Posted on 09/06/2007 4:47:40 AM PDT by CitadelArmyJag
Megachurch Leader D. James Kennedy Dies By MATT SEDENSKY Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering Christian broadcaster and megachurch pastor whose fiercely conservative worldview helped fuel the rise of the religious right in American politics, died Wednesday. He was 76.
Kennedy died at his home in Fort Lauderdale, said Kristin Cole, a spokeswoman for Kennedy's Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. The cause of death has not been determined, but Kennedy had not been seen publicly he suffered cardiac arrest Dec. 28. His retirement was announced last month.
Kennedy's voice and face were known to millions through radio and television broadcasts, urging Christians to evangelize in their daily lives, while condemning homosexuality and abortion as assaults on the traditional family. His also preached on the major policy issues of the day, rejecting evolution and global warming.
Kennedy was influential in the founding of the religious right, but did so more often from behind the scenes, as attention focused on his allies, the Revs. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
"He was never in the front ranks of evangelical leaders that were also political leaders, but he was active at every stage of the Christian right," said John Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life who specializes in religion and politics.
Kennedy was a founding board member of the Moral Majority, which Falwell formed in 1979. In 1996, Kennedy created Coral Ridge's political arm, called the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, to mobilize conservative Christians against gay marriage, pornography and what he called "judicial tyranny," among other issues.
Kennedy also founded the Center for Christian Statesmanship, which organized Capitol Hill Bible studies and other events that attracted top government officials. He encouraged them "to embrace God's providential purpose for this nation."
"The Bible says, 'Be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth,'" Kennedy said in a 1996 interview with The Los Angeles Times. "God should be in every sphere of life: economics, business, education, government, art and science."
In 1959, the pastor started his congregation with about 45 members, eventually expanding into a megachurch that claims 10,000 members today.
In the 1960s, when many conservative Christians were still debating how much to engage the broader culture, Kennedy jumped in and created Evangelism Explosion International, which trained Christians to share their beliefs with others.
"That simple goal is now widely adopted in evangelical churches and widely accepted, but at the time he started it, it wasn't," said Frank Wright, president and chief executive officer of the National Religious Broadcasters association.
At the time of his death, Kennedy's influence was beginning to wane, as his congregation aged and new evangelical leaders emerged. Coral Ridge shuttered its Center for Reclaiming America earlier this year.
Still, Kennedy was the author of more than 50 books and founded two schools _ Knox Theological Seminary and Westminster Academy, a K-12 Christian school near his church.
Coral Ridge Ministries, his radio and TV outreach arm, claimed a weekly audience of 3.5 million people for all its broadcasts. Kennedy's TV show, "The Coral Ridge Hour," has been airing reruns on more than 400 stations and is broadcast to more than 150 countries on the Armed Forces Network, his ministry says. Last year, the National Religious Broadcasters group inducted him into its hall of fame.
"He was one of the early visionaries who saw that you could use electronic media to extend the four walls of the church to reach a broader audience," Wright said.
Dennis James Kennedy was born Nov. 3, 1930, in Augusta, Ga., and his family moved in 1936 to Chicago and in 1945 to Tampa. Kennedy's father was a traveling salesman whom he described as "long suffering," and his mother was an alcoholic. They were not churchgoers.
Kennedy dropped out of college to become an Arthur Murray dance instructor, but eventually returned to earn multiple degrees, including a doctorate from New York University. He met his future wife, the former Anne Lewis, while teaching dance.
Besides his wife of 51 years, the pastor is survived by a daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy. Both were by his bedside when he died.
Another prophet's voice, warning the nation, has been silenced--his testimony shall be missed and cannot be replaced...
So very true. The great ones, the effective servants of God in mighty ways in this nation, seem to all be passing from the scene. I don’t see their replacements coming forward - yet.
These men, Jerry Falwell, Dr. D. James Kennedy, and Dr. graham even though he has not died - but is retired and aged, affected (positively) for their salvation and for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for their nation and the world, millions of individual lives.
Yet the news media (which is, by the way, under the control of the power of the prince of the air) either ignores their deaths (as in the case of Dr. Kennedy) or joins in a cacophany of hallelujahs that they are gone (in the case of Dr. FAlwell).
In the Kingdom of God, they have been true champions for Jesus Christ.....yet not one of them would claim for themselves such titles or glory but would lay every word of praise at the feet of their blessed Lord Jesus.
And, oh how we will miss them so much in the advancing days of trouble. May each Christian in this country and in the world find the grace and courage that these men displayed through the strength and wisdom and mercy and grace and power of the Holy Spirt for the times that are almost upon us.
I have listened to Dr. Kennedy for at least 25 years and never heard one iota of anti-semitic words coming out of his mouth or in any of his sermons.
Dr. Schaeffer and Dr. Kennedy are no doubt now together in Heaven in the midst of quite scholarly discourses. Both rejoicing in the reality of the heaven they believed in.
Any time I caught this man on TV while flipping channels, I noticed that he never pandered or backed down. Wasn’t afraid of our government. I think he was a very fine man, so sad to hear of his passing.
And I really didn’t appreciate the article’s attempt to cheapen him by throwing in the word ‘megachurch’.
You throw out hurtful words that have no foundation...
..you don't reference your opinons to anything factual...
..yet you hurry to vilify a man on the day of his passing.
I feel sorry for you...
But I didn't happen to see the late D. James Kennedy's signature on that document.
This is clearly a Replacement Theology document--which is completely out to lunch.
Properly, this discussion should be for another time.
..the document on the link you posted didn’t have Kennedy’s name on it. I knew Sproul was in this camp.
Dr. Schaeffer spoke at Coral Ridge shortly before his death in the 1980s—a tape of which is frequently repeated on t.v.
If you have something solid, let’s see it. I do question the propriety of your posting—it is ill-timed if not out of line.
That is! God's blessings upon his family. No tears, Amen, as he is now in the best place there is.
The Father seems to take the good ones first. Perhaps He prefers to be face-to-face with them.
I'm not sure that the position that Knox has taken is all that extreme. It may not be your position. It cannot be characterized as anti-Semitic (based upon the link you provided) without significant gaming of the language.
I read Dr. Schaeffer while at the same time listening to Dr. Kennedy. Both men were great apologists for the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the life changing redemption offered by God through Him. Meaning - they reached many whom others could not reach. God has all kinds of fishers whom He has trained to be fishers of all kinds of men, women, and children. Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Schaeffer no doubt will have been meeting in heaven many whom to whom God revealed Himself through their ministries. I praise God for both of them and the impact they each have had on so many lives, including mine.
a few months ago I met one of his friend s from coral ridge
at a church meeting learned of his stroke this is what the
explanation of what the lord said at that moment he ran his course and obeyed god if james he was here he would say put away your gods and return to the cross jesus isn’t that far away he coming church are you ready behold I stand at door
and knock if anyone will hear my voice i will hear him forgive forgive and give him a clean heart and he who hears
this will live forever with me jesus promise to us
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