Fearlessly
Defending the Faith

"Jesus is the only founder of any religion who possessed the command over the laws of physics, nature, sickness, life, death, and declared Himself to be God on earth and backed it up with His actions."

Bob grew up in the Worldwide Church of God, which at the time was a religious cult, before being saved at age 19. At 43, he has been married 20 years and has had one daughter and 5 sons. On Mother's Day, May 12, 2002, his daughter and oldest child, Colleen unexpectantly collapsed in Bob's arms and died instantly at age 17. Many listeners have supported Bob through cards, letters, e-mail and prayer, through which the family has been extremely grateful. This has made him more determined than ever to fearlessly defend the faith, reminding listeners that good times or bad, God is in charge, not us. Bob came to WMUZ in November 2000 from the Christian Coalition in Washington D.C. where he served as National Press Secretary. He has been quoted in newspapers throughout the country and appeared on various news, radio and television shows, such as Christian Television Network and Inside Edition. He was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and has lived in Michigan off and on since 1988.

Modern Disciple: How did you start to defend the faith?

Bob Dutko: I grew up in the Worldwide Church of God, which was extremely legalistic. It has all the characteristics of a cult. We were not allowed to celebrate anything - no birthdays, no holidays. We were the freaks. Coming out of that, I then considered myself to be an agnostic. As I got into my teen years, I started to question, "Is there or is there not a God?" My nature has always been to look at things logically, and I tried to logically conclude that if there was a God, I needed to know that. The main issue for me was the existence of heaven and hell. A friend of mine invited me and my girlfriend, who is now my wife, to church with him. There was an altar call, you know the days when the altar call required you to step out and make a decision for Christ! We both responded at the same time. I wound up buying a Bible the next day.

As I grew in the Lord, I had to justify the decisions that I made. I needed to know what the Truth was. Everything I studied, everything I researched brought me back to the one reality - that Christianity is the only belief system that stands the test of scrutiny, the test of logic, the test of science, and that solidified my faith as I went along. To this day, my studies have validated that belief.

Anybody can do the research. For example, people ask all the time, "What do you think of Mormonism?" I could stay up until 2 a.m. answering those questions, but any one of us can search on the web and in the Bible and find the answers for ourselves. And we all should.

We need to be prepared to give an answer. I look to 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

MD: How did you get into radio?

I do not mean to sound arrogant, but I have always been a person that has been able to rise through the ranks of companies, due to persistence and hard work. My experience was in restaurant and retail management, which led to leading sales seminars. While I was doing that, a friend suggested that I move into radio. I always felt that I had a call on my life from God, and constantly asked the Lord to show me what to do. I knew that radio was the direction to take. I went to a small station and paid $100 for an hour to host "The Bob Dutko Show". Through that, I learned radio - how to sell ads, how to be comfortable on the air.

After a year, I then moved to a larger station, and did a Siskel and Ebert type show on the issues - I was the "Conservative Christian". Over time, the station began to try to push us into a raunchier direction, and also to downplay my Christianity. I realized that I could not move in those directions. I quit the station and got out of radio for a time.

I contacted the Christian Coalition in Washington about four years ago, because they did not have a Michigan director, and asked if they needed someone to handle that responsibility. As a result of our discussions, I was offered the position of National Press Secretary, which surprised me! It was a fascinating job, dealing with ABC, CNN, Oliver North, Pat Robertson simultaneously.

How did you keep your head in that situation? ---> PAGE 2

FearlesslyDefending the Faith

"Jesus is the only founder of any religion who possessed the command over the laws of physics, nature, sickness, life, death, and declared Himself to be God on earth and backed it up with His actions."

Fearlessly
Defending the Faith