Biography of Richard Roberts
Richard Roberts Biography
Richard Roberts Biography – Richard Lee Roberts is an American televangelist and faith leader born on November 12, 1948. He has served as the chairman and chief executive officer of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association. Richard Roberts was a president at Oral Roberts University for fifteen years.
Early Life
He is the son of evangelist Granville Oral Roberts and Evelyn Lutman Roberts and was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the third child of four children,
The young Richard Roberts watched his father travel the United States and the world holding healing meetings, where he preached and lay hands on the sick. Most of the time, he would be left behind by his parents for a couple of weeks. But during holidays or when school permitted it, he would tag along with his father on trips and had a dream of having his own healing ministry. It was known that young Richard was often standing on his chair, clapping when people were healed during his father’s meetings.
Young Richard Roberts had his first public performance at the age of 5 in a crusade in Baltimore, Maryland. He stood on the chair to sing “I Believe”. His father wrote about the bond between him and Richard through playing golf together. He shared this in the book “Expect A Miracle: My Life and Ministry”.
He was constantly being teased at school because of the attention his father commanded and it made him uncomfortable. According to him, “I came home from school many a day with my shirt torn and my nose bloodied from being in fights with the other kids who made fun of me, my dad, and the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.”
He started pulling away from his father’s ministry as a teenager due to the negative press his father was receiving and pressure from his father to sing at Crusades. He started developing other skills. He learned how to play the guitar and held a performance around Oklahoma, aiming to become a nightclub singer in Las Vegas.
He played the lead in his school’s production of The Sound of Music in 1966 and was offered a scholarship to Interlochen.
After High School in May 1966, Richard went to the University of Kansas with the hope to study music. While at the University of Kansas, he fell ill and was admitted to the hospital. After being discharged, he heard a voice telling him was in the wrong place and that he belonged at Oral Roberts University instead. The following year, he left the University and enrolled at Oral Roberts University. He gave his life to Christ in 1968 and joined his father’s ministry as a singer.
He holds 3 degrees from Oral Roberts University – a BA in communications in 1985, a master’s degree in 1992, and a DMin degree in 2002.
Marital Status
Even though his family opposed it, Richard Roberts married Patricia “Patti” Holcombe on November 27, 1968. He later stated his regret in the marriage through his book “He’s The God of a Second Chance. The couple have two children. The wife filed for divorce in 1978.
Richard Roberts remarried after the approval from the executive staff of the ministry and the university. He got married to Lindsay Salem at the campus of Rollins College on January 11, 1980.
The two had four children. The first child died after a few hours of delivery in 1984. They later gave birth to Jordan (1985), Olivia (1987), and Chloe (1989).
Bibliography
- A Study of the Impact of the Course, “Charismatic Life and the Healing Ministry,” on Oral Roberts University Undergraduates. (D.Min, Oral Roberts University, 2002)
- Are Miracles Real?(Tulsa, Oral Roberts & Richard Roberts, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Assoc, 1996)
- Claim Your Inheritance (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Assoc., 2002)
- Faith to Try Again (Tulsa, Albury Publishing, 1982 )
- The Joy of the Lord – How to Get It and Keep It! (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Ministries, 1995)
- If You’re Going Through Hell, Don’t Stop (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Assoc., 1998)
- If You Catch Hell, Don’t Hold It (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Assoc., 1999)
- The Source, The Seed, The Answer: the Secrets of Seed-Faith (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, 1997)
- Excelling In Life (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Ministries, 1996)
- He’s a Healing Jesus (Oral Roberts Ministries, 2010)
- He’s the God of a Second Chance (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, 1985)
- The Unlimited Power Within You (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Ministries, 1999)
- The Good News Is the Bad News Is Wrong! (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Evangelistic Assoc., 1993)
- When It Seems All Hope is Gone(Tulsa, Harrison House Publishers, 2003)
- When All Hell Breaks Loose…Facing Your Fiery Trials With Faith (Tulsa, Oral Roberts Ministries, 2014)
