Music:
Member Since: 9/9/2007
Band Website: www.crpc.org
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Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Mission Statement
Our mission is to glorify God by reaching the world for Christ and by nurturing and equipping our members in worship, evangelism and missions, vital church participation, and community involvement, in obedience to the Scriptures as interpreted by the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Wed, 05 Sep 2007
DR. D. JAMES KENNEDY DIES
Founder and Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Succumbs to Complications from Cardiac Arrest
FT. LAUDERDALE, Sept. 5 – Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and senior pastor for 48 years of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (CRPC) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., passed away peacefully in his sleep at approximately 2:15 a.m. at his home with his wife and daughter by his bedside, following complications from a cardiac event last December. 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.â€
Dr. Kennedy, who is survived by Anne, his wife of 51 years, and his daughter Jennifer (Kennedy) Cassidy, preached his last sermon from the pulpit of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church on Christmas Eve Sunday 2006. He suffered a cardiac arrest four days later on Dec. 28, and has since been unable to return to the pulpit. The church announced his retirement on Aug. 26, beginning a process to choose his successor.
“I would like to thank all of you for your prayers, cards, kindnesses and encouragement over the past nine months,†Mrs. Cassidy said during the retirement announcement. “Our family knows that we have come through this difficult time because of God’s grace and your faithful prayers, and it has brought joy to us to see God’s faithfulness in all of this.â€
While hindered by persistent health problems that included asthma, as well as chronic and often severe physical pain from compressed vertebrae due to an injury suffered as a young man, Dr. Kennedy was indefatigable in his ministry work. He said on several occasions how much he looked forward to being free from pain in heaven. He was one of the nation’s leading Christian broadcasters and a vigorous and articulate advocate for Christian involvement in public life.
Dr. Kennedy began his pastorate at CRPC in 1959 and is also the founder and president of Coral Ridge Ministries and the founder of Evangelism Explosion, which equips people in every nation and territory to share their faith in Christ. He was also the founder of two leading educational institutions located in Fort Lauderdale: Westminster Academy, a nationally respected Pre-K to 12th grade Christian school and Knox Theological Seminary, a graduate school preparing Christians for ministry as pastors, teachers, and missionaries.
Dr. Kennedy was born Nov. 3, 1930, but his Christian life did not begin until 1953. Sleeping late on a Sunday morning, his radio alarm went off and a preacher’s booming voice invaded his slumber. “Suppose you were to die today and stand before God and He were to ask you, ‘What right do you have to enter into My heaven?’—what would you say?â€
Dr. Kennedy soon discovered that answer was to trust in Christ alone for eternal life, and shortly after he made that commitment was called into the Gospel ministry. Crediting this radio program for hearing the call to Christianity, he founded WAFG (90.3 FM) in 1974 as an outreach for Christ to the South Florida community.
He began his pastorate at CRPC on June 21, 1959, and from the outset had a vision for global impact. In 1960, he read the words of Jeremiah 33:3 to the handful of people that comprised his then-fledgling congregation, “Call unto Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.†He then told his small flock, “You know what? I believe we can change the world!â€
That surprised many in his audience, but today, despite being a local pastor of one church for nearly five decades, Dr. Kennedy has had a worldwide ministry influence. In 1996, Evangelism Explosion--through which nearly 5 million people have made commitments to Christ in 2006 alone—became the first Christian ministry to be established in every nation on earth. Long after his passing, an extensive inventory of Dr. Kennedy’s messages will continue through “Truths that Transform,†a daily broadcast carried on nearly 750 radio stations across the U.S., and “The Coral Ridge Hour,†a weekly television broadcast that airs on more than 400 stations and to 165 nations on the Armed Forces Network.
Dr. Kennedy’s belief that God will continue to do “great and mighty things†through the obedient efforts of His people never faltered. His confidence in the future also extended to American culture. “America is in the throes of a cultural shift with enormous implications for the future,†Dr. Kennedy said in 2004, noting the growth in the number of evangelical Christians in America. “If that trend continues, and I believe it will, Evangelical Christians will be in the majority sometime in the next decade,†he added.
“We will miss Dr. Kennedy enormously,†said Frank Wright, president of the National Religious Broadcasters. “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.â€
A legacy Web site, www.DJamesKennedy.org, has been developed to pay tribute to the life and faith of Dr. Kennedy.
“Now, I know that someday I am going to come to what some people will say is the end of this life. They will probably put me in a box and roll me right down here in front of the church, and some people will gather around, and a few people will cry. But I have told them not to do that because I don’t want them to cry. I want them to begin the service with the Doxology and end with the Hallelujah chorus, because I am not going to be there, and I am not going to be dead. I will be more alive than I have ever been in my life, and I will be looking down upon you poor people who are still in the land of dying and have not yet joined me in the land of the living. And I will be alive forevermore, in greater health and vitality and joy than ever, ever, I or anyone has known before.â€
D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.
