Coral Ridge

A couple of blogs I frequent have chronicled the woes of Tullian Tchividjian. As an interested spectator, I’ll venture a few comments.

1.I know nothing about Tchividjian beyond what I’ve read. I’ve never heard him preach. I have no inside information about the day-to-day operations of Coral Ridge. So I have no opinion about him one way or the other.

I will say that I don’t think the potential schism he’s facing comes as any great surprise. Kennedy was a dominant, visionary leader who single-handedly built a megachurch from the ground up. He’s the only pastor many of his parishioners ever knew.

Visionary, single-minded pastors like Kennedy tend to self-select for like-minded parishioners. They come for what he has to offer.

That’s a very large pair of shoes to step into.

2.There were many commendable things about Kennedy and his multifaceted ministry. He founded a megachurch. What is more, he founded a Presbyterian megachurch, which is no small feat!

He also founded a seminary, Christian K-12 school, Evangelism Explosion, Center for Reclaiming America, and Center for Christian Statesmanship.

In addition, he was a prolific author, as well as a pioneering televangelist.

On a more personal note, there was, to my knowledge, no hint of financial or sexual scandal during his long, high-profile ministry. And he was married to the same woman until the day he died.

From what I’ve heard, he also practiced shoe-leather evangelism, going door-to-door long after he became famous.

3. I think the Coral Ridge Hour was poorly formatted. There were two basic problems:

i) It tried to cover too much ground in too little time. The basic format involved a 2-stanza hymn, followed by a brief anthem, followed by a brief homily or sermonette, followed by a segment on apologetics or the culture wars.

Now, I appreciate his emphasis on apologetics and the culture wars. I’d like to see that emphasis continue in some venue. But the overall presentation was very choppy. When you try to do a little of everything, you don’t to anything very well. It’s too rushed, too superficial.

ii) The broadcast failed at the level of a worship service. It isn’t very worshipful. It isn’t very edifying.

From what I can tell, expository preaching was not his forte. And doing a biopic on Thomas Jefferson or George Washington is no substitute for a meaty sermon.

I think the broadcast should have been reformatted. It would be preferable to broadcast a real worship service say, 3 Sundays a month. 3 out of 4 Sundays. Something like that.

Also, the actual service shouldn’t be squeezed into the timeframe of the broadcast slot. Rather, it should excerpt the highpoints of a prerecorded service–from the week before.

Then, every 4th Sunday of the month (give or take), one could devote an hour-long broadcast to apologetics or the culture wars. That gives better coverage. It’s easier to follow. Easier to remember.

iii) I also think that one should sponsor guest speakers who are experts in the field. Church historians. Professional Christian apologists.

4.Since I speak as an outsider, I could be wrong about this, but Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy strikes me as being an intrusive presence at this juncture. I can understand, back when there was a leadership void, followed by a turf war, why she jumped into the breach. At that time she might have been a unifying figure. But after the congregation voted in a new pastor, I think it was time for her gracefully exit center stage.

I understand that, as the devoted daughter, she wants to honor her dad’s legacy, but it’s not a family business. Has she been elected or selected to assume the role of congregational representative or spokeswoman?

At this point her presence strikes me as being disruptive and presumptuous. Divisive. Nepotistic.

The ministry could start by removing her blog from the church website. It’s time to give the new pastor a clear shot.