440 thoughts on “Having a Hissy Fit From the Pulpit”

  1. “You cain’t get this in any other church in town!” EXACTLY. Bahahaha!!!!

  2. Wow, he must have been a GREAT dad. Who are the idiots out there saying ‘Amen’ to that crap?

  3. Frankly, its just wrong to call this a hissy fit. The man is evil. The fact that he compares a person to money is telling – and chilling – clue about where this man’s heart is. He has contradicted all of Paul’s descriptions of love and the fruit of the Spirit. You will know them by their fruits.

  5. I feel worst for the guy back in the A/V room. Unfortunate names aside, that is almost exactly where I was. I helped as much as I could, and yet many times I needed an “attitude adjustment” (also the exact words those over me used). I just wanted to give what I could but that was never enough.

    1. I know your pain. I was the kingdom master of the media booth at my old fundie church. I’m a broadcast engineer building professional radio studios for stations and have installed several high dollar sound systems for other worship centers.

      However at my own church the sound system was never good enough for the MoG. He always had to make a comment about how the treble was too low and the bass was too high and publicly yell at us during the service.

      My MoG also caught wind that I was engineering audio/visual systems for other “entertainment” 😈 churches and I was told to stop. I escaped the IFB a few months later.

    2. I wonder why all the teens want to hang with this Cox guy. He is probably their youth pastor or something and pretty genuine, or at least cares for the kids and doesn’t condemn them.

      The coolest IFB I know is Tom Vasel. For a fundie, he is pretty tolerant. He reviews board games. Fairly unbiasedly as well. Like for example, he reviewed a game called “Chaos in the Old World”. It’s about being a demon and causing chaos (It’s a warhammer fantasy thing). He noted that the theme was too dark for him, and then reviewed the game on it’s own merits, summing up that he wouldn’t play it but that the game itself was good. He is also a youth pastor. He also has his own wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Vasel

      This post was completely unrelated to the video, except to say that Cox is probably more appealing to hang out with for teens than this nutjob in the video.

      1. I initially thought the guy was a teen himself, but according to the comments on youtube, he’s been at the church for more than 20 years. So could be a youth pastor.

        1. Mr. Cox is an adult in his 30s. Short, slight of build and very gentle and kind. He was raised in this church. I was a childhood member there but luckily got out.

        2. Former Member, no wonder Mr. Cox and the AV room are popular–kindness looks to be in short supply everywhere else in that church.

    4. I believe you’re right Elijah and I stopped working as soon as I realized that. I realized there was nothing commanding me to be under that type of leadership that just wanted what I could give not how the church should care about me.

  7. Can any of you imagine Jesus speaking to the woman at the well this way? Or how about the woman taken in adultery? Jesus met people with grace, mercy, and no condemnation. This man is the type of “Ass” (King James language) that gives christianity a bad name. People like him keep more people from Christ than anyone else. He is an arrogant, false prophet who needs to truly find Grace. He is a “Bastard” (KJV Language) and not a son of God. I hope his church is empty next Sunday!

    3. This is a very common occurence and not nearly the worst i have heard from him. I was a childhood member there. He preached at immanuel baptist skiatook for 20 some years.

      1. It’s hard to wrap my mind around “worse.” 🙄 Did you leave the church due to his abuse?

    4. The church building won’t be bereft of its members come Sunday. Many will be proud that their preacher is being persecuted and will find strength and validation in being a part of this group. Of course, some will be there because they are afraid not to be. They know what happens to people who don’t stay in their prescribed places.

      1. Excerpt from article:

        The video was posted on YouTube with the title “Jim Standridge Throws a Hissy Fit”. Mobile users click here to hear his comments.

        On Thursday, Standridge told the our sister station, FOX 23 in Tulsa he’s making no apologies.

        He told FOX 23 if there is a problem in his church, his members have to deal with him, even if it’s in public.

        “I do that a lot. If you were a member here I might call your name out sometime,” he said.

        This video of his sermon is now the talk of the town in Skiatook.

