Hodnetts converting Scotland, or England, or...who knows? Part 2

[Gobsmacked]

Scottish midges are particularly fond of ankles. Well other bits too, but ankles appear on every midge menu. Thick wooly socks are great midgy murder weapons. Put two pairs on,lie on back, then run feet along the tent seams where midges who have infiltrated before tent zip has been fastened. Great fun. Especially after a couple of pints!!

I checked on Jody a few days ago. Nothing since the July post. 

a. He has another Facebook page and is teasing us.

b. No-one turned up.

c. He has taken advice from here  (Palimpsest I think) and is studying for a health/hygiene in the kitchen certificate to begin his food ministry.

d. He has been thrown out of the Hall for some reason. 

e. He has given up and gone home.

f. He has taken to his bed, after taking advice from Johnboy!!!

g. ?

He never confirmed having passed his British driving test. 

[samurai_sarah]

3 minutes ago, Gobsmacked said:

Scottish midges are particularly fond of ankles. Well other bits too, but ankles appear on every midge menu. (snip)

Preach it! Having been accosted many times before, I wore a modest headcovering (aka scarf) for two weeks. When the "black cloud of doom" descended, my scalp was safe. I just forgot the ruddy ankles.

[Palimpsest]

@samurai_sarah,  I hope you enjoyed your camping trip in spite of the midge bites.

Is this where your pamphlet came from (they have a branch to convert Scotland)?   http://www.ehcuk.com/about/

They do some humanitarian and educational work in developing countries at least.  It is not just gospel tracts in Scotland.

1 hour ago, samurai_sarah said:

Another aspect is that they are trying to win Nepali villages over for Christianity. Why?

Because Hinduism = demonic possession, of course.  That is mentioned in the article.  Nepal is about 80% Hindu with a scattering of Buddhists, Muslims, Jains, Sihks and so on.  There are a few Christians there too, apparently thanks to Every Home for Christ!  

That inspiring story was about a group of missionaries trekking into a small Nepali village way back in 1993. Miraculously, because they left a few pamphlets and through a correspondence course for the head man, the whole village was converted.

Missionaries have been trying to convert Nepal for years.  It is officially "unreached."  It is also "closed" - hostile to Christian evangelism (why shouldn't it be) - although it does accept humanitarian aid.  Christian evangelists try to flock there every time there is an earthquake or a flood though to prey on people.  In theory, they are banned from proselytising but they always try.  Because then they get "persecuted" and that always gets them press. 

I wonder how Jody's Tent Meeting went.  He's not updated at all.

[Gobsmacked]

There is something mysterious happening in Lockerbie me thinks. 

[Lurky]

@samurai_sarah Sorry about your ankles, but glad the rest of you was ok!  Hope you had a great time, and I look forward to the all new you once you actually work out what your leaflet is saying you should believe!

[samurai_sarah]

@Palimpsest

Yep, that's them all right. Thanks for filling me in on Nepal.

 

@Lurky

If I got it right, the all-new me is going to be fire and brimstone, from what I gather from the pamphlet.

Quote

And yet how easily we can ignore or reject Him the consequences of which are truly horrific...

...whoever does not believe stands condemned already...

John 3:18

While I like the idea of ripping off people getting stuff donated, like Hodnett and Shrader, my ethics stand in the way. Condemned it is.  Hope you don't mind having to deal with old me!

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, samurai_sarah said:

While I like the idea of ripping off people getting stuff donated, like Hodnett and Shrader, my ethics stand in the way.

But just think, you might actually get a plane with wings! 

[Palimpsest]

@formergothardite, that made me laugh loudly!  I'm tempted to become a missionary for a new car.  Mine is on its last legs.

I'm just going to leave this here as an example of how fucked some evangelistic denominations are in trying to fulfill the Great Commission.  This is the Nazarenes:    http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/access.htm

It gives suggestions on how to gain "creative access."  I particularly like their idea of importing Christian workers "from third-world countries to do menial jobs" in the target country.   You can also check out their concept of the 60-40 band and inventive descriptions of various world religions on that site. 

This is from Southern Nazarene University - "accredited" by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU),  the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), and  the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, for what it's worth.

[Dugg@rTime]

I was reminded of the Hodnetts when a pamphlet was delivered to my house yesterday (looks like others think us Scots are heathens needing saved). It's basically some anti Catholic bible BS that I skim-read with mucho side eye and snarky comments. Interestingly there was no return address or "come to a local meeting " thing either. On the back page was this url which I'm breaking so they don't get no hits from here (and hopefully ever) www. end times .org

You can download PDF's of the various pamphlets-o-hate, if you're that way inclined too.

I'm a little bit disappointed that this was nothing to do with our friend in Lockerbie though. It would have been nice to meet him.

[FrumperedCat]

Ginger has been posting a lot of updates on her page now it appears. There is a post about a shopping trip to Carlisle and some photos from the tent meeting. Seems it was a large gazebo at the local park in dodgy British weather based on the rainbow present. There look to be a handful of people present in the photos, maybe 15 at tops, and one of the photos is of families playing on the park equipment which I guess is an attempt to make it appear that there were more attendees than in reality. An earlier update mentions they have 2 families visiting them so I'm thinking that those will account for maybe half of the attendees at the tent meeting.

