Why do the Maxwells have so many fans?

[library_youth]

Not here at Free Jinger, of course. I'm talking about the people that attend their conferences, leave them positive blog comments, enroll in the One Ton Ramp classes, buy their books...who are these people? Do you think most of them are as extreme as the Maxwells? It scares me to think that there could be so many other families that are as cultish.

 

Perhaps their true supporters are just naive, don't look beyond the surface, and probably view the Maxwells as a wonderful, religious, organized, close-knit family.

[Guest Anonymous]

Not here at Free Jinger, of course. I'm talking about the people that attend their conferences, leave them positive blog comments, enroll in the One Ton Ramp classes, buy their books...who are these people? Do you think most of them are as extreme as the Maxwells? It scares me to think that there could be so many other families that are as cultish.

Perhaps their true supporters are just naive, don't look beyond the surface, and probably view the Maxwells as a wonderful, religious, organized, close-knit family.

Their fanbase seems to be in decline at the moment. Very few conferences scheduled this year, compared to previous years, fewer comments on the blog, and comments from the Maxwells themselves that their audiences have been 'stoic', needing to be 'warmed up' and 'shocked' by some of the material presented.

It looks like they built up a large following at a time when they were less extreme, belonged to a church that helped promote them, ran interative message boards, had a cute young family, and relatively fresh ideas (in their world) on how to raise them to have a perfect family life.

Now they have cut themselves off from all normal social interactions, are regarded by many (even including the Pearls!) to be extreme, and are having to generate income through new streams that are unrelated to the key 'message'. Their sheeple seem to be mainly ultra-conservative, frumper-wearing, fun-hating types who are looking for somebody to look up to. There are lots of folks out there wanting other people to tell them how to live their lives, but the Maxwells' share of the market seems to be dwindling fast. My guess is that of those that remain there will be other 'extremists'. But also there will be lots who go along because the Church is putting on a free night out and a pot luck supper, and there will be many who buy the books because of the overall Christian message attached to the scheduling advice or whatever. There are plety of church goers who will attend a conference/read a book without buying into it hook, line and sinker - think of all the Pearl devotees who manage not to 'see' the references to child abuse but claim that they get 'something' out of them nonetheless.

[Guest Anonymous]

We already know it's not for their scintillating personalities.

[lilwriter85]

I'm still learning more about the Maxwells, I agree with anniec, their fans are probably people that are a lot like them. Some of the fans probably hate sports and reading books other than the Bible.

[emmiedahl]

They have a lot more competition now! They were somewhat of a novelty back in the day, but VF and ATI seem to have stolen their audience. It is hard to sell "monk-like austerity" to a family audience. The only people who believe in that are not really buying a lot. After all, you don't want to make the Maxwells an idol.

I think the Chik-Fil-A sponsorship is a sign of the family empire's demise. I mean, that is totally selling out.

[uber frau]

MOTH seems to be fairly popular among the conservative, HSing set-there's enough sensible stuff in there and ppl seem to remember those bits, rather than all the crap they have to slog through to get there.

I've read a fair number of posts on HSing forums where ppl go to their informercials expecting more practical information, a la MOTH, and being shocked at the full scope of their crazy.

[ophelia]

Ask our dear friend Kendall.. she once mentioned on her blog that she read "Homeschooling with a bla bla" by Teri Maxwell!

[doggie]

the same thing happens with the duggers. We talked about how Christians will buy crap well it is the same with people if someone believe like you do they must be good. I mean look at the candidates people think they are good because they are conservative Christians. they ignore the horrors of these people.

[skankbiscuit]

MOTH seems to be fairly popular among the conservative, HSing set-there's enough sensible stuff in there and ppl seem to remember those bits, rather than all the crap they have to slog through to get there.

I've read a fair number of posts on HSing forums where ppl go to their informercials expecting more practical information, a la MOTH, and being shocked at the full scope of their crazy.

I think a lot of people who would be drawn to MOTH have figured out that they can just buy sticky notes in different colors and call it good. :lol: The secret has sort of been out for a few years.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

MOTH seems to be fairly popular among the conservative, HSing set-there's enough sensible stuff in there and ppl seem to remember those bits, rather than all the crap they have to slog through to get there.

