Hundreds Leave James Kennedy's Uber-Christian Anti-Gay Mega Church

For many years Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and its Coral Ridge Ministries were a pillar of the reactionary far right element of the Christian Right. From advocating the sexual orientation was a choice and marketing the books and videos of discredited ex-gay fraud Michael Johnston, Coral Ridges and "Dr." D. James Kennedy were always in the forefront of gay bashing, disseminating fraudulent information, and pushing for a hate based far right Christian agenda. Like Focus on the Family's James Dobson, Kennedy was in my view a demagogue who encouraged a cult of his own personality and who made a living and garnered power by peddling an unloving, hate based version of the gospel message. It is interesting that in the wake of Kennedy's death, his kingdom at Coral Ridge seems on the verge of disintegrating - something that would be a net gain for the world. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:
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MIAMI -- Hundreds of congregants have left a pioneering megachurch in Florida to form their own congregation because they were unhappy with leadership at the church that's seen as a bedrock of the religious right.

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The action by the unhappy members at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was the culmination of a feud between loyalists to an evangelical luminary, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, and his replacement as pastor, the Rev. Tullian Tchividjian, a grandson of the Rev. Billy Graham.

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[T]he move is a dramatic split. Kennedy's daughter, Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy, joined many longtime Coral Ridge members, including church elders, the organist, choir director and hundreds of choir members, in deserting the congregation they helped build.

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Former Coral Ridge elder Jim Filosa joined the new church. He and his wife were disciplined by Coral Ridge for taking part in a campaign to remove Tchividjian. "A year from today, if you call me, you're going to say to me, 'It was an interesting place at one time, but it's now up for sale,'" he said of his former church.

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Under the leadership of Kennedy, who died in 2007, the church was a forerunner to modern evangelical megachurches, a fiercely conservative voice on social issues including homosexuality and abortion, and a powerful political voice. Tchividjian, 37, took over earlier this year. While he has shown no sign of theological differences with Kennedy, he has rejected politics as the most important force for change, and his sermons have not focused on divisive issues.

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Personally, I believe that a total collapse of Coral Ridge would be a positive thing. It's ironic that the principal criticism of Kennedy's replacement is that he doesn't disseminate enough hate and fails to try to merge religion and government as was the case with Kennedy who worked to stoke the "Christian nation" myth.