churches called the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA). It requires, among other things, that member churches release their financial statements on request, and MacArthur's Grace Community Church (GCC) was a member for some years. Last year, though, the EFCA noted that recent financial statements had not been arriving from GCC after the group requested them. And now GCC has resigned from the organization. Accountability! Who needs it! 

Grace to You (GTY) is MacArthur's nonprofit that creates and disseminates broadcasts of his stuff. In 2015, the GTY nonprofit stopped filing 990 forms with the IRS. Supposedly, filing those forms is a legal requirement unless you specifically get an exemption, of course. Nobody seems to know about them having an exemption or why they could get one.

MacArthur said the following about Carl Lentz and some prosperity-gospel people in a recent sermon: "False teachers always do it for the same reason—filthy lucre, money.”  (I personally think Carl Lentz also does it for the thrill of celebrity and the sex, but maybe that's just me.) MacArthur's own enterprises, meanwhile, generate more than $70 million a year in tax-free revenue. In a recent year, his personal salary -- minus book and media royalties -- was $402,000 from part-time work for GTY, $103,000 for part-time work for the Master's Seminary and University, and an unknown additional sum in salary from Grace Community Church. 

MacArthur owns a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house with a tennis court and swimming pool in Santa Clarita, Ca. He owns a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house about an hour's drive west of the Santa Clarita house. This one's next to a private club with golf course, etc., and sits about 11 miles from the beach. He also owns a seven-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bath ranch on five acres in Colorado Springs. 

After pissed-off evangelical journalist Julie Roys published this stuff and other commentary on MacArthur recently, his attack-dog fixer Phil Johnson published her home address online. (That's doxing under California law, she points out)).    Phil Johnson (along with Voddie B) was scheduled to be one of Jer's co-headliners on the canceled Feb. cruise, so I expect Jingle's Babe is sucking up to Phil good and plenty these days.

In any case, it's easy to see why Jer thinks he's eventually going to be able to afford all the shoes he could possibly want. (not sure how he explains his father's apparently much more limited income, though) 

https://julieroys.com/prosperous-lifestyle-americas-anti-prosperity-gospel-preacher/

https://julieroys.com/director-of-john-macarthurs-broadcast-ministry-doxes-julie-roys-defends-it/

Jer's mask inconsistencies also definitely Johnny Mac-related -- 

In 2020, TMUS received $4.35 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program loan funds.

This past January, a student at The Master’s Seminary died after contracting COVID-19. According to a former student at TMUS, the school flagrantly violated COVID-19 guidelines and mocked students who complied with them.

January 6, 2021, Julie Roys -- https://julieroys.com/death-masters-seminary-covid/

A student at The Master’s Seminary, which meets on the campus of John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church, says the school is flagrantly violating its own COVID-19 guidelines and mocking compliant students.

Now a Master’s seminary student has died after contracting COVID.

The deceased student, whose name is being withheld at his family’s request, is a man in his sixties who had come to The Master’s Seminary (TMS) in August to pursue a Master of Divinity. The man died on Monday morning.

According to the man’s daughter, her father had been “very healthy,” but was hospitalized in mid-December after contracting COVID-19 and pneumonia. She said she believed her father didn’t actually die from COVID-19, but from pneumonia.

However, according to Paula Cannon, a virology professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine, the man’s pneumonia was almost certainly a consequence of COVID-19. So, the man may have died of pneumonia, but it was likely “caused by the assault to his lungs and body of having a serious COVID infection.”

Austin Doucette, a TMS student who’s upset by the seminary’s alleged failure to follow public health guidelines, called the man’s passing a “tragic and unnecessary loss.”

Doucette believes the deceased man likely contracted COVID at either Grace Community Church, where the man had been attending, or TMS.

Grace, a megachurch with about 7,000 congregants, has openly defied public health orders by meeting indoors and not socially distancing or wearing masks.

TMS, on the other hand, has published a list of COVID-19 protocols the seminary claims to be following.

However, Doucette said very few TMS students wear masks or social distance. He  added that some professors, especially those who are on staff at GCC, openly ridicule COVID guidelines and deride those who follow them.

I emailed TMS President Sam Horn for comment about the TMS student’s passing and Doucette’s allegations, but Horn did not respond. I also emailed TMS Dean of Faculty Nathan Busenitz, who’s also an elder/pastor at Grace Community Church (GCC), but he did not respond either.

The seminary has not announced the student’s death on its website or social media.

However, the man’s home church posted on its marquee Monday: “A good and faithful servant. We will miss you –.”