      2. “Standridge said the young man he called out in the video is no longer a member of the church. He also said he’s not there to grow a church, he is there to grow people.”

        Good for the young man.

        Jesus said that HE would build his church. Standridge certainly isn’t helping. He is more like the enemies of Nehemiah.

  9. The problem with gaining notoriety is that people who know your history now get a platform to talk about your past. The plot is apparently thickening:

    Jeremy Mitts
    “You people at IBC may recognize my name. If there is a god, he is giving you exactly what you deserve. I won’t be surprised when the news reports that he served you all kool-aid.
    I think it’s especially interesting that he was apparently preaching about adultery– when you all know that the person pulling the strings is nothing but a lowly whore” (Youtube comment)

    lucyndeskyz
    “I am from Skiatook. This preacher man has lots of skeltons in his closet”

    darvelmas
    “I’ve lived in the Skiatook area for more than 20 years. To those of us that know Mr. Standridge’s reputation, this video is not surprising at all. There’s not enough space in these comments for all the stories. And they are not rumors. They are first-hand accounts of things this man and his church have done to people. He does have a cult-like mentality, whether he planned it that way or not. And whether his followers believe that or not. He’ll put Skiatook on national news someday. Scary.”

    😯

    2. “You people at IBC may recognize my name. If there is a god, he is giving you exactly what you deserve. I won’t be surprised when the news reports that he served you all kool-aid. I think it’s especially interesting that he was apparently preaching about adultery– when you all know that the person pulling the strings is nothing but a lowly whore”

      Dude. Wow.

    3. And he has done just that (put Skiatook ok the national news). There are now over 500K views and Youtube and counting — plus all the copies. I’m recovering from surgery and have had some time to listen to last Sunday morning’s “talk.” He used personal pronouns – I, me, mine, etc., – approximately 176 times.
      😯

    1. I’d say there’s reasonable evidence for one to conclude that personality disorders are not quite the same as mental illnesses (which are generally treatable). These men have personality disorders, imo.

  11. You guys need to check out Steven Anderson’s sermon “Calling on the name of the Lord” on Youtube if you want to see a REAL hissy fit! Like, kicking-the-Bible mad…. I kid you not!

    1. Ole Stevie’s at it again. That would be continually. I know — Steve and Jim could be co- “pastors” of Podunk church. 😆

      Steve is infamous for his “piss against the wall” speech (I refuse to call it a sermon). Also on Youtube.

  12. Is this guy out of line? Sure. But, let’s be honest…how many preachers wouldn’t love to be able to go off like this?

    I have a dad and brother who are both preachers and I know these same kinds of things annoy them to no end. A couple who never comes to church, but wants you to marry them. And you know as soon you marry them, you’ll never see them again.

    Shoot, as a faithful church member, I’ve often wished pastors had more liberty to speak frankly about lousy church attendance.

    He’s an old guy and probably feels like he’s got nothing to lose at this point so he might as well just start telling people what he really thinks.

    That doesn’t make it right, but part of me respects it.

    1. The couple who were getting married at the church consists of a man who was a member at the church. He had missed a couple of Sundays, but nobody had rung him and asked if there was a reason for it. His fiancee was not yet a member of the church, and now will never be because of the verbal abuse they suffered.

      I suspect when you start to struggle with the basic idea of treating members of your congregation with respect, let alone with love, then you should probably find a new job. I would respect that. Many people come to a point in their lives when they need to change occupations.

      1. I didn’t defend what the guy did.

        I’m just saying, try to find a pastor in America who, at some point in their ministry, hasn’t wanted let ‘er rip from the pulpit.

        1. Sure. And find a pastor who hasn’t, at some point in their ministry, been tempted to commit adultery with some hot number in the church. Maybe the secretary?

          Temptation is no excuse for doing.

          And the fact that he did meant he had crossed the boundary away from being their pastor to being a hireling.

