Lester Roloff

****************************************

Moderator notice

****************************************

Talk about known facts of Roloff’s characteristics or ministry but don’t bring vague insinuations and unsupported accusations here.

That would be simply gossip.

I never met Bro. Roloff personally, although I have heard several recorded sermons. I personally know some men who were trained by him, and they are top-notch men who have a sincere burden for their ministry. The problem comes in with the nature of their ministries. These kids are real handfuls, and they know how to work “the system.” They know that all they have to do to get the police into these ministries is to circulate rumors about “abuse.” The next thing you know, the feds are parked outside the home, hauling everyone away, placing them into “state” custody, and destroying the reputation of good, honest, hard-working folks based on the allegation of a troubled teenager.

Roloff was a good man. The ones I know who are still working in the same ministry are good men also. If you have never been around these types of ministries, it is difficult for you to understand the nature of it, and the source of all the allegations.

In Christ,

Have you read the biography on Lester Roloff (Lester Roloff in Life and in Death)? Have you listened to his sermons, which are still played on many Christian radio stations including WMUU here in Greenville? Have you sent for some of his literature, which available from Roloff Evanelistic Enterprises in Corpus Christi, TX? Our family visited at their office about 13 years ago.

As far as diet goes, Roloff ate and recommedded a diet similar to what is called the Mediterranean diet today. It is considered one of the most healthy diets there is. It is plant based with limited meat and relatively low fat. Cancer rates and heart disease rates are drastically lower on this kind of diet as compared to the standard american high fat - lots of meat diet.

Here is a quote from his Food, Faith and Fasting:

“For meat, eat fish, fowl, wild game, avocado, egg yolks, nuts, cheese, and cottage cheese, sunflower seed, and a minimum of other meats. Drink a lot of juices, always unsweetened, forty-five minutes to an hour before the meal, or a couple of hours after the meal.”

[Angela Stewart] Please understand, I wasn’t trying to stir anything up. I honestly have very little experience or knowledge about the man or his ministries. We’re reviewing our missions outreaches at church, and after doing some searching online and finding numerous reports that gave me pause, I thought I’d ask here if anyone had any more solid information.

If I wanted solid information on a ministry that I had questions about, I’d ask the homes if they would allow a visit from some people in your church who wanted to check it out. I’d also contact law enforcement and do a background check on the people involved in the ministry. If something illegal happened, there should be a police report and other documentation that would outline the allegations and the current status.

Any information that you would get here would be speculation, and there is no way to verify anything that someone said- I could make up all kinds of claims, and how could you prove me wrong- know what I mean?

People in ministry are always targets for rumor and unfounded accusations, so just the fact that there are reports of abuse does not mean abuse occurred. These homes are for kids that are in serious trouble, whose families felt they could not help them, or the family itself is dysfunctional. It stands to reason that allegations of abuse are going to be made when kids who are out of control are suddenly in a situation where they have little to no control. If abuse happens, it needs to be dealt with through proper legal channels.

Personally, I’ve kept the girls from the Rachel Academy/Reclamation Ranch in my home while they were visiting in the area, and it is always a wonderful experience.

Back in 1977 while on active duty in the US Navy and stationed on the USS Inchon (LPH-12) through the Grace and Providence of God I began attending the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Virginia Beach, VA. TBC had a Local Church Christian Servicemen’s Center and it was at that Center I got saved on November 7,th 1977. Before that took place and In the Spring of 1977 I attended a Saturday Meeting at the Servicemen’s Center and a Wednesday Evening Servce. Sometime after that we deployed to the Med for a six month cruise returning in the Fall of 77’. After I was saved I began atttending the Center and Church on a regular basis (as regular as I could depending on my military schedule). Well now to Brother Roloff…The Wednesday Evening that I attended in the Spring that I mentioned above the church had Brother Roloff and the Rebecka Home for Girls there that evening. I guess Brother Roloff preahced and the Girls Sang and gave testimony (that was 32 years ago)…well the van that took them to the airport was the same van that took us back to the base after the service. I don’t remember talking to him I do remember us being in a hurry because Brother Roloff was concerned about making a the airport before they closed. He flew his own plane to the service. Here is one thing I do remember. They were giving away a Roloff edition Bible which was a KJV Bible with ministry pictures and information in the back. You could get one of these Bibles and give a donation. Well I got a Bible but no donation probably never thought about it. Well six months later after I got saved what do you suppose was one of the first things I did? You guessed it I sent the Roloff Ministries a donation for the Bible. I used to get a newsletter but have not in years…Well that is my Roloff story!

Can I give you one more testimony about my Salvation? There was a guy on our ship somehow he was the human link for us getting to TBC. The question I had was how did he know about TBC? Well after not having any contact with him for a couple of decades I just learned this year that he heard about TBC from a Flyer. I don’t know if someone gave it to him or he saw it on a bulletin board but a flyer in deed. I would like to share with you all that tonight there is a Pastor in Travelers Rest, SC, a Pastor in Hillsdale, MI, a Pastor in Chespeake, VA and a Pastor in Connersville, IN, a Brother working at a Bible College in MI and we all came from that ship around the same time frame or another! May we all keep on keeping on.

Hey lets go give out a flyer!

At Pastor’s school in Hammond, IN, in 1979, Bro Lester Roloff gave what is possibly his best, or best loved sermon. I’ve search the net and finally found it again. It’s a long recording, having a number of songs by himself & his preacher boys before the message, called “Pawing in the Valley.” Bro Lester kept the audience of about 8,000 preachers & folks riveted to their seats. Link: http://landmarkbaptistclio.org/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=5&pos=…] Pawing in the Valley At that gathering, Dr. John R. Rice, Dr. Lee Roberson, Dr. Dave Gibbs, and Bro Lester were among those whom were honored especially by Dr. Jack Hyles & the church, at that time. 8-)

One of my favorites is the one he preached at someone’s ordination-I’ve seen it under different titles, but the one I remember it under is “I May Lose Some Friends With This Sermon”. It can be found on various audio sermon sites, including Sermon Audio, Sermons From The Past, the “Jesus Is Saviour” site (the audio sermon section), goodpreachin.com, and trumpetoftruthonline.org, amongst others.

Oh, it was also called “What Every Young Preacher Should Know”. I especially appreciate the part where he cautions new preachers to not get caught up in the back-and-forth of their people, and to keep himself apart from foolishness that will suck away the energy which should be devoted to more profitable endeavors. I believe that I can see where Brother Roloff abided by that principle in his own life. Even with all his energy, he could never have accomplished all he did if he got bogged down in petty church politics or taking sides when fellow preachers had disagreements. He seemed to keep himself to himself in that regard, and I think it made him the big man who stayed above pettiness that he was. It seems a few of the preachers of yesteryear had that quality, and it certainly added to their stature, along with their other good qualities.

Bro. Roloff was second to none in guiding me into IFB via his radio messages. I had 40 of them on cassettes plus his famous Dr. Grace and Dr. Law message on video.

I think of him as what OT prophets like Elijah must have been like. I loved his expressions some of which I still use. He said “when I go to heaven I won’t need an airplane,I’m going plain air!”