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
First Swaggert, then Haggard, and now Schuller on the ropes. Where will it end with these false prophets? At least Ernest Angely is still around as a beacon for the faithful.
AY your right on point as always!!
Metro,
They are principled…they want money, you have there money….so give it up…and you will be saved…
http://swampland.time.com/2011/06/08/rick-perrys-controversial-call-to-prayer/
Yes they do….You believe in God and they Believe in Money….You can have one or the other…but you can’t have both….Its called fleecing the flock….
Ha Eric Rasmusen made a funny….. he compared religion and being principled.
I don’t think these places have anything to do with God whatsoever.
Mike S. hit the nail on the head. Mixing Religion with anything is dangerous, but especially money.
Why do people see this as a decline in that church rather than an improvement? Mr. Schuller tried to be inoffensive to everyone, to maximize the wealth of the church. His daughters seem to have deposed him purely on grounds of religious principle— but being principled, they naturally are less financially successful.
And unless you really do think Mr. Schuller’s church was his church rather than God’s or the public’s, you shouldn’t complain about his daughters removing him from the board. It wasn’t his to give away.
Today’s false prophet is served family style.
LK,
Then you’ll have organized religion as we know it….I know that is a misnomer…
Mike S., If this is indeed how distorted a prophet’s message gets in one generation one can only imaging what a couple of thousand years can do.
You mean they don’t all live in mansions and say god never meant for me to be poor? I am aghast….
The problem with being a prophet of anything is that invariably your disciples will distort your message to their own petty advantage. The problem with TV Ministries, despite the good of their founder, is that they inevitably fall prey to becoming wealth producing entities. Wealth producing entities of necessity must generate wealth axiomatically. When wealth becomes the goal the philosophy behind that goal must shift to meet its exigencies. In this instance the institution of marriage, given the branding needs in the evangelical Christian world, conflict with the beliefs of the founder. Ergo, the founder must go due to the needs of the business.
I always liked Dr. Schuller. He seemed to be a voice of reason in a public arena where intolerance and homophobia are in plentiful supply by his colleagues. I had heard his ministry had fallen on hard times. With this latest move by his daughters, I am afraid I am guilty of some rather uncharitable thoughts. They want to take the work of a kind man and turn his legacy into something hateful. Sad.
Gyges,
Of course not!
Especially drummers.
Buddha,
Are you implying that musicians don’t fit into both of those categories pretty nicely?
Gyges,
In a divisive class based mode of Christianity, janitors will be part of the “unclean” and “subservient” classes . . . and everyone knows camera operators are heathens and voyeurs.
On a more serious note, it is a little sad to see what has happened to Schuller’s ministry but more so the man himself. Like the Prof, I’ve always seen Schuller as an honest and inclusive actor in his practice which I have to respect. To see his children fall prey to divisiveness – let alone his daughters – must be a bitter pill indeed. Especially in the name of wrangling for control of the business seems to be paramount over continuing the inclusive practices of their father. There father who got the idea of inclusion over division from, oh, what’s his name . . .
“One of the issues was the son’s opposition to changing the church’s format and Coleman’s insistence that choir members to sign a covenant acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman.”
What about the camera operators and janitors?