{"id":2237056,"date":"2026-01-16T04:05:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T04:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2237056"},"modified":"2026-01-16T04:05:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T04:05:37","slug":"new-orleans-churchs-flavor-blend-music-laughter-and-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/new-orleans-churchs-flavor-blend-music-laughter-and-literacy\/","title":{"rendered":"New Orleans Church’s Flavor: Blend Music, Laughter, and Literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Overview:<\/h2>\n

A musician, songwriter, and former “hype man” for rapper MC Hammer, Rodgers has molded his passions \u2014 performance, literacy, and humor \u2014 into a vision that fuels Forword Christian Church in New Orleans. While it embraces fun, Rodgers says, the church is as serious as others when it comes to preaching the Gospel.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It is a joy to write about the church and how it is God\u2019s unique expression of grace through the appointed founder or leader. Some are as unique as a fingerprint. Forword Christian Church in New Orleans is exactly that expression.<\/p>\n

If you visit, for example, you could run into Rev. Rufus with the Golden Toofus, the bug-eyed, wild-haired alter ego of Rev. Larry Rodgers, Forword\u2019s founder and senior pastor.<\/p>\n

LEARN MORE: Richard Smallwood: \u2018I\u2019m Looking Forward to Singing With You in Heaven\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rodgers grew up in a traditional church where \u201cthere were many legalistic rules and lots of traditions sprinkled with a little Bible,\u201d he says. \u201cThat can be very dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

So when he decided to begin his own church, Rodgers didn\u2019t want his congregation to be hidebound by long lists of dos and don\u2019ts. Which is where Rev. Rufus comes in \u2014 a street preacher who lightens things up with Bible-based jokes and malaprops. It\u2019s a refreshing break for a church that helps its parishioners deal with heavy issues, including homelessness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, though: when it comes to the Gospel, Rodgers is all business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not Just Performance Ministry<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWe want people to understand that we stand for holiness and don\u2019t waver when it comes to what the Lord says,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we also want them to know the love of God is really in this place and is here for them. Along with traditional praise and worship, there are sometimes Christian candid conversations where people can share their problems and challenges and ask questions pertaining to their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, \u201cI want to tap into people\u2019s gifts and strengths,\u201d he says. \u201cEverybody has a gift. That may not be singing, may not be rapping, may not be dancing or writing, but it\u2019s something.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We want them to know the love of God is really in this place and is here for them.<\/p>\n

Rev. Larry rodgers, pastor, forword christian church<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Though he was called to ministry and founded a thriving church, Rodgers found his gift \u2014 writing music \u2014 as a child.\u00a0 Back then, his dreams looked like Grammy Awards and number-one hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d been writing songs since I was 12 years old,\u201d Rodgers says. \u201cI started in the music industry professionally and toured with one of the biggest rappers in the industry at the time, a gentleman known by the name of MC Hammer. I\u2019m a native of St. Louis, so I started with him in 1990 and toured all around the world with him, but as a hype man, a dancer, and a recording artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

But God had other ideas for him.<\/p>\n

Forword Publishing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWhen God came into my life in 1995 and changed my whole life, I walked away from the secular and all the big time,\u201d Rodgers says. \u201cI had been out there with Diddy, Jodeci, Boyz II Men, TLC, En Vogue. But I walked away. And I sat for a while to study the word of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

By 1999, \u201cI put out my first gospel album, but God was still reminding me of the book,\u201d he says. \u201cI haven\u2019t published it yet, and I know I\u2019m in trouble with the Lord, but he\u2019s showing me some mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he\u2019s got a lot on his plate \u2014 music, his ministry, writing \u2014 Rodgers has a tendency to put his projects aside to help others with theirs. That instinct led indirectly to Forword Publishing, an independent book publishing company that\u2019s among Rodgers\u2019 latest endeavors..<\/p>\n

\u201dWe published our first book right after the pandemic, in 2022: \u2018The Family That Prays Together, Succeeds Together,\u2019\u201d Rodgers says \u201cIt\u2019s a 200-page prayer journal, because we wanted to inspire people to write as well, because that\u2019s what God told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI started Forword Publishing to be a conduit and a blessing to others\u201d waiting for the opportunity,\u00a0 he said. \u201cWe are the most economically friendly boutique publishing company around. I\u2019ve heard people say they spent upwards of $30,000 and are still disappointed with the end product. I had to talk one gentleman off the ledge because of his experience. They put him through the wringer, charged him for myriad packages, and still have not published his book.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cwe\u201d includes his wife and son.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody in our house writes,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a family affair. I\u2019ve been married almost 26 years,\u201d he says. \u201cWe met on the campus of UC Berkeley in Northern California. I was taking classes. She was a full-time student. I was a struggling entertainer trying to make it in the music industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said their son, now 15, wrote his first book when he was 7.<\/p>\n

Forword to Literacy <\/strong><\/h2>\n

After years of dodging his call to ministry, Rodgers started Forword Christian Church, with its own unique mode of worship. He began with Church in the Park in California. Then back home to Missouri, where he feels more like an evangelist and is not caught up in any form of traditional ministry. This is where he shares ministry with Rev. Rufus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And Rodgers uses his publishing company to minister to young people \u2014 putting their photos on the cover of the magazine they publish, covering events like a fashion or talent show \u2014 and to strengthen children\u2019s literacy.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Holiday Faith Reads from Black Authors and Black Publishers<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201dThe kids come together, and we let them write their stories and then we compile them into an anthology,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re doing right now. You\u2019ve just got to stay with them, whether it\u2019s gaming or being on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

He talks about the magazine as if it were his child.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my heart,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the heart. It\u2019s about instilling what I need to instill in the youth so they can have the mindset of ownership and entrepreneurship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n