http://www.ocregister.com/news/cathedral-309365-diocese-church.html?plckFindCommentKey=CommentKey:8a362b32-583e-422f-8ad1-bc5c774caf07

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County has made a $50 million cash offer for the 35-acre property that houses the iconic Crystal Cathedral and all its core buildings, officials said Friday. . . .

I have just come from my lawyer’s office where I removed the Crystal Cathedral from my will. This would have been a very sizable donation… but I have reached the point where I think it’s best that the ministry disappear…. and I think it will as a result of the family doing one bad thing after another.
Believe me when I say that for almost all of my life, I have loved and supported the ministry that always displayed open arms and hearts to all of God’s children, but the recent actions of the Schuller family, and lack of action by the Consistory in preventing inappropriate and unethical practices, has changed everything. The campus would make a great community college. Bobby Schuller did the right thing by getting far away from this mess. Never again will I support the Crystal Cathedral and I don’t think I’m alone in that statement.

But that didn’t help GAY people any, did it?

RobNYetc

This is an orange county newspaper writing an article about a local church to a local readership. Schuller’s start with a church in a drive-in theater is part of the local lore.

That she sang atop the snack shack provides context that locals can understand. Not only is she of long standing, but she goes way back to the beginning. She’s part of the legend.

It’s the difference between saying someone has worked for Apple for many years, and saying they were there in Steve Job’s garage.

Richard

And I’m guessing further that the former members did not switch to mainstream denominations, but migrated to the increasing number of mega-church options, or walked away from religion entirely.

Schuller is Reformed. And while the Reformed Church in America is not a large denomination, it is mainstream and has full communion with the more liberal mainline churches (UCC, ELCA, and PCUSA) though they had some rough moments when UCC endorsed gay marriage (they agree to disagree).

Since Schuller is from that background, it may help explain why he never joined in the Demonize The Homos crap that other preachers (like his daughter) found appealing.

Meanwhile, it seemed to become de rigueur for mega-churches to be anti-gay. And so now this church is in the midst of a desperate effort to keep up with the competition.

Actually, they are mixed. On one hand you have folks like Ed Young or Bill Hybels who are nasty anti-gay out to cure the culture and change the laws. But then you have folks like Rick Warren (yeah, I know, boo hiss) and Joel Osteen who may have theology that sees homosexuality as “not the best” or “sin” but who don’t go out of their way to try and impose their theology on their neighbors or mention that particular theology in their sermons. Ironically, it’s the latter group that gets in trouble most because they are the ones that newscasters tend to ask about such positions and, as much as they try to say “oh but you’re welcome in my church” the “sinner” part makes the headlines.

Or maybe the explanation for shrinking membership is as simple as Robert Schuller’s son and daughter not being nearly as charismatic as their father.

Bingo

You can eat your children (Deuteronomy 28:53)

You can sell your daughter into slavery (Exodus 21:7)

You have a right to own slaves (Levicus 25:44)

You should kill everyone who is not just like you (Ezechial 9:4-6)

You can kill, rob, and plunder for your own greed (Deuteronomy 20:13-14)

If you’re not hungry right now and don’t want to eat them, you can just kill all the children (Judges 21:10-12)

and the list goes on, and on…

You do realize George Wallace changed his position and apologized to blacks, don’t you?

That’s one dedicated choir!