Rainbow Man

It should have been apparent to me earlier that a blog has some limitations that a regular website doesn't.

1. Because each new blog message appears right at the beginning of the site, anything really important that you posted earlier gets pushed further back.
2. The address: http://therainbowman.blogspot.com is difficult to remember/find/put on a banner, etc.

These are important to me because:

1. People need to know right away that the website is about Rollen Stewart, the Rainbow Man, who they probably remember from years ago.
2. An address like http://therainbowman.blogspot.com generates fewer visitors, which I need both to learn of Rollen's attempts to start up his campaign and to donate toward that campaign.
3. An address like http://therainbowman.blogspot.com is hard to put on a banner which Rollen would like to have displayed at events. A banner would help, obviously, with informing people of the above two points.

I need a regular website, one that is short and easy to remember. Until I get one, please continue scrolling down this website to get more of the story.

In an era when people regularly switch houses, partners and even religions, Rollen Stewart is approaching twenty-five years as a Born Again Christian.

On January 20th, 1980, after walking around at the Super Bowl in Pasadena in a fur bikini bottom, Rollen Stewart went back to his hotel room, turned on the television and saw born-again Christian preacher, Dr. Charles Taylor, on Today in Bible Prophecy.

As Rollen observes in an upcoming book on his life:
"At that moment, Dr. Taylor offered an altar call to the viewing audience. I got down on my knees and made this prayer: 'Heavenly Father, I admit that I am a sinner. I am truly sorry for my sins. Please forgive me and save me, for I ask in the name of Jesus Christ who died for me and bore my sins. I do now by faith accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior, and I believe that His perfect blood cleanses me from all my sins. I thank you Lord for hearing my prayer and giving me eternal salvation. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.'

"Upon saying that prayer, I was born again of the Spirit and became a Child of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

"Dr. Taylor said that if you accepted Christ, you wouldn’t have to worry about where you’d be spending eternity. What went through my mind was that I now understood why I was born, why we’re all here on this earth, why we’re here to witness. Some people are chosen, and I understood that I was one of those. He chose me – I didn’t choose Him. So I knew I was going to be an evangelist and go out and use TV as a tool, just as I had been doing.

"I was Born Again. Jesus would use me as he used John the Baptist before His First Coming. I was to warn people that Judgment Day was at hand before Christ’s Second Coming."

Even after his arrest in 1992, Rollen has not wavered from his ministry. The envelope of his last letter to me declares:

RAPTURE! FEAST OF TRUMPETS!
ROSH HASHANAH! 2005!

I find it interesting, but not that surprising, that Rollen Stewart is remembered after all these years. Whether you feel that it was a calculated "fifteen minutes of fame" or that he was true to his beliefs, there is no denying that he was "in our faces" for over a decade. Perhaps as important, people still remember him and they remember John 3:16!

Like many media sensations, Rollen's story suffers from the same urban myths or "broken telephone" misconceptions.

I found a weblink that talked about how Rollen "... would purchase the best seats possible at the greatest sporting events" and then went to Los Angeles with a plan "... to hijack a jet to another continent," but that something went wrong "... probably at check-in, and he ended up taking hostages." Sounds like it would make a great movie, but where did this person get his info from?

First of all, not once did Rollen purchase the best tickets. Occasionally, these were given to him. Instead he would either walk down to those seats and sit in the aisle or get the people sitting there to make room for him. And of course, some people would offer up their seats, if only for a few minutes, because they agreed with his message and wanted to help him get it out.

Secondly, the event in which Rollen found himself arrested was in an L.A. airport hotel. Rollen took two Mexican immigrant workers with him to gain access to the hotel, and after they ran away, he barricaded himself in a hotel room with the goal of getting world-wide satellite time to spread his message. He didn't realize that a maid was in the room. She locked herself in the bathroom and had nothing more to do with him - nor he with her.

A dumb idea - sure. But one which resulted in three life sentences - for kidnapping? No way. Rollen of course sealed his fate by not accepting the crown's offer for a twelve-year sentence because he wanted more media attention.

Rollen's case and the resulting sentence is hardly on par with history's grave injustices, but the fact that 2005 is approaching and that there seems to be no end to his jail term does strike me as unfair. I have agreed to help Rollen raise money for paper, stamps and incidentals and later - if more money does come in - to hire people to continue his John 3:16 campaign, if he cannot, because of this injustice. Agree or not, Rollen's sentence exceeds the penalties usually laid out for an equivalent crime. Perhaps being the Rainbow Man worked against him.

Even as far back as 1980 when I first met him, I was astounded that Rollen actually hated sports. After all, he'd be seated behind home plate at the World Series or shown on
eleven Monday Night Football games in a row, or at most of the PGA stops in Florida or California. These would be the meccas for sports junkies.

Before being Born Again in January, 1980, Rollen's goal was to be "the most famous person in the world that no one knows anything about."

Afterwards, he felt his mission was to give the message of John 3:16 to all those whose attitude was: "I don't know anything about Jesus - I only watch sports." Now they would have no excuses, according to Rollen, because whenever they would watch sports, they would constantly see "John 3:16."

Did you know that, despite being interrogated and held for a short time by police at both the Moscow Olympic games in 1980 and the Sarajevo Olympic games in 1984, Rollen was probably most frustrated at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games.

The other two were mostly inconveniences, but the problem with L.A. was the cost of the events. He ended up going to very few events - instead, he ministered to people outside the venues.