Lester Roloff

Lester Leo Roloff (June 28, 1914 - November 2, 1982) was an American fundamental Independent Baptist preacher, and founder of teen homes across the south.

Early ministry

Born in Dawson, Texas of German descent, Roloff began preaching at age eighteen. He attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and later Baylor University. Roloff is reported to have brought his dairy cow with him to raise tuition funds through the sale of its milk.

After graduation, Roloff began preaching at small country churches in southern Texas, before taking on pastoral duties at churches in Houston and later Corpus Christi. It was in Corpus Christi in 1944, that Roloff began his radio show, "The Family Altar".

Ministry expands

In 1950 Roloff was called upon to fill in as preacher at a series of revival meetings in Corpus Christi after the scheduled speaker, B. B. Crim died. The enthusiastic reaction to Roloff's preaching led him to resign his pastorate and pursue full-time evangelism. Roloff's Evengelistic Enterprise was incorporated the following year.

Roloff preached stridently against Communism, television, alcohol, tobacco, and psychology. His strong stands led to separation from most of his Southern Baptist brethren. Roloff returned to pastoral ministry establishing the Alameda Street Baptist Church in Corpus Christi in 1954.

The Roloff Homes

Separated from mainline Southern Baptists because of his standards, Roloff began actively ministering to alcoholic and homeless men. His first mission house was established in Corpus Christi in 1954. Additional children's homes were eventually added throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia. The first Roloff home for females, The Rebekah Home for Girls, was established in 1968.

The only literature permitted to those living in the Roloff homes was the King James Version of the Bible. Television was forbidden, and only one hour of radio per day was permitted to listen to Roloff's radio sermons. Daily church attendance was mandatory; each Roloff home had its own church and pastor on the grounds. Other policies, in accordance to the state, included windows being locked and alarm systems in order to prevent any truancy or escape. Contact with the outside world was denied except for monitored phone calls with parents. In addition, each dorm room had an intercom and loudspeaker. Individual rooms were monitored for conversation deemed inappropriate.

At Roloff's "City of Refuge" in Frederick, Oklahoma, boys as young as 12 were reportedly made to pick cotton in the surrounding fields starting at 5am and working until sundown without even using work gloves.

The Texas Attorney General's office began investigating reports of violent beatings, starvation, and torture at the Roloff Homes in 1971. Roloff denied the charges, and went to jail rather than let the homes be inspected. In spite of several trials, only one Roloff staffer was found guilty of child abuse, and this only happened after Lester Roloff died.

Some of the homes were temporarily closed in 1973, but re-opened the following year after Roloff successfully appealed to the Texas Supreme Court. Roloff at one point transferred ownership of the homes from Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises to his church, the People's Baptist Church, forcing the state to sue the "new" owners, and keeping the homes running. The Attorney General refiled the case, forcing an injunction that tried to shut the ministry down. In 1975, the State of Texas passed laws that required licensing of youth homes. Roloff was arrested twice for refusing to comply with this law.

In 1979 an incident that became known as the "Christian Alamo", occurred as Roloff urged churches and pastors across America who supported the Roloff ministry to come to Corpus Christi and form a human chain around the church to prevent the Department of Human Resources from removing children from the homes. Legal battles with the State of Texas continued and the homes were closed and re-opened. The Texas homes were closed again in 2001.

Roloff dies

Roloff had always had a fascination with flight. He purchased his first airplane in 1954, and used it to travel between his various speaking engagements throughout the country. On November 2, 1982, the same day Governor Bill Clements, who promised to shut the Roloff homes down, was elected, Roloff's plane crashed during a storm outside Normangee, Texas, killing Roloff and a ladies singing trio from the home for adult women. The wreckage of his crashed airplane is the centerpiece of Roloff Park at Hyles-Anderson College, a Bible College in Crown Point, Indiana.

The Family Altar

Roloff's show continues on the radio today with recordings of his sermons aired in both 15 and 30-minute programs. Roloff was posthumously inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1993. After breaking with the Southern Baptists in 1956 over a speech criticizing denominationalism, Roloff was branded as a King James Only Independent Baptist.

Roloff also incorporated singing into his sermons, and would occasionally break into impromptu singing of hymns and/or leading his choir to sing along. "The Family Altar" program begins and ends with a recording of Roloff singing "The Stranger Who Sat By The Sea" accompanied only by organ.

Roloff's legacy

Roloff is cited as a major influence on both the Christian fundamentalist homeschooling and youth movements. His final recorded sermon was preached at Tennessee Temple University and is entitled "Hills that Help". It is regarded as a classic by his supporters.

External links

* [http://www.roloff.org/ Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises]
* [http://swordofthelord.com/biographies/RoloffLester.htm Lester Roloff biography]
* [http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/RoloffLester.html Audio sermons by Lester Roloff]
* [http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/texas2.htm 2001 Report of abuse at Roloff Homes]

References