Doucette said the deceased student was a “wonderful, godly man who was constantly praying for others.”

He added that he hasn’t received any announcement from TMS about the student’s passing. Instead, he found out the man’s death when a fellow student posted about it on a seminary social media account and requested prayer for the man’s family.

Violating & Mocking Precautions

For months, Doucette said he has been disturbed that TMS has not been following its own COVID protocols.

According to TMS’s published list, these include classroom setups “arranged to maintain appropriate physical distancing” and requiring students to bring “a cloth face covering or otherwise approved facemask with them to campus.”

The list also encourages professors “to remind their students of these protocols.” And when meeting with students in person, faculty are supposed “to do so outside, and to maintain proper physical distancing.”

Yet Doucette said he sometimes is the only student in classes of 30 students who wears a mask. And though he said some TMS professors follow guidelines and are respectful, others are not.

“I noticed that—especially professors who have roles at Grace or are elders at Grace—they were not only flippant, but they would talk about how these restrictions are ridiculous,” Doucette said. “They would make fun of social distancing and masking.”

Doucette sent The Roys Report a picture he took before the beginning of a TMS class on August 15, showing only two students in the foreground who were wearing a mask. Others were sitting unmasked close together and one had a mask dangling from his ear.

A class at The Master’s Seminary on August 15, 2020.

Doucette also sent a clip from a lecture that was streamed online and a classmate had recorded. In it, Mark Zhakevich, a professor at TMS and pastor at GCC, says, “Are you all, um, enforcing social distancing?” and the class laughs.

According to Doucette, that’s how protocols like social distancing are treated by some TMS professors: they’re jokes.

I reached out to Zhakevich for comment, but he did not respond.

Doucette said the most egregious incident he witnessed was in his TMS discipleship group, which was led by GCC Pastor Tom Patton.

In an October 25, 2020, letter to TMS Dean Nathan Busenitz, Doucette describes the incident:

In my discipleship group, I’m the only one who wears a mask—we meet with a large group of guys in a very small office. I wear my mask in submission to the school and government—and because I help take care of my sickly grandparents. Yet during my last discipleship meeting, all the men began bagging on masks. My discipleship leader suggested they don’t work and actually make you sicker. He made fun of people who wear them while driving. Another student said he hates wearing them and is so glad the school doesn’t require it. “How can anyone be comfortable wearing those things?” Then my leader talked about how COVID isn’t actually that bad, pointing to Trump’s quick recovery. He insinuated that TMS’s decision to tell a student (who was missing from our group) to not attend class (because he was in contact with someone who tested positive) was a bad one. As they were saying these things and laughing—I felt completely shamed.

I reached out to Pastor Patton for comment about the incident, but he did not respond.

However, Doucette said he met with Busenitz on November 12 to discuss his concerns.

(Doucette said the two also discussed issues Doucette had with a professor over a theological position.)

According to Doucette, Busenitz responded compassionately to his concerns, but said TMS was “between a rock and a hard place” because of the position GCC had taken on COVID.

MacArthur is pastor at GCC and also serves as chancellor emeritus at TMS. Earlier this year, MacArthur praised his congregation for meeting in-person and for “not distancing” and “not wearing masks.” MacArthur also has stated that “there is no pandemic.”

According to Doucette, Busenitz told him that TMS was leaving it up to students to decide if they want to follow the school’s protocols or not.

Yet Doucette added that Busenitz was disturbed by the incident with Pastor Patton and said he would talk with Patton about it.

Ten days later, Doucette followed up with Busenitz via email. Busentiz responded that he would be happy to set up a meeting between Doucette, himself, and the professor with whom Doucette had a theological dispute. Doucette responded immediately with his availability.

For six weeks, Busenitz did not respond.

However, on Sunday afternoon, I sent Busenitz an email requesting comment about concerns Doucette had shared with me concerning TMS’s handling of COVID and the incident with Patton.

Busenitz did not respond to my email.

But first thing Monday morning, Busenitz sent an email to Doucette, thanking him for his patience and offering to arrange a time for Doucette and him to meet with Pastor Patton.

Hope for Change

Doucette, who’s a graduate of The Master’s University and was attending TMS on a near full-ride scholarship, says he’s withdrawn from the seminary in large part because of its handling of COVID.

He said he’s going public with his concerns now because he cares deeply for the TMS student body and those at GCC.

“Students at The Masters Seminary and congregants at Grace—they’re mimicking the rhetoric from the pulpit,” he said. “And they’re believing that the pandemic isn’t real, and that they should rebel against the governing authorities. And I think now more than ever, we’re seeing the repercussions of that, with students and members of the church becoming sick and deathly ill.”