Dobson Remembers D. James Kennedy
Calls late pastor “a giant in the battle to restore traditional values in our nationâ€
September 5, 2007
Colorado Springs, Colo. -- Focus on the Family founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today upon learning of the death of Dr. D. James Kennedy:
“The Church has lost one of its truly significant figures, and American families have lost one of their most passionate, effective defenders. For decades, Dr. Kennedy has been a passionate defender of biblical truth in a culture that increasingly forgot it. He was a giant in the battle to restore traditional values in our nation.
“Most importantly, I believe, Dr. Kennedy would want to be remembered as a man whose greatest desire was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believers around the world are indebted to him for holding firm to that important calling.â€
"Jim Kennedy was a towering figure among evangelicals. He was a brilliant theologian with a passion for evangelism. All of us who knew and admired him mourn his passing."
- Dr. Pat Robertson, Founder, The Christian Broadcasting Network
Influences: Fri, 07 Sep 2007
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Sydney, Australia)
For Immediate Release September 7, 2007
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Dr. D. James Kennedy was a man of great vision, faith, and integrity. Under his leadership, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church of Florida developed from a small group of worshipers in an elementary school cafeteria into one of America’s most prominent congregations. Dr. Kennedy’s message of love and hope inspired millions of Americans and others worldwide through the institutions he founded, including Coral Ridge Ministries, Knox Theological Seminary, and Westminster Academy. He was also a student of history and successful author who encouraged Americans of faith to exercise their democratic freedoms and put their values into practice. His legacy of grace and personal humility will continue to influence hearts and lives.
Laura and I pray for Anne, his wife of over 50 years, and the rest of the Kennedy family.
Sounds Like:
A Lamplighter For Christ - Book And DVD
A Celebration and Remembrance of the Life of D. James Kennedy, Ph.D
MORE ON THE FUNERALFORT LAUDERDALE - Thousands paid their respects Thursday to the Rev. D. James Kennedy in a bittersweet funeral attended by several evangelical leaders at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale.
The two-hour service included a speech by James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, as well as statements from President Bush, Billy Graham and the National Religious Broadcasters.
"Jim, if you're listening, you are a giant in our time," Dobson said. "You're an oak tree that gave us shelter. And we will see you on resurrection morning."
Kennedy, 76, founding pastor of the church — plus a school, seminary, broadcast outfit and series of conservative-themed conferences — died Sept. 5 after months of complications brought on by a late-December cardiac arrest.
Three-thousand worshipers filled the main sanctuary of the cathedral-like church, overflowing into the Fellowship Hall and a small chapel fitted with video and audio feeds.
Mixed feelings tinged the funeral service: sadness at the death of Kennedy, faith that he was in heaven, hope of a reunion with him someday.
Gladys Israels, a charter member of Coral Ridge, may have said it best.
"I'm sad for us that he's gone, but glad for him because of where he is," said Israels. "I know he'd rather be with the Lord. And now he's seeing him face to face."
Just as Kennedy had requested more than two and a half years ago, the service opened with the familiar doxology ("Praise God from whom all blessings flow") and ended with the triumphal "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah.
Kennedy's casket was wheeled in on a special bier called a catafalque. Brought in from Washington, D.C., the handmade cherrywood bier also has born the caskets of President Reagan, Jerry Falwell and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
The funeral resembled a family reunion for the many people whose lives were touched by Kennedy's five decades of ministry. About 60 former members returned to sing again in the choir, which numbered 140 strong for the service. Playing the 45-minute prelude was Diane Bish, the church's senior organist from 1971 to 1991.
Rather than sad, funereal music, Bish played an original prelude based on the jubilant hymn Christ the Lord Is Risen Today on the church's 6,600-pipe organ.
"He loved the stately fire. It was the same way he preached in the pulpit," said Bish, whose show The Joy of Music airs on several Christian TV networks, plus some PBS and independent stations. "This is not a solemn occasion. It's a brilliant, joyful, victorious occasion."
Frank Wright, president of the National Religious Broadcasters, who attended the church from 1980 to 1985, added his own tribute."Other than my own father, no one affected my life more than Jim Kennedy, both by ministry and example," Wright said. "He was my pastor, my tennis partner, my mentor, my friend."
Dobson praised Kennedy as a friend of 23 years and noted that, unlike some evangelical leaders, he was never touched by scandal.
"There was nothing about him that embarrassed the name of Jesus," Dobson said. "He was a man of strength of character and commitment."
Eulogists included Richard DeVos, a longtime family friend and co-founder of the Amway Corp., and Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy, Kennedy's daughter.
A statement from President Bush was delivered by special assistant Timothy Goeglein: "Dr. D. James Kennedy was a man of great vision, faith and integrity. His legacy of grace and personal humility will continue to influence hearts and lives."
South Florida minister Stephan Tchividjian read condolences from his grandfather, Billy Graham: "He was a bold proclaimer of the Gospel and the strengthening of moral and spiritual values in American life."
Dobson sounded a note of anxiety over the deaths of so many evangelical leaders, including Falwell and Campus Crusade founder Bill Bright.
"Who will defend traditional values in a culture sliding into moral decline?" he said. "May God help the younger generation to carry on the work."
JENIFFER CASSIDY KENNEDY'S BLOG
Record Label: Unsigned
