Jen Hatmaker

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY FELLOW BIBLE THUMPERS

Present!

And must add that in my Bible thumping devotional time this morning, I was reading Mark and the section where Jesus goes into the temple and the FIRST thing He does is knock over the money changer tables. BOOM. Savior gonna save and clean out the temple.

I ask this with no malice, so I hope it will be taken that way! Not a Bible thumper. But I’m curious about having a devotional time then coming and participating in this thread. How do you reconcile this thread with the Bible teachings about how to treat people and gossip and all that stuff? Again, not trying to be a jerk but genuinely curious.

[Anonymous]

But I kind of want her cookbook.

Girlfriend has some fantastic recipes, like her pizza dough and sauce.
Not buying her cookbook though because she treads too closely into Pioneer- please for the love just shut up and give me the recipe- Woman.

Glad she's not shilling Jesus right now.

[Anonymous]

I ask this with no malice, so I hope it will be taken that way! Not a Bible thumper. But I’m curious about having a devotional time then coming and participating in this thread. How do you reconcile this thread with the Bible teachings about how to treat people and gossip and all that stuff? Again, not trying to be a jerk but genuinely curious

None taken. I just discovered this thread a week ago. I find it a place to process my real sadness and concern over what has become of a once- respected Christian leader . There is nowhere else to discuss our feelings, and Jen is now in an echo chamber that her detractors have no access to. Watching her now is so upsetting to my soul. I think she is starting to fall away from the faith. I won't be here much longer because I don't like seeing gossip but I feel I had my say and it felt kind of cathartic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I ask this with no malice, so I hope it will be taken that way! Not a Bible thumper. But I’m curious about having a devotional time then coming and participating in this thread. How do you reconcile this thread with the Bible teachings about how to treat people and gossip and all that stuff? Again, not trying to be a jerk but genuinely curious

None taken. I just discovered this thread a week ago. I find it a place to process my real sadness and concern over what has become of a once- respected Christian leader . There is nowhere else to discuss our feelings, and Jen is now in an echo chamber that her detractors have no access to. Watching her now is so upsetting to my soul. I think she is starting to fall away from the faith. I won't be here much longer because I don't like seeing gossip but I feel I had my say and it felt kind of cathartic.

I completely understand this and really appreciate your response. It really has been sad (and weird) to watch. I’ve often wondered if no around her has had any hard conversations with her.

[Anonymous]

I completely understand this and really appreciate your response. It really has been sad (and weird) to watch. I’ve often wondered if no around her has had any hard conversations with her.

Thank you for understanding and for asking the initial question. I do have some guilt about coming to this thread, and it gets gossipy which does not honor God. But I feel that for literal years, I have watched Jen become unmoored from her prior, well-articulated belief system that inspired me so much from afar. And then watcher her amass a following that now demands more of her than her earlier fans ever did. She is now either selling stuff or apologizing about something she wrote in the past. I

[Anonymous]

Coming from outside the evangelical church and the industry I have some questions from a group of women who keep posting here:

What about Jen was admirable that no one else on earth can't do or has already been doing?

Why is or was she any better than any other woman you can meet in a church anywhere? Why was there an avenue for Jen Hatmaker to become "Jen Hatmaker" in the first place?

I'm not understanding this "she used to be so x" and now I'm sad she's not "x"

Why you were putting some random Texas chic as "X" when you and other women around you already had the capability to do and be that for yourselves. You didn't need Jen or anyone else to fulfill a role. You didn't or don't need her to be an exemplar of faith or anything else because she doesn't have anything more special or unique than you or anyone around you.

She's not a bible scholar that you couldn't find information about your faith any other way. (And I've known some bible scholars and they're not really impressive as people even if they're really smart.) Anything bible scholar-ly she said or wrote she took from a real bible scholar and just passed it on to you. So does she even deserve praise for that?

And even if Jen was a a bible scholar - even with a bible scholar you can access information from their published work or speaking and even think it's cool how they said something or whatever but even then I would suggest not deriving much else from them unless you got to personally know them and saw how they really were and how they got to where they were (and if there were any people that had to be stepped on on the way).

Bible leaders or whatever you want to call them are not entitled to your praise and you don't need to give them narcissistic supply which a lot of them to seem to be looking for or exaggerate their humanity because their words are attaching and describing God. That doesn't make them closer to God than you and even if they are successful or smart or whatever it doesn't make them good people.

Character and being a person of integrity is free. Branding yourself as a guru and making money off of it doesn't really align with that. You have to see your soul at some point and usually early on.

[Anonymous]

Sorry...

*Sell your soul at some point....not "see" your soul.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Coming from outside the evangelical church and the industry I have some questions from a group of women who keep posting here:

What about Jen was admirable that no one else on earth can't do or has already been doing?

Why is or was she any better than any other woman you can meet in a church anywhere? Why was there an avenue for Jen Hatmaker to become "Jen Hatmaker" in the first place?

