McNutt was born in Charleston, West Virginia on February 27, 1931, the son of Charlie Fuller McNutt and Mary Ford. He graduated with a B.A. from Washington and Lee University and later with a Bachelor of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. He also graduated with a master's degree in urban and regional planning from Florida State University. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1956. He served churches in Tallahassee, Florida and Jacksonville, Florida. In 1974 he became rector of Trinity Church in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He was also a diocesan canon in the Diocese of Florida.
