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{{About||the university|Oral Roberts University|the university's athletic program|Oral Roberts Golden Eagles|the Pentecostal ministry|Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox clergy
| name = Oral Roberts
| image =Oral Roberts.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Granville Oral Roberts
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|01|24}}
| birth_place = [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]], [[Pontotoc County, Oklahoma]], [[United States]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2009|12|15|1918|01|24|}}
| death_place = [[Newport Beach, California]], U.S.
| death_cause = [[Pneumonia]]
| nationality = Choctaw, American
| education = Oklahoma Baptist University
| church = [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]]<br>[[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]]-[[Methodism|Methodist]]
| occupation = [[Evangelism|Evangelist]]
| years_active = 1947–1993
| congregations = [[Pentecostal Holiness Church]]<br>[[United Methodist Church]]
| offices_held = Founder and President, [[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association]];<br>Co-founder, President, and Chancellor, [[Oral Roberts University]]
|spouse=Evelyn Lutman<br>(m. 1938–2005; her death)
|children=Ronald Roberts (deceased)<br>[[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard Roberts]]<br>Rebecca Nash (deceased)<br>Roberta Potts
|parents=Ellis Melvin Roberts<br>Claudius Priscilla Roberts (née Irwin)<ref name="biography">{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts |url=http://www.oralroberts.com/oralroberts/ |publisher=[[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association|Oral Roberts Ministries]] |year=2009 |accessdate=May 27, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623041011/http://www.oralroberts.com/oralroberts/ |archivedate=June 23, 2011 }}</ref>
|website = {{url|http://www.oralroberts.com/oralroberts/}}
}}
'''Granville Oral Roberts''' (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009<ref>{{cite news|url=http://religion.lohudblogs.com/2009/12/15/oral-roberts-dead-at-91/|title=Evangelist Oral Roberts Dead At 91|last=Juozapavicius|first=Justin|agency=Associated Press|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=May 27, 2011}}</ref><ref name="AP_obit"/>) was an American [[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]] [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Televangelism|televangelist]], ordained in both the [[International Pentecostal Holiness Church|Pentecostal Holiness]] and [[United Methodist Church|United Methodist]] churches. He is considered the godfather of the charismatic movement and one of the most recognized preachers worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://m.ljworld.com/news/2007/oct/14/son_televangelist_fights_personal_character_attack/?templates=mobile|title=Oral Roberts.|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}</ref> He founded the [[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association]] and [[Oral Roberts University]].
As one of the most well-known and controversial American religious leaders of the 20th century, his preaching emphasized ''[[seed-faith]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Roberts, Oral|title=A Daily Guide to Miracles and Successful Living Through Seed-Faith|url=http://www.biblio.com/oral-roberts/a-daily-guide-to-miracles~36814857~title|isbn=978-0800783006|origyear=1975|year=1980|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|publisher=[[Fleming H. Revell]]|pages=228–231}}</ref> His ministries reached millions of followers worldwide spanning a period of over six decades.<ref name="NYT_obit"/> His [[divine healing|healing]] ministry and bringing American [[Pentecostalism]] into the mainstream had the most impact,<ref name="CT_obit">{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/decemberweb-only/151-34.0.html?start=1|title=Why the Oral Roberts Obituaries Are Wrong|last=Olsen|first=Ted|publisher=''[[Christianity Today]]''|date=December 16, 2009|accessdate=December 24, 2009}}</ref> but he also pioneered [[televangelism]] and laid the foundations of the [[prosperity gospel]]<ref name="NYT_obit">{{cite news |title=Oral Roberts, Fiery Preacher, Dies at 91 |first=Keith |last=Schneider |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' |url=http://tulsaworld.com/app/oralroberts/pdf/specialsection.pdf |date=December 15, 2009 |accessdate=December 24, 2009 }}</ref> and [[abundant life]] teachings.<ref>{{cite web|author=Bill Sherman|title=Oral Roberts 1918-2009: A Lasting Influence|quote=God is a good God who wants to bless people spiritually, physically and economically.|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2008/oralRoberts/specialsection.pdf|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|page=2|date=December 20, 2009}}</ref> The breadth and style of his ministry, including his widely publicized funding appeals, made him a consistent subject of contention among critics and supporters.<ref name="NYT_obit"/>
==Early life==
Granville Oral Roberts was born on January 24, 1918, in [[Pontotoc County, Oklahoma]], the fifth and youngest child of the Reverend Ellis Melvin Roberts (1881–1967) and Claudia Priscilla Roberts (née Irwin) (1885–1974).<ref>{{cite news |title=Oral Roberts's Mother Dies |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/19/archives/oral-robertss-mother-dies.html |date=1974-04-19 |accessdate=2009-12-15}}</ref> According to an interview on ''[[Larry King Live]]'', Roberts was of [[Cherokee]] descent.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/31/lkl.00.html|title=Interview With Lennox Lewis; Interview With Oral Roberts (transcript)|date=January 31, 2002|work=[[Larry King Live]]|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref> Roberts was a card-carrying member of the [[Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Cherokee Community of Central California|url=http://centralca.cherokee.org/|accessdate=May 23, 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808004339/http://centralca.cherokee.org/|archivedate=August 8, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Roberts began life in poverty and nearly died of tuberculosis at age 17.<ref name="TulsaToday">{{cite news|url=http://www.tulsatoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1429:oral-roberts-dies&catid=58:local&Itemid=106 |title=Oral Roberts Dies |publisher=''Tulsa Today''|date=December 15, 2009|first=David |last=Arnett |accessdate=December 21, 2009}}</ref> After finishing high school, Roberts studied for two years each at [[Oklahoma Baptist University]] and [[Phillips University]].
In 1938, he married a preacher's daughter, Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock.
Roberts became a traveling [[faith healer]] after ending his college studies without a degree. According to a ''[[TIME Magazine]]'' profile of 1972, Roberts originally made a name for himself with a large mobile tent "that sat 3,000 on metal folding chairs".<ref name="Time1972">{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905738-1,00.html|title=Religion: Oral's Progress|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''|date=February 7, 1972|accessdate=2007-01-04}}</ref>
==Ministry and university==
In 1945, Roberts resigned his pastorate in [[Shawnee, Oklahoma]] to hold revivals in the area and attend Oklahoma Baptist. But in the late summer of 1945, while preaching in a North Carolina camp meeting, Roberts was asked by Robert E. "Daddy" Lee of [[Toccoa, Georgia]] to consider becoming pastor of his small, eighty-member church. Roberts suggested they pray about it, and unexpectedly, decided to accept. By the end of the year, Roberts resigned and moved back to Shawnee. Apparently, the [[International Pentecostal Holiness Church|Georgia conference of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church]] frowned on having a minister from outside its conference as pastor. Short though it was, the Toccoa detour had a lasting effect on Roberts and his family. It was there that their daughter Rebecca, then five years old, first met her future husband, Marshall. There were also reportedly two instances of healing, which Roberts would later look back on as his first realization "that I was approaching 'my hour'."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harrell|first1=David Edwin|title=Oral Roberts: an American Life|date=1985|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=0585104719|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rtz1InGWAmYC&lpg=PA61&ots=jbrLQ0NDXa&dq=oral%20roberts%20toccoa&pg=PA61#v=onepage&q=oral%20roberts%20toccoa&f=false|accessdate=16 May 2016}}</ref>
1947 was a turning point. Up until that time, Roberts struggled as a part-time preacher in Oklahoma. But at the age of 29, Roberts said, he picked up his Bible and it fell open at the [[Third Epistle of John]] where verse two read: "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." The next day, he said, he bought a [[Buick]] and God appeared, directing him to heal the sick.<ref name="guardianobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/15/oral-roberts-obituary|title=Oral Roberts obituary|last=Christopher|first=Reed|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=December 21, 2009 |location=London}}</ref>
Roberts resigned his pastoral ministry with the [[Pentecostal Holiness Church]] to found [[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association]] (OREA).<ref name="biography"/> He conducted evangelistic and [[faith healing]] crusades across the United States and around the world, claiming he could raise the dead.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/27/us/oral-roberts-tells-conference-he-has-raised-people-from-the-dead.html "Oral Roberts Tells Conference He Has Raised People From the Dead"], ''[[New York Times]]'', June 27, 1987</ref><ref>"I've Raised People from the Dead, Oral Roberts tells 5,000 in Tulsa," ''[[The Pittsburgh Press]]'', June 26, 1987</ref> In November 1947, he started ''Healing Waters'', a monthly magazine as a means to promote his meetings.<ref>Harrell, Jr., David Edwin (1985). ''Oral Roberts: An American Life''. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 112. {{ISBN|0-253-15844-3}}</ref> Thousands of sick people waited in line to stand before Oral Roberts so he could pray for them. He appeared as a guest speaker for hundreds of national and international meetings and conventions. Through the years, he conducted more than 300 crusades on six continents, and personally laid hands in prayer on more than 2 million people.<ref name="TulsaToday"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://laist.com/2009/12/15/evangelist_dr_oral_roberts_dies_at.php|title=Evangelist Dr. Oral Roberts Dies at 91 in Newport Beach|last=Behrens|first=Zach|publisher=''[[LAist]]''|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=December 19, 2009|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218081733/http://laist.com/2009/12/15/evangelist_dr_oral_roberts_dies_at.php|archivedate=December 18, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="pr_121509">{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts Dies: Funeral Arrangements Pending for Legendary Evangelist |url=http://static.ktul.com/documents/oralroberts.pdf |publisher=[[KTUL-TV]] |date=December 15, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222070102/http://static.ktul.com/documents/oralroberts.pdf |archivedate=December 22, 2009 }}</ref> He also ran direct mail campaigns of [[Seed Faith|seed-faith]], which appealed to poor Americans, often from ethnic minorities. At its peak in the early 1980s, Roberts was the leader of a $120 million-a-year organization employing 2,300 people. This included not only a university but also a medical school and hospital as well as buildings on {{convert|50|acre|m2}} south of [[Tulsa]] valued at $500 million.<ref name="NYT_obit"/><ref name="guardianobit"/> Another part of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, the [[Abundant Life Prayer Group]] (ALPG), was founded in 1958.<ref name="biography"/>
[[File:Praying Hands at the main entrance to the campus of Oral Roberts University.jpg|thumb|left|The Praying Hands, on the ORU campus in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]]]
In 1963, he founded [[Oral Roberts University]] (ORU)<ref name="biography"/> in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], stating he was obeying a command from God. The university was chartered during 1963 and received its first students in 1965. Students were required to sign an honor code pledging not to [[alcohol (drug)|drink]], [[tobacco|smoke]], or engage in premarital sexual activities. The [[Prayer Tower]], opened in 1967, is located at the center of the campus.