AND...There is a video of the church Brody's set up. Looks like he's decided to name it "Bible Truth Baptist Church" and the video appears to be of the first service they held earlier this month. I didn't have time to watch it but the filming appears to be shaky and it isn't easy to estimate how many attended. That being said I'm guessing maybe 3 rows of chairs as the filming would be done at the rear of the audience. Not all of them looked to be filled so i'm going to guess maybe 10 or so attendees.

It looks like there have been subsequent services but no videos posted. Ginger mentions about 1 soul having been saved after a recent service so it looks like they're off to a better start than John Shrader if that's any achievement.  

[Palimpsest]

15 hours ago, FrumperedCat said:

Ginger has been posting a lot of updates on her page now it appears.

What a treasure trove!  Thanks.

I spot checked the video of Jody preaching at Bible Truthy Baptist Church.  There are no pictures of the congregation so I'm assuming he was preaching to 2 people.  One woman (possibly Ginger) and a (possible) male in camo pants and wellies.

In all fairness, the tent meeting pictures with the rainbow were from the day before the meeting when they were setting up the tent with their visiting friends.  I suspect that week-long tent meeting was an abysmal failure, however, or we would have been shown many pictures of their successful revival.

On 8/17/2017 at 4:34 PM, Gobsmacked said:

There is something mysterious happening in Lockerbie me thinks. 

Not very mysterious, after all.  They are sightseeing.  The Hodnetts to Scotland are certainly getting their tourist spots covered.  In August alone they have been to Loch Ness and Stirling Castle.  At Stirling Castle Jody scampered up to a lectern and delighted himself and Ginger (if not other tourists) by reading from John.  Cheeky bugger.

Yes, shopping in Carlisle, and they took the train, also with visiting friends.  They took Jody Junior to meet Mickey Mouse at a Fayre somewhere.  Jody Junior is cute.  Autumn is credited by Ginger as a "missionary" in her own right not a mere missionary kid.  Autumn seems to be the designated photographer these days.

And one whole person saved!  Hallelujah.  How many months has it been so far?  I'm fairly sure John Shrader had dunked quite a few people by the 12 month mark.  

Mind you, I'm sure Jody would claim quality over quantity, although I don't expect Jody's converts will last much longer than John's.

[Gobsmacked]

Jody has lost 50lb of weight since arriving in Scotland. He has been walking more and eating less. 

[Flossie]

22 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

And one whole person saved!  Hallelujah.  How many months has it been so far?  I'm fairly sure John Shrader had dunked quite a few people by the 12 month mark.  

Mind you, I'm sure Jody would claim quality over quantity, although I don't expect Jody's converts will last much longer than John's.

Well, I suspect that John Shrader got a lot of converts by providing food.  But even a full belly can't prevent people from getting a bellyful of JS and deciding that there were better ways to get a meal.  As for the rest of those poor souls that JS converted, it seems that even they found they couldn't stomach him for long.

[FrumperedCat]

Did a bit of an internet search about today and up popped this little gem. http://hisservice.com/ports/om/hodn/hodn.pdf

This is the current prayer letter from the Hodnett Ministry. Appears there were actually 15 people present for the first service (including him and family of course!). I guess we were a little pessimistic. 4 of whom were kids who attended by themselves. I'm guessing they might have been bribed by free food based on the description given of them.

Also there is a mention of the ongoing fundraising for a new vehicle. Apparently this is still ongoing. No surprise there.

Jody also takes the opportunity to request prayers for their own church. That's right! They've found a church building for sale in the town centre and would be very grateful people prayed for the lord to bless them with said church. Well if John Shrader can grift a plane.... Of course this just further highlights the lack of need within the community for a new church to be opening their doors. Not of course that the Hodnett's will take any notice. 

 

[Gobsmacked]

Well spotted FrumperedCat.

The old church building is possibly being sold because of upkeep costs. It probably has dry rot, wet rot, creeping damp, woodworm, a very old boiler, ancient plumbing and a leaky roof. Churches tend to sell their huge old cold Victorian (or older) buildings and build a nice new easy to heat, with modern plumbing and a fully working kitchen bright well lit building. No pews but chairs that can be stacked to free up space for dances etc. Jody may not be getting the bargain he hopes for if his Humpers do buy him the old church. There is ALWAYS a reason why a church building is empty. 

[Lurky]

1 hour ago, Gobsmacked said:

There is ALWAYS a reason why a church building is empty. 

My guess is the roof, especially if the lead from it has been stolen.  Buying a Victorian or earlier church would generally need a ton of cash for renovations, or it's a drip-drip money suck.  Imagine the heating bills, if they can afford to completely re-fit!

But I bet for an American missionary, buying and reinvigorating an old Scottish* church would be highly romantic.  It would feel completely different to him, I bet, and holding a church service in a school or community centre, which is what new/small churches do, wouldn't be the same, even though it was much more practical.

