Brother Stair
Encyclopedia
Ralph Gordon Stair also known as Brother R. G. Stair, or simply Brother Stair, is an American
radio preacher based in Walterboro, South Carolina
.
. He was ordained a Methodist minister, but left organized religion, stating "I just call myself a Christian." He moved to the South in the 1950s, saying that God had told him to move there because it would be "the safest place for Christians in the end time."
Many critics of his radio ministry call him "Brother Scare" because of his manner of speaking.
Stair purchased a motel in Walterboro, South Carolina in 1978, and encouraged followers to move to the community, sell all their possessions, take a vow of poverty and donate all that they owned to Overcomer Ministries. The multi-racial, multi-generational community of about 70 strive for self-sufficiency and simplicity, growing their own food and making their own clothes. Community members live in mobile homes and handmade houses, eating communal meals and gathering for Saturday worship in the Tabernacle. They dress conservatively; women wear long skirts and men wear long pants and shirts with collars. Typically, work is divided along traditional gender lines, with men performing farm/manual labor and women doing domestic chores.
Stair broadcasts from a solar-powered radio studio based in the community, often for hours at a time. He leases airtime on large coverage AM radio stations (particularly in the nighttime hours) and uses shortwave radio to convey his message to the US, Europe and Israel. In the 1990s, Brother Stair was heard on 120 stations, though by 2007 this had been reduced to 25. Broadcast expenditures of about $1 million are funded by donations from listeners. While gifts can reach about $100,000 a month, in recent years the ministry has failed to break even. In 1993 and 1994 Stair and his ministry were partners in a failed ship-based pirate radio project.
Stair's teachings place a strong emphasis on millennial
predictions of world-changing events resulting from divine judgment. In the year 1999, he said that there would be such changes at the dawn of the third millennium. "If the Lord God Almighty does not make a major move before the year 2000," he said, "I'll tell God to go to Hell." Stair also has received publicity over the years for several of his missed predictions, including a nuclear war prophesied for 1988.
Over the years, Stair has been involved in a number of controversies, including allegations of sexual abuse, of infant deaths, and that his ministry is a cult
. Stair objects to medical intervention, and teaches avoidance of doctors. Commune members typically follow Stair's teaching, and in the 1980s and 1990s, local authorities investigated after three infants died during or shortly after birth at the compound.
In 1988, relatives were concerned when a couple sold their home and moved to the community in the wake of prophecies of nuclear war, and raised concerns that the group was a cult, whose members could not leave because Stair controlled their money. The Philadelphia chapter of the Chicago based Cult Awareness Group was quoted as comparing the organization to a cult and Stair to Jim Jones
. A business colleague described the group as "bizarre", and that they "walk around like zombies. He's a David Koresh
waiting to happen." Stair denied the allegations, stating that he had no power to compel people to any action, and an investigation by local law enforcement officials found no evidence of wrongdoing.
In 2002, Stair, then aged 69, was arrested in Walterboro on two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree. Two women associated with the compound, ages 18 and 20, alleged that he coerced them by "enforcing his religious/personal beliefs" on them. In 2004, Stair pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault and battery by fondling the two former residents, and was sentenced to time served, a total of 77 days in custody. During his incarceration, recorded programs continued to be broadcast. Stair's conviction caused division in the community, and about 40 members of the community left. However, about 70 residents remained loyal to him and there are two small branch communities, which are part of his ministry One former member began his own shortwave program after leaving the community.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio preacher based in Walterboro, South Carolina
Walterboro, South Carolina
Walterboro is a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,153 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Colleton County.-History:...
.
Early life
Stair was born in Bethlehem, PennsylvaniaBethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
. He was ordained a Methodist minister, but left organized religion, stating "I just call myself a Christian." He moved to the South in the 1950s, saying that God had told him to move there because it would be "the safest place for Christians in the end time."
Many critics of his radio ministry call him "Brother Scare" because of his manner of speaking.
Overcomer Ministry
Stair leads Overcomer Ministry, a conservative Christian organization that runs a widely heard radio-based ministry.Stair purchased a motel in Walterboro, South Carolina in 1978, and encouraged followers to move to the community, sell all their possessions, take a vow of poverty and donate all that they owned to Overcomer Ministries. The multi-racial, multi-generational community of about 70 strive for self-sufficiency and simplicity, growing their own food and making their own clothes. Community members live in mobile homes and handmade houses, eating communal meals and gathering for Saturday worship in the Tabernacle. They dress conservatively; women wear long skirts and men wear long pants and shirts with collars. Typically, work is divided along traditional gender lines, with men performing farm/manual labor and women doing domestic chores.
Stair broadcasts from a solar-powered radio studio based in the community, often for hours at a time. He leases airtime on large coverage AM radio stations (particularly in the nighttime hours) and uses shortwave radio to convey his message to the US, Europe and Israel. In the 1990s, Brother Stair was heard on 120 stations, though by 2007 this had been reduced to 25. Broadcast expenditures of about $1 million are funded by donations from listeners. While gifts can reach about $100,000 a month, in recent years the ministry has failed to break even. In 1993 and 1994 Stair and his ministry were partners in a failed ship-based pirate radio project.
Stair's teachings place a strong emphasis on millennial
Millennialism
Millennialism , or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which "Christ will reign" for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state...
predictions of world-changing events resulting from divine judgment. In the year 1999, he said that there would be such changes at the dawn of the third millennium. "If the Lord God Almighty does not make a major move before the year 2000," he said, "I'll tell God to go to Hell." Stair also has received publicity over the years for several of his missed predictions, including a nuclear war prophesied for 1988.
Over the years, Stair has been involved in a number of controversies, including allegations of sexual abuse, of infant deaths, and that his ministry is a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
. Stair objects to medical intervention, and teaches avoidance of doctors. Commune members typically follow Stair's teaching, and in the 1980s and 1990s, local authorities investigated after three infants died during or shortly after birth at the compound.
In 1988, relatives were concerned when a couple sold their home and moved to the community in the wake of prophecies of nuclear war, and raised concerns that the group was a cult, whose members could not leave because Stair controlled their money. The Philadelphia chapter of the Chicago based Cult Awareness Group was quoted as comparing the organization to a cult and Stair to Jim Jones
Jim Jones
James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
. A business colleague described the group as "bizarre", and that they "walk around like zombies. He's a David Koresh
David Koresh
David Koresh , born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh on May 15, 1990. A 1993 raid by the U.S...
waiting to happen." Stair denied the allegations, stating that he had no power to compel people to any action, and an investigation by local law enforcement officials found no evidence of wrongdoing.
In 2002, Stair, then aged 69, was arrested in Walterboro on two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree. Two women associated with the compound, ages 18 and 20, alleged that he coerced them by "enforcing his religious/personal beliefs" on them. In 2004, Stair pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault and battery by fondling the two former residents, and was sentenced to time served, a total of 77 days in custody. During his incarceration, recorded programs continued to be broadcast. Stair's conviction caused division in the community, and about 40 members of the community left. However, about 70 residents remained loyal to him and there are two small branch communities, which are part of his ministry One former member began his own shortwave program after leaving the community.