Influential conservative leader Dr. D. James Kennedy died Wednesday morning, church officials reported.
-
(Photo: lusherproductions.com / Eric Lusher, File)In this undated file photo, Dr. D. James Kennedy, president of Coral Ridge Ministries, is shown at Bruton Parish, a historic church in Williamsburg, Virginia where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and others worshiped. Kennedy hosts One Nation Under God, a one-hour television special that offers evidence for the distinctly Christian character of America's founding.
Kennedy, whose retirement as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida was recently announced, died "peacefully in his sleep" at home at approximately 2:15 a.m., according to a released statement. He was 76.
“There are all kinds of wonderful things I could say about my dad,” said daughter Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy. “But one that stands out is his fine example. He ‘walked the walk’ and ‘practiced what he preached.’ His work for Christ is lasting – it will go on and on and make a difference for eternity.”
Cassidy and Kennedy’s wife Anne of 51 years were by his bedside when he died.
"For decades now, you have stood strong in defense of faith, family, and most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believers around the world are indebted to you for your vision and leadership, Dr. Kennedy," said Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, prior to Kennedy’s death.
Kennedy has been dubbed by Dobson and other evangelicals as one of the Church's "truly significant figures."
Kennedy began his pastorate at Coral Ridge in 1959 and is also the founder and president of the multi-media organization Coral Ridge Ministries and the founder of Evangelism Explosion, which equips people in every nation and territory to share their faith in Christ.
Although the broadcaster was not nearly as well known as other conservative leaders such as the late Rev. Jerry Falwell or Focus on the Family's Dobson, conservative evangelicals agree that he was a leading defender of faith who had made a significant impact in changing the world.
"I commend Dr. Kennedy, for his stalwart leadership in defending faith, family and freedom. Most of all, I am grateful for his godly example, his integrity and his unwavering dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said in a statement released after hearing of Kennedy’s retirement.
On Aug. 26, Kennedy's daughter had announced her father's retirement at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Kennedy suffered cardiac arrest last December and multiple complications since and had been unable to return to the pulpit after preaching his last sermon on Christmas Eve. On several occasions, Kennedy has said how much he looked forward to being free from pain in heaven, according to a released statement.
Prior to Kennedy’s death, the megachurch had scheduled to hold a Tribute Worship Service honoring the extensive ministry of Kennedy for Sept. 23.
"We will miss Dr. Kennedy enormously,” said Frank Wright, president of the National Religious Broadcasters, in a statement. “His moral leadership and his legacy of impacting the globe for Jesus Christ is unmatched by few in the history of the Church. It is our desire to honor him by sustaining and multiplying his impact through Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and all the ministries founded by Dr. Kennedy in the years to come.”
A Memorial Service open to the public will be held at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. The date is yet to be announced.
A tribute website to the life and ministry of Kennedy can be found at www.djameskennedy.org.
RSS
On the comment made by George bush when he said "You are with us or against us" he was talking about those countries who support terrorism or any one who supports it.We who are Christians don't kill people who don't believe as we do.We love their souls and pray that the Holy Spirit will change their thinking. If everyone followed the teachings of Jesus we would'nt have anything at all to worry about. God bless , Gary Franklin
Hey, you and I definitely agree that equating Conservative politics with Christianity is wrong. I have disagreed with Bush on several issues, and I am certainly a staunch believer in Jesus Christ. I think I understand where you're coming from on the danger of having a state church, which is what the founders were trying to avoid. Thanks for the discussion. It has given me much to think about. I'm going to move on to some of the other postings. I'm new to this site, and I like what I see so far!!!
[Part 1 of 2]
GoldenEagle,
I understand what your saying, but I think you have to look at things more from the other side of the fence. My living in Utah has I think given me a different perspective. When we talk about a “student praying at a graduation ceremony” here, we are talking about Mormonism.
Now, a little bit about me, I am not one who gets my feathers too ruffled around Mormons, I’m a former Mormon, left a long time ago, but my wife and I both have a lot of family still in the LDS church. So, I often find myself at the LDS Ward building with some family member having a send off as their missionary work begins, or a baby blessing. When the communion, of bread and water, is passed I generally participate and take my bite of bread and the little sip of tap water. On occasions when I am with a Mormon friend who I might be reaching out to, and especially when I am with another evangelical, I don’t participate in their communion. In general, I try to follow the advice the Apostle Paul gives in Romans 14-15 concerning how and when I participate in Mormon religious rites and prayer. But, of course I am speaking just for myself here.
Many evangelicals have a very different point of view. They see Mormonism as a dangerous mind control cult, and any participation in their rites, even participating in their prayers (since they see it as a prayer offered to a demon) is evil and unacceptable. (Witness the recent comment made by TV evangelist Bill Keller concerning Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, when he said, "If you vote for Mitt Romney, you are voting for Satan!") When a student prays at their graduation ceremony, and starts thanking God for Joseph Smith, the prophet, and for our current prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, who gives us continuing revelation for today, many evangelicals would feel that they could not participate in that graduation ceremony in good conscience, because it is tainted by the worship of demons.
Removing the ideal of separation of church and state here in Utah means that Mormons dominate, it’s granting them the freedom to have you participate in their religious rites, it means they get to teach about Joseph Smith and the restored church to your kids, it means they can share their faith with you, but when you as a Christian want to share your faith, well… they have the freedom to shut you up, and to shut you out. Removing separation of church and state doesn’t grant more freedom, it grants less freedom.
