Lake Ave. Pastor Spurns Leadership Post

The Rev. Paul Cedar of Pasadena, elected overwhelmingly Thursday as the new president of Evangelical Free Church of America, surprised the denomination’s delegates hours later by saying that he would not accept because he didn’t believe that God wanted him to.

Free Church officials said that the current president, Thomas McDill, would delay his retirement until a new nominee can be found.

Only last month, Cedar had told his 4,500-member Lake Avenue Congregational Church in a long letter how, after months of wooing by the Minneapolis-based denomination, he had decided that it was God’s will to accept the nomination.

“If I am elected by an overwhelming majority of votes, we will rejoice that the Lord is calling us to that exciting ministry even though it would be extremely difficult to leave you dear brothers and sisters,” Cedar wrote. His church this year began worshiping in a $20-million church complex overlooking the Foothill Freeway.

Evangelical Free Church officials said that Cedar told delegates meeting in Kenosha, Wis., “that after much prayer and reflection he felt he was not being called of God to lead the Evangelical Free Church. He shared instead with the delegates his belief that God was preparing someone within the Free Church ranks to take the presidency.”

Cedar, originally ordained a Free Church minister, is now a Congregationalist pastor.