Robert Schuller

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Robert H. Schuller (2009)

Robert H. (Harold) Schuller (born September 16, 1926 in Alton , Iowa , † April 2, 2015 in Artesia , California ) was an American television preacher , founder of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove , California, who was part of the Reformed Church in America ( Reformed Church in America) belongs.

Life

Robert Schuller, not to be confused with the Californian evangelist Robert Pierce Shuler, grew up as the youngest child of Anthony Schuller and his wife with his five siblings, a family of Dutch immigrants. Schuller allegedly made the decision to become a pastor as a 4-year-old child.

Robert H. Schuller (1962)

After graduating from high school, he moved to Hope College in Holland , Michigan in 1943 , where he graduated in 1947 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and history. He then began a theological course, which he also completed in Michigan at the Western Theological Seminary , where he received the Bachelor of Divinity in 1950. After his marriage to Arvella DeHaan, he moved, newly ordained, with her to Chicago , where he was pastor of a Reformed church. Under his leadership, the number of members in the congregation rose from 35 to almost 500 members.

In 1968 Schuller started the NewHopeLine , a church-funded telephone counseling service for people at risk of suicide with 24-hour availability.

In 1970 he founded the Institute for Successful Church Leadership (German: Institute for Successful Church leaders ) that the megachurch progress brought movement. Graduates include Bishop Charles Blake, Los Angeles’s 18,000-member Church , Rick Warren , pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, which has 23,000 members, Frank Harrington, director of Atlanta’s Peachtree Presbyterian Church , the largest Presbyterian church in America, and Sundo Kim, pastor of the First Methodist Church in Seoul, Korea, the world's largest Methodist church with 50,000 members. In 1992 the "Fuqua International School of Christian Communication" was opened.

Schuller took part in the Dutch television station Euro7, which started on October 19, 1994. At that time it was the first commercial TV channel in the Netherlands and broadcast 3 hours on weekdays and 10 hours on weekends. In January 1997 the station was discontinued for economic reasons.

He was the first non-Soviet pastor to be invited to speak on Soviet television in 1989 . In September 1990 he was asked by the Soviet government to host a monthly television program called Heart to Heart.

Schuller was friends with former US President Bill Clinton and became one of his spiritual advisors in the White House.

mission

Crystal Cathedral
Crystal Cathedral tower

In 1955, the Reformed Church in America called on Schuller to plant a new ward in Garden Grove, California. With start-up capital of $ 500 , Schuller set to work. In the end he got the idea, church services Drive-in was Sunday morning in Orange Cinema, a drive-in hold. Schuller erected a large cross on the roof of the snack bar and set up his lectern. His wife played a small organ that the Schullers brought with them every Sunday. 100 people appeared in their cars for the first service. “My congregation avoided me when they learned I was preaching in a drive-in theater,” Schuller said decades later.

Schuller's unorthodox style of preaching made the church grow steadily. Six years after the first service in the drive-in cinema, the first “walk-in-drive-in” church building in the world, also known as the “car church”, was built. It was designed by Richard Neutra and built in 1961. This community grew quickly and the decision matured in Garden Grove , California , the church building Crystal Cathedral (Crystal Cathedral) to build with 2,736 seats. It was designed by the New York architect Philip Johnson and inaugurated on September 14, 1980 "For the glory of mankind and for the even greater glory of God". There was intent behind the architectural concept: Schuller had the church designed so that it looks like a garden: a long fountain extends in the middle of the church. Plants surround the sanctuary and the stained glass windows give a view of the sky. At the same time, the services held there were recorded and broadcast under the title Hour of Power in many nations around the world.

