ORU Scandal.

A Tulsa judge will hear motions next month in connection with the ORU lawsuit.

ORU's request for a quick court date has been denied.

ORU Scandal.

The scandal keeps getting better and better as Richard Roberts has decided to take a leave of absence :

The last 3 weeks have taken a serious toll on me and my family. The untrue allegations have struck a terrible blow in my heart. The untrue allegations of sexual misconduct by my wife have hurt the most. It has broken her heart and the hearts of my children that such untrue allegations could be made. Lindsay and my children have sustained heavy damage these last weeks. God is very interested in the family unit and so am I.

The plaintiffs have said "We don't know if any of these allegations are true, but they are so defaming that the Roberts won't survive." We Roberts have a strong faith in God and in what is right. We will do what is right and trust the Lord.

Today, I have asked the Board of Regents of Oral Roberts University to grant me a temporary leave of absence until such time as these matters can be resolved. I have prayed about it, and feel that it is in the best interest of my family and the University.

I have a tremendous love for the students and alumni of ORU -- they are precious to God. They came here to get a quality education and to learn to hear the Voice of God. That's happening daily. Even today, other young people around the world are searching for the right college to attend. I pray that they will consider ORU. This university is academically sound, spiritually alive and physically disciplined.

I don't know how long this leave of absence will last, but I fully trust the members of the Board of Regents. They are great men and women who have a deep love for this university and for me and my family. I pray and believe that in God's timing, and when the Board feels that it is appropriate, I will be back at my post as President.

Meanwhile, I will give myself afresh and anew to my family, and to prayer and the Word of God. I shall continue my role as Chairman and CEO of the Oral Roberts Ministries. I shall continue on television as I have a burning passion for the lost, the sick and the hurting of this world. I shall continue preaching and teaching God's Word and drawing people to Christ our Savior. I shall continue to write letters and books and minister to the needs of people for I have a passion for souls. Thank you for all your prayers and support; it means a great deal to me and my family.

ORU Scandal.

The IRS warned ORU about the way the university handled its political programs, and evidently that warning was ignored.

Jeremy Burton, a spokesman for ORU, confirmed that ORU was first contacted by the IRS in a letter May 3, 2006.

The letter stated that the IRS was investigating ''whether we participated in political programs inappropriately for a 501(c)(3) organization,'' Burton said in an e-mail to the Tulsa World.

ORU answered the IRS' questions and received a follow-up letter with additional questions on July 25, Burton's e-mail states. The university responded to those questions as well, he said.

ORU Scandal.

One of the issues brought up in the lawsuit has to do with the use of students being involved in a local political campaign, in this case a candidate endorsed by ORU president Richard Roberts.

As for Lindsay and Richard Roberts, they have been praying a hell of a lot:

The Robertses said the lawsuit took aim at their character. It contains a report at least partially written by Lindsay Roberts' sister, Stephanie Cantees, whose job is to record happenings and rumors around town and in government and report to Richard Roberts.

The report claimed that the Robertses used ministry vehicles for themselves, had ORU and ministry employees do their daughters' homework, charged personal clothing expenses to business accounts, used the ORU "jet" to take one daughter and her friends on a senior trip, and more.

When the Roberts daughters heard those allegations, they said, "All right, here we go again," Lindsay Roberts said.

The family has been the subject of false rumors before: that Lindsay Roberts was pregnant when she and Richard Roberts married, that the family had installed a wall-length aquarium in their home to house a shark, and that Oral Roberts died in surgery, to name a few, they said.

The report referenced in the lawsuit "was so ridiculous, I just dismissed it out of hand" when he received it from Cantees three years ago, Richard Roberts said.

This, too, is interesting:

Lindsay Roberts expected to become a lawyer. She described herself as being shy when she met Richard Roberts at ORU. Since that day, she knew she wanted to marry him. Now she appears on television 10 or more times a week.

Her husband wanted to be an athlete and night-club singer. Not yet a Christian, he wanted to get out of his parents’ house. He started singing and acting at the University of Kansas and had plans to sing in Las Vegas lounges for the summer. But in his second semester, he was hospitalized with a colon problem that would require surgery. He prayed, “God, if you’ll heal me, I’ll serve you.”

