{"id":258,"date":"2011-08-12T16:01:28","date_gmt":"2011-08-12T16:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/preacherskid\/?p=258"},"modified":"2011-08-12T16:01:28","modified_gmt":"2011-08-12T16:01:28","slug":"crystal-cathedral-is-the-glass-house-schuller-built-about-to-shatter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/preacherskid\/2011\/08\/crystal-cathedral-is-the-glass-house-schuller-built-about-to-shatter.html","title":{"rendered":"Crystal Cathedral: Is the glass house Schuller built about to shatter?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
In the sun setting on Crystal Cathedral?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It looks like the Crystal Cathedral,<\/a><\/em> that long-lived architectural landmark of Southern California \u2013 and the iconic sanctuary of Dr. Robert H. Schuller\u2019s feel-good, \u201cpositive gospel\u201d \u2013 is about to shatter, at least metaphorically.<\/p>\n

Oh, the opulent, nearly-6,000 capacity, 128-foot-high structure — \u00a0crafted from more than 10,000 tempered glass panes anchored to steel trusses — will remain standing. But the ministry, at least the one Schuller built into a media empire from humble beginnings in a drive-in theater lot, \u00a0may be circling the corporate and spiritual drain.<\/p>\n

The past decade has not been kind to Schuller and Company in the headlines. In 2004, Crystal Cathedral\u2019s gifted but bipolar orchestra director, Johnnie Carl<\/a><\/em>, shot himself to death in a church restroom despite the pleas of Schuller and police negotiators; a second suicide occurred in 2009 when a homeless man<\/a><\/em> walked into the church, handed a note to a greeter, knelt in front of a large golden cross and shot himself in the head.<\/p>\n

In its heydey, Schuller and his Hour of Power<\/a> <\/em>TV program of professionally produced music and dramas — punctuated by the silver-haired preacher\u2019s own mix of pop psychology and what some would call Christianity Lite<\/a><\/em>\u00a0— packed the Crystal Cathedral\u2019s seats.<\/p>\n

The Hour of Power<\/em> also drew millions of viewers. My Dad, the preacher, was among Schuller\u2019s regular TV attendees.<\/p>\n

He found Schuller’s positive messages, devoid as they were of the hell fire and brimstone<\/a><\/em> so often associated with the early Holiness\/Pentecostal movement<\/a><\/em>, refreshing \u2013 even if he\u00a0 didn\u2019t buy everything<\/a><\/em> the robed Schuller had to say. Whatever the efficacy of Schuller\u2019s gospel, though, no one could argue he put one one heck of a show.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Those were the times when, as the multiple TV cameras panned over the congregants, you could spot celebrities by the pulpit-full. \u201cThere\u2019s Charlton Heston, the actor! Hey, that\u2019s Glen Campbell, isn\u2019t it? I like his singing,\u201d<\/em> my parents would remark.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kirk Douglas, as Spartacus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kirk Douglas, once seen hanging on a cross in the movie\u00a0Spartacus<\/a>, <\/em>was known to hang around the Crystal Cathedral, too. Wynonna and Naomi Judd made appearance, too. Once, I saw a boyhood hero of my own, motorcycle dare devil Evel Knievel, making a Crystal Cathedral cameo, as it were.<\/p>\n

That was then, and this is now<\/em> \u2013 and now is not very kind to the increasingly empty glass palace that Schuller built. Once packed with thousands of worshipers, now the Crystal Cathedral reportedly settles for mere hundreds. The Hour of Power <\/em>has been trimmed back to half an hour on some networks still hosting it; the elder Schuller, now 84, \u00a0gave way first to his son, Robert<\/a><\/em>, and then split with him over \u201cvision\u201d issues even as the church\u2019s board purportedly forced the ministerial heir apparent out. Schuller\u2019s daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman<\/a><\/em>, now holds the reins.<\/p>\n

But for how long?<\/em> Last October, the Crystal Cathedral entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy<\/a><\/em>. Increasingly impatient creditors now are demanding the board sell the structure to cover debts north of $50 million, or face lawsuits. Among bidders: Orange, Calif.-based Chapman University<\/a><\/em> and the Roman Catholic Church.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I have always found it impossible to picture Yeshua bar Joseph<\/a><\/em>, a.k.a. Jesus Christ, feeling at home behind the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral (if, indeed, he could make it to the stage past the security staff<\/em>). Still, part of me laments the d\u00e9nouement<\/em><\/a>\u00a0of Schuller\u2019s dream. After all, he had some good things to say over the years (see below):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
What will Dr. Schuller's legacy be?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTough times never last. Tough people do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBetter to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And my favorite:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Whatever becomes of Crystal Cathedral and The Hour of Power, <\/em>Robert H. Schuller has that legacy, at least.<\/p>\n

Indeed, such quotations may well outlast his citadel of steel and glass.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It looks like the Crystal Cathedral, that long-lived architectural landmark of Southern California \u2013 and the iconic sanctuary of Dr. Robert H. Schuller\u2019s feel-good, \u201cpositive gospel\u201d \u2013 is about to shatter, at least metaphorically. Oh, the opulent, nearly-6,000 capacity, 128-foot-high structure — \u00a0crafted from more than 10,000 tempered glass panes anchored to steel trusses —…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,84,212,14,128,8,45,211,83,61,5,7,210,3,1],"tags":[213,218,222,217,221,219,220,215,216,214],"class_list":["post-258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic","category-christ","category-christian-tv","category-ethics","category-evangelical","category-faith","category-fundamentalist","category-holiness-movement","category-jesus","category-music","category-pentecostal","category-pop","category-positive-confession","category-pks","category-uncategorized","tag-chapman-university","tag-christianity-lite","tag-crystal-cathedral","tag-hell-fire-and-brimstone","tag-hour-of-power","tag-robert-a-schuller","tag-robert-h-schuller","tag-sheila-schuller-coleman","tag-spartacus","tag-yeshua"],"yoast_head":"\nCrystal Cathedral: Is the glass house Schuller built about to shatter? - Preacher\u2019s Kid: Honest Faith, Real World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/preacherskid\/2011\/08\/crystal-cathedral-is-the-glass-house-schuller-built-about-to-shatter.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crystal Cathedral: Is the glass house Schuller built about to shatter? - Preacher\u2019s Kid: Honest Faith, Real World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It looks like the Crystal Cathedral, that long-lived architectural landmark of Southern California \u2013 and the iconic sanctuary of Dr. Robert H. 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