(10-22) 15:31 PDT Tulsa, Okla. (AP) --
Oral Roberts returned to his namesake university Monday and denied the lurid accusations that have threatened to engulf the school, telling students and employees in a chapel service that "the devil is not going to steal ORU."
Making his first visit to Oral Roberts University in three years, Roberts said at the service that his son Richard Roberts, who took a leave of absence as the school's president last week, eventually will return to his position, the Tulsa World reported.
Three former professors sued the university Oct. 2 for wrongful termination, claiming they were dismissed after they turned over to the board of regents a copy of a report documenting moral and ethical lapses on the part of Richard Roberts and his family.
Oral Roberts, 89, said in the chapel service that he has moved back to Tulsa from California, where he has lived for several years. The crowd gave him standing ovations.
The 5,700-student Bible Belt university will begin mediation this week with the three former professors, he said. Their lawsuit and attached report accuses Richard Roberts and his wife, Lindsay, of lavishly spending university funds and improperly asking that students get involved in a local political race.
The lawsuit alleges that university funds covered home remodels and a $29,411 senior trip to the Bahamas for one of Roberts' daughters and says Lindsay Roberts sent scores of late-night text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."
Oral Roberts famously told viewers in 1987 that God told him to raise $8 million for the university or he would be "called home."
In an open letter published Sunday in The Tulsa World, George Pearsons, chairman of ORU's Board of Regents, said the university has hired an outside legal and accounting firm to conduct a full, independent review of the allegations.
"We do not judge those who are accused and will await the facts and respond accordingly," Pearsons wrote.