Fundamentalist Firebrand Lester Roloff Dies in Plane Crash

Evangelist Lester Roloff, a Texas fundamentalist minister who made headlines for refusing to knuckle under to state licensing authorities, is dead at the age of 68. Roloff and four others associated with his Corpus Christi-based ministry were killed in a plane crash on November 2 when the Cessna 210 Roloff was piloting crashed in east central Texas.

A Baptist minister and an experienced pilot, Roloff encountered heavy thunderstorms en route to a speaking engagement in Kansas City and went down over a Texas cattle ranch. The others, all women between the ages of 20 and 30, were to sing at the engagement.

Constitutional lawyer William Bentley Ball described Roloff as “an extremely courageous defender of religious liberty” and a “beacon light for American fundamentalism.” Ball defended Roloff in a court case that resulted in the legal vindication of Roloff’s refusal to allow the state of Texas to license his homes for troubled youth. In 1979, his three Texas homes were closed as a result of a suit filed by the state attorney general. The homes were reopened after Roloff reorganized his ministry, placing the homes under his People’s Baptist Church, instead of under Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises.

The homes have been in the public eye since 1973. Since then, accusations of beatings and other questionable forms of punishment, including withholding of meals, have consistently been leveled against Roloff’s operations (CT, Sept. 7, 1979, p. 60). In addition, Roloff was criticized for denouncing psychiatrists and the use of psychiatric treatment at his homes.

Greg Dixon, a prominent Indianapolis fundamentalist pastor, said, “From a human standpoint, the tragic death of Brother Roloff is one of the greatest blows to the cause of Christianity and religious liberty. In my opinion, he was the greatest Christian of our time.”

And Now … The Pornographer Of The Month

Donald Wildmon’s National Federation for Decency (NFD) has announced a new award: Pornographer of the Month. The first winner? The company that owns Kentucky Fried Chicken.

NFD officials said that R.J. Reynolds/Del Monte/Kentucky Fried Chicken was named Pornographer of the Month because the company contributes more money promoting pornography by advertising in pornographic magazines than any other advertiser in America. No dollar figures were provided.

“With every can of Del Monte food and every box of Kentucky Fried Chicken a person buys, part of their money is used to help promote pornography and the associated sickness which sells people as objects,” Wildmon said. “They are more interested in money than people.”

The United Methodist minister decried the company for “endorsing” the “pornographic dehumanization of women” and “a way of life which has no room for the old, the sick, the poor, the unlovely, or the family.”

The NFD will award the Pornographer of the Month to companies that advertise in or distribute pornographic magazines. The ploy may have some effect, since more than 25 advertisers have told the NFD they no longer plan to advertise in the pornographic publications.

Our Latest

Inside the Ministry

The Next Generation Is Ready. Are We?

See how CT is investing in the next generation of the Church—and how you can, too.

The Russell Moore Show

Listener question: Why Aren’t Christians Engaging in Humanitarian Aid?

Russell takes a listener’s question about the crisis of humanitarian aid and why Christians are not stepping in to help.

New Archbishop of Canterbury Steps into Anglican Divides

Conservatives call on Sarah Mullally, the first woman at the spiritual helm of the Church of England, to uphold biblical faith amid same-sex blessings debate.

News

FDA Approves Generic Abortion Pill

Students for Life leader calls the move “a stain on the Trump presidency.”

You Haven’t Heard Worship Music like This

John Van Deusen’s praise is hard-won and occasionally wordless.

The Russell Moore Show

BONUS: Lecrae on Reconstruction after Disillusionment

 Lecrae joins Russell Moore to take questions from Christianity Today subscribers

News

John Cornyn’s MAGA-land Challenge

The incumbent senator is up against his strongest challenge yet in populist-right leader Ken Paxton.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube