Robert Rutherford of Rock Fellowship

I can't remember how I came across the ministry of Robert Rutherford who is the pastor of Rock Fellowship in Georgia. About a year ago, perhaps a bit longer, Keith and I ordered some DVD's from an Inclusion Conference we saw mentioned on he Tentmaker message board. Around that same time there was a TV show on The Learning Channel called The Messengers. Probably one of those two venues was the link to his ministry, but however it was that we happened upon him, his ministry is a great blessing. Following is his short bio from The Messenger's site. (Scroll down through the other contestants to find him) All of his messages from the show are there, too, available to listen to online or as MP3 downloads.

Pastor Robert Rutherford is the consummate family man. Located 55 miles outside Atlanta, his camp, Rock Fellowship, houses not only his wife and their 11 children but also an ever-changing extended family from all over the geographical and spiritual map. Muslims, Jews and Christians, along with the homeless, are all welcome at Rock Fellowship. Robert has played with a Christian rock band for the past 20 years, and the experience shows in his entertaining, thought-provoking speaking style.

The Messengers was similar to the American Idol type shows. Each week the speakers were given an assignment (spend a day in a hospital for critically ill children, spend a day as a handicapped person) and then they had to give an inspirational message on that topic. Each week one "messenger" was eliminated. I think Robert made it through five or six weeks before he was eliminated.

The message I remember the most clearly was the week they had to speak about their experience at the children's hospital. Robert, as a pastor, with a pastor's heart, spent his time with a 16 year old boy who was dying of AIDs. His family was not with him for whatever reason, but Robert was...and in the message birthed from that experience, he spoke of God as a loving father who welcomes all of his children home. Robert preaches universal reconciliation.

Well, I have heard him deny that he preaches universal reconciliation or inclusion, and he declares that he preaches only "Christ." To my way of thinking, they are pretty much one and the same. There are many messages available on his site, recorded from the services at Rock Fellowship. He is an engaging preacher, with a southern drawl and his sermons are filled with those southern idioms that I remember from living in Nashville for several years. Granted, Nashville is not as "southern" as Georgia....but it provided some exposure to sayings like, "I'm fixin' to", "hose pipe" and "fooler" (pacifier). With 11 kids, he has lots of material for his sermons which he blends in as amazing analogies about God's character and nature and how to live the "Christian life."

I think he sees the atonement more along the lines of penal substitution. He is a bit more traditional about his view of sacrifice etc. but he is very knowledgeable about scripture and his sermons are quite entertaining and touching. Drop by his site and listen to one of his sermons....or one of his songs because he is also a great singer. I loved his musical medley of "I Come to the Garden" and "There is None Like You". I was a bit disgruntled when Robert was disqualified on "The Messengers" but he continues to be a great messenger of the true God through his website and his CD ministry. Also check out his sister site....Robertruthford.org. Logo for that site follows.