Brother Stair
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Ralph G. "Brother" Stair is a radio preacher. Stair was born of German ancestry on May 3, 1933 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Stair cites the fact that his birthplace shares the same name of the birthplace of Jesus as proof of his credibility. Married at age 18 to a woman four years his senior, Stair began preaching as a teenager and spent many years as a traveling evangelist with his first wife before settling in the Savannah, Georgia area in the 1960s. The marriage ended in divorce in 1978.
His preaching emphasized an impending Second Coming of Christ following a nuclear war. His signature sign-off was, and still is:
"This is the Voice of the Last Day Prophet of God. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Jesus Christ is coming in your lifetime! This is the last generation! Prepare to meet your God! Maranatha!"
Stair warned of vast conspiracies involving world political and religious leaders and instructed his followers to sell all their possessions, donate the proceeds to him for the purchase of more land and airtime, and flee to rural areas. In the 1980s, Stair claimed the United States would face an economic collapse; that President Reagan would be removed from office; and that a limited nuclear war would strike the U.S. and wipe out every major city. He claimed that if these prophecies did not come true by May of 1988 then he would declare himself a false prophet and end his ministry.
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[edit] Life with Brother Stair
Stair almost never uses his first name or initials. He, his radio audience, and his critics alike almost always refer to him as "Brother" Stair. He also refers to himself as "The Last Day Prophet of God". He did use his initials for a time in the 70's calling himself R.G. Stair, He did not want to be confused with his son, because both of them were called Brother Stair at the time. His son currently has no contact with him.
Stair was only in the Philadelphia area for one year, in 1957. He later traveled across the US and settled in Savannah, Georgia, in the 1960s. He moved to South Carolina after his divorce from his first wife.
Stair's closest followers moved with him in the late 1980s to a commune set up in a former motel near Walterboro, South Carolina. As more people joined Stair's group, now calling itself "The Overcomer Ministry", trailers were added to the property and additional lands nearby and in other states were purchased. The main location was, and still is, a farm located almost exactly on the 33rd parallel, a latitude which historically has been associated with the occult.
Stair's theological teachings were, and still are, unfocused: Oneness Pentecostalism spiked with a collection of beliefs cribbed from various denominations. Stair was heavily influenced by circuit preachers A. A. Allen and William Branham and he occasionally played tapes of these men on his radio show. Stair also was influenced by Baptist radio preacher Lester Roloff, who advocated strict physical punishment as discipline for adolescents, and a rejection of processed foods, especially sugar.
Among Stair's other tenets:
- Like many Independent Baptists, Stair prefers the King James Version of the Bible as the most accurate translation of the Bible into the English language.
- From the Seventh-day Adventists came the Saturday Sabbath and the fundamental teaching of resting on the Seventh Day.
- From the Holiness Movement came the strict dress code and return to traditional gender roles.
- From the Restoration Movement came a rejection of all religious denominations and titles.
- From traditional Pentecostalism came speaking in tongues.
- From the Amish came a rejection of modern technology and the return to an agrarian lifestyle.
- Stair offered some praise for the moral stances - if not the racial beliefs - of Christian Identity preachers like Peter J. Peters who bought airtime on some of the same stations that Stair did. From the start, Stair denounced the entire Identity movement, noting that many members of his group are African-Americans. From the beginning of his ministry Stair has ministered to all races, cited by his many encounters with the Ku Klux Klan, who threatened his life many times.
Stair also teaches that television is evil. It therefore came as a surprise to some when he started his own website outreach in 1998. Stair also rejects modern medicine as sinful. Stair's followers also follow strictly defined rules based on gender: Women do not cut their hair, wear no makeup or jewelry and are forbidden from wearing pants or slacks. Males are encouraged to wear beards, and are forbidden from having long hair or tattoos. Alcohol and tobacco are forbidden.
[edit] The Voice of the Overcomer
During the early years of his radio ministry, Stair would deliver his broadcasts on a strictly local basis from Philadelphia and Boston, purchasing airtime on local stations, but it was only after the move to South Carolina that Stair began building his broadcasting empire. Flush with cash from the sale of his followers' property, and large anonymous donations, Stair began purchasing airtime on high powered clear channel AM and shortwave radio stations. His gravelly, emotional tenor voice was soon being heard by a worldwide audience.