After his son Robert Anthony Schuller left the church council of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries in 2008, founder Robert H. Schuller was voted out of office in June 2011. However, this was reversed on July 22, 2011 and Robert H. Schuller was still active on the board as honorary chairman. The basis for the first decision is said to have been a dispute with his daughters and sons-in-law about enlarging the board. In recent years, Schuller had made critical statements about the development of the community. He criticized the decision of the current director of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, his daughter Sheila Schuller-Coleman , to have choir members sign a contract in which Jesus Christ was referred to as “Lord and Savior” and marriage was defined as an institution between man and woman . Schuller said in this context that everyone is welcome in his church.

concept

Schuller's theological concept was heavily man-centered. He saw humans as a being whose abilities can be greatly increased. The Christian faith serves as a channel to achieve this goal. Positive messages were at the center of his sermons. A means often used in his sermons was to talk about people who went through terrible tragedies and still maintained a positive outlook on life. Schuller calls this positive thinking “Possibility Thinking”. In this theological concept, Schuller was heavily influenced by Norman Vincent Peale , with whom he was close friends.

criticism

Critics accused Schuller of the following:

  • He preaches an unbiblical gospel of prosperity .
  • He preaches “believe in yourself” instead of “believe in Jesus”.
  • He advocates a syncretism and asserts that Christians and Muslims believe in the same God.
  • He claims there is no sin. According to Schuller, the biblical term forgiveness means the knowledge that there is no sin.
  • He took over content and methods from the New Age movement.
  • For him it is more about filling the church than preaching biblical truth.

These points of criticism were resolutely rejected by its supporters. Schuller confessed to the Hour of Power / Crystal Cathedral's Creed ("Statement of Faith"). This emphasized the sinfulness of mankind, as well as the redeeming power of God through the vicarious sacrifice on the cross of Golgotha .

Private

Schuller was married to his wife Arvella, who died in February 2014. The couple had five children, one son is the theologian Robert Anthony Schuller , who temporarily succeeded him.

Honors

He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the following universities:

  • Azusa Pacific University , Azusa, California
  • Hope College, Holland, Michigan
  • Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa
  • Pepperdine University , Malibu, California
  • Barrington College, Barrington, Rhode Island
  • Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio
  • Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.