[[File:Young_Brown,_Jack_Moore,_William_Branham,_Oral_Roberts,_Gordon_Lindsay_Kansas_City_1948.jpg|thumb|right|From left: Young Brown, Jack Moore, [[William Branham]], Oral Roberts, [[Gordon Lindsay]]; photo taken at [[Kansas City]] in 1948]]
Roberts was a pioneer [[televangelism|televangelist]], and attracted a vast viewership. He began broadcasting by radio in 1947,<ref>{{cite web|title=Broadcasters Vote Three to Hall of Fame|url=http://oabok.org/documents/HOF_info_for_website.pdf|publisher=Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters|year=2010|accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref><ref name="HOF">{{cite news|title=Chancellor Roberts Elected to Hall of Fame|url=http://www.oru.edu/news/oru_news/20091120_chancellor_roberts_elected.php|publisher=[[Oral Roberts University]]|date=November 20, 2009}}</ref> and began broadcasting his revivals by television in 1954.<ref name="NYT_obit"/> His television ministry continued with ''The Abundant Life'' program reaching 80% of the United States by 1957, and quarterly Prime Time Specials from 1969 through 1980. In 1996, he founded [[Golden Eagle Broadcasting]].<ref name="biography"/>
On March 17, 1968, Roberts and his wife were received as members of the Boston Avenue [[United Methodist Church]] in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Dr. [[Finis Alonzo Crutchfield, Jr.|Finis Crutchfield]], then pastor. The [[United Methodist Church]] offered more leniency in doctrinal and moral issues than the Pentecostal Holiness Church had. This granted Roberts some leeway, as it was expected that the strictness of the Pentecostal tradition may have impeded his rise in popularity.<ref>{{cite book |title=Oral Roberts: An American Life |last=Harrell, Jr. |first=David Edwin |year=1985 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=0-253-15844-3 |page=298}}</ref> Before Roberts' switch to Methodism, Crutchfield arranged a meeting between Roberts and [[William Angie Smith|Bishop William Angie Smith]], at which the Bishop told Roberts, "We need you, but we need the Holy Spirit more than we need you and we've got to have the Holy Spirit in the Methodist Church."<ref>{{cite book |title=Oral Roberts: An American Life |last=Harrell, Jr. |first=David Edwin |year=1985 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=0-253-15844-3 |page=294}}</ref> Roberts became an [[Elder (Methodism)|elder]] in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. From 1968 through 1987, Roberts was a member of the [[United Methodist Church]]'s ministry.<ref name="telegraph_obit">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/religion-obituaries/6827907/Oral-Roberts.html |title=Oral Roberts |work=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=December 16, 2009 |accessdate=December 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Expect a Miracle: My Life and Ministry|location=Nashville, Tennessee|publisher=[[Thomas Nelson Publishers]]|first=Oral|last=Roberts|year=1995|pages=316–329|isbn=978-0-7852-7465-0}}</ref>
Roberts affected the American [[Protestant]] community. According to one authority in conservative Protestant culture, his ministry's influence was second only to that of [[Billy Graham]].<ref name=AP_obit/><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts|url=http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/oralroberts.html|publisher=[[Infoplease]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Bill|last=Sherman|title=Oral Roberts 1918-2009: A Lasting Influence|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2008/oralRoberts/specialsection.pdf|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=December 20, 2009|page=2}}{{Dead link|date=July 2016}}</ref> His [[divine healing]] ministry called for prayer to heal the [[Abundant life|whole person]]—body, mind and [[soul|spirit]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Roberts, Oral |title=If You Need Healing, Do These Things |url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/If-You-Need-Healing-Do-These-Things/Oral-Roberts/e/9780548384909#Overview |location=Whitefish, MT, USA |publisher=[[Kessinger Publishing]] |edition=4th|origyear=1947|year=1969|at=Section: A personal word|quote=...minister to the peoples of the world with the goal of seeing them made whole in mind, body and soul. {{ISBN|978-0-548-38490-9}} |isbn=0-548-38490-8}}</ref> Many labeled him a [[faith healer]], but he rejected this with the comment: "God heals—I don't."<ref name="AP_obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Evangelist-Oral-Roberts-dies-in-Calif-at-age-91-288912.php|title=Evangelist Oral Roberts dies in Calif. at age 91|last=Juozapavicius|first=Justin|agency=[[Associated Press|The Associated Press]]|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=May 27, 2011}}</ref><ref name="CT_obit"/> He played a major role in bringing American [[Pentecostal]] Christianity into the mainstream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/12/16/evangelist-oral-roberts-leaves-complex-legacy/|archive-url=https://archive.is/20120723020256/http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/12/16/evangelist-oral-roberts-leaves-complex-legacy/|dead-url=yes|archive-date=July 23, 2012|title=Evangelist Oral Roberts leaves a complex legacy|last=Gorski|first=Eric|work=[[Columbia Missourian]]|agency=[[Associated Press|The Associated Press]]|date=December 16, 2009|accessdate=January 17, 2010}}</ref> Even though Roberts was often associated with the [[prosperity gospel]] and the [[Word of Faith|faith movement]] because of his close doctrinal and personal ties with [[Word-Faith]] teachers, his [[abundant life]] teachings did not fully identify him with that movement.<ref>{{cite book|last=Reid|first=Daniel G.|last2=Linder|first2=Robert Dean|last3=Shelley|first3=Bruce L.|last4=Stout|first4=Harry S.|year=1990|title=Dictionary of Christianity in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFcUAQAAIAAJ|location=Westmont, Illinois|publisher=[[InterVarsity Press]]|isbn=978-0-8308-1776-4}}</ref>
In 1977, Roberts claimed to have had a vision from a 900-foot-tall Jesus who told him to build [[City of Faith Medical and Research Center]], and the hospital would be a success.<ref>{{cite news|first=Wayne|last=Biddle|first2=Margo|last2=Slade|title=Ideas and Trends – Oral Roberts's Word on Cancer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/30/weekinreview/ideas-and-trends-oral-roberts-s-word-on-cancer.html?scp=1&sq=Ideas%20and%20Trends:%20Oral%20Roberts's%20Word%20on%20Cancer&st=cse|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 30, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Anne|last=Reifenberg|title=Oral Roberts' Ministry Hits a 'Low Spot'|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE2C0203AD50&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|work=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=January 5, 1986}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=20080326_222_67873 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20100131002012/http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=20080326_222_67873 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=January 31, 2010 |title=Oral Roberts tells of talking to 900-foot Jesus |date=October 16, 1980 |work=[[Tulsa World]] }}</ref> In 1980, Roberts said he had a vision that encouraged him to continue the construction of his City of Faith Medical and Research Center in Oklahoma, which opened in 1981. At the time, it was among the largest health facilities of its kind in the world and was intended to merge prayer and medicine in the healing process. The City of Faith operated for only eight years before closing in late 1989, but the importance of treating the [[Holistic health|whole person]]—spirit, mind, and body—was conveyed to many medical professionals.<ref>{{cite news|title=Oral Roberts Dies |url=http://www.alrcnewskitchen.com/eblast/others/091215_orea.pdf |publisher=A. Larry Ross Communications (ALR) |date=December 15, 2009 |page=3 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917044445/http://alrcnewskitchen.com/eblast/others/091215_orea.pdf |archivedate=September 17, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts' Legacy|url=http://www.oru.edu/oralroberts/|publisher=[[Oral Roberts University]]}}</ref> The Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma still operates on its premises. In 1983 Roberts said Jesus had appeared to him in person and commissioned him to find a cure for cancer.<ref>{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Ostling|last2=Winbush|first2=Don|title=Religion: A Family That Prays Together|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950927,00.html|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=July 4, 1983|authorlink1=Richard Ostling}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Paula|last=Herbut|title=Oral Roberts Seeking Millions for Holy Mission Against Cancer|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/131157672.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=Jan+22%2C+1983&author=--+Paula+Herbut&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=C11&desc=Oral+Roberts+Seeking+Millions+for+Holy+Mission+Against+Cancer|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 22, 1983}}</ref>
