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TechnoratiNoted by many as a visionary, innovator, and faithful servant of the Lord, Dr. D. James Kennedy was one of few pastors in his time to boldly preach Jesus both into the world and into the culture.
(Photo: The Christian Post / Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, File)The Rev. D. James Kennedy, who took a congregation of 45 people and built it a 10,000-member church, preaches in this undated file photo.
But years before impacting Christian communities across the globe, Kennedy was a college drop-out making thousands of dollars each month as a top dance instructor for dancing great Arthur Murray.
It wasn't until he heard Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse preach about heaven as a free gift during a Sunday morning radio broadcast that he made an about face toward becoming one of the nation's leading conservatives and fiercest voices in American politics.
“Dr. Kennedy was a true servant and warrior for the faith. He was a consummate statesman who firmly believed in God’s providential hand upon our country,” said Alliance Defense Fund President and CEO Alan Sears in a statement released after Kennedy's death Wednesday morning. “He never wavered from his convictions. He never compromised his core beliefs for the sake of worldly approval. Instead, he believed in boldly preaching the Word of God.”
The influential Christian broadcaster and pastor of 10,000-member Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church died in his sleep at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the age of 76. Kennedy suffered cardiac arrest Dec. 28 and multiple complications thereafter.
As preparations are underway for Kennedy's memorial service next week, tributes and remarks about the lasting legacy Kennedy left behind have flooded in from Christian leaders across the nation.
"Dr. Kennedy was one of the nation's most respected Christian leaders," said Concerned Women for America president Wendy Wright. "His teachings on the positive influence of Christianity on Western Civilization and America have motivated modern-day Christians to influence our culture and country."
An early innovator of multi-media ministry, Kennedy began broadcasting messages that defended traditional family values, condemned abortion and rejected evolution through radio and television airwaves, shortly after starting the Fort Lauderdale church. Coral Ridge Ministries today claims to reach 3.5 million people.
Despite his wide audience and influence, Kennedy was the lesser known of more prominent religious right leaders such as 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, according to The Associated Press.
Kennedy was a founding board member of the Moral Majority, formed by Falwell as a new Christian right movement to fight secularization and promote the restoration of traditional moral values in American society. He later created the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ – Coral Ridge's political arm – to mobilize Christians in realigning government policies and laws with evangelical Christianity.
"Dr. Kennedy's strong stand on social and moral issues, including the issue of homosexuality, elevated and compelled public debate," said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, the largest Christian organization dealing with homosexuality issues.
"He was an unwavering defender of the faith, a passionate advocate for truth, a visionary committed to advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a good friend," Chambers also stated.Continue »
