Divisions deepened at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, the Fort Lauderdale mega-church, as two elders resigned Tuesday night following the first service of a breakaway congregation on Sunday.
The two have accused Pastor Tullian Tchividjian and his officers of retaliating against members who tried to have him fired, criticisms that Coral Ridge officials have denied.
“I’m not trying to fuel any fire. I just couldn’t agree with the course of the leadership,” said Dan Westphal, who resigned from the church’s board of elders along with Roy Christie. “We had a golden opportunity to reconcile rather than be punitive.”
The developments follow the exit last week of organist Samuel Metzger and John Wilson, director of the traditional worship service. Both men helped lead music at the Sunday service of 400 dissidents at Butterfly World in Coconut Creek.
Elder Bill Ashcraft said the dissident service did not surprise him. He said a church expert had told a Coral Ridge transition team that any new pastor would probably lose 300 to 400 members.
“We actually prayed for that church,” Ashcraft said. “It’s better for the majority at Coral Ridge to get what they wanted, and for those people to get what they wanted.”
In an interview last week, Tchividjian said he believed some people opposed him because they “feared the unknown.”
(Read the rest here, and pray)
Joel Landon Watts is a Masters of Theological Studies student with a focus in Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific ideals of the past century. Currently, he is a TA for Old Testament at United Theological Seminary under Dr. Vivian Johnson, Associate Professor of Old Testament. His first book, Rhetorical Strategies of the Evangelist: Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark, is expected to be published by Wipf and Stock early next year. He is currently co-editing a book on moving from Fear to Faith (Energion, 2013).
Frankly, under Kennedy’s leadership, the place wasn’t a church before. It was a site of political activism.
As you note, prayer is in order.
Indeed. I suspect that a portion of this is a power trip and a move by some to retain national power in the debates
Frankly, under Kennedy’s leadership, the place wasn’t a church before. It was a site of political activism.
As you note, prayer is in order.
Indeed. I suspect that a portion of this is a power trip and a move by some to retain national power in the debates
DEAR POLY-CARP
I see you haven’t changed a bit, still the same old gossip posing as a preacher.
Ah, yes, Chopin, you haven’t changed one bit. Considering the other posts in this series, and the call to prayer, um… Not only can you not spell, but I have serious doubts as to the ability of your reading comprehension.
DEAR POLY-CARP
I see you haven’t changed a bit, still the same old gossip posing as a preacher.
Ah, yes, Chopin, you haven’t changed one bit. Considering the other posts in this series, and the call to prayer, um… Not only can you not spell, but I have serious doubts as to the ability of your reading comprehension.