Roberts' fundraising was controversial. In January 1987, during a fundraising drive, Roberts announced to a television audience that unless he raised $8 million by that March, God would "call him home."<ref>{{cite book|last=Randi|first=James|authorlink1=James Randi|year=1989|title=[[The Faith Healers]]| publisher=[[Prometheus Books]]|isbn=0-87975-535-0|page=186}}</ref><ref name="Time1987"/> However, the year before on Easter he had told a gathering at the Dallas Convention Center that God had instructed him to raise the money "by the end of the year" or he would die.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1987-02-25/news/mn-5759_1_oral-roberts |date=February 25, 1987 |title=Oral Roberts Also Predicted Death in 1986, Paper Reveals |accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> Regardless of this new March deadline and the fact that he was still $4.5 million short of his goal,<ref>{{cite web |work=NewsOK |url=http://newsok.com/oral-roberts-missionary-fund-raising-wont-end-with-first-8-million/article/2177594 |author=Kay Morgan Atkins |date=March 1, 1987 |title=Oral Roberts' Missionary Fund-Raising Won't End With First $8 Million |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref> some were fearful that he was referring to suicide, given the impassioned pleas and tears that accompanied his statement. Late in March 1987 while Roberts was fasting and praying in the Prayer Tower, Florida dog track owner Jerry Collins donated $1.3 million.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1987-03-23/news/mn-9007_1_oral-roberts Dog-Track Owner Gives $1.3 Million to Oral Roberts], Associated Press (Los Angeles Times), March 23, 1987.</ref> Highly worried from what he perceived as Roberts threatening to starve himself, Collins said, "I did it in order to save the guy from going to heaven in a hurry. It's got nothing to do with religion. I've been a Baptist and a Methodist. I believe in religion and not just the church. You have to help one another."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/06/business/jerry-collins-89-built-an-empire-of-race-tracks.html Jerry Collins, 89; Built an Empire of Race Tracks (Obituary)], ''New York Times'', David J. Morrow, Aug. 6, 1997. " . . A founder of New College in Sarasota, Mr. Collins gave the institution a $1.2 million motel he owned in Bradenton, Fla., and raised another $7 million for a library. He also gave $600,000 for a new veterinary school at the University of Florida. . "</ref> Altogether, Roberts raised a total of $9.1 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts |url=http://www.ondoctrine.com/10robero.htm |first=Gary A. |last=Hand |publisher=On Doctrine |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510055144/http://www.ondoctrine.com/10robero.htm |archivedate=May 10, 2007 }}</ref> Later that year, he announced that God had raised the dead through his ministry.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Randi |first=James |authorlink1=James Randi |year=1989 |title=[[The Faith Healers]] |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |isbn=0-87975-535-0 |page=192}}</ref> Some of Roberts' fundraising letters were written by [[Gene Ewing]], who headed a business writing donation letters for other evangelicals such as [[Don Stewart (preacher)|Don Stewart]] and [[Robert Tilton]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/DM/lib00376,0ED3D68534F95845.html |title=Direct-market evangelist brings in millions lawyer says it all goes |work=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |date=March 10, 1996 |first=Howard |last=Swindle |accessdate=2007-05-17}}</ref>
Roberts maintained his love of finery and one obituary claimed that even when times became economically hard, "he continued to wear his Italian silk suits, diamond rings and gold bracelets—airbrushed out by his staff on publicity pictures".<ref name="guardianobit"/><ref name="telegraph_obit"/>
[[File:CityPlex Towers in Tulsa, Oklahoma.jpg|thumb|right|The [[CityPlex]] office complex, originally built as Oral Roberts' [[City of Faith Medical and Research Center]] in Tulsa.]]
He stirred up controversy when ''Time'' reported in 1987 that his son [[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard Roberts]] claimed that he had seen his father raise a child from the dead.<ref name="Time1987">{{cite news|url=http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964970,00.html|title=Raising Eyebrows and the Dead|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''|date=July 13, 1987|first=Richard|last=Ostling|accessdate=2007-01-04|authorlink=Richard Ostling}}</ref> That year, the ''[[Bloom County]]'' comic strip recast its character [[Bill the Cat]] as a satirized televangelist, "Fundamentally Oral Bill." In 1987, ''Time'' stated that he was "re-emphasizing faith healing and [is] reaching for his old-time constituency."<ref name="Time1987"/> However, the income of his organization continued to decrease (from $88 million in 1980 to $55 million in 1986, according to the ''[[Tulsa Tribune]]'') and his largely vacant City of Faith Medical Center continued to lose money.<ref name="Time1987"/>
Harry McNevin said that in 1988 the ORU Board of Regents "rubber-stamped" the "use of millions in endowment money to buy a Beverly Hills property so that Oral Roberts could have a West Coast office and house."<ref>{{cite news|last=Juozapavicius|first=Justin|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110801341_pf.html|title=Oral Roberts' Son Accused of Misspending|work=[[The Washington Post]]|agency=Associated Press|date=November 8, 2007|accessdate=2009-12-18}}</ref> In addition, he said a country club membership was purchased for the Roberts' home. The lavish expenses led to McNevin's resignation from the Board. In 1988, Oral Roberts and his son Richard were sued for $15 million in federal court by patients at City of Faith Medical Center, claiming the two were frauds who did not visit or heal patients in the hospital.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19880804&id=qvY0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=JYgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4094,3044868 |title=Roberts Disputes Allegations In Suit | publisher=Bryan Times |date=August 4, 1988 |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2318&dat=19880731&id=OhcpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AoUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2983,6178946 |title=Faith Healer Fails To Win Delay |publisher=Saturday Morning Deseret News |date=July 31, 1988 |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19871017&id=1JdKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R5QMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1141,5374202 |title=Oral Roberts Sued For Failing To Cure Woman Of Hernia |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 17, 1987 |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref>
{{Wikinews|Former Oral Roberts University Regent member speaks out}}
His organizations were also affected by scandals involving other [[televangelists]]<ref name="AP_obit"/> and the City of Faith hospital was forced to close in 1989 after losing money. Roberts was forced to respond with the sale of his holiday homes in [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]] and [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]] as well as three of his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] cars.<ref name="guardianobit"/>