          There is no room for abuse. He should have come publicly afterward and apologized on his knees. Instead, when asked by a TV crew about the incident he justified himself and said he stood by his actions. He had a chance to repent, and didn’t.

          That seems the same sort of pride that got Satan cast out of heaven. It should at least get this man thrown out of the pulpit.

        3. There may be reasons to “let ‘er rip” from the pulpit on occasion. If, say, a visitor gets mistreated by the entire congregation. But there is NEVER a reason to single out people for abuse like this; for things that aren’t even WRONG. If the “pastor” has a problem with individual behavior, he needs to go to the individual.

    2. Well, there is always a devil’s advocate isn’t there? Whatever is out of line with any given church member should be addressed in private, not in front of the congregation. This creepy man is classically cultish and manipulative in his whole approach. Don’t take my word, read any list of the signs of a cult and see for yourself.

  13. This is truly sickening. how Jim Jones of him to publically humiliate his members. How utterly cultish of him to threaten his members with abandonment as if they would be destitute w/out him because after all, he must be the BLESSER in their lives instead of God. Jim Jones used to threaten to kill himself and abandon his members; this congregation is nothing like The People’s Temple, but it has the same spirit of oppression lead by a bully with narcissistic personality disorder. Poor folks.

    1. Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see the link for the infamous sermon on the religious organization’s FB page.

    1. I’m just wondering … if no one gets “little degrees” who will the big tithers be? If all you have are folks with Fundy High diplomas or Fundy U degrees, you’re gonna need way more of them to finance your ops than the people with real, accredited degrees.

    2. The best part of that rant was when he made it about himself when he says, “you count my life as something..very …secondary if anything.”

      Throughout his lecture he makes it all about himself.

      1. I thought the most telling part of his “pissy fit” was when he said “I am somebody” and I’m important”.

        What a pathetic excuse for a shepherd. 👿

        If I had been there is would have turned to my husband and said “Let’s get the flock outa here.

      2. “Throughout his lecture he makes it all about himself.”

        Don, that is a powerful statement.

        Before we came out of IFBism, we visited an IFB church at the beach. The sermon was about how he was doing God’s work, how he was saving people, how he was this and how he was that.

        Big church, by the way. Everybody seemed to love it. Amens and praise God and all that.

        Except I didn’t like it, and we found another IFB church to go to. We went for several years, going when we came to the beach for vacation each year. But in this church we were virtually ignored. Funny that I do not remember one sermon from that place.

        Finally, one year we were getting ready for church, but not looking forward to the place where we were going. I told them, as a cultural exercise, we were going to visit an Episcopal Church.

        What a difference! What a refreshing change!

        Years from there, I am now an Episcopalian.

        1. Those preachers are following in the footsteps of Jack Hyles. Every sermon by JH had the same subject: How great Jack Hyles is.

    3. Because my parents didn’t have a lot of money for tuition for a Bible college, I attended the local state university for which I had a scholarship. Being the little goody2shoes I was then, I never missed church except for an occasional Wednesday night when I had to go take exams for one of my courses. One Sunday pastor’s wife mentioned she missed me on Wednesday night and asked if I was sick. When I told her I had to take an exam she seized the coveted opportunity to chastise me for attending “that ungodly university” and thank God her son (who wasn’t that smart) chose to go to Fundy U, and I was do tempted to remind her was at the congregation’s expense, but I bit my tongue. Oh, well…..

    4. Because my parents didn’t have a lot of money for tuition for a Bible college, I attended the local state university for which I had a scholarship. Being the little goody2shoes I was then, I never missed church except for an occasional Wednesday night when I had to go take exams for one of my courses. One Sunday pastor’s wife mentioned she missed me on Wednesday night and asked if I was sick. When I told her I had to take an exam she seized the coveted opportunity to chastise me for attending “that ungodly university” and thank God her son (who wasn’t that smart) chose to go to Fundy U, and I was so tempted to remind her was at the congregation’s expense, but I bit my tongue. Oh, well…..

      1. Dear Arlene,
        It would appear that you received an accredited education since your parents had to enroll you in a state university. What a blessing!