I've read a fair number of posts on HSing forums where ppl go to their informercials expecting more practical information, a la MOTH, and being shocked at the full scope of their crazy.

I agree with anniec up there, and think this is the other half of that.

Their recent conference in Orlando was advertised on Facebook as a "free homeschooling conference." Yeah, it was sponsored by a church, but imagine if you went to it expecting information about the nuts and bolts of homeschooling or tutoring a kid (even while expecting some level of Christian moralizing along the lines of MOTH) and then got... the Maxwell conference it all its entirety.

I mean, only one of their sessions is really about homeschooling at all!

One other thing, too - I'm not sure the Maxwells continually revisit the same churches, as it seems their lineup and "show" such as it is doesn't change that often. They'll have a new "session" now and then, but the old "sessions" don't really change, because they're just the same old infomercials for the same old books. So why would a church want to host a repeat performance?

If THAT is true, then I suspect they've probably gone through their list of "first-tier" Maxwellian churches (and did that while they were less extreme, even!) and now are having to pick up some second-tier places, which might not be as closely aligned. So they have a combination of themselves being more extreme, while their audience is less so.

...in which case, I am not surprised to find that they're encountering audiences that are "shocked" by the Maxwell message.

I mean, come on, Dad in shorts goes to "a free homeschooling conference" maybe interested to find out how he can keep his kids interested in Bible studies, he's heard of MOTH (or maybe even owns a copy), then shows up and gets harangued about how he needs to prevent his kids from participating in sports or having any friends, and meanwhile he's not fulfilling his duty to the family because he should be leading a Bible study every night. That's some pretty major bait and switch.

Of course for the Maxwells, they're probably smug about it, thinking that it's a good thing these people are being "shocked" onto the right path. It's the Good Person Test all over again.

I'd be interested to hear more from those homeschooling forums - the shock at the crazy has got to be huge! ;)

[library_youth]

Their fanbase seems to be in decline at the moment. Very few conferences scheduled this year, compared to previous years, fewer comments on the blog, and comments from the Maxwells themselves that their audiences have been 'stoic', needing to be 'warmed up' and 'shocked' by some of the material presented.

I saw that post where Sarah said people were shocked. I was tempted to leave a comment asking what people were shocked about, but figured it wouldn't be posted so I didn't bother.

[jockosmom]

It seems rather hypocritical to be too good to belong to a church the way the Maxwells do, but then rely on churches to issue invitations to them to come and sell their products, plus get free meals and other stuff out of the church people. Those two women who prepared the food at the recent conference (Sarah had a picture of them on the blog) have probably done more real hands-on Christian work during that "conference" than the Maxwells did.

[YPestis]

I think the Maxwells are really good with writing their own propaganda. They show pictures where they have a good turn out. They show pictures during busy times at their book stall. I think all this gives the impression they're treated like rock stars and their stalls are mobbed. I believe business has been good given their newly built house, their nice appliances, and new cars. However, I think they have to constantly come up with new ventures to maintain the flow of cash. Their ITonRamp thing, their schedule breeze software, Teri's new book etc.

At a certain point, given how isolated they are, they are going to run out of things to say or do based on their lifestyle. Not many people want to live like them. Most don't want to hear them talking about how great not having friends is. The Maxwells may appear to have fans, but I get the impression it's not really all that big. Plus, they will probably have to venture into other things in order to keep the family business afloat. Of course, withso many adult workers in the family all living under one roof, I bet that cuts down on costs.

[TMS]

Back when I was a wannabe fundie, I was homeschooling 3 kids, with one on the way. I was completely consumed with my responsibility as a homeschooling mom, and had read Teaching Home Magazine, Practical Homeschooling Magazine, as well as some books, and felt like such a failure because I could NOT figure out how to schedule my day to get the schooling done and here I was with "only" 3 kids, and one on the way....how did others do it??? God wanted me to homeschool, so there had to be a way, right? When I discovered Teri's MOTH book, it was a turning point in my life. I finally felt I could handle - and conquer - the task set before me!

Of course, after discovering her book and finding success in scheduling our homeschooling, I was curious about everything else - how did they do it? How do they have this big, happy family of older kids and stay so organized and get everything done?

