Coral Ridge, New City Merger Talks 'Getting Close' to an End
The 30-day deciding period that a prominent Florida megachurch agreed to provide its prospective senior pastor officially concluded Wednesday, and though a conclusion has not yet been reached, it's "getting close."
"Many have asked where we are in the process. Ok, everyone has asked where we are in the process," wrote Tullian Tchividjian, the founding pastor of New City Church in Margate and the man selected as the top candidate for Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church's new senior pastor. "It is an important and legitimate question. The best answer we can offer is, 'we're getting close.'"
Last month, Coral Ridge's Pulpit Nominating Committee (PNC) extended an invitation to Tchividjian, 36, to become the Ft. Lauderdale megachurch's new senior pastor after reviewing more than 150 candidates for nearly a year. The committee had been combing for a pastoral candidate to recommend to the Coral Ridge congregation since the retirement of its founding pastor, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, in August 2007 and his death less than two weeks later.
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The PNC eventually narrowed down the list to 15 in May 2008 before finally settling on Tchividjian last month. But, as it turned out, Tchividjian said he would only join Coral Ridge if the rest of his church did as well.
"Only if agreeable terms on all of these fronts can be reached and those terms approved by both church sessions would Tullian formally accept the call and the two become one," New City announced officially last month.
"Legal matters, financial matters, ministerial matters, structural matters, and philosophical matters, will be among the list of things needing to be discussed and hammered out," noted officials of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) congregation. Coral Ridge is affiliated with the similarly conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
Since the Jan. 18 announcement, leaders from the two sides have been spending long hours working out the details of the proposed merger. And according to Tchividjian, the structural and governance issues they are continuing to work through are the most critical.
"We've concluded that a real indicator on whether or not God wants us to move forward is dependent on how these things are worked through and worked out," said Tchividjian, the grandson of famed evangelist Billy Graham.
Earlier this month, Tchividjian said that more time was needed to sort through things than originally thought, suggesting that the 30-day window that Coral Ridge agreed to give was not set in stone.
"We will only proceed with God's clear direction, for to attempt this relying only on the effort and wisdom of man is folly," he added Wednesday.
"We can only ascend the mountain with him as our guide," he concluded.
On the other side, the Coral Ridge's PNC echoed Tchividjian's comments and also shared with its congregants what one of the New City church elders had said.
"We are 80% of the way up Everest," they said.
"You see, on Mount Everest there is a base camp located 80% of the way up the mountain. Nearly every person who attempts to scale that great mountain makes it to the camp at 80%. And then they wait — they wait for the weather to clear," the church leaders explained. "If the weather clears, they can attempt the final ascent to the summit. If the weather does not clear, they go down the mountain."
Earlier this month, Tchividjian made it clear that the current efforts are "not simply a formality to 'close a deal' that's already been made."
"All of us are willing to walk away at a moment's notice if God says 'stop!'" he stated.
If agreeable terms can be reached and approved by the sessions of both churches, however, Tchividjian will accept the PNC's invitation and will preach at Coral Ridge, where the congregation will vote on whether to officially issue the call to Tchividjian to become the senior minister of the church.
If the vote is unanimous or nearly so, the results shall be brought to the South Florida Presbytery, where the candidate will be examined for his views in all areas of ministry.
Once approved, Tchividjian will be installed at a special Service of Installation as Coral Ridge's new senior minister – its second in five decades.
According to the Coral Ridge PNC, the merger team, made up of representatives from both congregations, will be meeting once a week starting this week until the result of the work is presented to the session of both Coral Ridge and New City for approval.
In the meantime, leaders from both sides are encouraging their congregations to guard themselves by "addressing vain speculation sharply and shutting down gossip."
