Derick Dillard Accused of Exploiting Duggars, Lying About Missionary Certification (Exclusive)

In the three years since Derick Dillard married Jill Duggar, the couple has seemed to build a life and start a family together with remarkable ease.

But now it seems that the road traveled by the Dillard family hasn’t been as smooth as we were led to believe.

If you’re a fan of all things Duggar, then you’re likely aware that Jill and Derick have spent much of their life as a married couple performing missionary work in Central America.

But while their intentions may have been honorable, the couple’s time in El Salvador has generated a fair amount of controversy, much of it having to do with the fact that Jill and Derick are not licensed missionaries.

As a result, they’re not sponsored by any church or recognized by any regulatory body, and they’ve been forced to rely on dubious means such as solicited donations from fans in order to fund their trips.

Worse, the Dillards dishonesty on the matter may be putting the health and welfare of others at stake.

Despite previous claims to the contrary, Jill is not a certified midwife, and Derick never completed the necessary certification work required by the Southern Baptist Convention or the International Missions Board.

Now, an insider who was formerly close to several members of the Duggar family exclusively tells The Hollywood Gossip that the Dillards’ deceptions are no secret within their inner circle, and many who know them best are highly suspicious of their motives.

“They go on a mission, they’re not sponsored by any church whatsoever, and they go, and they solicit money from people, they ask for donations,” our source says.

“Of course, they have money coming from Counting On, but Derick, to my knowledge, has never had a job.”

The insider goes on to say that he harbors doubts about the Dillards’ intentions, as well as with regard to who’s really funding their time in Central America:

“[Derick] is not an ordained missionary. They more or less just go over there on their own, and I’m wondering if TLC isn’t footing the bill just for coverage. Just so they have something to sell,” he adds.

“I just wonder what the reasoning for it is. Are they doing it for capital gain? Ever since I’ve learned so much about Jim Bob and how he truly is, I second guess everything.”

Our source adds that his questions about Derick’s motives in performing unlicensed missionary work have led him to wonder if the father of two is an opportunist who’s seeking to take advantage of the Duggars’ wealth and fame.

Describing Dillard as a “mooch” who seems to have no interest in full-time employment, the insider says that Derick seems to have no trouble with the perception that he’s freeloading on his in-laws 

“Derick is just hanging on to someone’s shirttails,” the tipster says.

“Disgusts me. They used to be pretty well thought of.”

Coming on the heels of yesterday’s report about Jim Bob Duggar clashing with his other sons-in-law, the news about Derick seems to indicate that internal strife within the Duggar family is more widespread than initially thought.

Currently, the Dillards are at home in Arkansas, as Jill welcomed her second child just last month.

They say they have no immediate plans to return to Central America, but have every intention of continuing to perform missionary work abroad.

The couple has yet to publicly address the controversy over their lack of proper training.

Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.

View Slideshow: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Photos

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Jill Duggar Reveals Future Missionary Plans: Is She Leaving the Country Again?!

It’s only been eight weeks since Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard returned to Arkansas after ten months abroad, but now it looks as though they may be planning to leave the country a second time.

Before the family arrived back in the States, they informed fans that their return home would not be permanent, and now it looks as though they’re planning to relocate already.

Naturally, some fans are wondering if the decision to flee Tontitown so soon after returning home was prompted in part by the ongoing drama resulting from the Josh Duggar sex scandals.

“We are so excited to share that we will be returning in August for a short stateside term that will extend into the fall,” wrote online back in July.

“We are really looking forward to seeing our families after nearly 10 months on foreign soil.”

Now it looks as though Jill and Derick are once again preparing to ship out for parts unknown.

As when they relocated to El Salvador, they probably won’t share any details about their destination with fans.

So it may be quite some time before we find out what part of the world will play host to a pair of high-profile missionaries.

At the moment, of course, it seems fans are more interested in the question of why the Dillards are leaving again than in where they’ll be headed.

Yes, Jill and Derick indicated that their return home would be temporary before they left El Salvador, but it’s hard to imagine that a young couple of first-time parents wouldn’t prefer to spend a bit more time in the presence of their support network.

Perhaps it’s for that reason that so many fans believe that the Dillard’s home state has become toxic to them in the wake of the Josh scandals.

