4 Responses to “The Evangelical Vatican and the economic impact”

1. 1 Mark Byron  on Jan 2nd, 2007 at 8:39 pm

   his white flight mega church in Broward Country

   I’m not an expert in South Florida or Kennedy, but that seems to be cheap shot from what I know of the area. I’ll give you the dominionist rhetoric as poetic licence, but I need to call you on that “white flight” jab.

   If you look at the map, his church seems to be in the older part of Fort Lauderdale on US-1, rather than out away from the coast in more suburban terrain, like Calvary Chapel’s big Ft. Lauderdale church; I drove past that one earlier this year while job hunting in the area. Fort Lauderdale might look like an upscale Miami suburb to the untrained eye, but the area is one big metro sprawl, with good and bad areas intertwining as you go up the coast.

   True, the faces in Coral Ridge Pres are likely to be white Anglos, but most non-minority churches will be that way; few churches are a mirror of their city’s racial mix, even when they’re open to it. Kennedy might be conservative, but I haven’t heard a peep of him being racist; correct me if I’m wrong.

2. 2 Bene Diction  on Jan 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 pm

   I’m okay with being corrected if I’m wrong, I haven’t been back to Florida in awhile, and you know the area well. Kennedy is recovering from a heart attack and I’m not out to get the guy.

   a) Kennedy is a dominionist/reconstructionist in the narrowest and broadest meanings of the terms, he is up front about most of his beliefs, I don’t know that there is anything we disagree on regarding his theology, politics and social activism.

   b) Fort Lauderdale has a diverse population base of about 164 thousand according to the 2004 US Census, the economy is tourist based. The 2000 Census indicates a 68 percent white population base - about 39 percent of the population in 2000 was 45 and older.

   c) Yes, it is a city that is sprawled out:^)

   d) Kennedy formed his ministry in 1959, and the church proper was the fastest growing Presbyterian congregation in the US for 15 years.

   e) I’m not implying racism - given the time of growth and foundation of his business and ministry, white flight makes sense. Ft. Lauderdale was a college party town and remains mixed, including being a retirement town (albeit more upscale now)

   f) The fact Kennedy has his shows translated into Spanish, merely speaks to the economics of broadcasting, not to race or theology.
   A look at the pics of Westminister Academy (accredited in 1977) is just a snapshot of who can afford a private school. Same with Knox Seminary (accredited 1989)

   g) A look at the church website doesn’t give me much except a lot of anglo names, it’s a big organization.

   Is the term ‘white flight’ considered a racist term?

   According to Webster, the meaning of white flight is:

   Function: noun
   : the departure of whites from places (as urban neighborhoods or schools) increasingly or predominantly populated by minorities

   To address your concern, I’ve never read/heard a racist comment by Kennedy.

   Racist - according to Webster:

   Function: noun
   1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
   2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

   The fact his organization and church are off US -1 and in an older neighbourhood doesn’t change the demographics of Fort Lauderdale. If I’m reading the Florida Department of Transportation correctly, 1-95 wasn’t built until 1972 in that area of the county.

   When you are in the state, and if you have an opportunity to attend, I’d be interested in what you observe.
   Coral Ridge Hour can be seen online on the Church Channel - http://www.churchchannel.tv/watch/. My player isn’t picking up the video.

3. 3 Mark Byron  on Jan 3rd, 2007 at 1:26 pm

   Re-white flight. The term brings up an image of folks with a bit of a redneck streak fearful of being around too many blacks.

   I haven’t heard that phrase in a while; it echoes back to the 60s and 70s when racial tensions were high and many white families were getting the heck out of inner cities, partly due to bigotry and partly for safety. The 90s and 00s have seen a partial reversal of that trend, as some parts of big cities have become gentrified, as areas near downtown are becoming trendy and white Anglo; however, it’s often young professionals rather than blue-collar folks who are doing most of the gentrifying.

   I might have been a bit touchy. To call it a “white flight” church sounded like he was taking advantage of well-off whites fleeing the inner city to the neglect of minorities. “Suburban” might have been a less-charged adjective.

   I don’t know what kind of minority outreach Coral Ridge does; an old-school Presbyterian church would be a hard sell for a black community used to a more small-c charismatic style of worship.

4. 4 Bene Diction  on Jan 3rd, 2007 at 7:27 pm

   Thanks, I’ll be more careful about using the term in the future.:^)