Joseph Duggar Courting: His Girlfriend’s Dad Thinks Gay People Don’t Exist
Joseph Duggar’s future father-in-law is a pastor who thinks that there is no such thing as homosexuality.
Joseph Duggar, 22, has recently entered into a courtship with Kendra Caldwell, 18, and fans of the Duggar family know what this means — there’s a high likelihood that Joseph will be married by the end of the year, and his proposal to Kendra will be filmed for a future episode of his family’s TLC series, Counting On. So who is Joseph’s future wife?
According to People, Joseph Duggar and Kendra Caldwell met at church.
“We are so excited to share the news with others that we are courting,” Joseph said. “Our families are close friends through church and this has allowed Kendra and me to get to know each other. She’s the best!”
Joseph Duggar is officially courting Kendra Caldwell https://t.co/2tSJpsx5Uw pic.twitter.com/VjOv19utmp
— People Magazine (@people) March 8, 2017
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Kendra Caldwell appeared on Jinger Duggar’s Counting On wedding special. She and her younger sister, Lauren, helped Joseph and a few other Duggar siblings work on the giant “V” of white roses that served as Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo’s wedding backdrop. There’s been some speculation that Lauren might be “getting to know” one of the other Duggar boys.
Kendra and Lauren’s father is the Duggar family’s pastor, Paul Caldwell. He preaches at the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and he, too, has made an appearance on Counting On. Pastor Caldwell is also the Duggar family’s mechanic, and he was filmed helping the Duggar boys change the oil in the SUV that they purchased as a wedding gift for Jinger.
Joseph Duggar’s future father-in-law made headlines in 2015 after his church began circulating pamphlets aimed at the LGBT community. According to Fox 24 News, members of Paul Caldwell’s congregation, some as young as five years old, walked door-to-door in Fayetteville handing out these pamphlets. Some residents said they were offended by what the religious pamphlets said.
“Does God love Homosexuals?” the handouts read. “This is a flawed question, there are no such things as Homosexuals.”
“Then why do I not have normal desires toward the opposite gender?” another question read. The pamphlet referred readers to Matthew 19:12 to answer this query.
“For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake,” the Bible verse reads. “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
Joseph Duggar’s pastor and future father-in-law claimed that his church “loves the LGBT community” and that the church was handing out these flyers in an effort to “reach out to them.” However, some Fayetteville residents didn’t think that the pamphlets were a loving or effective means of reaching out.
“If you read their literature you’ll see that they don’t actually believe that there are such thing as gay people, it’s almost a science-fiction idea that they have,” said Joanna McCusker.
The Duggar family’s anti-LGBT views have never been explored on Counting On, so it’s highly unlikely that viewers will hear Kendra and Joseph express their opinions about same-sex marriage or LGBT rights during the next season of the show. The Duggar Family Blog reports that Counting On will return this summer, and viewers will just see more of the same with the arrival of more babies and another proposal. There’s so much going on in Duggarland right now that fans may have to wait until the season after next to really get to know Joseph Duggar’s new girlfriend — Counting On still has to cover Joy-Anna Duggar’s engagement and wedding planning and the birth of Jessa’s second child.
Joseph Duggar and Kendra Caldwell’s short TLCme video will have to tide fans over until their courtship becomes a Counting On storyline. In the video, Joseph says that he and Kendra talked for six months before making their relationship official. Joseph reveals that he gave Kendra a promise ring, and she talks about why she’s excited to be courting the Counting On star.
“I’m looking forward to the side hugs and getting to do phone calls and texting and also get to be able to do ministry stuff together out in public and everyone knowing that we’re courting.”
In a January 2016 Facebook post, Joseph Duggar’s parents revealed that he completed one year at Crown Bible College in Tennessee. However, he returned home to work “with the Duggar family business doing construction,” so this is likely how he’ll support his future wife.
Do you think Joseph Duggar and Kendra Caldwell make a good match? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[Featured Image by TLC]