Similarly, Dr. Cannon urged institutions like TMS and GCC to adopt precautions like social distancing and wearing masks, comparing their effectiveness to that of wearing seatbelts.

“Seatbelts don’t stop people dying in car crashes,” she said. “But we all understand that seatbelts save lives. Masks and social distancing are the seatbelt that we have in this pandemic.”

The daughter of the victim confirmed that her father had contracted COVID-19 at the same time as another TMS student and GCC congregant who’s a very good friend of his.

Her father had posted on a social media network on December 15 that both he and the other student were “laid up with the Covid nemesis.”

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH), there are eight staff at The Master’s University and Seminary that have COVID-19, as well as 14 students.

(TMS and The Master’s University meet at separate locations separated by 15 miles. I contacted the county, asking for a breakdown of how many staff and students at each location have COVID, but no one responded.)

A DPH spokesperson told The Roys Report that four employees of GCC and one congregant tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of October. However, according to the county’s website, no cases have been reported since then.

A GCC leader told me in mid-December that many at the church had COVID-19, but the church is pressuring them not to report to the health department for fear of being shut down.

Similarly, Doucette said he’s experienced “a culture of fear and intimidation” at TMS that keeps people quiet.

“I know students who are disturbed by what they see as far as guidelines not being followed, but they don’t want to be put on a list,” Doucette said. “That’s what I’ve been told by several different people—that you’ll get put on a list. And then you’re known as someone who spoke out, or someone who is not going with the flow.”

The same GCC leader who spoke with me earlier told me last week that he knew of a GCC member who had recently died of COVID (not a TMS student), two who were “deathly ill,” and multiple GCC staff who were sick.  

Also, MacArthur was scheduled to preach the past two Sundays at GCC, but other preachers have filled in for him both times.

GCC has not explained MacArthur’s absence, other than Pastor Patton’s statement last Sunday that the time off gives MacArthur “a little bit more time to rest and prepare Shepherd’s Conference.”

(Shepherd’s Conference is March 3-5 at GCC. Last year, two elderly men who attended Shepherd’s Conference tested positive for COVID-19 shortly afterwards and died.)

I have reached out to the church multiple times, asking about the alleged new outbreak, but GCC has not responded.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Churchhoney

[laurakaye]

There's so much to unpack in the above post from @Churchhoney, we almost need to hold a 10-week class in "Abuse of Power."

The fact that this seminary makes rules and then openly mocks those that follow those rules makes my skin crawl.

Also, maybe I am unclear on the timeline of all these articles but does this point to Johnny Mac having had Covid or currently having it?  Is this a known fact but everyone is pretending that he's fine?

And another dumb question that I'm sure has been answered, but why - of all the seminary students - was Jeremy chosen to live rent-free in a mansion?  Is it really because he's a Z-list celeb?  It cannot possibly be because he was Student of the Month or anything - the man spends his days photographing shoes and hot sauce and shoving organic hamburgers into his yaw.  If I'm thinking this through correctly, Jere is on the receiving end of a lot of good stuff...but what is he giving back in return?  Come to think of it, my skin crawls when I think about this as well.

Actually, pretty much everything about Jeremy is questionable and gross.

Edited March 19, 2021 by laurakaye

[Churchhoney]

48 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

There's so much to unpack in the above post from @Churchhoney, we almost need to hold a 10-week class in "Abuse of Power."

The fact that this seminary makes rules and then openly mocks those that follow those rules makes my skin crawl.

Also, maybe I am unclear on the timeline of all these articles but does this point to Johnny Mac having had Covid or currently having it?  Is this a known fact but everyone is pretending that he's fine?

And another dumb question that I'm sure has been answered, but why - of all the seminary students - was Jeremy chosen to live rent-free in a mansion?  Is it really because he's a Z-list celeb?  It cannot possibly be because he was Student of the Month or anything - the man spends his days photographing shoes and hot sauce and shoving organic hamburgers into his yaw.  If I'm thinking this through correctly, Jere is on the receiving end of a lot of good stuff...but what is he giving back in return?  Come to think of it, my skin crawls when I think about this as well.

Actually, pretty much everything about Jeremy is questionable and gross.

I'm not positive about this, but I'm pretty sure there've been two times when MacArthur went silent and kind of disappeared for weeks, canceling events that had been scheduled, and there were rumors about his having Covid. One was in the late fall, I think.