One of the commenters below the article had a slightly different version:

I see that Richard has changed his story of how "he" decided to leave KU and come back to Tulsa. The original story was that his parents and some folks from the University went up to where he was performing in Kansas City in a musical production with Shirley Jones. Mr. & Mrs. Roberts demanded that he drop out of show business and enroll in ORU and live in the dorm on campus where they could keep track of his whereabouts. This was not a rumor someone made up; it used to be official Oral Roberts family information.

. . . This is sort of like the Roberts family and ORU in denial that Richard's elder brother, Ronald Oral was not openly gay after he was divorced. I knew some people in Hollywood who told stories of Ron going to gay clubs when the weekly TV shows were taped at NBC Studios in Burbank. He supposedly just happened to be in the LA area because he came with the family for the trip.

. . . In regard to Lindsay's original relationship with Richard, it is considered to be professionally unethical for a student, no matter what standing with the institution, to date a staff member or a professor of the same institution.

ORU Scandal.

In written statements released yesterday, Richard and Lindsay Roberts deny all of the allegations in the lawsuit filed against Richard and ORU by three fired ORU professors.

Lindsay Roberts is actually just slightly younger than I am at 51. She's still not a trophy wife, however, at least not in recent years. I could have found out her age here at USA People Search, had I remembered to look her up.

Here is what she had to say about the charges leveled against her:

Lindsay Roberts said in her statement Saturday that "the part that grieves me the most" is the spreading of the allegations through the media "when the parties suing have continued to say they don't even know if these allegations are true."

"I believe it's grossly unfair to allow such speculation to be used against me and attached to a lawsuit in which I am not even named as a party," she said. "I firmly believe that my vindication will certainly come in the court of law in the future and I am issuing this statement because I am unwilling to idly sit by and be accused of actions that are not true."

(Photo of the pair by Kelly Kerry, Tulsa World)

ORU Lawsuit.

Everything about the lawsuit you want to know can be found at this link.

I have also included it on the sidebar and will include it on the links page, too, for the time being.

Richard Roberts ultimately found himself up the creek when he got involved in local politics.

ORU Scandal.

Even more allegations have surfaced.

Perhaps the benign-looking Lindsay isn't so benign after all:

Most of the elements of the Cantees report are similar to allegations in an early version of the former professors' lawsuits, but more details are added to several of the allegations, especially allegations involved Lindsay Roberts and an unnamed teen boy.

The report says that dead-bolt locks were installed on all bedroom doors at the Richard Roberts residence at the insistence of his oldest daughter.

''This was precipitated by Mrs. Roberts repeatedly moving into the home her 16 year old male 'friend,' which made her daughters uncomfortable,'' the assessment says.

The assessment also says: ''Mrs. Roberts has personally spent the night in the ORU guest house with an underage male on nine separate occasions.''

The report also says there are photos of Lindsay Roberts and an underaged male smoking at the president's residence, and 29 photos of her and an underage male alone in her sports car after midnight.

Stay tuned...

ORU Scandal.

Here is more about promises to clean up the mess at ORU.

ORU Scandal.

The chairman of the ORU board of regents says any changes that need to be made will be made.

Of course, if the changes necessary actually mean Richard and Lindsay have to step aside, well...

There are some skeptical posters there in the comments section following the article. Some of them smell "cover-up."

ORU Scandal II.

Richard and Lindsay denied the lawsuit allegations tonight:

When King asked if their family home had been renovated at university expense, Richard and Lindsey Roberts said that it had because the home was university property.

Lindsey Roberts said the replacement of flooring and walls in the house were necessary because, “We have really, really bad black mold in Tulsa.”

Richard added that the mold “was causing health issues for our family.”

King also asked the Roberts’ to respond to the allegation that Lindsey’s cell phone bills included text messages to underage males in the early morning hours.

She said that she had regularly let her daughters, who were teenagers at the time, use her cell phone, and that she had also on occasion sent text message and called her daughters’ friends to make sure they had made it safely home after they left the Roberts’ home.

Damn.

Edit: I do have to say, after watching my recording of the interview, that I am going to reserve my judgment about this matter until all of the facts come to light. It is possible--even likely--there was mismanagement at ORU, but I seriously doubt, after watching Lindsay Roberts, who I haven't seen in over 20 years, that she had any shenanigans going on with underage boys. She reminds me a little bit of Elizabeth Edwards, and while she is a second wife, she certainly is not a trophy wife. That photo I posted a couple of days ago taken from a website must be at least 10 to 15 years old. I think the Wonkette blog posted it as well, probably knowing that photo is old. She looks nothing like that now. In the early 1980s, when she and Richard Roberts were first married, she was very pretty, even stunning, but if you're in your fifties like I am and she CERTAINLY is, and probably close to his age of 58 (almost 59), you simply don't look like you did when you are in your 20s and 30s. Not that she's homely, but she's much older now than she was then. It happens to all of us sooner or later.