Oral Roberts' son [[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard Roberts]] resigned from the presidency of ORU on November 23, 2007 after being named as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging improper use of university funds for political and personal purposes, and improper use of university resources.<ref>{{cite news|title=Roberts resigns as ORU president|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=071123_1__Richa47602&archive=yes|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=November 23, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Ziva|last=Branstetter|title=Roberts resigns|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=071124_1_A1_hMove11578&archive=yes|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=November 24, 2007}}</ref> The university was given a donation of $8 million by entrepreneur [[Mart Green]], and although the lawsuit was still in process,<ref>{{cite web|title=ORU Lawsuit|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/oru-lawsuit/default.html|work=[[Tulsa World]]|accessdate=2010-01-09}}</ref> the school submitted to an outside audit, and with a good report an additional $62 million was given by Green.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-14-oralroberts-gift_N.htm|title=Oral Roberts University takes $62M gift|work=[[USA Today]]|date=January 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=ORU moves to trim its debt|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080214_1_A1_hTrus02181|work=[[Tulsa World]]|last=Marciszewski|first=April|date=February 14, 2008|accessdate=2010-01-09}}</ref> Oral Roberts continued in his role as ORU chancellor, helping in the leadership of ORU along with [[Billy Joe Daugherty]], who was named as the executive regent to assume administrative responsibilities of the Office of the President by the ORU Board of Regents.<ref>{{cite news|first=April|last=Marciszewski|title=Roberts takes ORU leave|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071018_1_A1_hTheO62814|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=October 18, 2007|accessdate=2007-10-18}}</ref> Oral Roberts continued as the ORU chancellor until his death,<ref name="biography"/> but in 2009, eleven months before his death, handed over the leadership of ORU to its incoming president, [[Mark Rutland]].<ref>{{cite news|title=New ORU president says he has founder's blessing|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090130_11_A8_Oaoetn993404&archive=yes|work=[[Tulsa World]]|author1=Sherman, Bill |author2=Muchmore, Shannon |lastauthoramp=yes |date=January 30, 2009|accessdate=2010-01-09}}</ref>
The [[Oklahoma Senate]] adopted a resolution honoring the life of Oral Roberts, and he accepted this honor in 2009 at the age of 91, seven months before his death.<ref>{{cite news|title=Oklahoma Senate Honors Oral Roberts|url=http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=10325475|agency=Associated Press|date=May 7, 2009|accessdate=2010-01-07}}</ref> The Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters (OAB) elected Roberts to the OAB Hall of Fame one month before his death.<ref name="HOF"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts, OAB Hall of Fame, Inducted 2010 |url=http://oabok.org/Awards/HOF-Roberts.htm |publisher=Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters (OAB) |date=November 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727135115/http://oabok.org/Awards/HOF-Roberts.htm |archivedate=July 27, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>
==Personal life==
Roberts was married to Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock (1917–2005) for 66 years from December 25, 1938, until her death from a fall, on May 4, 2005, at the age of 88.<ref>{{cite news |title=Evelyn Roberts, wife of Oral Roberts, dies|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=050504_Br_Robertsdeath|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=May 4, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts 1918-2009: Legacy|url=http://tulsaworld.com/app/oralroberts/pdf/specialsection.pdf|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=December 20, 2009|page=6}}</ref> Their daughter Rebecca Nash died in an airplane crash on February 11, 1977 with her husband, businessman Marshall Nash.<ref>{{cite web|title=The "Heaven Has a Floor" Crash: February 11, 1977|url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Roberts-N59838.htm|publisher=Check Six|location=[http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Anthony,_Kansas¶ms=37_04_00_N_98_02_17_W_region:US_type:city Location: about 6 miles south of Anthony, KS]|date=2002|at=Updated December 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Stefanic, Vern|title=Oral Roberts daughter, 5 others die|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=20080325_222_84228|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=February 11, 1977|at=Last modified March 25, 2008}}</ref> Their elder son, Ronald Roberts, committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart on June 10, 1982, five months after receiving a court order to undergo counseling at a drug treatment center and six months after coming out as gay.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E3D61F38F933A25755C0A964948260|title=Oral Roberts's Son, 37, Found Shot Dead in Car|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=June 10, 1982 |accessdate=2007-04-01}}</ref><ref name="talk">{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts’ Gay Grandson: "It Gets Better."|url=http://talkaboutequality.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/oral-roberts-gay-grandson-it-gets-better/|publisher=Talk About Equality|date=October 25, 2010}}</ref><ref name="out">{{cite news|author=Taffet, David|title=Oral Roberts' gay grandson speaks out|url=http://www.dallasvoice.com/oral-roberts’-gay-grandson-speaks-out-1032465.html|publisher=dallasvoice.com|date=July 8, 2010}}</ref> The other two Roberts children are son [[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard]], an evangelist and former president of Oral Roberts University, and daughter Roberta Potts, an attorney.
Roberts died of complications from pneumonia on December 15, 2009,<ref name="KTUL">{{cite news |title=Oral Roberts Dies at Age 91 |url=http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1209/687732.html |publisher=[[KTUL-TV]] |date=December 15, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218043126/http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1209/687732.html |archivedate=December 18, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Sherman|title=Oral Roberts dies|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20091215_18_0_OralRo862074|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=December 15, 2009}}</ref> at the age of 91. He had been "semi-retired" and living in [[Newport Beach, California]].<ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Lobdell|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-oral-roberts16-2009dec16,0,3407978.story|title=Oral Roberts dies at 91; televangelist was pioneering preacher of the 'prosperity gospel'|publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]''|date=December 16, 2009}}</ref> He was interred next to his wife at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma (the same cemetery where [[T. L. Osborn]] was interred, nearly 4 years after).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.charismamag.com/site-archives/570-news/featured-news/8415-thousands-gather-to-remember-oral-roberts|title=Thousands Gather to Remember Oral Roberts|publisher=Charisma Magazine|date=2009-12-21|accessdate=2016-02-19}}</ref> Roberts was survived by two of four children, twelve grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
According to a 1987 article in ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'' by [[Martin Gardner]], the "most accurate and best documented [[biography]] is ''Oral Roberts: An American Life'', an objective study by [[David Edwin Harrell Jr.]], a historian at [[Auburn University]].
==See also==
* [[Healing Revival]]
* [[Charismatic Christianity]]
* [[List of television evangelists]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
'''About Roberts'''
* ''[[The Faith Healers]]'', by [[James Randi]], Buffalo, N.Y.: [[Prometheus Books]], 1987. {{ISBN|0-87975-369-2}}
* ''[http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=19744 Oral Roberts: An American Life]'', by David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0-253-15844-3}}
'''By Roberts'''
* ''The call: an autobiography.'' by Oral Roberts, Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1972.
* ''Expect a miracle: my life and ministry.'' by Oral Roberts, Nashville : T. Nelson, 1995. {{ISBN|0-7852-7752-8}}
* ''Oral Roberts' life story, as told by himself.'' by Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1952.
==External links==
{{Sister project links}}
* {{Find a Grave|45468872}}
* [http://memorial.oru.edu Webcast of Chancellor Oral Roberts' Memorial Service]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [http://www.oralroberts.com Oral Roberts Ministries]
* [http://www.oru.edu Oral Roberts University]
* [http://www.tulsaworld.com/oralroberts ''Oral Roberts: The Man. The Mission. The Ministry.''], online archive at ''[[Tulsa World]]''
* [http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/37922/life-with-oral-roberts Life With Oral Roberts] slideshow by ''[[Life magazine]]''
*[http://www.voicesofoklahoma.com/interview/roberts-oral/ Voices of Oklahoma interview with Oral Roberts.] First person interview conducted on August 11, 2009, with Oral Roberts.