And then the one that's mentioned in these articles was midwinter, mostly in January, I think. A lot has been said about those being Covid-related, although one story has been that he did have it during one of those periods and the other story is that he was staying away to protect his 81-year-old self from the virus because pretty many people in the church and the seminary had become infected at that time. 

Massive hypocrisy if either of those is true, of course. But he's not admitting anything, so they may or may not be true. 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by Churchhoney

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, laurakaye said:

There's so much to unpack in the above post from @Churchhoney, we almost need to hold a 10-week class in "Abuse of Power."

The fact that this seminary makes rules and then openly mocks those that follow those rules makes my skin crawl.

Also, maybe I am unclear on the timeline of all these articles but does this point to Johnny Mac having had Covid or currently having it?  Is this a known fact but everyone is pretending that he's fine?

And another dumb question that I'm sure has been answered, but why - of all the seminary students - was Jeremy chosen to live rent-free in a mansion?  Is it really because he's a Z-list celeb?  It cannot possibly be because he was Student of the Month or anything - the man spends his days photographing shoes and hot sauce and shoving organic hamburgers into his yaw.  If I'm thinking this through correctly, Jere is on the receiving end of a lot of good stuff...but what is he giving back in return?  Come to think of it, my skin crawls when I think about this as well.

Actually, pretty much everything about Jeremy is questionable and gross.

With the way MacArthur plays favorites and also likes to test the loyalties of his flunkies, I could see Jeremy being a useful tool for him.  Jeremy gets rewarded so that MacArthur can gauge the reactions of his fellow classmates.  He also can test the loyalties of whomever is paying for the Vuolo's housing costs.  Of course Jeremy is so full of himself that he thinks he is being singled out for greatness, but with a man like MacArthur no one truly is.  He cares about himself first, and he will do whatever it takes to protect his kingdom.  I'm just spitballing here though.  

[iwantcookies]

 

I bring up remember Jeremy was into books?

Jeremy just got new books 🙄

Does he read here? 
 

 

[iwantcookies]

I cannot attach one measly screen shot. Last time I’m doing this. Sorry ! 
 

 

He got 12 books. 
 

 

[awaken]

10 hours ago, laurakaye said:

 

And another dumb question that I'm sure has been answered, but why - of all the seminary students - was Jeremy chosen to live rent-free in a mansion?  Is it really because he's a Z-list celeb?  It cannot possibly be because he was Student of the Month or anything - the man spends his days photographing shoes and hot sauce and shoving organic hamburgers into his yaw.  If I'm thinking this through correctly, Jere is on the receiving end of a lot of good stuff...but what is he giving back in return?  Come to think of it, my skin crawls when I think about this as well.

Actually, pretty much everything about Jeremy is questionable and gross.

@laurakaye you’re a person after my own heart!  Couldn’t have said it better myself. 

[Churchhoney]

11 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

 

I bring up remember Jeremy was into books?

Jeremy just got new books 🙄

Does he read here? 
 

 

I've wondered a few times whether there was a connection between something that was posted here and something he did soon after. I wouldn't be surprised if he combs the web to see how his image is coming across.

Looks to me like creating a widely known public image of himself as the coolest person ever is one of his main goals in life. And where better to get information about how that's working out than in places where people anonymously share their unvarnished opinions of your image? 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Churchhoney

[BitterApple]

I got this from Reddit:

 

Are we really supposed to believe fans are begging Jingle to talk to them again about the knock-off One Step? That's some really lame ad copy. 

 

[JoanArc]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I got this from Reddit:

 

Are we really supposed to believe fans are begging Jingle to talk to them again about the knock-off One Step? That's some really lame ad copy. 

 

"We wanted you to tell them to F off!"

[Zella]

On 3/12/2021 at 10:32 AM, BitterApple said:

I decided to go down the rabbit hole of the Hope and Stead instagram, and there's a lady who's complained on several posts. Apparently she spent $130 and received broken candles. Jeremy and Jinger haven't answered her emails, and she's not too happy about it. No wonder their business is a total bust. 

I just saw a Reddit post about the busted candles, and it looks like there are apparently numerous customers complaining about unfulfilled orders, broken merchandise, and no response from the crack team at Hope and Stead. Someone further down in the comments tallies up the timeline of the complaints starting to roll in about 2-4 weeks before they stopped posting entirely about Hope and Stead. 

I checked their Facebook page, and they announced the company in late November, with December 1, 2020, marked as their start date. They stopped posting about it in mid-January. So, basically, they fucked this up from the beginning. 

The website claims they'll start fulfilling orders in a few more days, and I suspect there will be another slate of complaints posted. My guess is they might try to fulfil standing orders before they just let the company go the way of the podcast and their cat. 

