The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, 84, has been voted off the board for Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which he founded over 50 years ago. This follows an earlier move to oust his son, Robert A. Schuller. The ministry is in debt and rife with family divisions, including one over a required anti-gay marriage pledge demanded by his daughters.
The church has filed for bankruptcy and “owes about $7.5 million to unsecured creditors, many of whom are vendors for the cathedral’s ‘Glory of Christmas’ pageant.”
The demise of the church follows a long-standing fight with his daughters — another bizarre case of a religious institution run like a family business. In this case, Schuller found himself at odds with his daughters who seem to have created a modern King Lear for the televangelist world. “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is To have a thankless child!” (King Lear, 1.4.312)
While Schuller designated his son to take over the church, the son was tossed out by his sisters and Sheila Schuller Coleman took control of the ministry. One of the issues was the son’s opposition to changing the church’s format and Coleman’s insistence that choir members sign a covenant acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Her father opposed the pledge and has long been welcoming to all in the church. Schuller’s daughter, Carol Schuller Milner, supported her sister and they forced removal of her father.
As was said in King Lear: “Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend, More hideous, when thou show’st thee in a child,Than the sea-monster.”
Source: OC Register
Show us how we were wrong so we can learn. There is great concern from all of us, that is the reason we write. It is because we care and love Dr. Schuller. Even if it takes you a day to write, do it. Who was responsible for the way things have gone the way it did. We like to know. We eagerly wait your reply.
You have your facts wrong in your post: Hour of Power [Grab]: Robert Schuller Thrown Out Of Crystal Ministries 1, July 5, 2011. Please double check the names in the story. Carol Schuller Milner had no involvement in the running of the ministry. Also, your account is very incomplete, dated, and based on biased media accounts. But, there are a lot of wonderful comments – Dr. Schuller and I thank you. Carol
iI have been listening to Rev Dr Schuller for over25 years, have quite a few of his books and I miss his Sunday morning program bein a Roman Catholic,
his words would inspire me for the coming week of problems. God bless you
Rev Schuller in the illness facing you now with the loss of your wife recently .
SHE IS NOW AT PEACE. pb from CANADA.
Having read this I thought it was extremely informative.
I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this short article together.
I once again find myself personally spending
a significant amount of time both reading and commenting.
But so what, it was still worthwhile!