D. James Kennedy Retires

Dr. D. James Kennedy (Wikipedia) has officially retired from his position as senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, a PCA church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He started the church on June 21, 1959 and has been the senior pastor for 48 years.

Kennedy preached his last sermon on Christmas Eve of 2006, only days before his heart attack. He has not been back in the pulpit since.

His replacement has not yet been chosen, but the process is underway and “is expected to take between one and two years.”

Here are some selections from the press release:

A tribute worship service honoring the extensive ministry of Dr. Kennedy will be held in the main sanctuary of the church at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 23.

. . . An author of more than 65 books, moral leader and widely quoted champion for righteousness in American life, he is one of the founding board members of the Alliance Defense Fund. In 1995, he opened the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Christian Statesmanship to offer spiritual counsel to members of Congress and their staffs.

. . .

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 over 35 years, became the first Christian ministry to be established in every nation on earth. Long after his retirement, 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.

Read the entire press release.

Additional Coverage:

• Sun-Sentinel: Pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church steps down after 48 years
• Palm Beach Post: Rev. D. James Kennedy, known worldwide for radio sermons, is stepping down

Reflections on Kennedy’s Influence:

• Mark Dever: Where’d All These Calvinists Come From? Part 4 of 10
• Rick Phillips: A Great Reformed Evangelist Retires

Here are some additional sites you might be interested in:

• Coral Ridge Ministries
• Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
• DJamesKennedy.org
• Kennedy Commentary
• Press Release
• Sermons at OnePlace

HT: Current Christian

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