It took a couple of years before I started thinking something was amiss....and this was about the year 2003. Then I just started seeing them as over the top crazy, the more I read their blog posts (and got innocently kicked off the MOMSboard). I always thought, well, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. But now I don't know how much (if any) bathwater is left.

[Guest Anonymous]

It took a couple of years before I started thinking something was amiss....and this was about the year 2003. Then I just started seeing them as over the top crazy, the more I read their blog posts (and got innocently kicked off the MOMSboard). I always thought, well, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. But now I don't know how much (if any) bathwater is left.

Please share! :D

[kpmom]

Plus, they will probably have to venture into other things in order to keep the family business afloat. Of course, withso many adult workers in the family all living under one roof, I bet that cuts down on costs.

True, but they also have to make enough to support more and more households. Right now it's Steve's, Nathan's, and Christopher's households. Someday, the younger boys will likely have their own families too. And maybe they'll have to support their sisters and mother after Steve passes on.

[terranova]

I think a lot of it has to do with the perfect image they portray. Their kids are well behaved, their daughters meek and mild, their sons manly and self financing (atleast the married ones). They have cute grandkids, a nice house, a golden lab and a bus ministry. I know a lots of the fundie blogs that I follow would aspire to have all of the above. The Maxwells never grumble on their blog, they give off the impression that everything is perfect in their world.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think a lot of it has to do with the perfect image they portray. Their kids are well behaved, their daughters meek and mild, their sons manly and self financing (atleast the married ones). They have cute grandkids, a nice house, a golden lab and a bus ministry. I know a lots of the fundie blogs that I follow would aspire to have all of the above. The Maxwells never grumble on their blog, they give off the impression that everything is perfect in their world.

As far as Steve is concerned, it'd better be perfect if they know what's good for them.

[FuManchu]

For some of their fans, there may be (consciously or not) a level of vicarious gratification - the feeling that, while they wouldn't want that lifestyle for themselves, someone should be doing it, and by supporting that someone they get to feel righteous while not actually having to spend their time acting like complete nutcases.

[lilwriter85]

For some of their fans, there may be (consciously or not) a level of vicarious gratification - the feeling that, while they wouldn't want that lifestyle for themselves, someone should be doing it, and by supporting that someone they get to feel righteous while not actually having to spend their time acting like complete nutcases.

Well said. I think some of their fans are that way and they probably buy products or attend conferences just to support the Maxwells and they probably do not know who the family is. I think it is the same with the some of the Duggar fans. I have read statements from fans who say they wouldn't want the family's lifestyle for themselves, but they like the Duggars for living "Christian lives." These types of fans buy the DVD's or books so they support a Christian family and some of these fans are in the dark about a lot of things about the Duggars.

[AmyP]

Back when I was a wannabe fundie, I was homeschooling 3 kids, with one on the way. I was completely consumed with my responsibility as a homeschooling mom, and had read Teaching Home Magazine, Practical Homeschooling Magazine, as well as some books, and felt like such a failure because I could NOT figure out how to schedule my day to get the schooling done and here I was with "only" 3 kids, and one on the way....how did others do it??? God wanted me to homeschool, so there had to be a way, right? When I discovered Teri's MOTH book, it was a turning point in my life. I finally felt I could handle - and conquer - the task set before me!

MOTH is still pretty well known among conservative christian homeschoolers for exactly this reason. Homeschooling is a huge scheduling headache, and moms can get pretty obscessed with organization systems. Homeschoolers are also very succeptible to the lure of the "perfect kids, perfect family promise". I had definately heard of MOTH through "word of mouth" but I had never visited their blog until I read about it here.

However, the Maxwell's lifestyle is nowhere near typical for the average homeschool family in the area where I live. Homeschooled kids are active in theatre groups, music groups, play many sports, attend enrichment and co-op classes, go to community college while they are still in high school, watch TV and movies, wear shorts, jeans, bathing suits at the beach, etc. The girls work part-time jobs in high school, and college is the norm for them. So yeah, there is going to be a huge "shock" factor for many conservative christian homeschooling families when they hear the Maxwell's full philosophy. Also, their lack of paticipation in a church community would be a huge "red flag" against them.