[Part 2 of 2]
Now with D. James Kennedy’s version of the removal of separation of church and state there is a good dose of pro-American nationalism wrapped into it. To disagree with a “Christian” president, like George W. Bush for example, would be to disagree with God as well. (This in some respects has actually happened. My Christianity has been questioned by some in the churches I’ve gone to not because of any difference I may have with a central tenant of the Christian faith, but because I disagree with the policies of president Bush.) And when a president says things like what George W. Bush did in one of his speeches, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”, if your faith in Jesus leads you be a pacifist sympathizer (like me) you could have problems with the authorities.
First of all, when Judges say that a student cannot pray at a graduation ceremony, they are limiting individual freedoms. I understand that the state is not to promote a particular religion. That is fine. However, when they limit individual freedom to pray or post a copy of the Ten Commandments, that is a matter of individual freedom and free speech. Secondly, the reason Dr. Kennedy derided the concept of the separation of church and state is that it is not found in our Constitution. What it says is that "Congress" shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Where is the church or even the state mentioned here? Furthermore, returning to the values on which this Country was founded would not limit freedom. It actually would grant freedom. After all, the Founding Fathers themselves shared Dr. Kennedy's vision for America. Look at the Biblical references on the buildings and monuments of our nation's capitol, and tell me that it was there intent to keep religion out of the public square. Anyway, we can respectfully agree to disagree. That is what the First Amendment grants us!
GoldenEagle,
I have to respectfully disagree with you on a couple of points:
First, a kind of sidebar, the “Judicial Tyranny” of “liberal” judges doesn’t exist. The judges are not limiting individual liberties on these issue; they are limiting the powers of the state. You can pray on campus, and read your Bible, and you can carry around your own personal copy of the Ten Commandments, and share them with others (as long as you’re not both employed by the government and on the clock), but the state can’t institute these things. The state can’t tell you to pray, it can’t tell you to read your Bible, or the Koran, or the Book of Mormon (as would be the case here where I am in Utah), it can’t tell you to obey the Ten Commandments, or Islamic Sharia law, it can’t tell you to not drink coffee because it’s a violation of the Doctrine & Covenants. It’s the state that is being limited by the courts, not individual liberties.
Second, Kennedy was promoting a form of Statism. He practically draped the church in the American flag, and wedded state institutions with theology. Specifically, Kennedy derided the concept of separation of church and state, he said America was a Christian nation, and he said things like, “Would God be saying to unregenerate people today that they are to rule the earth? I don’t think so… He is speaking to those of us who have been recreated into the image of God and who are being refashioned by him.” (D. James Kennedy, Character & Destiny: A Nation in Search of Its Soul, p. 59, as referenced in Michelle Goldberg, Kingdom Coming, p. 42). If these kinds of ideas were to be backed by the police powers of the state, the individual liberties of all those who disagreed, even other Christians with different opinions, would be sacrificed.
Actually, Facism is usually viewed as a form of Statism, which Dr. Kennedy did not endorse. In fact, he opposed a form of Facism which would limit individual liberties of prayer, Bible reading, and the posting of the 10 Commandments. The Judicial Tyranny of these liberal Judges represents more of an Authoritarian type philosophy than anything Dr. Kennedy endorsed.
DannyPoo & lb
Just to add to what I mentioned a couple of comments below, I’d like to clarify that I am not calling D. James Kennedy a Nazi (because I know he wasn’t), nor do I think he was a theocrat, trying to create a theocracy (because that’s not what would have resulted if you applied what he taught), but I do think he was advocating a form of “fascism” based on the definition I posted below.
I hope this answers your question for clarification on my original post (if not, feel free to ask me more questions, I’ll try to answer because I do think that this issue needs to be discussed more, but I don’t want to post some long diatribe here, that no one will read anyway. Also, if anyone wants to, I have posted a blog open for discussion on my blog if anyone wants to take there.)
Thomas Rasmussen
http://didymuspov.blogspot.com/
:: begin quote::
This is for "didymus" - can you explain your comment? What could Dr. Kennedy have possibly said or done to offend you? And, please, as you clarify, bear in mind that I am asking your opinion specifically about Dr. Kennedy and his ministry, not about preachers or evangelists in general. Thank you.
::end quote::
Yes, I would like to know this as well.
lb,
A good working definition of fascism comes from historian Robert O. Paxton (author of the book Anatomy of Fascism),
"Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."
I’m not wanting to get to wordy in my explanation, but put a “christian” spin on this definition and you will basically have what D. James Kennedy was teaching. Not a good thing.
Thomas Rasmussen
http://didymuspov.blogspot.com/
This is for "didymus" - can you explain your comment? What could Dr. Kennedy have possibly said or done to offend you? And, please, as you clarify, bear in mind that I am asking your opinion specifically about Dr. Kennedy and his ministry, not about preachers or evangelists in general. Thank you.
The Bible says that the Church(christian) is the Light of the World. Dr. kennedy was indeed a great part of that Light. He brought Light to many who were and are in great darkness today.
And with His passing,There will be a little less Light in the World.
May God raise up a thousand just like him. And May God grant that the Church stand up and be Light in this dark and dying world.
Let the true Church stand up and preach Christ and Him Crucified to a lost and sin sick world, And to that part of the Church has has fallen away from the Word of God.
Art.
Dr. James Kennedy was a man who lived up (as much as any human can) to the standards he directed us to in scripture. Many men like myself have looked up to him, and he has inspired even more men like myself to take on tough cultural issues, and at the same time, live up to the gospel values.
I’m not saying I’m glad to see him go, but maybe with his passing there will be a little less of the fascist element that is in the church today.
Thomas Rasmussen
http://didymuspov.blogspot.com/
Thank you Lord for the life of D. James Kennedy. His love for you was so very evident in his life and walk. I appreciate the way he had of opening the Word of God and showing you what it meant. I also loved the way he stood for The Gospel of Jesus Christ, with no apologies!
Please comfort his family and friends as only You can do Dear Lord! For Your Glory Lord!