Looks aren't everything, of course, but I seriously have doubts of any hanky-panky on her part.

The rest of the lawsuit may have some merit.

Stay tuned.

ORU Scandal.

While I am out running tonight, Richard Roberts will make an appearance on Larry King Live, which is on a 9 p.m. EDT and 6 p.m. PDT.

I'll tape it to watch later.

You can submit questions for Roberts at the link.

Meanwhile, a protege of Roberts isn't surprised over the allegations:

Pearson, an ORU graduate and once one of Tulsa's most successful pastors, has known Richard Roberts for 36 years. Pearson served on the ORU Board of Regents until he began preaching that belief in Jesus Christ was not necessary for salvation.

After being labeled a heretic, Pearson lost his following of several thousand at Tulsa's Higher Dimensions Family Church. Now a United Church of Christ minister, he is the founder and senior pastor of New Dimensions Church, also in Tulsa.

Pearson described Roberts as a good man under incredible stress while trying to live up to the image of his father. He also said Roberts was born into privilege and didn't share his father's sense of compassion as a result.

ORU Scandal.

Incredibly, some people are withholding judgment regarding the latest scandals, possibly because of concern for the students.

I was right originally about the City of Faith hospital, by the way, and the 900-foot Jesus. There is also the death threat made by God against Oral:

In 1977, Oral Roberts said God told him to build the City of Faith medical complex. The plan faced immediate opposition; state officials were concerned that the city didn't need more hospital beds. The plan was eventually approved.

During the hospital's construction in 1980, Oral Roberts spoke of a vision he had of a 900-foot Jesus assuring him, "I told you I would speak through your partners and through them, I would build it!"

In 1989, with the City of Faith $25 million in debt, Oral Roberts announced it would close.

Oral Roberts told media in 1989 that he was "laughed at, mocked, scoffed" for saying on national television that God would "call me home" if he didn't raise $8 million in early 1987 for a medical missionary program. ORU reached the fundraising goal.

"I myself have been blamed, not immorally or not irresponsible in finances, but because I heard the voice of God," he said in 1989.

It's hard to remember details like this after 20-30 years, but I was right in the ballpark.

ORU Lawsuit.

In this earlier report, embattled ORU president Richard Roberts claimed the lawsuit was all about money, but he wasn't about to be intimidated through "extortion and blackmail."

As at least one commented noted that of course it is about money. It's about how he and his family misused money earmarked for other purposes for their own personal use.

I think his butt is in a sling, as is his wife's.

ORU Scandal.

Some wiseacre from Democratic Underground found this link about the scandal-plagued Lindsay Roberts, which I thought I'd pass along:

Before marrying Richard Roberts and ministering with the Roberts family, Lindsay Roberts was no stranger to trials. Her father died of cancer when she was 12 and her mother became ill soon after. Her mother lived godly principles, which she received through Oral Roberts ministry she was watching his nightly TV program and reading his book Three Most Important Steps to Your Better Health and Miracle Living. Lindsay's mother was soon healed by standing on God's promises for healing, and Lindsay learned to do the same.

On her eighteenth birthday, Lindsay was told by a physician that she would never have children. At 25, Lindsay was in the hospital with a cyst on her only functioning ovary. The doctor operated on it and was prepared to do a hysterectomy, but before the surgeon's eyes, God supernaturally healed Lindsay. After the surgery, Richard and Lindsay were able to conceive; however, this became the first of two miscarriages. Then, they seemed to have a successful pregnancy with the birth of their son, Richard Oral, on January 17, 1984. Unfortunately, he died two days later.

She's had to cope with stress during her life, but now she has allegedly created a lot of it.

ORU Scandal.

The university's regents are calling for a new audit. They are retaining an additional independent auditing firm.

Richard Roberts, meanwhile, insists he paid for his expenses out of his own pocket and didn't do anything illegal.

Roberts' written statement outlines current accountability measures for ORU
and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association finances.

The Roberts family's expenses related to ORU or the association are charged to those organizations, and the family's personal expenses are charged to Roberts, the statement says.

"Any expenses, including trips, errands, food, etc., deemed personal are charged back to me and are paid personally by me on a monthly basis," Roberts said in the statement.

