If the allegations against Richard Roberts and family are true, the thing that sickens me the most is the arrogance. If true, the Roberts family has used Oral Roberts University as their personal ATM machine.
Parents from all over the world send their children to ORU, despite that fact it is very expense. Now I can appreciate how a private university is more expense than a public, but how much of the additional tuition expense is related to the supporting of the Roberts’ life style and how much of it is for the institution? And, has the waste of funds hurt the university?
ORU is more than a university. It is a Christian university that is to provide an education to those wanting to be in the ministry and those that wish to learn secular skills in a Christian environment. But what example is the leadership of the University providing for the students?
One of truth or skirting the policies and procedure of the university? The proper governance of funds or the wasting tuition dollars?
This all goes back to the primary problem with most personality driven churches and Para-church organizations (which I am including ORU). That is the problem of the lack of accountability and proper stewardship.
So often a dynamic personality, such as an Oral or Richard Roberts, are trusted to operate a organization. They surround themselves with a board of yes-men (James Bakker and the PTL Network) or they are just given the benefit of the doubt (such as Benny Hinn and his book royalties). “O, Richard is a good guy, we can trust him” the board may say. But power and money corrupt, which is why everyone should be held accountable, everyone should have a boss, and everyone should have to explain his actions.
What churches and para church organizations need is to take a lesson from the business world. Require that organization are operated for the maximum benefit of the organization (or to whom it serves) and no the founder and his family. Require annual audits by third parties. Require that procedures are followed and hold the board of directors accountable for the resulting actions.
It seems that ORU is in need of a good house cleaning. It just might save the University.
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