Televangelist Rev. D. James Kennedy dies

MiamiHerald ^ | 09/05/2007 | ELINOR J. BRECHER

[mountn man]

Willow Creek Community Church. Started in mid 70's. Currently 17,000+

Crystal Cathedral, Robert Schullers church.

I'd say Saddleback, Rick Warrens church.

[Diamond]

"He earned a bachelor of divinity degree from Georgia's Columbia Theological Seminary in 1959 and accepted a job at a new church in Fort Lauderdale."

They "forgot" to mention the rest:

"February 1979 – Dr. Kennedy receives his Ph.D. from New York University, completing his list of degrees as follows: A.B., M.Div. (cum laude), M.Th. (summa cum laude), D.D., D.Sac.Lit., Ph.D., Litt.D., D.Sac.Theol., and D.Humane Lit."
Life and Legacy

The first time I saw D. James Kennedy on TV was in the early 80', I think. He was preaching on the Christian history of America. I was shocked. Here was an erudite preacher quoting Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Patrick Henry, et al, in a sermon, of all things! I had certainty had never heard of these quotations or read them in the government schools I went to, and I had certainly never heard any preacher preach like that about God and America. It was an ephiphany to me.

I loved his preaching. He brought a massive spiritual arsenal to the fronts of the culture war. He knew where the battles were and went to the front to fight them. I loved his "Why I Believe" series. No matter what subject he was addressing, he was bold and fearless, so intelligent and articulate in preaching the gospel and defending the faith. I am going to miss him. America will sorely him.

What a horrid, grotesque obituary comes from the minds of these people! They portray a Christian in his own country as some sort of alien invader or something to the point that he's hardly recognizable. This obituary reveals more about the sickness of their minds and souls than anything about him. They cannot conceal their hatred and contempt of a man who effectively stood in the way of their destructive and miserable aspirations simply by the good that he was able to accomplish by God's grace. Thank God they will not have the last word.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

May Dr. Kennedy rest in peace.

Cordially,

[Old_Mil]

James Kennedy was a solid Christian, no doubt about that. He’ll be missed.

[Old_Mil]

...and I’d add: as our nation slowly descends into the abyss of the tribulation, it would seem that one by one the men and women who restored her in the 1980s are going home. I suspect they’ll have better seats than we.

[LukeL]

While a lot of tv preachers (and those whose church broadcasts services) seem very arrogant and proud. He impressed me as being a very humble man who cared more about saving souls then making money. I also loved his specials about how America was founded on Christian Values.

[skr]

Apparently many well-known evangelists and religious leaders were on the initial executive board. The point of this group was to fight against government regulation. From what I can tell, anyone who writes about it ties it to a multitude of conspiracy theories. I didn’t see any recognizable names on the board, so this is probably old news and somewhat disingenuous if Dr. Kennedy has not been involved with the group recently.

[George W. Bush]

Here was an erudite preacher quoting Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Patrick Henry, et al, in a sermon, of all things! I had certainty had never heard of these quotations or read them in the government schools I went to, and I had certainly never heard any preacher preach like that about God and America. It was an ephiphany to me.

But wouldn't you really prefer to discuss his Arthur Murray dance studio resume? Surely entire columns, magazine articles and books could be written about that.

Really, these libmedia folks are such shameless trolls. And yet, when we tolerate the loose talk of a Falwell or the machinations and manipulations of a Robertson, we open the door to a general hatred and cynicism toward the honest and faithful clergy we have and make it possible for the enemies of Christ to vilify all His servants, to lump all the pastors, the best and the worst, into one repulsive category, the intent being to use the bad to vilify the very best.

I never thought of Kennedy as a televangelist. He's nothing like them in his approach or operation. I have some hopes that Franklin Graham may continue to grow and eventually entirely eclipse his own father as a preacher (not a very high aspiration as Billy has never preached complete and undiluted scripture and does have a history of accommodation with totalitarian and communist regimes as well as his ecumenism with Muslims and other non-Christians). Yes, I do hope Franklin will ascend and counter the terrible influence of Emergent Church fads and the easy-believerism and process-based manufacture of "Christians" we see in the megachurches. Unlike a D. James Kennedy, these poor folks don't know what or who to believe on any given day. And Christ's warning to the Pharisees of the results of their teaching has rarely been so publicly demonstrated in America as it has been by these wolves among the sheep.

What a horrid, grotesque obituary comes from the minds of these people! They portray a Christian in his own country as some sort of alien invader or something to the point that he's hardly recognizable. This obituary reveals more about the sickness of their minds and souls than anything about him. They cannot conceal their hatred and contempt of a man who effectively stood in the way of their destructive and miserable aspirations simply by the good that he was able to accomplish by God's grace.

As we certainly know, it is their nature and their own fallen and hopeless spiritual state that dictates their behavior toward the church, no different than Saul of Tarsus persecuting Christians before Christ Himself intervened personally with him supernaturally. Scripture warns us that the world shall always hate those of the church established by Jesus Christ. Their minds are at enmity with God because they are spiritually dead, never having been reborn to a life in Christ. They dwell in a bitter personal spiritual poverty, most often self-inflicted and inflated by all the things they "know". So we have no right to be so surprised if we are faithful students of scripture. I know perfectly well that you know this teaching thoroughly so you are indignant, I think, not too shocked by it. Scripture teaches it and therefore we should expect it. I'm sure that Pastor Kennedy did.

