Sunday, October 26, 2008

Robert Schuller vs. Robert Schuller - 'Hour of Power' Preacher Removed by Father

UPDATE:

The Los Angeles Times has posted a nice article about this ministry development.

Dr. Al Mohler has also posted a helpful insight into this matter. Here is a snippet...

Was the younger Schuller ousted because he was preaching sermons the father considered to be too biblical in content?

In the elder Schuller's view, preaching "what is sin and isn't sin" is out of bounds for his television program. He explicitly identified the Crystal Cathedral as a "mission" first and then a church, with preaching about sin evidently out of bounds for a "mission."

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Robert Schuller, removes his son, Robert Jr., from the pulpit of The Crystal Cathedral. I don't know whether to laugh or...to laugh out loud.

FOXNews is reporting that the elder Schuller has removed his son because of a 'lack of shared vision' which has placed the entire ministry in a state of jeopardy.

I don't watch 'The Hour of Power' and have no idea of what would cause the elder Schuller to remove the younger Schuller. Moreover, this seems very strange given the ecclesiastical affiliation of this church within the Reformed Church of America (RCA). This denomination's structure is such that a minister cannot be removed without the action of the regional governing body, the classis. I guess that didn't stop senior Schuller from taking matters into his own hands.
This 'stunt' reminds of the time he was interviewed on The White Horse Inn radio program and got so upset that he walked out of the studio during a live broadcast. To make matters worse he came back into a studio a few minutes later only to make a fool of himself. Try to get your hands on that CD -- it's priceless.

Oh well, Robert Schuller Jr. might not have too much to worry about. This situation might play out the same way as what occurred in Atlanta a few years ago when there was a parting of the ways between Dr. Charles Stanley and his son, Andy Stanley. In that case the son went out and started a rather large church almost overnight.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a morbid curiosity about what is going on with this situation. According to the Press Release put out by the Cyrstal Cathedral, Robert Sr. said that the differences between himself and his son "was no secret". Could it be that Robert Jr. wanted to break away from the "conservative

Anonymous said...

....conservative roots of his father?

Jeannette said...

I did not know Schuller's church was affiliated with the RCA denomination. Are they not concerned with his heretical teaachings?

Anonymous said...

The RCA is sold out to pragmatism. If it works, it must be good.

Dave Sarafolean said...

Jim,

It looks like it was the other way around (see Al Mohler's comment).

Jeannette,

The RCA tolerates all sorts of stuff. Norman Vincent Peale was also in that denomination. He and Schuller have been upheld by RCA folk as models of effective ministry and being on the cutting edge.