 

[BitterApple]

12 minutes ago, Zella said:

I just saw a Reddit post about the busted candles, and it looks like there are apparently numerous customers complaining about unfulfilled orders, broken merchandise, and no response from the crack team at Hope and Stead. Someone further down in the comments tallies up the timeline of the complaints starting to roll in about 2-4 weeks before they stopped posting entirely about Hope and Stead. 

I checked their Facebook page, and they announced the company in late November, with December 1, 2020, marked as their start date. They stopped posting about it in mid-January. So, basically, they fucked this up from the beginning. 

The website claims they'll start fulfilling orders in a few more days, and I suspect there will be another slate of complaints posted. My guess is they might try to fulfil standing orders before they just let the company go the way of the podcast and their cat. 

 

Wow, I just checked out Reddit and those customers are pissed. I'm going to lay the blame with Jeremy. All these stupid fly-by-night ventures are his idea. What is he so busy doing all day that he can't answer emails and keep people updated? Do they actually keep stock and fill orders themselves or is all this stuff drop-shipped from some crappy factory in China? Either way, it's a disaster and he should've known better. 

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Wow, I just checked out Reddit and those customers are pissed. I'm going to lay the blame with Jeremy. All these stupid fly-by-night ventures are his idea. What is he so busy doing all day that he can't answer emails and keep people updated? Do they actually keep stock and fill orders themselves or is all this stuff drop-shipped from some crappy factory in China? Either way, it's a disaster and he should've known better. 

Yeah I can't figure out whether they are actually fulfilling the orders themselves or if they are working with another company to do so, but even if it is the latter, they put their name on it and are clearly ignoring the people trying to reach out to them on social media to let them know there is a problem. The level of incompetence on display, even by their standards, is jaw-dropping. 

[leighdear]

The candles are made and shipped from a small family company in Charleston, SC.  I bought several of the candles, and they arrived quickly and in perfect condition.  I had previously bought their candles from other sites, and those shipments were fine too. 

I can't comment on other's experiences, but mine was excellent.   Like most online shops, the owners, Jinger & Jeremy, never actually stock or ship the merchandise. 

[ginger90]

On January 13th, a post stated they were taking a “ short” break from their podcast. They’re still not back.

🤷🏼‍♀️

 

[Zella]

1 minute ago, leighdear said:

The candles are made and shipped from a small family company in Charleston, SC.  I bought several of the candles, and they arrived quickly and in perfect condition.  I had previously bought their candles from other sites, and those shipments were fine too. 

I can't comment on other's experiences, but mine was excellent.   Like most online shops, the owners, Jinger & Jeremy, never actually stock or ship the merchandise. 

Even if they aren't stocking or shipping, they are still the public face of the company and are derelict in not performing basic customer service. 

[Westiepeach]

Maybe Baby Evie went the way of the podcast and the cat... 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Ohiopirate02]

On 3/20/2021 at 3:51 PM, BitterApple said:

I got this from Reddit:

 

Are we really supposed to believe fans are begging Jingle to talk to them again about the knock-off One Step? That's some really lame ad copy. 

 

Who TF blowdries their hair while wearing a hoodie?

[farmgal4]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

On January 13th, a post stated they were taking a “ short” break from their podcast. They’re still not back.

🤷🏼‍♀️

 

I don’t know what’s going on in the Jeremy Vuolo family, but I think that Jinger may be the first Duggar to get divorced.  The fact that Jeremy has flitted from one thing to another for most of his adult life speaks volumes.  I think he has more problems than just being a pompous tool.  From what I’ve seen, I don’t know how Jinger can stand to live with him.

[Zella]

16 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

I don’t know what’s going on in the Jeremy Vuolo family, but I think that Jinger may be the first Duggar to get divorced.  The fact that Jeremy has flitted from one thing to another for most of his adult life speaks volumes.  I think he has more problems than just being a pompous tool.  From what I’ve seen, I don’t know how Jinger can stand to live with him.

I'm increasingly convinced that something very weird is going on with them. I have no clue what it is, but I don't think it is coincidental that she continues to look so miserable and his posts have gotten stranger and more unhinged lately and that they abandoned two recent projects within months (and weeks) of starting them. This isn't them being cancelled like the influencer stuff. It's them literally just stopping on their own.

I know we've all chatted on here before about them possibly having a marketing strategy in the run-up to their book being released, but I don't see any strategy here. If anything, now would be the time to be really establishing and cementing their social media profile in lines with the message of their book with their products and podcast. 

Edited March 22, 2021 by Zella