[Ed Dantes]

D. James Kennedy, influential Christian broadcaster and megachurch
pioneer, dies at 76

By KELLI KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a
pioneering megachurch pastor who became one of the nation's most
prominent Christian broadcasters and a key figure in the rise of
the religious right, died Wednesday, a church spokesman said. He
was 76.
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church spokesman John Aman said Kennedy
died at about 2:15 a.m. at his home in Fort Lauderdale. He had
suffered a heart attack in December and announced his retirement
last month.
Kennedy took the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort
Lauderdale from a congregation of 45 in 1959 to a megachurch of
nearly 10,000 members today.
He also founded the Center for Christian Statesmanship in
Washington, organizing Capitol Hill Bible studies and other events
that attracted top government officials and encouraged them "to
embrace God's providential purpose for this nation."
In 1974, Kennedy started Coral Ridge Ministries, his radio and
TV outreach arm, which now claims a weekly audience of 3.5 million.
Kennedy's TV show "The Coral Ridge Hour," airs on more than 400
stations and four cable networks and is broadcast to more than 150
countries on the Armed Forces Network, his ministry says. Last
year, the National Religious Broadcasters association inducted him
into their 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," said Frank Wright, president and chief
executive officer of the NRB.
Kennedy was also a close colleague of the Rev. Pat Robertson,
the Rev. Jerry Falwell and other religious broadcasters and was an
early board member of the Moral Majority, which Falwell formed in
1979. But Kennedy wasn't nearly as well-known as other conservative
Christian activists, preferring a behind-the-scenes role that
helped maintain his independence, said John Green, senior fellow at
the Pew Forum for Religion & Public Life.
"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," Green said. "He was certainly a very
influential figure and associate of all of the more prominent
Christian right figures."
In 1996, Kennedy formed the Center for Reclaiming America for
Christ, to mobilize conservative Christians "on the key fronts of
the modern-day culture war," including marriage, pornography,
creationism and "judicial tyranny," according to the group's Web
site. The center closed earlier this year.
However, Green said the pastor did so only when older religious
right groups, such as the Christian Coalition, seemed to be losing
influence.
Kennedy, whose church is affiliated with the theologically
conservative Presbyterian Church in America, was much more out
front when it came to evangelism.
In the 1960s, when many conservative Christians were still
debating how much they should engage the broader culture, Kennedy
jumped in. He created Evangelism Explosion International, which
trains lay Christians to share their beliefs in every day life.
"That simple goal is now widely adopted in evangelical churches
and widely accepted, but at the time he started it, it wasn't,"
Wright said.
Kennedy was raised in Chicago and earned a bachelor's degree
from the University of Tampa, master's degrees from Columbia
Theological Seminary and the Chicago Graduate School of Theology,
and a doctorate from New York University. He was the author of more
than 50 books and also founded two schools - Knox Theological
Seminary and Westminster Academy, a K-12 Christian school near his
church.
Kennedy is survived by his wife of 51 years, Anne, and a
daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy. Funeral arrangements were not
immediately announced.
----
On the Net:
Coral Ridge Ministries: http://www.coralridge.org/

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[BJWilliams]

Another giant of the faith goes home...God bless you sir...I got to hear D James Kennedy speak in convocation...he has doen quite a work with Coral Ridge I will tell you that.

[PAmedic]

info here as well.

http://flamefans.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5853

[Sly Fox]

I'll lock this one to have all of the discussion in the other thread.

But thanks for posting the obit, Ed.