*[https://archive.is/20130416012305/http://umportal.org/article.asp?id=6255 UM Portal: Q&A: Evangelist Roberts was comfortable with Methodism]
{{1950s Healing Revival|expanded=}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Oral}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:American evangelists]]
[[Category:American Pentecostal pastors]]
[[Category:American television evangelists]]
[[Category:American people of Cherokee descent]] <!-- http://www.cherokeecommunityofcentralcalifornia.org/ -->
[[Category:Choctaw people]] <!-- http://www.cherokeecommunityofcentralcalifornia.org/ -->
[[Category:Christians from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in California]]
[[Category:Oklahoma Baptist University alumni]]
[[Category:Oklahoma Republicans]]
[[Category:Pentecostals from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Pentecostals from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Presidents of Oral Roberts University]]
[[Category:People from Ada, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:People from Toccoa, Georgia]]
[[Category:Prosperity theologians]]
[[Category:American United Methodist clergy]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox clergy
| name = Oral Roberts
| image =Oral Roberts.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Granville Oral Roberts
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1918|01|24}}
| birth_place = [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]], [[Pontotoc County, Oklahoma]], [[United States]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2009|12|15|1918|01|24|}}
| death_place = [[Newport Beach, California]], U.S.
| death_cause = [[Pneumonia]]
| nationality = Choctaw, American
| education = Oklahoma Baptist University
| church = [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]]<br>[[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]]-[[Methodism|Methodist]]
| occupation = [[Evangelism|Evangelist]]
| years_active = 1947–1993
| congregations = [[Pentecostal Holiness Church]]<br>[[United Methodist Church]]
| offices_held = Founder and President, [[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association]];<br>Co-founder, President, and Chancellor, [[Oral Roberts University]]
|spouse=Evelyn Lutman<br>(m. 1938–2005; her death)
|children=Ronald Roberts (deceased)<br>[[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard Roberts]]<br>Rebecca Nash (deceased)<br>Roberta Potts
|parents=Ellis Melvin Roberts<br>Claudius Priscilla Roberts (née Irwin)<ref name="biography">{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts |url=http://www.oralroberts.com/oralroberts/ |publisher=[[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association|Oral Roberts Ministries]] |year=2009 |accessdate=May 27, 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623041011/http://www.oralroberts.com/oralroberts/ |archivedate=June 23, 2011 }}</ref>
|website = {{url|http://www.oralroberts.com/oralroberts/}}
}}
'''Granville Oral Roberts''' (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009<ref>{{cite news|url=http://religion.lohudblogs.com/2009/12/15/oral-roberts-dead-at-91/|title=Evangelist Oral Roberts Dead At 91|last=Juozapavicius|first=Justin|agency=Associated Press|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=May 27, 2011}}</ref><ref name="AP_obit"/>) was an American [[Charismatic Christianity|Charismatic]] [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Televangelism|televangelist]], ordained in both the [[International Pentecostal Holiness Church|Pentecostal Holiness]] and [[United Methodist Church|United Methodist]] churches. He is considered the godfather of the charismatic movement and one of the most recognized preachers worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://m.ljworld.com/news/2007/oct/14/son_televangelist_fights_personal_character_attack/?templates=mobile|title=Oral Roberts.|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}</ref> He founded the [[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association]] and [[Oral Roberts University]].
As one of the most well-known and controversial American religious leaders of the 20th century, his preaching emphasized ''[[seed-faith]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Roberts, Oral|title=A Daily Guide to Miracles and Successful Living Through Seed-Faith|url=http://www.biblio.com/oral-roberts/a-daily-guide-to-miracles~36814857~title|isbn=978-0800783006|origyear=1975|year=1980|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|publisher=[[Fleming H. Revell]]|pages=228–231}}</ref> His ministries reached millions of followers worldwide spanning a period of over six decades.<ref name="NYT_obit"/> His [[divine healing|healing]] ministry and bringing American [[Pentecostalism]] into the mainstream had the most impact,<ref name="CT_obit">{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/decemberweb-only/151-34.0.html?start=1|title=Why the Oral Roberts Obituaries Are Wrong|last=Olsen|first=Ted|publisher=''[[Christianity Today]]''|date=December 16, 2009|accessdate=December 24, 2009}}</ref> but he also pioneered [[televangelism]] and laid the foundations of the [[prosperity gospel]]<ref name="NYT_obit">{{cite news |title=Oral Roberts, Fiery Preacher, Dies at 91 |first=Keith |last=Schneider |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' |url=http://tulsaworld.com/app/oralroberts/pdf/specialsection.pdf |date=December 15, 2009 |accessdate=December 24, 2009 }}</ref> and [[abundant life]] teachings.<ref>{{cite web|author=Bill Sherman|title=Oral Roberts 1918-2009: A Lasting Influence|quote=God is a good God who wants to bless people spiritually, physically and economically.|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2008/oralRoberts/specialsection.pdf|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|page=2|date=December 20, 2009}}</ref> The breadth and style of his ministry, including his widely publicized funding appeals, made him a consistent subject of contention among critics and supporters.<ref name="NYT_obit"/>
==Early life==
Granville Oral Roberts was born on January 24, 1918, in [[Pontotoc County, Oklahoma]], the fifth and youngest child of the Reverend Ellis Melvin Roberts (1881–1967) and Claudia Priscilla Roberts (née Irwin) (1885–1974).<ref>{{cite news |title=Oral Roberts's Mother Dies |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/04/19/archives/oral-robertss-mother-dies.html |date=1974-04-19 |accessdate=2009-12-15}}</ref> According to an interview on ''[[Larry King Live]]'', Roberts was of [[Cherokee]] descent.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/31/lkl.00.html|title=Interview With Lennox Lewis; Interview With Oral Roberts (transcript)|date=January 31, 2002|work=[[Larry King Live]]|accessdate=December 18, 2009}}</ref> Roberts was a card-carrying member of the [[Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Cherokee Community of Central California|url=http://centralca.cherokee.org/|accessdate=May 23, 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808004339/http://centralca.cherokee.org/|archivedate=August 8, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Roberts began life in poverty and nearly died of tuberculosis at age 17.<ref name="TulsaToday">{{cite news|url=http://www.tulsatoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1429:oral-roberts-dies&catid=58:local&Itemid=106 |title=Oral Roberts Dies |publisher=''Tulsa Today''|date=December 15, 2009|first=David |last=Arnett |accessdate=December 21, 2009}}</ref> After finishing high school, Roberts studied for two years each at [[Oklahoma Baptist University]] and [[Phillips University]].
In 1938, he married a preacher's daughter, Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock.
Roberts became a traveling [[faith healer]] after ending his college studies without a degree. According to a ''[[TIME Magazine]]'' profile of 1972, Roberts originally made a name for himself with a large mobile tent "that sat 3,000 on metal folding chairs".<ref name="Time1972">{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905738-1,00.html|title=Religion: Oral's Progress|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''|date=February 7, 1972|accessdate=2007-01-04}}</ref>
==Ministry and university==
In 1945, Roberts resigned his pastorate in [[Shawnee, Oklahoma]] to hold revivals in the area and attend Oklahoma Baptist. But in the late summer of 1945, while preaching in a North Carolina camp meeting, Roberts was asked by Robert E. "Daddy" Lee of [[Toccoa, Georgia]] to consider becoming pastor of his small, eighty-member church. Roberts suggested they pray about it, and unexpectedly, decided to accept. By the end of the year, Roberts resigned and moved back to Shawnee. Apparently, the [[International Pentecostal Holiness Church|Georgia conference of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church]] frowned on having a minister from outside its conference as pastor. Short though it was, the Toccoa detour had a lasting effect on Roberts and his family. It was there that their daughter Rebecca, then five years old, first met her future husband, Marshall. There were also reportedly two instances of healing, which Roberts would later look back on as his first realization "that I was approaching 'my hour'."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harrell|first1=David Edwin|title=Oral Roberts: an American Life|date=1985|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=0585104719|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rtz1InGWAmYC&lpg=PA61&ots=jbrLQ0NDXa&dq=oral%20roberts%20toccoa&pg=PA61#v=onepage&q=oral%20roberts%20toccoa&f=false|accessdate=16 May 2016}}</ref>
1947 was a turning point. Up until that time, Roberts struggled as a part-time preacher in Oklahoma. But at the age of 29, Roberts said, he picked up his Bible and it fell open at the [[Third Epistle of John]] where verse two read: "I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." The next day, he said, he bought a [[Buick]] and God appeared, directing him to heal the sick.<ref name="guardianobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/15/oral-roberts-obituary|title=Oral Roberts obituary|last=Christopher|first=Reed|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=December 21, 2009 |location=London}}</ref>
Roberts resigned his pastoral ministry with the [[Pentecostal Holiness Church]] to found [[Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association]] (OREA).<ref name="biography"/> He conducted evangelistic and [[faith healing]] crusades across the United States and around the world, claiming he could raise the dead.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/27/us/oral-roberts-tells-conference-he-has-raised-people-from-the-dead.html "Oral Roberts Tells Conference He Has Raised People From the Dead"], ''[[New York Times]]'', June 27, 1987</ref><ref>"I've Raised People from the Dead, Oral Roberts tells 5,000 in Tulsa," ''[[The Pittsburgh Press]]'', June 26, 1987</ref> In November 1947, he started ''Healing Waters'', a monthly magazine as a means to promote his meetings.<ref>Harrell, Jr., David Edwin (1985). ''Oral Roberts: An American Life''. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 112. {{ISBN|0-253-15844-3}}</ref> Thousands of sick people waited in line to stand before Oral Roberts so he could pray for them. He appeared as a guest speaker for hundreds of national and international meetings and conventions. Through the years, he conducted more than 300 crusades on six continents, and personally laid hands in prayer on more than 2 million people.<ref name="TulsaToday"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://laist.com/2009/12/15/evangelist_dr_oral_roberts_dies_at.php|title=Evangelist Dr. Oral Roberts Dies at 91 in Newport Beach|last=Behrens|first=Zach|publisher=''[[LAist]]''|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=December 19, 2009|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218081733/http://laist.com/2009/12/15/evangelist_dr_oral_roberts_dies_at.php|archivedate=December 18, 2009|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="pr_121509">{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts Dies: Funeral Arrangements Pending for Legendary Evangelist |url=http://static.ktul.com/documents/oralroberts.pdf |publisher=[[KTUL-TV]] |date=December 15, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222070102/http://static.ktul.com/documents/oralroberts.pdf |archivedate=December 22, 2009 }}</ref> He also ran direct mail campaigns of [[Seed Faith|seed-faith]], which appealed to poor Americans, often from ethnic minorities. At its peak in the early 1980s, Roberts was the leader of a $120 million-a-year organization employing 2,300 people. This included not only a university but also a medical school and hospital as well as buildings on {{convert|50|acre|m2}} south of [[Tulsa]] valued at $500 million.<ref name="NYT_obit"/><ref name="guardianobit"/> Another part of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, the [[Abundant Life Prayer Group]] (ALPG), was founded in 1958.<ref name="biography"/>
[[File:Praying Hands at the main entrance to the campus of Oral Roberts University.jpg|thumb|left|The Praying Hands, on the ORU campus in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]]]
In 1963, he founded [[Oral Roberts University]] (ORU)<ref name="biography"/> in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], stating he was obeying a command from God. The university was chartered during 1963 and received its first students in 1965. Students were required to sign an honor code pledging not to [[alcohol (drug)|drink]], [[tobacco|smoke]], or engage in premarital sexual activities. The [[Prayer Tower]], opened in 1967, is located at the center of the campus.
