Robert H. Schuller

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The Reverend Robert Harold Schuller, (born September 16, 1926) is an American televangelist and pastor known around the world through his weekly Hour of Power television service.

Schuller was born in Alton, Iowa to a family of Dutch ancestry and, after finishing his studies at Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, was ordained as a minister in the Reformed Church in America. He worked in Chicago before moving to Garden Grove, California where, after humble beginnings, the Garden Grove Community Church was opened in 1955 in the Orange Drive-In Theatre, which Schuller rented for $500. Many consider this the first "seeker-sensitive" church in the world.^{[citation needed]} Renamed the Crystal Cathedral in 1980 it is the denomination's largest congregation in terms of membership.

Strongly influenced by his mentor, Norman Vincent Peale, Schuller has focused in his teaching on the positive aspects of Christianity. Rather than concentrating on condemning people for sin, he encourages Christians (and non-Christians) to achieve great things through God, uplifting theology and positive thinking. Such doctrines have led to some spirited criticism by many evangelicals.^{[citation needed]} Schuller holds Viktor Frankl to have been one of the two greatest psychiatrists of the past century. ^[1]

Dr. Schuller is the author of numerous Christian and self-help books including Way To The Good Life (1963); Move Ahead With Possibility Thinking (1967); Self-Love (1975); You Can Be The Person You Want To Be (1976); Self-Esteem: The New Reformation (1982); Living Positively One Day At A Time (1986); My Journey: From An Iowa Farm To A Cathedral Of Dreams (2001); Hours of Power (2004) and, his most recent, Don't Throw Away Tomorrow (2005).

Since 1948, Dr. Schuller is married to Arvella De Haan who has been closely involved in making decisions about the television ministry. Arvella was a church organist and was very instrumental in developing the music department at the Crystal Cathedral. They have one son, two daughters, 19 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. ^[2] His son, Robert A. Schuller, born 1954 took over as senior pastor of Crystal Cathedral on January 22, 2006. Dr. Schuller currently serves as the Founding Pastor of the church and periodically appears alongside his son during Hour of Power services, interviewing selected guests.

Contents 1 Quotes 2 Books 3 External links 4 Notes

[edit] Quotes

• "My denomination shunned me when they heard I was preaching in a drive-in theater."

• "What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?"

• "Tough times never last, but tough people do."

• "God loves you and so do I!"

• "Make your dreams big enough for God to fit-in."

• "Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly."

• "I don't think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and, hence, counterproductive to the evangelism enterprise than the often crude, uncouth, and unchristian strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition."

• "If the gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed as a theology of self-esteem, imagine the health this could generate in society!"

• "I may not deserve it [salvation] but I am worth it so don't say that I am unworthy."

[edit] Books

• Prayer: My Soul's Adventure with God, Doubleday, 1995. ISBN 978-0385-48505-0

[edit] External links

• Letting in the Light by Steve Thomas
• Information and Critics

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Lydia Rose Proenza. Jerry Jampolsky, MD & Diane Cirincione, PHD. Hour of Power. Retrieved on 2007-11-04.
2. ^ [1]