A special meeting will be held this Sunday at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church to determine the future of their new senior pastor, Tullian Tchividjian. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., church — founded by the late D. James Kennedy — installed Tchividjian this past Easter as their second senior minister in five decades.
A petition was able to collect the minimum 100 signatures needed and, as a result, church elders were required to call for a congregational meeting. According to ChristianPost.com, members in good standing will vote on whether or not to "amicably" dissolve the relationship with Tchividjian and the merger of Coral Ridge and New City Church, the Margate-based church Tchividjian had founded in 2003.
Though 91 percent of the 2,500 member congregation had voted in March to support the call for him to serve as their new senior minister, six dissenters distributed a letter and petition to church members in late July calling upon them to "reverse course before it is too late."
"We have seen a complete lack of respect towards the congregation and for long-standing traditions that have been part of Coral Ridge's rich heritage for decades," stated the letter signed by Kennedy's daughter, Jennifer Cassidy, and five others.
Reasons listed for the removal of their new pastor from those who oppose his leadership include his alleged failure to present the Gospel clearly, his failure to raise awareness on current issues and the replacement of CRPC staff with "less qualified staff members who are, however, 'loyal' to the new administration."
According to Coral Ridge's Session of Elders, "We believe God has called Tullian here and anointed him to lead this church." The elders further reminded the congregation that the determination to remove a pastor "is more than a matter of personal preferences." According to their Book of Church Order, the basis for removing a pastor should be limited to heresy, immorality or illegal activity.
(from FotF's Pastor's Weekly Briefing)
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