[[File:Young_Brown,_Jack_Moore,_William_Branham,_Oral_Roberts,_Gordon_Lindsay_Kansas_City_1948.jpg|thumb|right|From left: Young Brown, Jack Moore, [[William Branham]], Oral Roberts, [[Gordon Lindsay]]; photo taken at [[Kansas City]] in 1948]]
Roberts was a pioneer [[televangelism|televangelist]], and attracted a vast viewership. He began broadcasting by radio in 1947,<ref>{{cite web|title=Broadcasters Vote Three to Hall of Fame|url=http://oabok.org/documents/HOF_info_for_website.pdf|publisher=Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters|year=2010|accessdate=June 4, 2010}}</ref><ref name="HOF">{{cite news|title=Chancellor Roberts Elected to Hall of Fame|url=http://www.oru.edu/news/oru_news/20091120_chancellor_roberts_elected.php|publisher=[[Oral Roberts University]]|date=November 20, 2009}}</ref> and began broadcasting his revivals by television in 1954.<ref name="NYT_obit"/> His television ministry continued with ''The Abundant Life'' program reaching 80% of the United States by 1957, and quarterly Prime Time Specials from 1969 through 1980. In 1996, he founded [[Golden Eagle Broadcasting]].<ref name="biography"/>
On March 17, 1968, Roberts and his wife were received as members of the Boston Avenue [[United Methodist Church]] in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Dr. [[Finis Alonzo Crutchfield, Jr.|Finis Crutchfield]], then pastor. The [[United Methodist Church]] offered more leniency in doctrinal and moral issues than the Pentecostal Holiness Church had. This granted Roberts some leeway, as it was expected that the strictness of the Pentecostal tradition may have impeded his rise in popularity.<ref>{{cite book |title=Oral Roberts: An American Life |last=Harrell, Jr. |first=David Edwin |year=1985 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=0-253-15844-3 |page=298}}</ref> Before Roberts' switch to Methodism, Crutchfield arranged a meeting between Roberts and [[William Angie Smith|Bishop William Angie Smith]], at which the Bishop told Roberts, "We need you, but we need the Holy Spirit more than we need you and we've got to have the Holy Spirit in the Methodist Church."<ref>{{cite book |title=Oral Roberts: An American Life |last=Harrell, Jr. |first=David Edwin |year=1985 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=0-253-15844-3 |page=294}}</ref> Roberts became an [[Elder (Methodism)|elder]] in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. From 1968 through 1987, Roberts was a member of the [[United Methodist Church]]'s ministry.<ref name="telegraph_obit">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/religion-obituaries/6827907/Oral-Roberts.html |title=Oral Roberts |work=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=December 16, 2009 |accessdate=December 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Expect a Miracle: My Life and Ministry|location=Nashville, Tennessee|publisher=[[Thomas Nelson Publishers]]|first=Oral|last=Roberts|year=1995|pages=316–329|isbn=978-0-7852-7465-0}}</ref>
Roberts affected the American [[Protestant]] community. According to one authority in conservative Protestant culture, his ministry's influence was second only to that of [[Billy Graham]].<ref name=AP_obit/><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts|url=http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/oralroberts.html|publisher=[[Infoplease]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Bill|last=Sherman|title=Oral Roberts 1918-2009: A Lasting Influence|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2008/oralRoberts/specialsection.pdf|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=December 20, 2009|page=2}}{{Dead link|date=July 2016}}</ref> His [[divine healing]] ministry called for prayer to heal the [[Abundant life|whole person]]—body, mind and [[soul|spirit]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Roberts, Oral |title=If You Need Healing, Do These Things |url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/If-You-Need-Healing-Do-These-Things/Oral-Roberts/e/9780548384909#Overview |location=Whitefish, MT, USA |publisher=[[Kessinger Publishing]] |edition=4th|origyear=1947|year=1969|at=Section: A personal word|quote=...minister to the peoples of the world with the goal of seeing them made whole in mind, body and soul. {{ISBN|978-0-548-38490-9}} |isbn=0-548-38490-8}}</ref> Many labeled him a [[faith healer]], but he rejected this with the comment: "God heals—I don't."<ref name="AP_obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Evangelist-Oral-Roberts-dies-in-Calif-at-age-91-288912.php|title=Evangelist Oral Roberts dies in Calif. at age 91|last=Juozapavicius|first=Justin|agency=[[Associated Press|The Associated Press]]|date=December 15, 2009|accessdate=May 27, 2011}}</ref><ref name="CT_obit"/> He played a major role in bringing American [[Pentecostal]] Christianity into the mainstream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/12/16/evangelist-oral-roberts-leaves-complex-legacy/|archive-url=https://archive.is/20120723020256/http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/12/16/evangelist-oral-roberts-leaves-complex-legacy/|dead-url=yes|archive-date=July 23, 2012|title=Evangelist Oral Roberts leaves a complex legacy|last=Gorski|first=Eric|work=[[Columbia Missourian]]|agency=[[Associated Press|The Associated Press]]|date=December 16, 2009|accessdate=January 17, 2010}}</ref> Even though Roberts was often associated with the [[prosperity gospel]] and the [[Word of Faith|faith movement]] because of his close doctrinal and personal ties with [[Word-Faith]] teachers, his [[abundant life]] teachings did not fully identify him with that movement.<ref>{{cite book|last=Reid|first=Daniel G.|last2=Linder|first2=Robert Dean|last3=Shelley|first3=Bruce L.|last4=Stout|first4=Harry S.|year=1990|title=Dictionary of Christianity in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFcUAQAAIAAJ|location=Westmont, Illinois|publisher=[[InterVarsity Press]]|isbn=978-0-8308-1776-4}}</ref>
In 1977, Roberts claimed to have had a vision from a 900-foot-tall Jesus who told him to build [[City of Faith Medical and Research Center]], and the hospital would be a success.<ref>{{cite news|first=Wayne|last=Biddle|first2=Margo|last2=Slade|title=Ideas and Trends – Oral Roberts's Word on Cancer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/30/weekinreview/ideas-and-trends-oral-roberts-s-word-on-cancer.html?scp=1&sq=Ideas%20and%20Trends:%20Oral%20Roberts's%20Word%20on%20Cancer&st=cse|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 30, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Anne|last=Reifenberg|title=Oral Roberts' Ministry Hits a 'Low Spot'|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE2C0203AD50&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|work=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=January 5, 1986}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=20080326_222_67873 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20100131002012/http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=20080326_222_67873 |dead-url=yes |archive-date=January 31, 2010 |title=Oral Roberts tells of talking to 900-foot Jesus |date=October 16, 1980 |work=[[Tulsa World]] }}</ref> In 1980, Roberts said he had a vision that encouraged him to continue the construction of his City of Faith Medical and Research Center in Oklahoma, which opened in 1981. At the time, it was among the largest health facilities of its kind in the world and was intended to merge prayer and medicine in the healing process. The City of Faith operated for only eight years before closing in late 1989, but the importance of treating the [[Holistic health|whole person]]—spirit, mind, and body—was conveyed to many medical professionals.<ref>{{cite news|title=Oral Roberts Dies |url=http://www.alrcnewskitchen.com/eblast/others/091215_orea.pdf |publisher=A. Larry Ross Communications (ALR) |date=December 15, 2009 |page=3 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917044445/http://alrcnewskitchen.com/eblast/others/091215_orea.pdf |archivedate=September 17, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts' Legacy|url=http://www.oru.edu/oralroberts/|publisher=[[Oral Roberts University]]}}</ref> The Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma still operates on its premises. In 1983 Roberts said Jesus had appeared to him in person and commissioned him to find a cure for cancer.<ref>{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Ostling|last2=Winbush|first2=Don|title=Religion: A Family That Prays Together|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950927,00.html|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=July 4, 1983|authorlink1=Richard Ostling}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Paula|last=Herbut|title=Oral Roberts Seeking Millions for Holy Mission Against Cancer|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/131157672.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS&date=Jan+22%2C+1983&author=--+Paula+Herbut&pub=The+Washington+Post++(1974-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=C11&desc=Oral+Roberts+Seeking+Millions+for+Holy+Mission+Against+Cancer|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 22, 1983}}</ref>
