Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble after his son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled mega-church is home to the "Hour of Power" broadcast, an evangelism staple that's been on the air for more than three decades.
The church is also in financial turmoil: It now plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt. Revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year, according to a recent letter from the elder Schuller to elite donors.
In the letter, Schuller Sr. implored the Eagle's Club members, who supply 30 percent of the church's revenue, for donations and hinted that the show might go off the air without their support.
The Crystal Cathedral blames the recession for its woes. It's a problem common to personality driven ministries. Most have collapsed or been greatly diminished after their founders left the pulpit or died.
“Members often tie their donations to the pastor, not the institution,” said Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University. “Schuller, with a style that blends pop psychology and theology, has a particularly devoted following.”
Church-based televangelism led by powerful personalities filled TV in the 1980s, but now only a handful of shows remain. Among the struggling ministries are those of Oral Roberts and the late D. James Kennedy of "The Coral Ridge Hour" TV show.
The elder Schuller, who called his weekly show "America's Television Church," founded his ministry in a drive-in theater after moving to Southern California in 1955. He studied marketing strategies to attract worshippers and preached a feel-good Christianity, describing himself as a "possibility thinker" and spinning his upbeat style into a 10,000-member church and a broadcast watched by millions worldwide.
The church's main sanctuary, the Crystal Cathedral, is a landmark designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, with a spire visible from afar amid Orange County's suburban sprawl. Thousands make the pilgrimage to see where the broadcast is filmed before a live congregation.
The Schullers consider the church a family business and the younger Schuller's 2006 appointment was sanctioned by the Crystal Cathedral's parent denomination, the Reformed Church in America, but the church announced on Nov. 29, 2008 that Schuller Jr. had resigned as senior pastor, just a month after he was removed from the church's syndicated broadcasts.
In a news release, Schuller Sr. said, "Robert and I have been struggling as we each have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry."
The church has since instituted a rotating roster of high-profile guest preachers, including Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, the Chicago-area mega-church, and evangelist Luis Palau.
Schuller Sr.'s daughters and sons-in-law remain involved in the church, some in key roles. But Juan Carlos Ortiz, the interim senior pastor, hopes to appoint a senior pastor with no ties to the Schuller family within two years.
On the church Web site, concerned members and TV fans have posted hundreds of comments protesting the upheaval, with some indicating they have stopped giving or will leave altogether. (Source: GospelToday.com)
