First Jinger, now Jill.
One by one, it seems Jim Bob Duggar is losing control of his daughters to their more liberal-minded husbands.
And not surprisingly, the ultra-conservative father of 19 is less than pleased about it.
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard recently returned to Arkansas after spending the better part of the last year performing missionary work in Central America.
Jill welcomed her second child last month, and shortly thereafter, the family announced that they would not be returning to El Salvador to engage in humanitarian efforts.
(No official word on whether or not the decision was a result of uproar over the fact that Jill and Derick were never licensed missionaries.)
But that doesn’t mean Jill and Derick won’t be seeking out ways to help those who are less fortunate.
Yesterday, the Cross Church Springdale campus announced new inductees into its year-long ministry school program.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that one of the photos on the group’s Facebook page featured Jill and Derick.
“Yesterday announced our newest members to the School of Ministry!” the group wrote on its Facebook page.
“We are so excited for this group. As a church family, we will be praying for this group as they grow and learn!”
The church describes the program Jill and Derick are enrolled in as a “one-year residential program” focusing on “Gospel advancement.”
Yes, Jill and Derick will spend much of the year living amongst their fellow domestic missionaries, worshipping and studying the Bible separately from the church’s main congregation.
It may sound a little cult-ish, but based on the group’s Facebook page, it seems Jill and Derick will actually be practicing a less-strict, more mainstream form of their religion.
“Are all of the people in this school sharing the same ‘beliefs’ as the Duggars/Dillards? I see some knees showing,” commented one FB follower, referring to the Duggars’ controversial belief that women should have their legs completely covered at all times.
“It will be good for Derek and Jill to be with people with a different brand of Christianity than the Duggars. See hems above the knee and it hasn’t become a frenzied den of evil,” commented another.
But there’s more going on here than just short (by Duggar standards) skirts.
The group takes a less fundamentalist view of Christianity than the one Jill was raised with, and many fans are wondering how Jim Bob feels about her decision to become involved with the School of Ministry.
Sure, it’s not as extreme as Jinger Duggar wearing pants, but to Jim Bob the move may represent yet another lost battle in his war to maintain control of his family.
As we reported earlier, sources close to the family say Jim Bob has been clashing with his sons-in-law over matters of religious doctrine.
And it seems he’s gradually losing his daughters to more liberal belief systems.
Unfortunately, according to his own creed, married women are under the control of their husbands, not their fathers.
So it looks like for the time being at least, JB is powerless to do anything about his daughters’ views on legwear.
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