I'm not understanding this "she used to be so x" and now I'm sad she's not "x"

Why you were putting some random Texas chic as "X" when you and other women around you already had the capability to do and be that for yourselves. You didn't need Jen or anyone else to fulfill a role. You didn't or don't need her to be an exemplar of faith or anything else because she doesn't have anything more special or unique than you or anyone around you.

She's not a bible scholar that you couldn't find information about your faith any other way. (And I've known some bible scholars and they're not really impressive as people even if they're really smart.) Anything bible scholar-ly she said or wrote she took from a real bible scholar and just passed it on to you. So does she even deserve praise for that?

And even if Jen was a a bible scholar - even with a bible scholar you can access information from their published work or speaking and even think it's cool how they said something or whatever but even then I would suggest not deriving much else from them unless you got to personally know them and saw how they really were and how they got to where they were (and if there were any people that had to be stepped on on the way).

Bible leaders or whatever you want to call them are not entitled to your praise and you don't need to give them narcissistic supply which a lot of them to seem to be looking for or exaggerate their humanity because their words are attaching and describing God. That doesn't make them closer to God than you and even if they are successful or smart or whatever it doesn't make them good people.

Character and being a person of integrity is free. Branding yourself as a guru and making money off of it doesn't really align with that. You have to see your soul at some point and usually early on.

These aren’t real questions. You’re simply talking down to a bunch of other women and framing it as asking questions that you already answered for us. Clearly you’re superior.

[Anonymous]

They are indeed questions and they are directly questioning the passivity that so many evangelical women willingly participate in.

Meanwhile while these same women here are saying superior things like “She is a false teacher”( because she doesn’t believe what I do), mourning over her “losing her way” theologically - that sounds pretty condescending, saying you’re sad because you were lied to because people promoted her to you as a real person of faith. (Instead of questioning a system where you’re being told who to follow). It all contradicts and doesn’t make sense.

[Anonymous]

Maybe there are people outside the evangelical church who do have things figured out that you don’t. It doesn’t make them superior to give insights that aren’t aligned with your’s. Not everyone questioning the culture is a bad person or as the poster above pointed out the term “lost their way”. I cringe every time I see that phrase but evangelicals use it like it’s normal and not cult like.

[Anonymous]

Why is or was she any better than any other woman you can meet in a church anywhere? Why was there an avenue for Jen Hatmaker to become "Jen Hatmaker" in the first place?

Jen wasn't better than any woman in my church, but she was navigating the public sphere as a seemingly devout Christian, so how she answered challenges to the Biblical faith inspired me as a somewhat less-mature Christian how I may answer those same inquiries. Such as her initial stance on same sex marriage. Her first public response to it was, Brandon and I affirm traditional marriage. Then, she did a 180 and called it sacred and officiated a "wedding."

Her writing was funny and fresh, and unique 15 or so years ago in the Christian women's studies space. Her whole "here is my imperfect life, and I am trying to love Jesus with all of my heart while facing similar mundane indignities and issues that you are" schtick resonated with many, many women. And she worked and put out more books and then a blog so that thirst for her funny anecdotes was what contributed to the Jen Hatmaker industrial complex.

[Anonymous]

The Hatmaker Industrial Complex! That’s hilarious.

[Anonymous]

Meanwhile while these same women here are saying superior things like “She is a false teacher”( because she doesn’t believe what I do), mourning over her “losing her way” theologically - that sounds pretty condescending, saying you’re sad because you were lied to because people promoted her to you as a real person of faith. (Instead of questioning a system where you’re being told who to follow). It all contradicts and doesn’t make sense.

She has abandoned key doctrines of the faith related to marriage, which is sacred. This isn't a full-immersion vs. sprinkling of water baptism debate...this is central to how we view God. God has used the concept of marriage to illustrate His relationship to us, the church. I am sad for Jen that she has indeed lost her way right now and is currently at the mercy of the woke mob she will never, ever satisfy.

[Anonymous]

My daughter also went to school with Howerton's kids, and I remember thinking that she wasn't telling the whole truth about her life, and that made me start questioning all the evangelical mommy bloggers. Jen is the better writer but so many of them are absolute frauds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why is or was she any better than any other woman you can meet in a church anywhere? Why was there an avenue for Jen Hatmaker to become "Jen Hatmaker" in the first place?

Jen wasn't better than any woman in my church, but she was navigating the public sphere as a seemingly devout Christian, so how she answered challenges to the Biblical faith inspired me as a somewhat less-mature Christian how I may answer those same inquiries. Such as her initial stance on same sex marriage. Her first public response to it was, Brandon and I affirm traditional marriage. Then, she did a 180 and called it sacred and officiated a "wedding."

Her writing was funny and fresh, and unique 15 or so years ago in the Christian women's studies space. Her whole "here is my imperfect life, and I am trying to love Jesus with all of my heart while facing similar mundane indignities and issues that you are" schtick resonated with many, many women. And she worked and put out more books and then a blog so that thirst for her funny anecdotes was what contributed to the Jen Hatmaker industrial complex.

Why is “wedding” in quotes?