More prayer/less politicking wins at Coral Ridge Presbyterian

Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of Billy Graham turned Ft. Lauderdale’s Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church away from its hyper-political, right-wing activist heritage.

With predictable pushback. Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy -- daughter of Tchividjian predecessor and culture warrior D. James Kennedy -- and other unhappy parishioners tried to have Tchividjian removed.

They failed, the Miami Herald reported Sunday:

Tchividjian was named senior pastor of the Fort Lauderdale mega-church six months ago. He has come under scrutiny ever since he vowed to the set the church on a different path from that charted by his predecessor, D. James Kennedy, who built Coral Ridge into a religious and political powerhouse on a bedrock of Christian conservatism.
Church members cast ballots at a closed 11 a.m. meeting, and backed Tchividjian by a vote of 940-422, a margin of about 69 percent to 31 percent.
Tchividjian, 37, doesn't preach politics.

Tchividjian is one of the new generation of spiritual leaders who are in step with the Pew Forum’s August 2008, survey, which found that 52 percent of Americans agreed that houses of worship should keep out of politics.