Even Machen, in his fundamentalist stance for biblical authority and against compromise with modernism among Presbyterians about 75 years ago, had the respect and admiration of Mencken, generally no friend of Christianity. These modern enemies of Christ are far more dishonest than Mencken ever was, for all his other flaws.

You might enjoy looking at Mencken's great obituary of Machen, a far cry from this horrible piece on Kennedy. The tone and genuine respect he held for Machen was nothing like the contempt with which the modern libmedia holds all Christians but especially their leaders. And even more, the most faithful shepherds of the His flock.

Appendix A - H. L. MENCKEN'S OBITUARY OF MACHEN

[I think it's a rule that you have to flag OPie if you mention Machen...]

[PAR35]

Willow Creek Community Church....Saddleback, Rick Warrens church.

I think if you look you will find that those market driven churches experienced most of their growth since the 1980s, and certainly after the time period given for Coral Ridge.

Garden Grove (Crystal Cathedral) is smaller than you might think. Weekly attendance apparently averages about 3000 (Coral Ridge about 5500), with total membership of about 7000 compared to 11,000 (you may be able to turn up more recent numbers).

Going back to Willow Creek and Saddleback, both are pikers compared to Lakewood in Houston, but again, the growth curve would post-date that of Coral Ridge.

[freepertoo]

That says a lot (that you could reach him for prayer). My pastor is a good man who loves the Lord, but asking him for prayer...well, it’s obvious that he’s busy, busy, busy...don’t you know? Things to do, people to see, places to go. Catch you later. Sigh.

[Diamond]

Thanks for your link to Mencken's obituary of Machen. That is truly a remarkable piece of writing, quite unlike the bilge pumped out up by our current batch of newspaper hacks. I'm not surprised by them, it just makes me wonder where they dig them up. Maybe these types are just attracted to the newspaper business.

And yet, when we tolerate the loose talk of a Falwell or the machinations and manipulations of a Robertson, we open the door to a general hatred and cynicism toward the honest and faithful clergy we have and make it possible for the enemies of Christ to vilify all His servants, to lump all the pastors, the best and the worst, into one repulsive category, the intent being to use the bad to vilify the very best.

Right on the mark. I couldn't say it any better myself, although I will add that most of the approbation directed Falwell's way, especially upon his death, was so far out of proportion to any the dumb things that occasionally came out of his mouth. I think he wasn't really hated for those things, though. He made me cringe sometimes but I certainly didn't hate him. He was hated because he preached and lived the gospel.

Cordially,

[mountn man]

Actually, Willows fastest growth period was from the late 70's to mid 80's. by 1986 they were somewhere around 10,000 people.

Granted, Willow and Saddleback might be pikers compared to Lakewood. But when it came to preaching the word of God, Hybels, Warren, and Osteen are pikers compared to Kennedy. I'm not impressed with the size of any churches. I want to be impressed by the word of God. And Kennedy most definetly did that. What is the "REAL" focus of a mega church? Lots of pastors use Gods name, or give credit to God on the outside. But inwardly many seek their own glory. When the attention becomes the size of the congregation, or the beauty of the building or grounds, then the attention is never COMPLETELY on God. When pastors allow this, I believe its the beginning of their slipping. But when they encourage it, then they've completely succumbed.

Now after 2000 years, churches now must have church leadership conferences and workshops on how to grow. Growing for Jesus. Is it really about Christ, or a persons or churches legacy? In the name of Jesus, of course.

[xzins]

televangelist

I would not describe him as an evangelist. He was a pastor, teacher, organizer.

Shuler is not an evangelist, either.

I'd describe Graham, of course, as an evangelist, and probably Swaggert.

[PAR35]

Willows fastest growth period was from the late 70's to mid 80's. by 1986 they were somewhere around 10,000 people.

Thanks for the correction. I thought it came about a decade later.

[mountn man]

Thanks for the correction. I thought it came about a decade later.

The 90's growth was fairly steady, but wasn't the huge growth by numbers or percentages, as earlier. Though it was still huge by average church standards. One years growth might match most churches attendance.

The first 10 years was a growth of about 10,000 people. The next 20 has been about 7,000.

[George W. Bush]

Right on the mark. I couldn't say it any better myself, although I will add that most of the approbation directed Falwell's way, especially upon his death, was so far out of proportion to any the dumb things that occasionally came out of his mouth. I think he wasn't really hated for those things, though. He made me cringe sometimes but I certainly didn't hate him. He was hated because he preached and lived the gospel.

I agree. But sometimes his mouth could be an enemy of his own witness and ministry, something he should have learned far sooner, I think. Scripture warns us repeatedly about this. Yet, he was a strong preacher and firm advocate for Christ. But I think D. James Kennedy in his quiet way probably has had a much greater influence overall.

[Paved Paradise]

Got your post today and you got that totally right. That’s why I always think it’s funny. When “they” say “controversial” I usually know it means the person actually BELIEVES the Bible.