Jill was one of the five girls that Josh molested, and though she’s defended her brother’s unthinkable actions in public, it’s hard to imagine that all is well between the siblings.

Add to that the firestorm of media attention that seems to surround Josh at all time, and it’s not hard to see why the Dillards may feel that Tontitown doesn’t offer an ideal environment in which to raise their son.

Of course, the fact remains that Jill and Derick would probably be content to stay in their hometown if Josh’s crimes had stayed buried.

Which has led to another theory about their apparent eagerness to relocate…

Do the Dillards know something that we don’t about the future of their reality series, Counting On?

View Slideshow: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Photos

For several months now, there have been rumors about Counting On being canceled as a result of mediocre ratings and advertisers’ uneasiness with being associated with the Duggar molestation scandal.

So perhaps Jill and Derick returned home with the intention of playing a larger role in the show, but have realized that there soon won’t be a show to star in.

Whatever the case, it seems unlikely that the continuing fallout from family’s scandalous past hasn’t played a role in Jill and Derick’s future plans.

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Jill & Derick Dillard on Missionary Life: Lots of Rape, Murder, Etc.!

Jill Duggar and husband Derick Dillard discuss the potential dangers they face as Christian missionaries on tonight"s all new Counting On.

Long story short: They"re not in Arkansas anymore.

Yes, there is crime anywhere you go in the world today, but it"s worse in El Salvador, where people get sexually assaulted all the time.

So says Derick in a preview for Counting On Season 3 Episode 2, and while he seems to have a good handle on it, it"s clearly unnerving.

Jill Duggar admits below that she and Derick do feel uneasy when hearing about their neighborhood"s high incidence of violent crime.

"It"s risky here," she says in the sneak peek below.

"We stand out as Americans, so definitely we"re higher risk," the 25-year-old mom to Israel, 16 months, tells the TLC cameras.

"You have to talk about things," says the second eldest Duggar daughter, "that probably a lot of couples wouldn"t talk about back in the States."

Those things, she says, include the unthinkable.

"We"ve been married almost two years … we have a little baby," she tells the camera in a joint sit-down with her spouse. 

"If we were back in the States, we wouldn"t be talking about, "Now if you die, what am I supposed to do from there?""

"If you don"t come home after you are supposed to [at] this hour, then what do I do?" It"s hard to talk about those things," Jill adds.

At the same time, it"s good experience: "It"s also good for us to [know] like, if something happened, what I"m supposed to do."

Also, they insist that it"s all worth it.

Dillard says that the good they"re doing to help the locals, and humanity as a whole, helps him push any concerns to the back of his mind.

"I do love my life here," he says.

"There"s not another place in the world I"d rather be right now, but there"s obviously times when I"m going to miss my life in America."

There"s also the Zika virus issue.

While rumors that Jill Duggar is pregnant have not come to fruition, fans have openly wondered if pregnant Jessa Duggar is at risk of Zika.

For the most part, it"s the violence that concerns them most of all, rather than the mosquito-borne illness and its side effects.

Previously, Derick also spoke about the preponderance of crime that permeates live in the impoverished third world country.

"There are a lot of dangerous realities that do come with living in a place like Central America," Derick said of their life there.

"Kidnappings, rape, murder," Dillard lamented, "those are just the realities that everyone here has to face on a daily basis."

Derick"s point that there is more lawlessness and violent crime in many South and Central American countries than in the US is valid.

Still, some fans were upset that he would take this opportunity to bemoan the prevalence of sexual assault in El Salvador.

On TV, and while his own wife was sitting right there.

Jill was, after all, molested by her older brother Josh Duggar, along with several of her sisters when they were younger.

Obviously, it"s not the same. We recognize that.

But for all the lip service paid to the seriousness of Josh"s crimes, the Duggars don"t seem to get the seriousness of this, either.

Like it or not, the fact that they live with a child molester who evaded the authorities with the help of his parents taints a lot of things.

If they really internalized that, it might change a lot.

They can"t erase what happened, but perhaps Derick would think twice before making comments like this, even if his intentions aren"t bad.

Maybe we"re reading too much into this one comment, but considering the context and the lasting impact of sex crimes on women?

It"s worth thinking and talking about. That"s all.