Roberts' fundraising was controversial. In January 1987, during a fundraising drive, Roberts announced to a television audience that unless he raised $8 million by that March, God would "call him home."<ref>{{cite book|last=Randi|first=James|authorlink1=James Randi|year=1989|title=[[The Faith Healers]]| publisher=[[Prometheus Books]]|isbn=0-87975-535-0|page=186}}</ref><ref name="Time1987"/> However, the year before on Easter he had told a gathering at the Dallas Convention Center that God had instructed him to raise the money "by the end of the year" or he would die.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1987-02-25/news/mn-5759_1_oral-roberts |date=February 25, 1987 |title=Oral Roberts Also Predicted Death in 1986, Paper Reveals |accessdate=September 1, 2013}}</ref> Regardless of this new March deadline and the fact that he was still $4.5 million short of his goal,<ref>{{cite web |work=NewsOK |url=http://newsok.com/oral-roberts-missionary-fund-raising-wont-end-with-first-8-million/article/2177594 |author=Kay Morgan Atkins |date=March 1, 1987 |title=Oral Roberts' Missionary Fund-Raising Won't End With First $8 Million |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref> some were fearful that he was referring to suicide, given the impassioned pleas and tears that accompanied his statement. Late in March 1987 while Roberts was fasting and praying in the Prayer Tower, Florida dog track owner Jerry Collins donated $1.3 million.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1987-03-23/news/mn-9007_1_oral-roberts Dog-Track Owner Gives $1.3 Million to Oral Roberts], Associated Press (Los Angeles Times), March 23, 1987.</ref> Highly worried from what he perceived as Roberts threatening to starve himself, Collins said, "I did it in order to save the guy from going to heaven in a hurry. It's got nothing to do with religion. I've been a Baptist and a Methodist. I believe in religion and not just the church. You have to help one another."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/06/business/jerry-collins-89-built-an-empire-of-race-tracks.html Jerry Collins, 89; Built an Empire of Race Tracks (Obituary)], ''New York Times'', David J. Morrow, Aug. 6, 1997. " . . A founder of New College in Sarasota, Mr. Collins gave the institution a $1.2 million motel he owned in Bradenton, Fla., and raised another $7 million for a library. He also gave $600,000 for a new veterinary school at the University of Florida. . "</ref> Altogether, Roberts raised a total of $9.1 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts |url=http://www.ondoctrine.com/10robero.htm |first=Gary A. |last=Hand |publisher=On Doctrine |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510055144/http://www.ondoctrine.com/10robero.htm |archivedate=May 10, 2007 }}</ref> Later that year, he announced that God had raised the dead through his ministry.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Randi |first=James |authorlink1=James Randi |year=1989 |title=[[The Faith Healers]] |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |isbn=0-87975-535-0 |page=192}}</ref> Some of Roberts' fundraising letters were written by [[Gene Ewing]], who headed a business writing donation letters for other evangelicals such as [[Don Stewart (preacher)|Don Stewart]] and [[Robert Tilton]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/DM/lib00376,0ED3D68534F95845.html |title=Direct-market evangelist brings in millions lawyer says it all goes |work=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |date=March 10, 1996 |first=Howard |last=Swindle |accessdate=2007-05-17}}</ref>
Roberts maintained his love of finery and one obituary claimed that even when times became economically hard, "he continued to wear his Italian silk suits, diamond rings and gold bracelets—airbrushed out by his staff on publicity pictures".<ref name="guardianobit"/><ref name="telegraph_obit"/>
[[File:CityPlex Towers in Tulsa, Oklahoma.jpg|thumb|right|The [[CityPlex]] office complex, originally built as Oral Roberts' [[City of Faith Medical and Research Center]] in Tulsa.]]
He stirred up controversy when ''Time'' reported in 1987 that his son [[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard Roberts]] claimed that he had seen his father raise a child from the dead.<ref name="Time1987">{{cite news|url=http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964970,00.html|title=Raising Eyebrows and the Dead|publisher=''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''|date=July 13, 1987|first=Richard|last=Ostling|accessdate=2007-01-04|authorlink=Richard Ostling}}</ref> That year, the ''[[Bloom County]]'' comic strip recast its character [[Bill the Cat]] as a satirized televangelist, "Fundamentally Oral Bill." In 1987, ''Time'' stated that he was "re-emphasizing faith healing and [is] reaching for his old-time constituency."<ref name="Time1987"/> However, the income of his organization continued to decrease (from $88 million in 1980 to $55 million in 1986, according to the ''[[Tulsa Tribune]]'') and his largely vacant City of Faith Medical Center continued to lose money.<ref name="Time1987"/>
Harry McNevin said that in 1988 the ORU Board of Regents "rubber-stamped" the "use of millions in endowment money to buy a Beverly Hills property so that Oral Roberts could have a West Coast office and house."<ref>{{cite news|last=Juozapavicius|first=Justin|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110801341_pf.html|title=Oral Roberts' Son Accused of Misspending|work=[[The Washington Post]]|agency=Associated Press|date=November 8, 2007|accessdate=2009-12-18}}</ref> In addition, he said a country club membership was purchased for the Roberts' home. The lavish expenses led to McNevin's resignation from the Board. In 1988, Oral Roberts and his son Richard were sued for $15 million in federal court by patients at City of Faith Medical Center, claiming the two were frauds who did not visit or heal patients in the hospital.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19880804&id=qvY0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=JYgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4094,3044868 |title=Roberts Disputes Allegations In Suit | publisher=Bryan Times |date=August 4, 1988 |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2318&dat=19880731&id=OhcpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AoUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2983,6178946 |title=Faith Healer Fails To Win Delay |publisher=Saturday Morning Deseret News |date=July 31, 1988 |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19871017&id=1JdKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R5QMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1141,5374202 |title=Oral Roberts Sued For Failing To Cure Woman Of Hernia |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 17, 1987 |accessdate=2013-09-01}}</ref>
{{Wikinews|Former Oral Roberts University Regent member speaks out}}
His organizations were also affected by scandals involving other [[televangelists]]<ref name="AP_obit"/> and the City of Faith hospital was forced to close in 1989 after losing money. Roberts was forced to respond with the sale of his holiday homes in [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]] and [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]] as well as three of his [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] cars.<ref name="guardianobit"/>
Oral Roberts' son [[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard Roberts]] resigned from the presidency of ORU on November 23, 2007 after being named as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging improper use of university funds for political and personal purposes, and improper use of university resources.<ref>{{cite news|title=Roberts resigns as ORU president|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=071123_1__Richa47602&archive=yes|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=November 23, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Ziva|last=Branstetter|title=Roberts resigns|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=071124_1_A1_hMove11578&archive=yes|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=November 24, 2007}}</ref> The university was given a donation of $8 million by entrepreneur [[Mart Green]], and although the lawsuit was still in process,<ref>{{cite web|title=ORU Lawsuit|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2007/oru-lawsuit/default.html|work=[[Tulsa World]]|accessdate=2010-01-09}}</ref> the school submitted to an outside audit, and with a good report an additional $62 million was given by Green.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-14-oralroberts-gift_N.htm|title=Oral Roberts University takes $62M gift|work=[[USA Today]]|date=January 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=ORU moves to trim its debt|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080214_1_A1_hTrus02181|work=[[Tulsa World]]|last=Marciszewski|first=April|date=February 14, 2008|accessdate=2010-01-09}}</ref> Oral Roberts continued in his role as ORU chancellor, helping in the leadership of ORU along with [[Billy Joe Daugherty]], who was named as the executive regent to assume administrative responsibilities of the Office of the President by the ORU Board of Regents.<ref>{{cite news|first=April|last=Marciszewski|title=Roberts takes ORU leave|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071018_1_A1_hTheO62814|work=[[Tulsa World]]|date=October 18, 2007|accessdate=2007-10-18}}</ref> Oral Roberts continued as the ORU chancellor until his death,<ref name="biography"/> but in 2009, eleven months before his death, handed over the leadership of ORU to its incoming president, [[Mark Rutland]].<ref>{{cite news|title=New ORU president says he has founder's blessing|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090130_11_A8_Oaoetn993404&archive=yes|work=[[Tulsa World]]|author1=Sherman, Bill |author2=Muchmore, Shannon |lastauthoramp=yes |date=January 30, 2009|accessdate=2010-01-09}}</ref>
