“(34) O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
(35) A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bring forth evil things.
(36) But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.
(37) For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:34-37 (King James Version)
“Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished” Proverbs 16:5″
Throughout His time on earth, Christ called out the Pharisees for their self-righteousness and hypocrisy stemming from pedigree and countless years of meticulously learning and studying Jewish law. These leaders were too consumed with analyzing, scrutinizing and humiliating any who fell short in comparison to their vast religious knowledge or legalistic standards to see the reality of their own sin nature. Remember Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth when he stated, “Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth” (1 Corinthians 8:1)? Though man’s heart attempts to hide and protect its many short-comings, a pride similar to that of the Pharisees tends to expose itself through one’s speech, actions, and even non-verbal communications. It was not long after both of our families joined Antioch Baptist Church that we realized Douglas Stauffer’s arrogance bled over almost every sermon as he essentially established himself as one the most knowledgeable speakers on eschatology and the “1611 King James Bible.” As the years progressed, we also could not deny that Stauffer’s incessant numerical proclamations of his ministerial accomplishments further revealed the superiority complex that we truly believe was in his heart.
Stauffer’s 888 Page Book
In 2015, back when I still had respect for Douglas Stauffer, he made a startling statement behind the pulpit at our church, declaring that if one used the modern versions, he “[had] no authority.” He continued by proclaiming that if someone used the Greek or the Hebrew, he was “[his] own authority.” Growing up in an Independent Fundamental Church (IFB) and attending an IFB college, I believed- and still believe- that though God worked miraculously to give us an English Bible, the Greek and Hebrew are still God’s Word and can be used as tools in Bible study. With my husband’s permission, I privately sent Stauffer a Facebook message on the way home from church to verify that I heard correctly and to politely question his statement. Although he gave a very detailed response, one that I respect despite my disagreement with his point-of-view (click here to read the entire discussion), below are some excerpts from his reply that raised red flags about Douglas Stauffer as a person:
- Douglas Stauffer (June 25, 2018 at 9:22pm): “. . . We don’t use the Greek because those who don’t know it must then come to us to be there authority. God moved over to English..I prove this over and over in my 888 page book, One Book One Authority…”
- Douglas Stauffer (June 25, 2018 at 11:01pm): “My One Book STands Alone covers the editions of the KJB and why. Bro Regan [previous pastor at Antioch] also wrote a booklet on the subject. It would surprise you. I will give you a copy on Wednesday. This is the 400 page one. If you get through it, I will give you a copy of the larger volume.”
We could not help but wonder what kind of man supports his theories by spouting out the number of pages in a book he has written. What really surprised us about his comments, however, was when he even offered to give to give us the larger book if we finished his smaller, several hundred-page book!
The Treasure of Stauffer’s Heart
My husband and I simply filed these statements away in the back of our minds, but as Stauffer later spoke of the content of his previous messages or of the books he had written/was currently writing, his manner usually betrayed his words in truly giving God the glory by presenting a desire to be known, “liked,” “followed,” and highly esteemed as a distinguished Bible scholar. While each statement provided below gives little insight in isolation, the culmination of Stauffer’s posts from his personal Facebook page (“Douglas Stauffer”), and the Facebook page for one of his well-known books (“One Book Rightly Divided”), that proclaim his numerical achievements in ministry, is telling of the true focus of his heart:
- One Book Rightly Divided (March 14, 2018): “One Book Rightly Divided–a complete reworking of the original book almost twice the size–now available for pre-order. All advance orders will be signed and numbered…” (Link)
- One Book Rightly Divided (March 18, 2018): “Meet the co-author of One Book Rightly Divided. We have written four devotionals, two prophecy books and one children’s book together. God has used our partnership and bond to produce some wonderful works.” (Link)
- One Book Rightly Divided (July 16, 2018): “Just finished the rework on these charts … things are progressing well. We said the book will be double the size of the old editions … well, try 2.5 times larger!!!!” (Link)
- One Book Rightly Divided (August 1, 2018): “. . . Available for pre-publication ordering. The first edition was written over 20 years ago and published in the year 2000. Since then, the book has been updated twice and published several more times. It was originally 276 pages but now expanded to 750 pages. . . . On August 7th, 2018, EVERYTHING in the bookstore will be listed at FULL RETAIL including the One Book Rightly Divided which will be listed at the retail price of $40.00. At that time, this will be the new adjusted price for the book since the book will be almost triple the size of the original book.” (Link)
- One Book Rightly Divided (July 21, 2018): “How a CPA tracks progress of the readers and editors of the One Book Rightly Divided–chapters across the top (goes through 27 and the rest are add-ons (appendices, etc.)).
F- Finished;
W(red)- Working;
S-Sent;
D-Designed (formatted).
This is only the top part showing about 30 of those involved. Pray, pray, pray … we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel … hoping it is NOT a train heading our way! Doug & Andrew (Link)
In this series I share my thoughts and opinions concerning these ministers and the events which led to my departure. Click here to continue reading: “Blindsided: Douglas Stauffer’s Pharisaical Comparisons” or click on the link below.
For a list of the complete series, click here.
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