Anyway, check out the sneak preview below:

Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Return to Central America For Missionary Work

Well, this is unexpected. Just a few days ago, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard refunded money to fans who felt that they’d been scammed out of donations that were meant to fund the couple’s non-existent missionary work.

Then, last night, the Dillards took to their personal blog to refute claims that they’ve permanently returned to Arkansas:

Yes, Jill and Derick announced that they’re headed to El Salvador (Again!) with the above photo and the following statement:

“We had a great visit recently to the States and as always it was a little hard to say goodbye! We are headed back to Central America. In the weeks ahead language school will become much more intense as we work to become fluent in Spanish.

“It will be many months before we are able to make a short visit back to the States again. Here’s a few pics as we left this weekend. Please keep praying for us—we are praying for you!”

Jill and Derick’s last “short visit” home went on for so long that it was rumored they’d been deemed unsuitable for missionary work.

It’s worth noting that they still have yet to deny that rumor, which means it’s likely that Jill and Derick were turned down by the International Mission Board, and decided to simply fund the trip themselves.

The Dillards still have yet to complete any of the educational coursework that was required of them (language school is not on the list), so it’s unlikely that the IMB and the Southern Baptist Convention simply had changes of heart.

In any event, we’ll see how long Jill and Derick last in Central America this time around.

View Slideshow: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Photos

Jill Duggar & Derick Dillard Refund Missionary Donations to Angry Fans

Back in June, Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard announced that they would be leaving the US to perform missionary work in El Salvador.

The couple collected donations from fans and gave the impression they would be living in Central America for the foreseeable future.

Just a few weeks after they embarked, however, Jill and Derick were back in Arkansas, seemingly for good.

It was later revealed that the Dillards were rejected as missionaries due to their lack of qualifications.

It seems the main problem was that the couple never even attempted to complete the Bible study and other religious-themed education courses that were required of them.

Naturally, fans who had made donations were upset to learn that they had essentially helped to fund a three-week vacation for Jill and Derick.

Many to took to social media to complain of being swindled by the Dillards.

Now, Radar Online is reporting that in an effort to avoid another scandal, Jill and Derick have offered refunds to the fans who donated to their bogus missionary journey.

Sources say the fans have been contacted privately by reps for the Duggars. They were reportedly then given the option of having the money returned to them or passed on as a charitable donation.

We’re hoping most were smart enough to ask for a check. Knowing these two, the “charity” that would receive their donation might very well be the New Pool Table For the Dillards’ Basement Fund.

View Slideshow: Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard Photos

Jill Duggar & Derick Dillard: FIRED From Missionary Work?!

Back in July, it was announced that Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard would be headed to El Salvador to spend the foreseeable future serving the less fortunate. 

Jill and Derick even took donations from fans to fund their new life, but just a few weeks later, they were back in Arkansas.

Some claimed that life in Central America proved too difficult for the Dillards. Others believed Jill and Derick planned to scam fans out of their cash by accepting donations for work they never intended to complete.

Now, some fans are theorizing that the Dillards assumed that they would be accepted (and partially funded) by the Southern Baptist Church and the International Mission Board, only to be rejected by both due to their lack of qualifications, their families recent scandals, or both.

Several fans (some of whom made donations) have taken to social media to ask the Dillards if their missionary work was ever affiliated with the SBC and IMB.

Not surprisingly, they have yet to receive a response, but Derick has dialed back comments that he made which implied that he and Jill had the full support of both organizations.

“We are so grateful for the support of our church fellowship Cross Church [the largest Southern Baptist church in Arkansas] as we were officially commissioned during the morning service today,” Derick wrote on Instagram last month.

He’s since clarified that the “commission” consisted of a group prayer session for which he and Jill were present, writing:

“Just this past weekend, we were commissioned to the mission field by our home church. The commissioning consisted of our pastor leading the congregation in praying for our family as we work on the mission field.”

Some have gone so far as to claim that the Jill faked her midwife certification as part of a last-ditch effort to be approved for service.

That may seem rather desperate (and it is), but without funding from organizations like the SBC and IMB, Duggars would only be able to permanently relocate to El Salvador at great personal expense (or with a lot of donations from fans).

And unfortunately, it seems Jill and Derick didn’t get the okay before they went ahead and started requesting donations from fans.

Suddenly, that premature return to Arkansas doesn’t seem quite so surprising.