Most of Stair's broadcasts were of his preaching, often pre-recorded. At other times he would take live phone calls on the air or play tapes of his worship services. Also frequently aired were tapes of Alexander Scourby's recitation of the King James Version of the Bible. Tapes would often switch abruptly and many of the recordings were of poor audio quality.
His explosive temper and lack of broadcasting polish and technique earned him many sarcastic fans who disagreed with his teachings but found him fascinating and occasionally tried to call up and provoke him. His "fans" dubbed him "Brother Scare" for his doom-centered preaching.
As his purchases of radio airtime increased, Stair brokered a deal with pirate radio activist Allan Weiner to broadcast from a ship Weiner owned, the MV Fury. Again, Stair interpreted the ship's name as a prophetic allusion to the wrath of God. With Stair fronting the cash and Weiner providing the technical expertise, the ship was to be docked in international waters off the coast of Belize. Before the ship could leave Charleston Harbor, the FCC raided it and confiscated the broadcasting equipment. The FCC claimed that they had monitored test transmissions coming from some of Weiner's friends aboard the ship, which Weiner and Stair both denied. Eyewitnesses reported that the transmissions actually came from an amateur radio in the ship's communications room, operated by a drunken sailor not affiliated with the ministry. Weiner would later own licensed shortwave station WBCQ in Monticello, Maine and would sell airtime to Stair on the station.
Undaunted, Stair continued purchasing larger blocks of shortwave airtime to air his preaching including the entire schedule of some transmitters. In contrast to his increasing, if not ubiquitous, presence on the late-night and shortwave radio dials, Stair and his organization became more and more secretive in dealing with the outside world.
Shortly after the turn of the century, Stair purchased a local AM radio station, WQIZ AM 810kHz, for $150,000. In 2003, he sold it for $200,000 to a network affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church (FCC records and broadcast industry periodicals).
Among the revelations about life with Stair that would later emerge; Stair never applied for building permits for many of the additions constructed on the Walterboro commune. When several members of his commune died, Stair would block or delay notification of the local authorities. The deceased were simply buried on commune property. Despite the secrecy and seclusion, many outside the commune were becoming very suspicious as reports of sordid behavior by Stair were escaping his tightly controlled universe.
Notable incidents included the secret burial of an infant in an unmarked grave at Stair's behest, and the demise of evangelist Wayne Douglas (renamed "Simon" by Stair) who died a slow, lingering death after his return in good health from a missionary trip to Africa. Stair had prophesied that Douglas would die in Africa, and when that prophecy failed he retroactively amended it by claiming that Douglas contracted a fatal disease there. Suspicions remain about what exactly was in the "herb" capsules Stair provided for Douglas during his decline.
[edit] Stair Arrested
On May 16, 2002, Stair was placed under arrest and charged with sexual misconduct towards several underage members of his commune. Among the allegations that emerged from Stair's arrest and criminal trial:
- Stair provided herbs that caused miscarriages and stillbirths to several women he had impregnated, including some that were underage.
- Stair had obtained a large collection of pornography over an Internet connection that only he was allowed to use.
- Married couples were forbidden from having sex unless approved by Stair
Stair spent over two months in prison as part of a plea bargain to settle the charges. His following and ability to purchase airtime have decreased following the embarrassing allegations, and his troubles with the law have continued.
- In 2004, Stair pled guilty to charges of assault and battery after fondling two female members of his organization.
- The following year, police responded to a 9-1-1 call placed by Stair's wife Theresa who stated that her husband was locking her in a room and preventing her from using the toilet. Brother Stair could be heard screaming in the background before forcibly hanging up the phone. No charges were filed as a result of this incident.
- As of 2005, Stair faced a civil suit filed by several ex-followers seeking over $177,000 in damages.
Acknowledging some of his failings, while denying some of the charges pressed against him, Stair has pleaded for forgiveness on his show, but most of his religious teachings and beliefs remain unchanged.
[edit] Miscellaneous
The rock group Live (whose members, like Stair, are originally from Southeastern Pennsylvania) included two brief soundbites of Stair in their 1994 song "White, Discussion".
