Megachurch leader D. James Kennedy, 76
Posted: Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 12:55 pmFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — 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.” …
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. … Read full obituary