The [[Oklahoma Senate]] adopted a resolution honoring the life of Oral Roberts, and he accepted this honor in 2009 at the age of 91, seven months before his death.<ref>{{cite news|title=Oklahoma Senate Honors Oral Roberts|url=http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=10325475|agency=Associated Press|date=May 7, 2009|accessdate=2010-01-07}}</ref> The Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters (OAB) elected Roberts to the OAB Hall of Fame one month before his death.<ref name="HOF"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts, OAB Hall of Fame, Inducted 2010 |url=http://oabok.org/Awards/HOF-Roberts.htm |publisher=Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters (OAB) |date=November 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727135115/http://oabok.org/Awards/HOF-Roberts.htm |archivedate=July 27, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>
==Personal life==
Roberts was married to Evelyn Lutman Fahnestock (1917–2005) for 66 years from December 25, 1938, until her death from a fall, on May 4, 2005, at the age of 88.<ref>{{cite news |title=Evelyn Roberts, wife of Oral Roberts, dies|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=050504_Br_Robertsdeath|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=May 4, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts 1918-2009: Legacy|url=http://tulsaworld.com/app/oralroberts/pdf/specialsection.pdf|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=December 20, 2009|page=6}}</ref> Their daughter Rebecca Nash died in an airplane crash on February 11, 1977 with her husband, businessman Marshall Nash.<ref>{{cite web|title=The "Heaven Has a Floor" Crash: February 11, 1977|url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Roberts-N59838.htm|publisher=Check Six|location=[http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Anthony,_Kansas¶ms=37_04_00_N_98_02_17_W_region:US_type:city Location: about 6 miles south of Anthony, KS]|date=2002|at=Updated December 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Stefanic, Vern|title=Oral Roberts daughter, 5 others die|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=20080325_222_84228|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=February 11, 1977|at=Last modified March 25, 2008}}</ref> Their elder son, Ronald Roberts, committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart on June 10, 1982, five months after receiving a court order to undergo counseling at a drug treatment center and six months after coming out as gay.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E3D61F38F933A25755C0A964948260|title=Oral Roberts's Son, 37, Found Shot Dead in Car|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=June 10, 1982 |accessdate=2007-04-01}}</ref><ref name="talk">{{cite web|title=Oral Roberts’ Gay Grandson: "It Gets Better."|url=http://talkaboutequality.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/oral-roberts-gay-grandson-it-gets-better/|publisher=Talk About Equality|date=October 25, 2010}}</ref><ref name="out">{{cite news|author=Taffet, David|title=Oral Roberts' gay grandson speaks out|url=http://www.dallasvoice.com/oral-roberts’-gay-grandson-speaks-out-1032465.html|publisher=dallasvoice.com|date=July 8, 2010}}</ref> The other two Roberts children are son [[Richard Roberts (evangelist)|Richard]], an evangelist and former president of Oral Roberts University, and daughter Roberta Potts, an attorney.
Roberts died of complications from pneumonia on December 15, 2009,<ref name="KTUL">{{cite news |title=Oral Roberts Dies at Age 91 |url=http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1209/687732.html |publisher=[[KTUL-TV]] |date=December 15, 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218043126/http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1209/687732.html |archivedate=December 18, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Sherman|title=Oral Roberts dies|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20091215_18_0_OralRo862074|publisher=''[[Tulsa World]]''|date=December 15, 2009}}</ref> at the age of 91. He had been "semi-retired" and living in [[Newport Beach, California]].<ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Lobdell|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-oral-roberts16-2009dec16,0,3407978.story|title=Oral Roberts dies at 91; televangelist was pioneering preacher of the 'prosperity gospel'|publisher=''[[Los Angeles Times]]''|date=December 16, 2009}}</ref> He was interred next to his wife at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma (the same cemetery where [[T. L. Osborn]] was interred, nearly 4 years after).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.charismamag.com/site-archives/570-news/featured-news/8415-thousands-gather-to-remember-oral-roberts|title=Thousands Gather to Remember Oral Roberts|publisher=Charisma Magazine|date=2009-12-21|accessdate=2016-02-19}}</ref> Roberts was survived by two of four children, twelve grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
According to a 1987 article in ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'' by [[Martin Gardner]], the "most accurate and best documented [[biography]] is ''Oral Roberts: An American Life'', an objective study by [[David Edwin Harrell Jr.]], a historian at [[Auburn University]].
==See also==
* [[Healing Revival]]
* [[Charismatic Christianity]]
* [[List of television evangelists]]
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
'''About Roberts'''
* ''[[The Faith Healers]]'', by [[James Randi]], Buffalo, N.Y.: [[Prometheus Books]], 1987. {{ISBN|0-87975-369-2}}
* ''[http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=19744 Oral Roberts: An American Life]'', by David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0-253-15844-3}}
'''By Roberts'''
* ''The call: an autobiography.'' by Oral Roberts, Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1972.
* ''Expect a miracle: my life and ministry.'' by Oral Roberts, Nashville : T. Nelson, 1995. {{ISBN|0-7852-7752-8}}
* ''Oral Roberts' life story, as told by himself.'' by Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1952.
==External links==
{{Sister project links}}
* {{Find a Grave|45468872}}
* [http://memorial.oru.edu Webcast of Chancellor Oral Roberts' Memorial Service]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [http://www.oralroberts.com Oral Roberts Ministries]
* [http://www.oru.edu Oral Roberts University]
* [http://www.tulsaworld.com/oralroberts ''Oral Roberts: The Man. The Mission. The Ministry.''], online archive at ''[[Tulsa World]]''
* [http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/37922/life-with-oral-roberts Life With Oral Roberts] slideshow by ''[[Life magazine]]''
*[http://www.voicesofoklahoma.com/interview/roberts-oral/ Voices of Oklahoma interview with Oral Roberts.] First person interview conducted on August 11, 2009, with Oral Roberts.
*[https://archive.is/20130416012305/http://umportal.org/article.asp?id=6255 UM Portal: Q&A: Evangelist Roberts was comfortable with Methodism]
{{1950s Healing Revival|expanded=}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Oral}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:American evangelists]]
[[Category:American Pentecostal pastors]]
[[Category:American television evangelists]]
[[Category:American people of Cherokee descent]] <!-- http://www.cherokeecommunityofcentralcalifornia.org/ -->
[[Category:Choctaw people]] <!-- http://www.cherokeecommunityofcentralcalifornia.org/ -->
[[Category:Christians from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in California]]
[[Category:Oklahoma Baptist University alumni]]
[[Category:Oklahoma Republicans]]
[[Category:Pentecostals from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Pentecostals from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Presidents of Oral Roberts University]]
[[Category:People from Ada, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:People from Toccoa, Georgia]]
[[Category:Prosperity theologians]]
[[Category:American United Methodist clergy]]
