D. James Kennedy Ministries
Background
D. James Kennedy Ministries, formerly known as Coral Ridge Ministries and Truth in Action Ministries, was founded in 1974 by the late D. James Kennedy.
Kennedy was also the founder of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Evangelism Explosion International, the Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, the Knox Theological Seminary, and the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, a socially conservative political group. [11]
Coral Ridge Ministries initially produced a weekly religious television program, The Coral Ridge Hour, that was carried on various networks and syndicated on numerous other stations with a peak audience of three million viewers in 200 countries, and is still aired on radio today. [11]
As of 2017, D. James Kennedy Ministries’ media outreach includes weekly television programs “Kennedy Classics with Dr. D. James Kennedy and Truths That Transform; Truth In Action,” as well as a weekly half-hour radio program “with Dr. Michael Milton,” and the monthly Impact Magazine and Devotional, among other print and video resources. [11]
According to its website, D. James Kennedy Ministries’ aims to “through this church, the Gospel of Jesus Christ might be radiated through television and radio, motion pictures and cassettes, books and clinics, and by ways yet undreamed of unto the entire world, that the command of Christ to go and proclaim the Gospel to every creature might be fulfilled in our generation.” [1]
Stance on Climate Change
December 2016
D. James Kennedy Ministries’ senior producer and host Jerry Newcombe is also a columnist for its website. In a December 2016 article he wrote: [12]
“Meanwhile, the theory of man-made global warming is a myth. For example, the worldwide average temperature has not risen in the last 18 years. So the theorists changed the name to “climate change.” Well, to borrow a line from Marco Rubio, there’s always climate change—it’s called ‘the weather.’”
April 2014
Truth in Action Ministries released a short that endorsed and included the following quotes from climate change deniers: [28]
“Environmentalism has become a religion. These are recycled communists, recycled socialists, recycled collectivists who are trying to use a flawed theory of environmentalism to bring about the collectivist society they were unable to bring about politically through socialism and through communism.”
“One of the ways we can commit idolatry is by substituting ourselves as the creature for God, that’s what many of these scientists and bureaucrats are trying to do.”
“We need to be very careful about not turning over our freedom and liberty to a bunch of bureaucrats in the name of saving the planet.”
2011
D. James Kennedy Ministries, then called Coral Ridge Ministries, produced a video in 2011 called “Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose’ Of Climate Change.” [2]
The following quotes are from a description of the video:
“Global Warming addresses subjects that most others won’t touch, including misinformation which is contained in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.”
“Global warming is real, but it is not primarily man-made. This biblically-based and thoroughly balanced view of climate change reveals that global warming is not a black & white issue. Viewers will see why well-meaning Christians need to be extremely careful when advocating environmental policies.” [2]
Funding
Conservative Transparency summarizes D. James Kennedy Ministries Media funding. Note that not all individual funding values have been verified by DeSmog. [13], [14]
View the attached spreadsheet for details on D. James Kennedy Ministries Funding by year (.xlsx).
| Donor | ||||||
| Recipient and Year | DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative | National Christian Charitable Fund | Orville D. and Ruth A. Merillat Foundation | Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation | Schwab Charitable Fund | Grand Total |
| Coral Ridge Ministries | $752,744 | $27,000 | $779,744 | |||
| 2000 | $2,000 | $2,000 | ||||
| 2001 | $16,600 | $5,000 | $21,600 | |||
| 2002 | $21,643 | $5,000 | $26,643 | |||
| 2003 | $85,750 | $5,000 | $90,750 | |||
| 2004 | $271,525 | $271,525 | ||||
| 2005 | $157,701 | $5,000 | $162,701 | |||
| 2006 | $43,500 | $5,000 | $48,500 | |||
| 2007 | $25,900 | $25,900 | ||||
| 2008 | $19,559 | $19,559 | ||||
| 2009 | $20,766 | $20,766 | ||||
| 2010 | $60,950 | $60,950 | ||||
| 2011 | $22,750 | $22,750 | ||||
| 2013 | $6,100 | $6,100 | ||||
| Coral Ridge Ministries Media | $1,215,000 | $1,215,000 | ||||
| 1999 | $400,000 | $400,000 | ||||
| 2001 | $300,000 | $300,000 | ||||
| 2002 | $300,000 | $300,000 | ||||
| 2003 | $75,000 | $75,000 | ||||
| 2004 | $85,000 | $85,000 | ||||
| 2005 | $25,000 | $25,000 | ||||
| 2006 | $30,000 | $30,000 | ||||
| Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church | $15,943,800 | $749,724 | $16,750,326 | |||
| 2000 | $1,760,000 | $1,760,000 | ||||
| 2001 | $960,000 | $52,500 | $1,012,500 | |||
| 2002 | $750,000 | $36,600 | $786,600 | |||
| 2003 | $600,000 | $24,805 | $624,805 | |||
| 2004 | $1,510,000 | $12,500 | $1,522,500 | |||
| 2005 | $1,810,000 | $1,000 | $1,811,000 | |||
