Pastors and church members alike stand in grateful awe of an innocent young man who daily longs for a closer walk with his Heavenly Father, and desires nothing more than to follow God to ends of the earth, no matter the sickness, storms, or trials that may come, even if it means he loses his life. On the other hand, there are wolves and serpents who desire to destroy them or at the very least, tear them down, leaving them to pick up the pieces. Why is this? Is it jealousy? It is a bitterness toward God? Is it because man wrongfully tends to esteem the missionary calling above the work of an evangelist in the states? Or is it the future missionary’s child-like faith that stings and convicts the heart of men like Douglas Stauffer?
Just a Little Boy in Michigan
The spunky little boy elbows his brother as the missionary wife teaching the rambunctious Sunday preschool class is asking for the hands of those who want to accept Christ as their Savior. His older brother tries to pull his arm down until his side is met by the pointed corner of the little boy’s elbow. As the blonde preschooler proceeds to go to another room with a few other children, he does not come to a saving knowledge of Christ until the very moment he is repeating back, and simultaneously grasping, the points of a sinner’s prayer.
A Call to Missions
At the age of seven, he surrenders to be a missionary, and at the age of twelve, specifically to the lost and dying souls in Africa. As a teenager, the young man fervently studies the word of God and prays with such personal intimacy that God can be felt nearby with every word. During his first year of Bible college, after a heavy influence on the country of Zambia, Africa (two countries north of South Africa), he yields himself yet again to the tugging of the Holy Spirit to reach the Deaf in Zambia, a people group often without even a basic language structure, almost completely unreached for Christ.
Moving Forward by Faith
That same year, that Christian young man and I meet, myself just a young Christian girl also surrendered to missions, but completely entrenched in the troughs of a legalistic, Independent Fundamental Baptist mini-cult situation. We begin courting as the situation unravels, and we begin to plan our lives together through deputation and serving God on the mission field. A couple years after getting married, we leave the pastor-worshiping church at the college and find a quaint little church in the Knoxville area: Antioch Baptist Church. We join knowing full-well that my husband, Matthew Olds, will likely never receive his bachelor’s degree because we were initially from out-of-state and will no longer be members, per the enforced rules at our Bible college. We press-on through education at Antioch Bible Institute in preparation for the mission field. Just a few months later in 2014, the Lord works a miracle, placing Matt on the list to walk at graduation, opening the door for him to complete his classes and officially complete his degree. All he needs are a couple more classes and his mission’s internship, a trip that he has been planning for years to use as his survey trip to the mission field.
An Opportunity to Visit the Mission Field
Later in the fall, an opportunity arises to go to Zambia through a missionary the church supports, but because of timing, Matt will have to get his passport and visa within two weeks, leaving me and our infant nursling at home in order to visit the field. This may be our only opportunity to see the field before deputation, but the largest Ebola outbreak in history recently emerged and is spreading rapidly, killing thousands of people, even within the Congo, one of Zambia’s neighboring countries. Even though I am a mess and trying to support him, Matt trusts the Lord, by faith, that if God desires for him to go on the trip that month, that God will work it out. Evangelist Doug Stauffer, on the other hand, strongly points out the logical flaws in expecting God to come through on such short notice and with the hectic circumstances. Individually, Matt and I see a stark difference in Stauffer’s view versus the spirit of faith so evident in our pastor, Andrew Ray. In the end, the trip does not come together, but we continue to pray that God will open the doors for us to visit the field before starting deputation.
Looking back, I can see the discernment in not going to Africa during the Ebola outbreak, but we had been taught repeatedly to “count the cost.” Even before surrendering to the field, we knew of missionaries that God protected when they ended up being swept down the Amazon river, literally watching the piranhas as they went, as well as countless other missionaries who lost their lives for cause of Christ. But Matt kept his eyes “set like a flint” (Isaiah 50:7) with a tunnel-vision on the precious Deaf he had prayed for already for years. This was our first true interaction with Douglas Stauffer beyond casual conversations about the King James Bible and the end times, and what we saw very vividly was Stauffer’s rapid shifting to relying on sight instead of faith. We questioned Stauffer’s mindset in the coming months, but when Pastor Andrew Ray encouraged us to garner wisdom from Stauffer as the head of missions, we attempted to trust our pastor despite our hesitations. But was Stauffer a man from whom it would be prudent to seek wise counsel and understanding?
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- Clouds Without Rain” or click on the link below.
For a list of the complete series, click here.
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