        1. Yes, I was truly fortunate. (I’m not sure why my blurb got posted twice). One of the great eye openers for me was learning that over half my healthcare occupation class was Roman Catholic and they exhibited volumes more compassion and practical knowledge of how to care for others than I had ever witnessed in my IFB church. I also had contact with the various Christian campus organizations that were routinely demonized by my church and could not understand why that was the case. Sadly I avoided them “just to be safe” and lost out on opportunities to learn to really grow in Christ and form friendships. It was the beginning of a long process of deprogramming.

  16. There haven’t been any sermons posted since this thread was posted. Do you think we scared them off from posting them anymore?

    2. Either that or he has banned Young Cox from the Video Room Kindgom and without Cox there’s no video??

      1. Let’s not give ourselves too much credit. SFL only posted this on 24 June. I’m not sure they have had TIME to post other sermons since then.

        2. Don, did any respond to all the negative attention he has been getting?

        3. Not so far as I can tell. It’s a bit of a slog to listen to his preaching. He did talk about being interviewed by a local reporter but it was in regards to the Supreme Court rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. That was the Wednesday evening service of 6/26.

        5. Sunday 6/30 was a “special service” so Standridge didn’t preach… but at the end there was an altar call where Jim said “Come to me and let’s cry out together to God. Come to me that you might impart the sacrifice of yourself to your savior, that you might be wholly his. Come now and make that decision…. I give you me.” Golly, God must be so excited when people do this for him. What a Blessing that must be to God. What a gift we are to god eh? *shudder* Sorry, but that is a man-centered/decisional gospel and it makes me sick. There is just enough mention of God, and redemption to make it sound biblical but it is not the Gospel of Christ, that is not salvation by Grace thorough Faith… but of decision, works and performance.

          And I can say with 100% certainty this is not an IFB church as we define the IFB. But they did have a whole mess of flags in the auditorium Sunday.

        6. The “I give you me” was Jim’s instruction on what to do at the altar, that you come to the altar and tell the Lord “I give you me.”

    1. Now it is up to 266,577 – with lots of imitators reposting to get in on the action.

      Yeah, Jim Standridge sure is somebody all right. LOL!

  19. Despicable…why on earth would anyone subject themselves to this nonsense?! Some shepherd he is…

  20. “I’m important. I’m somebody. You might treat your English teacher that way . . . ” So English teachers aren’t important?

    2. Don, it’s interesting how at the 1:45 mark he starts commenting on the current controversy and compares himself to Amos, and not he’s not worrying about what a “carnal mind” and a “fleshly pen” writes about him.

      1. Yep. I was impressed with the entire Bill O’Riley mystical premonition “Don’t go to New York City” and then CNN calls him thingy.
        😐 🙄

      2. I don’t know who was preaching at where I tuned in–the youth pastor?–but he says directly that salvation can no longer be preached as coming from grace and prosperity.

        …

        That’s like saying that omelets are not made with eggs and uranium.
        👿

        1. I don’t even know what that means. Further, I’m not inclined to listen to the sermon to find out.

        2. I skipped through the Youth Pastor’s part. I have listened to enough of what is preached at this church to know that it is full of error and border line heresy at times.
          I understand J Heller. I understand your comparison that salvation is by grace and has nothing whatsoever to do with the poison of prosperity contrasted with the fact that Omelets are made with eggs but have nothing to do with the poison of uranium. Saying salvation can no longer be preached as coming from grace is non-sequitur at best and heresy if they truly hold to that teaching.

        3. So does he explain exactly what salvation is if it’s not about grace?

        4. “The age of salvation by grace and prosperity is over.” Said at around the 1:30 point. To answer the question, I’m thinking he is saying that our own perseverance saves us.
          👿

    1. Comment from 14WFIE Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/14news?fref=ts on this:

      Phyllip Davis: I don’t have a problem with it. He showed that he loved them by telling the truth. Would you rather have a preacher that makes you feel good and not make you a better Christian? Is the outrage coming from his church? Someone saw the online stream and started the controversy. If he was a bad pastor, he wouldn’t have full pews and his congregation wanting him to perform their weddings. The hypocrisy is the commenters talking about him passing judgement while they’re judging him. A pastor at a church that you’ve never heard of is the reason you don’t go to church? Yeah right. God bless this man for protecting his flock in the eyes of God.

