Robert Gibson Rayburn (January 14, 1915 – January 5, 1990) was an American pastor and college president.

Personal life

Rayburn was born in

Newton, Kansas Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 18,602. Newton is located north of Wichita. The city of North Newton is located immediately north and e ...

, to James Chalmers Rayburn, Sr. (an evangelist for the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

), and Elna Beck Rayburn. Robert was one of four sons. His oldest brother,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, also a Presbyterian minister, would go on to found the Christian organization

Young Life Young Life is an evangelical Christian organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado which focuses on young people in middle school, high school, and college. Week-long Summer camps are a major focus, and these have a definite evangelizing asp ...

in 1941. Rayburn studied at

Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to: * Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...

Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary The Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary was located at 3303 North 21st Place in North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Opened in 1891 in downtown Omaha, the institution moved to the Kountze Place neighborhood in North Omaha in 1902 and closed i ...

, and

Dallas Theological Seminary Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is an evangelical theology, theological seminary in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system dispensationalism. DTS has campuses in Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as cont ...

. He served as a chaplain in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946, and again from 1950 to 1952, during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Between these two terms of service, he was pastor of

College Church College Church is an evangelical non-denominational church in Wheaton, Illinois founded in 1861 by the abolitionist and first president of Wheaton College Jonathan Blanchard. College Church is located across two city blocks facing the Wheaton Co ...

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

Ministry

Rayburn served as president of

Highland College Highland College was a Christian liberal arts college in Pasadena, California, United States. It was located at 450 Avenue 64, Pasadena, California 91105. History Highland College was founded under the leadership of the Dr. Clyde J. Kennedy on Ma ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

from 1952 to 1956. In 1956, he joined with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in parting ways with Carl McIntire's Bible Presbyterian Church. He became the founding president of Covenant College, which belonged to the new denomination, and then founding president of Covenant Theological Seminary. He relinquished the presidency of the college in 1965 after it relocated from

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

to Lookout Mountain, Georgia, but remained president of the seminary until 1977. He died of cancer in 1990. Rayburn wrote ''O Come Let Us Worship'' in 1980, in which he "sought to reintroduce

evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

to its history and liturgy." According to Bryan Chapell, Rayburn "became the vanguard" of "modern integrative liturgies", anticipating the work of

Robert E. Webber Robert Eugene Webber (November 27, 1933 – April 27, 2007) was an American theologian known for his work on worship and the early church. He played a key role in the Convergence Movement, a movement among evangelical and charismatic churches in t ...

Thomas C. Oden Thomas Clark Oden (1931–2016) was an American Methodist theologian and religious author. He is often regarded as the father of the paleo-orthodox theological movement and is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the 20th ...

, and

Hughes Oliphant Old Hughes Oliphant Old (April 13, 1933 – May 24, 2016) was an American theologian and academic. Until his retirement in 2014 he was the John H. Leith Professor of Reformed Theology and Worship at Erskine Theological Seminary. Previously he had taught ...

. The chapel on the campus of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis is named in honor of its founding president.

Rayburn College Rayburn College was founded in 1994. It is situated at New Lamka which about 62 kilometers from the state capital of Manipur, Imphal and 2 kilometers from the heart of the town, Lamka. The college is named after the American pastor and educator ...

, in

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

, India, is named after him. Rayburn had four children, including Robert S. Rayburn and

Bentley Rayburn Bentley B. Rayburn (born June 15, 1953) is an American retired Air Force major general and businessman. Rayburn graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Georgetown University, and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He was named ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayburn, Robert G. 1915 births 1990 deaths People from Newton, Kansas United States Army chaplains Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Presbyterian Church in America ministers American Calvinist and Reformed theologians Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Covenant Theological Seminary faculty 20th-century American clergy Deaths from cancer in Missouri 20th-century American academics