Publications

  • There is a solution for every problem , Oesch Verlag, Thalwil-Zurich 1969, 2nd edition MVG Verlag, 1991, ISBN 978-3-478032001 .
  • Dynamic family life (translation by Marie-Luise Rusche, orig. Power ideas for a happy family ), Francke, Marburg an der Lahn 1976, 2nd edition 1982, ISBN 3-920345-70-3 .
  • The way to inner peace (translation by Alfred Wettstein, orig. Peace of mind through possibility thinking ), Oesch Verlag, Glattbrugg 1983, 3rd edition MGV Verlag 1992, ISBN 978-3-858333209 .
  • Up to success! (Translated by Alfred Wettstein, orig. The peak to peak principle ), Oesch Verlag, Glattbrugg-Zürich 1984, MGV Verlag, 3rd edition 1992 ISBN 978-3-478031905 .
  • Hard times - you get through them! (Translated by Christine Wessely, orig. Tough times never last, but tough people do! ), Ariston-Verlag, Geneva 1985, 2nd edition under the title: Hard times pass, strong people persist: with God's help survive difficult times , Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-941980167 .
  • Mastering the day: 366 rules of confident action for the whole year (translation by Christian Quatmann, orig. Tough minded faith for tender hearted people ), Ariston-Verlag, Geneva 1987, 2nd edition 1988, ISBN 978-3-720514354 .
  • Happiness rarely comes alone: ​​8 steps to a fulfilled life , coprint Verlag, Wiesbaden 1988, ISBN 978-3-417280609 .
  • Success knows no boundaries - failure is never final: the art of constructive thinking as the basis for holistic success in life (translation by Ursula Bischoff, orig.Succes is never ending - failure is never final ), MVG-Verlag, Landsberg am Lech / Munich 1989, 2nd edition 1993, ISBN 978-3-478084383 .
  • 365 signs of hope: devotions for the whole year , projection J Verlag, Asslar 2001, 5th edition Hower of Power Verlag, Augsburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-941980181 .
  • Tears become gems: Suffering and pain overcoming (orig. Turning hurts into halos and scars into stars ), projection J Verlag, Asslar 2003, 6th edition Gerth Medien, Asslar 2006, ISBN 978-3-894904654 .
  • My journey through life: Autobiography (translation by Thomas Braas and Frank Ley, orig. My journey ), Gerth Medien, Asslar 2004, 2nd edition, Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-941980150 .
  • Heaven on earth: Instructions for a happy life (translation by Marianne Magnus, orig. The be happy attitudes ), Projektion J, Asslar 2004, ISBN 978-3-894905262 .
  • With the wings of the eagle: with God's help survive difficult times (translation by Thomas Braas, orig.Tough times never last, but tough people do! ), Gerth Medien, Asslar 2005, ISBN 978-3-865910417 .
  • Don't throw away your tomorrow !: live God's dream for your life (translation by Elly Grothof-Nouwen and Thomas Braas, orig. Don't throw away tomorrow ), Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2006, ISBN 978-3- 941980099 .
  • Hours of power: my daily book of motivation and inspiration (translation by Elly Grothof-Nouwen), Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-941980037 .
  • Life is not fair, but God is good: how life's challenges turn into personal triumphs (orig. Life's not fair, but God is good ), Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-941980044 .
  • Powerful prayers for a positive life (translated by Sebastian Bartram, orig. Positive prayers for power-filled ), Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-941980013 .
  • Discover your possibilities - and live them: the way to the possibility thinker (translation by Martin Sakals, orig. Move ahead with possibility thinking ), Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-941980006 .
  • Promises of God: Draw new strength from the Bible (orig. God's power promises for you ), Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-941980136 .
  • Success never ends - failure is never final (translation by Désirée Krumper, orig. Success is never ending - failure is never final ), Hour-of-Power Verlag, Augsburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-941980143 .

Web links

Commons : Robert Schuller  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Emily Langer: Robert H. Schuller, 'Hour of Power' televangelist, dies at 88 . Washington Post, April 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ Letting in the Light by Steve Thomas ( Memento from November 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Obituary Dr. Schuller ( Memento from July 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), hourofpower.de, article from April 2015.
  4. ^ Rev. Robert H. Schuller, "Hour of Power" Evangelist, dies at 88 , cnbc.com, obituary dated April 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Dr. Robert H. Schuller: founder, speaker, motivator, author ( memento from January 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), hourofpower.ch, accessed on December 30, 2014.
  6. ↑ Fritz Wirth: Der liebe Gott provides the script for the show. True prophets are rare: How criminal dealers of "divine" messages robbed American TV preachers of their reputation , Die Welt, March 23, 1998
  7. ↑ Crystal Cathedral International Board announces changes ( Memento from November 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Schuller ousted from Crystal Cathedral board ( Memento of July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ Fritz Wirth: Der liebe Gott provides the script for the show. True prophets are rare: How criminal dealers of "divine" messages robbed American TV preachers of their reputation , Die Welt, March 23, 1998
  10. ↑ a b c d e Syncretistic new religions u. Movements: Crystal Cathedral: criticism .
  11. ↑ Wolfgang Bühne : Prophet or Heretic? , Idea , article January 13, 2005.
  12. ^ Crystal Cathedral. In: Structurae
  13. ↑ Statement of Faith ( Memento of February 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ^ Obituary for Robert H. Schuller, in: Powerful Life (PDF; 6404 kB) ( Memento from July 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), hourofpower.ch
  15. ↑ Robert Harold Schuller: Honors and Memberships ( Memento from April 23, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), wheyat.com, accessed on April 22, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Schuller, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schuller, Robert Harold (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American television preacher
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Alton , Iowa , Iowa
DATE OF DEATH 2nd April 2015
Place of death Artesia , California