      1. One of those he picked on, the one only worth 15 cents, has left the church.

        Some pastor. Instead of rescuing the sheep, he throws them over the cliff.

        But as for “telling them the truth,” does that include things like “I’m important”? Does that include the exalted references to himself, or the demand that they submit to him? He never tells them to submit to Christ.

        Along with the Biblical command to “reprove, rebuke” is the command to “exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” To “exhort”is to encourage, not to rip to shreds.

        Seems to me that you need better standards for your preachers/ministers. Any old wolf can tell the truth in a manner that will leave people bruised and hurting and bleeding. It takes a shepherd to be patient and loving while setting people on the right path.

        1. I want a pastor who shows me Christ’s love so fully and unabashedly that I WANT to live a more right life. Not one who shames or guilts or abuses me into his legalistic definitions of what “holy living” ought to look like!

      2. Oh, that was what I would “reply” to Phyllip.

        I don’t do facebook very much. Too much other stuff to do.

  25. Unfortunately, Jim Standridge’s behavior in this video is not that uncommon. Many good, caring, and loving people have left this church because they were labeled “troublemakers” if they had the audacity to question the pastor or those in his close circle. We left over 15 years ago and it doesn’t appear that much has changed since then.

  26. Good for you. Leaving there was probably one of the best things you ever did!.

  27. A friend of mine shared this on facebook a couple weeks ago. It broke my heart. It reminded me so very much of a pastor that came in and took control of what had once been a loving and vibrant church and quickly became a dying church on the heels of his spiritual abuse. I know it turned my sister of faith altogether, and I worry his actions may have cost her truly knowing Christ. I worry equally for every child in the pews of this man’s church who believe that this is what Christianity looks like. If it were, I’d not be a Christian either. So my heart breaks for all the kids and young people in his audience especially – that they might miss out on the Gospel altogether.

    Also, if I were the young lady in the couple he addresses I would have told him off and said “No. No I don’t feel that you love me one bit.” Flipped him the bird and marched right out of there. Which he would have then, of course, used as evidence that I’d be going to Hell. But I honestly think that my ability to say no to spiritual abuse is why I’m still a Christian and my sister is not. 🙁

  28. When someone says things like that to someone and takes a small break and tells them how much he loves them, then says garbage like that again, they call that “Passive Aggressive.” A cowardly way of running his mouth to people. Yea, those church people are nuts to put up with that.

  29. Good grief, the man is equating himself to God, “submit to me…”, sick and weird and not just a little mental.

  30. Dear Jim Sandburger:

    Preacher say: I wouldn’t marry him!
    I reply: That’s OK … I wouldn’t marry you.

    Preacher say: ‘Not worth 15 cents…’
    I reply: ‘Yet where I come from, one of me buys a dozen of you.’

    Preacher say: ‘You get outta my way when I’m messin’ with that boy … last I checked, he’s a grown man.’
    I reply: ‘Checkin’ my kid, are you? If I ever catch you messin’ with my kid, this baseball bat swinging at your face will be the last thing you’ll ever see…’

    In sum, you’re sick, disgusting and sick. I take you up on your challenge! Hit the road, Jack … er … Jim!

    Christian Socialist

  31. Heh. I had my own kingdom in the audio room and it was also a teen hangout.

    I think this guy’s gonna experience a lot of audio and video trouble from here on out.

    Smart AV guy would alter his wireless mic so that it’s never actually off, and patch that directly into a hidden recorder.

  32. Immanuel Baptist Church of Skiatook — what a DICK! Would NEVER attend that DICtator’s church! 😈

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