| 2006 | $2,040,800 | $25,000 | $2,065,800 | |||
| 2007 | $1,760,000 | $50,000 | $1,810,000 | |||
| 2008 | $1,965,000 | $19,550 | $1,984,550 | |||
| 2009 | $1,278,000 | $102,645 | $1,380,645 | |||
| 1998 | $1,510,000 | $1,510,000 | ||||
| 2010 | $102,305 | $102,305 | ||||
| 2011 | $79,153 | $79,153 | ||||
| 2013 | $36,078 | $36,078 | ||||
| 2012 | $34,228 | $34,228 | ||||
| 2014 | $6,000 | $6,000 | ||||
| 2015 | $167,360 | $167,360 | ||||
| 2016 | $56,802 | $56,802 | ||||
| D James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship | $8,500 | $8,500 | ||||
| 2006 | $3,000 | $3,000 | ||||
| 2007 | $3,000 | $3,000 | ||||
| 2008 | $2,500 | $2,500 | ||||
| D James Kennedy Leadership Council | $750 | $750 | ||||
| 2002 | $750 | $750 | ||||
| Knox Theologal Seminary | $71,181 | $71,181 | ||||
| 2008 | $17,000 | $17,000 | ||||
| 2009 | $27,403 | $27,403 | ||||
| 2010 | $26,778 | $26,778 | ||||
| Truth in Action Radio Ministries | $27,550 | $27,550 | ||||
| 2011 | $350 | $350 | ||||
| 2013 | $6,100 | $6,100 | ||||
| 2012 | $14,200 | $14,200 | ||||
| 2015 | $6,900 | $6,900 | ||||
| WAFG 90 3 FM | $15,960 | $15,960 | ||||
| 2008 | $12,250 | $12,250 | ||||
| 2009 | $1,650 | $1,650 | ||||
| 2010 | $1,860 | $1,860 | ||||
| 2011 | $200 | $200 | ||||
| Grand Total | $15,943,800 | $1,617,909 | $1,215,000 | $27,000 | $8,500 | $18,869,011 |
DeVos Funding
Rolling Stone’s Bob Moser reported that former Amway CEO and co-founder Richard DeVos is connected with the Dominionist political movement in the United States. Moser states that DeVos was a supporter of the late D. James Kennedy, giving more than $5 million to the cause. [3], [4]
Some background on DeVos, via an article at The Daily Kos: [5]
DeVos was also a founding member and two-time president of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing Christian-focused organization
High-ranking Amway leaders such as Richard DeVos and Dexter Yager were owners and members of the board of Gospel Films, a producer of movies and books geared towards conservative Christians, as well as co-owners (along with Salem Communications) of a right-wing, Christian non-profit entity called Gospel Communications International.
In July 1996, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos was honored at a $3 million fundraiser for the Republican Party, and a week later, it was reported that Amway had tried to donate $1.3 million to pay for Republican “infomercials” and televising of the GOP convention on Pat Robertson’s Family Channel, but backed off when Democrats criticized the donation as a ploy to avoid campaign-finance restrictions.
In April 1997, Richard DeVos and his wife, Helen, gave $1 million to the Republican National Committee, which at the time was the second-largest soft-money donation ever, behind Amway’s 1994 gift of $2.5 million to the RNC.
Key People
- D. James Kennedy — Founder. (Passed away September 5, 2007).
| Name | 2009[15] | 2011[16] | 2012[17] | 2013[18] | 2014[19] | 2015[20] | 2017[21] | Description |
| Brian E. Fisher | Y | President (2009) | ||||||
| Carmen Pate | Y | Chief Communications Officer | ||||||
| Charles White | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||
| Dan Scalf | Y | Y | President (2011, 2012), Former Executive VP (1988 to 1993, possibly longer)[22],[24] | |||||
| David P. Russ | Y | Interim Executive VP[23] | ||||||
| Francis W. Wright | Y | Y | President (2017 to present); Board of Directors (2012)[24] | |||||
| Frank Johnson | Y | Y | Executive Vice President (2012 to 2013) | |||||
| Gladys Israels | Y | Y | Secretary | |||||
| Hector L. Padron | Y | Executive Vice President (2011) | ||||||
| James Carlson | Y | Y | Y | Y | Chairman; Executive Vice President (2015); President/Executive Chairman (2017 to present) | |||
| Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy | Y | Y | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||
| Jerry Newcombe | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Senior Producer (until 2013; 2016 to present) and Host, Spokesperson (2014 to 2016)[25],[26] | |
| Lawrence L. Eldridge | Y | Y | Board of Directors | |||||
| Michael A. Milton | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||
| Mike Whitten | Y | Board of Directors | ||||||
| Rodney A. Cox | Y | Chief Strategy Officer | ||||||
| Steve Kahlke | Y | Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance | ||||||
| William T. Allen | Y | Y | Vice Chairman |
Actions
April 2014
Truth in Action Ministries released a short in which it called the climate change community a “cult of socialists and idolaters that, if left unchecked, could ultimately lead to the rise of communist dictatorships around the globe.” [28]
2010
Coral Ridge Ministries made a documentary titled “SOCIALISM: A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER … A Biblical Response.” [7]
The documentary asserted the claims that socialism denies god, is against Christian principles and that government social programs led to the destruction of the economy of Detroit, Michigan. [7]
Full video below: [30]
April 22, 2009
Coral Ridge Ministries produced a video titled “Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose of Climate Change.”
