D. James Kennedy Biography

D. James Kennedy	Dennis James Kennedy Born: 1930-11-03 Birthplace: Augusta, GA Died: 2007-09-05 Location of Death: Fort Lauderdale, FL Cause of Death: Heart Failure Race: White Religion: Presbyterian Field: Religion Famous for: Truths That Transform, Coral Ridge Ministries D. James Kennedy Offical Website: http://www.djameskennedy.org/
Field: Religion

Dennis James Kennedy, Ph.D. was the founder and former head pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, and founder of Coral Ridge Ministries, a US$37-million-a-year non-profit corporation with an audience of 3.5 million that he founded in 1974. His weekly television program, The Coral Ridge Hour, is carried on various networks and syndicated on numerous other stations. His daily radio program, Truths That Transform, is heard across radio stations in the United States and is available as a podcast on the program's website.

His retirement due to health issues was announced on August 26, 2007. He died in his home on September 5, 2007.

Kennedy was an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, having transferred his membership there in the late 1970s from the Presbyterian Church in the United States. He was considered a conservative evangelical minister who was often involved in political activities within the Christian right and has been identified as a leader of the Dominionism movement.[3][4][5][6] He wrote and coauthored several political works such as What if America Were a Christian Nation Again? and The Rewriting of America's History, arguing that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. Critics contend that he was excessively conservative on certain politically charged topics such as abortion and homosexuality. Kennedy started the Center for Christian Statesmanship, an evangelical ministry on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. . The Center awards a "Distinguished Christian Statesman Award" annually to high profile Christian political leaders. Past recipients include Tom DeLay, Sam Brownback and John Ashcroft. In April 2007 the Center shut down and was reopened two weeks later as "Evangelism Explosion International."[7][8]

According to his official biography he earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tampa, a Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology from Chicago Graduate School of Theology (an unaccredited institution[9]), and a Ph.D. from New York University.[10] His Ph.D. was in religious education, with a dissertation on the history of an evangelism program he founded.[11]

He espouses a traditional Calvinist theology. His theological works include Why I Believe, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born, Skeptics Answered, and Truths That Transform.

Kennedy developed the "Evangelism Explosion" ("EE") method of evangelism in the 1960s, which emphasizes the training of church lay people to share their faith.

In 1971, he founded the Westminster Academy in Ft. Lauderdale and, in 1989, Knox Theological Seminary.

In 2006, the National Religious Broadcasters association inducted Kennedy into its Hall of Fame.

Kennedy founded the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1960. Its membership has since grown to almost 10,000.[1] In February, 1974, the church's present sanctuary was dedicated by Billy Graham. The large Fratelli Rufatti pipe organ has 117 ranks of pipes and is regularly featured on the television programs of Diane Bish.

In 1974, the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church began its radio and television ministry, which now has a weekly audience of 3.5 million people. "The Coral Ridge Hour" airs on more than 400 stations and four cable networks, including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and the NRB Network, and is broadcast to more than 150 countries on the Armed Forces Network.

On the evening of December 28, 2006, Kennedy experienced prolonged ventricular tachycardia at his Ft. Lauderdale home, which deprived his brain of adequate oxygen for eight minutes, resulting in loss of short-term memory. Despite several months of rehabilitation and convalescence, he was unable to resume preaching and his retirement was announced on Sunday, August 26, 2007, at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church by his daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy.[1][13] He died on September 5, 2007.

In a statement following news of Kennedy's retirement, the church announced the development of the D. James Kennedy Legacy website in tribute to the life of the Christian evangelist.