The comments below the article are worth a look also.

It WAS 20 years ago, not thirty, when Oral Roberts was concerned he would be "called home" if $8 million wasn't raised for his university. It didn't seem to me to be 30 years ago, as some damned fool wrote someplace else. It was around the time of the PTL scandal when this occurred.

I am going to make corrections to a couple of posts from last night.

In Case

you've lived in a cave, here is a brief bio of scandal-plagued Richard and Lindsay Roberts.

Years ago a person connected with the Oral Roberts ministry wrote a book, Give Me That Prime Time Religion, detailing that organization's history and dealings. It was published some years before Oral talked about his vision of a "900-foot Jesus" and God's threat to "call him home" if he didn't receive the money for his university, thus subjecting himself to widespread ridicule. What was interesting about the book, published in 1979, is the author, one Jerry Scholes, was so accurate in saying the Roberts' City of Faith hospital would never make it, for there had already been too many empty hospital beds in the Tulsa area. Now it is an office space complex called City Towers.

One of things Scholes noted was that while Oral was grooming Richard to ultimately take over the ministry, the author believed he simply didn't have what it took to run it. At the time, Richard was divorced from his first wife, Patti, and this was considered a handicap. As I remember the book (which I have somewhere in this apartment but God knows exactly where), Scholes said to the effect it would be hard to find another Evelyn. As we know, it wasn't too long afterward Richard remarried, and I believe Lindsay was a student at the ORU law school at the time they met.

In the final analysis, Scholes was proven to be right about the ministry. He did, however, have some good things to say about Evelyn Roberts, Richard's ex-wife Patti, and Richard's late sister and brother-in-law, Rebecca Roberts Nash and Marshall Nash, who died in a 1977 plane crash.

For those who don't know about the rest of Oral and Evelyn's kids, Ronald Roberts, Richard's brother, committed suicide in 1982. Richard's other sister, Roberta Roberts Potts, is an attorney.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

Something Bad

is going to happen to you,
Happen to you,
This very day.

While Richard's dad, Oral Roberts, had a mini-scandal of his own some 20 years ago when he asserted God was going to "call him home" if he didn't get enough money for his (now-defunct) City of Faith hospital or ORU, the son ain't as lucky as the dad. He's embroiled in a major lawsuit and scandal:

Saying he'd spoken with God, school President Richard Roberts told students and faculty during a weekly chapel service, "Here's what he told me to say to you, ‘We live in a litigious society. Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not.

"‘This lawsuit ... is not about wrongful termination. It is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion,'” he said.

The breach of contract lawsuit was filed Tuesday against the university, Roberts, provost Mark Lewandowski, associate provost Jeff Ogle and dean Wendy Shirk by three professors who said they were fired or resigned under pressure.

And:

Tim Brooker joined ORU in 2001. He was recruited by the Republican National Committee to develop a program to further the political group's efforts. Over several years, the program had success in political races, all outside of Oklahoma, and financed either by the RNC or individual campaign committees, the lawsuit said.

In December 2005, Tim Brooker was summoned to meet with Richard Roberts and Roberts' sister-in-law Stephanie Cantese, community and governmental liaison for the ministries, the lawsuit stated.

Brooker was instructed by Roberts to use his talent and his students in local political races, specifically that of Randi Miller, seeking the Republican nomination for Tulsa mayor, according to the lawsuit. Miller is now a county commissioner.

Of course this is in violation of the federal tax code.

It gets juicier:

On the same day a lawsuit against Oral Roberts University, President Richard Roberts and three school officials was amended to add libel, slander or defamation accusations, the school announced an investigation into allegations made in the suit.

And it gets even better:

The summary of the report in the lawsuit alleges:

* One of Richard and Lindsay Roberts' children vandalized and removed athletic department equipment from ORU property.


* University and ministries employees regularly do the homework of the Roberts' children.


* ORU paid $29,411 for one Roberts daughter to vacation with friends in Florida and the Bahamas and use the ORU jet for transportation.


* Lindsay Roberts routinely uses ministries security personnel during personal vacations.


* Lindsay Roberts awarded 13 non-need-based scholarships to friends of her children, two of whom had test scores below ORU's admission requirement; and more.

And it gets even better:

_ A longtime maintenance employee was fired so that an underage male friend of Mrs. Roberts could have his position.

_ Mrs. Roberts — who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site — frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."

You can read the lawsuit here.