The video claims that “Global warming is real, but it is not primarily man-made. This biblically-based and thoroughly balanced view of climate change reveals that global warming is not a black & white issue. Viewers will see why well-meaning Christians need to be extremely careful when advocating environmental policies.” [2]
Numerous well-known climate change skeptics were featured in the video including E. Calvin Beisner, John Christy, and George Taylor. You can watch the video here.
August 26 – 27, 2006
Coral Ridge Ministries aired a “documentary” featuring Ann Coulter that attributes Adolph Hitler’s atrocities to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. “Darwin’s Deadly Legacy” was aired during “Coral Ridge Hour” and accompanied by a book titled “Evolution’s Fatal Fruit: How Darwin’s Tree of Life Brought Death to Millions.”
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute for the NIH, said that he “would not have agreed to participate if I had understood that the program would promote the concept of a direct connection between Darwin’s theory of evolution and the evils of the Holocaust and the massacre at Columbine High School,” and said he was “absolutely appalled” at how his comments were used in the film. [8]
You can view the “documentary” here.
Coral Ridge Ministries Contact & Address
As of May 22, 2016 the main contact address for the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was: [10]
5555 N. Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 USA
954-771-8840
Related Organizations
- The Center for Reclaiming America — Sister organization, same founder. [11]
- Knox Theological Seminary — Sister organization, same founder. [11]
- Westminster Academy — Sister organization, same founder. [11]
Social Media
- @DJKMinistries on Twitter.
- “D. James Kennedy Ministries” on Facebook.
- “D. James Kennedy Ministries” on LinkedIn.
Resources
- “About: Our Vision,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/b4GoM
- “Global Warming: A Scientific and Biblical Expose of Climate Change (DVD),” Answers in Genesis. Archived April 16, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/d9ESj
- Bob Moser. “The Crusaders,” Rolling Stone, April 7, 2005. Archived August 8, 2007. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/JkOCp
- Bill Berkowitz. “Worse Than Madoff: Amway Launches Domestic Revival,” Religion Dispatches Magazine, June 18, 2009. Archived on March 4, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/I0j4X
- “(MI – Gov) DeVos Doctrine: Mission ala D. James Kennedy (Series),” Daily Kos, August 11, 2006. Archived January 17, 2012. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/Vl0Wy
- “Coral Ridge Ministries Media,” Media Transparency. Accessed December, 2011.
- “VIDEO: Jesus Hates Socialism, Obama,” Mother Jones, May 14, 2010. Archived January 28, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/2bFGk
- Bill Berkowitz. “Coral Ridge Ministries new ‘documentary’ featuring Ann Coulter attributes Hitler to Charles Darwin,” Media Transparency, September 6, 2006. Archived October 22, 2006. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/t65it
- “Coral Ridge Ministries,” SourceWatch Profile.
- “Contact Us- Address & Phone,” Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Archived May 22, 2016. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/kDMq4
- “About,” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/b4GoM
- “’The Blessings of “Christian Hegemony,’” D. James Kennedy Ministries. Archived February 1, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/es0cL
- ”Coral Ridge Ministries,” Conservative Transparency. Search performed February 1, 2017.
- “Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church,” Conservative Transparency. Search performed February 1, 2017.
- “Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived July 16, 2009. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/AzdZb
- “Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived July 12, 2011. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/lhyPk
- “Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived August 7, 2012. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/CxPF2
- “Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived July 27, 2013. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/KhFCS
- “Bios,” Truth in Action Ministries. Archived June 6, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/C7wlE
- “Truth in Action Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived September 6, 2015. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/YobYp
- “D. James Kennedy Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/uyr3b
- ”D. James Kennedy: Coral Ridge Anniversary,” Televangelist Summaries, October 1988. Archived February 4, 2017. Archived.pdf on file at DeSmog.
- Damon Adams. “Station, Church Ministry Disagree On Gays Program,” Sun Sentinel, April 30, 1993. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/nthnd
- “Coral Ridge Ministries,” Charity Navigator. Archived November 3, 2011. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/oxF7b
- “Transforming Culture, Beware of Truth in Action,” Way of Life Literature. Archived February 4, 2017. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/Tmx6U
- “About me,” JerryNewcombe.com. Archived November 15, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/6CrVo
- “About me,” JerryNewcombe.com. Archived December 16, 2015. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/p8h4d
- “Truth In Action Ministries: Climate Change Is A Cult Whose Believers Worship The Environment, Not God,” Latest.com, April 28, 2014. Archived July 6, 2014. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/rQF3b
- “Environmentalists Are Idolaters, Communists: Truth In Action Ministries,” RWW News, April 28, 2014. Video no longer available online. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/ZLZwt
- “Coral Ridge Ministries Socialism Special,” D. James Kennedy Ministries, April 30, 2010. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive.is URL: http://archive.is/lD7hW
