Many evangelical churches and media ministries are husband-and-wife or family operations, so it’s fascinating to watch the power dynamics during times of transition. The founding pastor is typically a headstrong person who built the enterprise from the ground up. He (and it is almost always a “he” in the evangelical world) is a driven leader accustomed to calling the shots and getting his way. Like any family business, it is difficult for the patriarch to surrender control to the next generation, especially when there are competing claims to the throne. Advanced age and declining health can force a change, but sometimes the leader stays around too long and the ministry suffers.
The most notable example of that was the Schuller family in Orange County. The founder, Robert H. Schuller, was a skilled but headstrong pastor who built the Crystal Cathedral and ran the “Hour of Power” TV ministry. I interviewed Schuller’s eldest son, Robert A. Schuller, who was the heir apparent. The elder Schuller made disastrous financial commitments such as building a $40 million welcoming center designed by Richard Meier. Meanwhile, the ministry was seeing a decline in TV viewership and attendance. Robert A. Schuller said his father was suffering from dementia by 2000 but was still chairing board meetings until the son took over in 2006.
Robert A. Schuller attempted to impose standard practices for governing nonprofits. That meant removing some family members and in-laws from the board who had conflicts of interest because they were also employees. They rebelled and diminished his role, forcing him to resign. In 2009 the board announced the family’s eldest daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman, would become senior pastor.
In 2010, the Crystal Cathedral filed for bankruptcy protection, reporting a $43 million debt. The filing revealed hefty salaries and benefits for Schuller family members on the church’s payroll. Sheila Schuller Coleman broke away to found her own church. The elder Schullers cut their ties with the Crystal Cathedral, leaving them with few assets and little income. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange purchased the forty-acre campus and converted the Crystal Cathedral into Christ Cathedral.
Robert H. Schuller died in 2015 at the age of 88. Schuller’s daughter, Carol, issued an appeal through a GoFundMe account to help pay for the funeral on the plaza outside the church he had built. The campaign raised about $6,100 from forty-four donors. Schuller and his wife, Arvella, are buried together on the cathedral’s grounds. Robert A. Schuller left ministry to pursue business projects and to host a daily radio show. He now runs a drive-in church in Newport Beach. His son, Bobby Schuller, pastors a small church in Orange County that is considered to be the successor church to the Crystal Cathedral.
The Schullers violated one of management guru Peter Drucker’s lessons: Never choose your own successor. Rick Warren followed that rule in August when he stepped aside from Saddleback and handed it off to someone who was not a family member or associate. Too many evangelical entrepreneurs are fixated on maintaining their hold on power that allows them to keep the money flowing to the family.