 

*Scotland or England, I keep forgetting where he is!

[Gobsmacked]

There is a huge planet of a difference between Jody's deputation videos and Jody's life ministering to us evil, pagan witch loving folk here in Scotland. He scuttled away from big scary Dundee fast enough. Now he is hiding in the borders barely in Scotland at all. I would love to know just what went wrong with his original plans. It must have been something quite big. He was going to arrive in a blaze of glory. He is really a Big damp squib. 

[Lurky]

Reading that recent prayer letter, this struck me:

Quote

Many of these kids come from very rough home situations and I ask that you pray for my family as we try to reach this community.

Not pray for the kids, oh no.

And in grifting news, does "Just before our first Church services were to be held, our vehicle failed its annual inspection and the cost to repair it was well beyond the worth of the car. Several have given very generously to help us with this need already." mean "we still need more cash"?  Other things they want include an electric keyboard ("digital piano"), a van, and most impressively, £75,000 ($97k) to buy the church building. 

Now, even if they bought it, as said upthread, there will be repairs and upkeep costs (the insurance, ZOMG!).  I have been looking and can't find the church he's talking about on real estate websites, but there's this one in a village near Lockerbie for offers over £55,000, which has a one bedroom flat they could live in:

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/commercial/details/44177427?search_identifier=ff3dbe49a335779982b979671ee83ade#eGzSMMpbFWMFFfqt.97

This looks like a classic church that you'd see on the market, with all the classic issues you'd expect.

But it does seem weird to me that when they're holding services in a community centre that have reached 10 non-Hodnetts, they're already talking about buying a church.  I wonder how they're paying the community centre hire fees too?

 

[Palimpsest]

On 9/12/2017 at 4:44 PM, FrumperedCat said:

Did a bit of an internet search about today and up popped this little gem. http://hisservice.com/ports/om/hodn/hodn.pdf

Yowser!  Thanks for that!

OK.  Jody now goes to the head of the grifting class. By a full length!

Not even John Shrader had the gonads (as far as we know) to grift $97,000 for a derelict church building.  I thought Shrader's derelict plane was over the top at $15,000.

These people will never cease to astonish me!

[Gobsmacked]

I gave some reasons up thread why the church is probably empty and for sale. It's a central location. That didn't prevent it closing first time around. Why on earth does Jody think anything will be different now. IF and its a very BIG IF, Jody managed to gather funds, how is he going to fund utility costs and pay the rates yearly? Jody is getting way ahead of himself.  What a Numpty.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Gobsmacked
Added a bit.

[acheronbeach]

7 hours ago, Lurky said:

I have been looking and can't find the church he's talking about on real estate websites, but there's this one in a village near Lockerbie for offers over £55,000, which has a one bedroom flat they could live in:

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/commercial/details/44177427?search_identifier=ff3dbe49a335779982b979671ee83ade#eGzSMMpbFWMFFfqt.97

 

It's in Ecclefechan!  Scottish immigrants from there brought their local butter tart recipe to Canada, and a version of the somewhat obscure Ecclefechan butter tart is now an iconic Canadian dessert beloved across my fair nation. 

 

And that is your unwanted history fact of the day.

[Lurky]

@acheronbeach That is my favourite kind of factoid!  I googled, and they look absolutely delicious, and it's another reason to add to my list of why I want to go to Canada!

[hoipolloi]

11 hours ago, acheronbeach said:

Scottish immigrants from there brought their local butter tart recipe to Canada

And here I'd always thought we should thank Laura Secord!  According to this article, the filles du roi may have contributed their culinary talents as well.

Whatever the case, they're great!

[EmainMacha]

Mmm Sainsbury's do delicious Ecclefechan cakes at Christmas as alternatives to mince pies. I'm embarrassed to say I presumed they were Welsh.

If Jody is grifting £75000 for a church that'll go for around £55000 then he may be including repair costs in that. Or just asking for money for his own pocket.

[FrumperedCat]

Ah yes thanks @Gobsmacked and @Lurky that's a great point about the upkeep costs and struggles with aging buildings.

Jody seems to feel that being limited to one Sunday service a week was problematic however given the low numbers of attendees turnout would be way lower for any other services. Heck he might not even get anyone attending. There's very little demand for weekday services as very few people are religious enough for that, at least from my experience here in the UK. Maybe things are different in the USA. 

I suppose he believes if he can grift a church he can grift enough for the running expenses. I feel he severely underestimates the cost of heating it during the Scottish winter let alone during the rest of the year. 

What might be a good idea for Jody is establishing a local youth club to attract younger members to the church. If he can get a slot at the community centre then it could be achieved. Throw in free food and fun activities with a small bible study session and he would be sure to pull in some locals, provided there is little competition in the area. Whilst church attendance appears to be going down in the UK I've noticed that youth clubs still remain popular. They could even incorporate Christian values by getting the youth involved in the local community volunteering and helping raise money for charities.