Crystal Cathedral’s Schuller, 88, dies

ARTESIA, Calif. – The Rev. Robert Schuller, a California televangelist and author who beamed his upbeat messages on faith and redemption to millions of followers from his landmark Crystal Cathedral only to see his empire crumble in his waning years, has died. He was 88.

Schuller died Thursday at a care facility in Artesia, daughter Carol Schuller Milner said. He was diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer in 2013.

Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said they were saddened by the passing of a man who offered them “unfailing kindness and wise counsel” during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

“From the people who filled the pews of the Crystal Cathedral to the millions who embraced his ministry on television and through his books, Robert Schuller was a beacon of faith, hope, and love,” the Clintons said in a joint statement.

Once a ubiquitous presence on Sunday morning television, Schuller faded from view in recent years after watching his church collapse amid a disastrous leadership transition and sharp declines in viewership and donations that forced the ministry to file for bankruptcy.

The soaring, glass-paned Crystal Cathedral – the touchstone of Schuller’s career – was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in 2011. Schuller lost a legal battle the following year to collect more than $5 million from his former ministry over claims of copyright infringement and breach of contract.

Schuller, who preached in a flowing purple robe and outsized aviator glasses, led an evangelical Protestant ministry that was a product of modern technology. He and his late wife, Arvella, started a ministry in 1955 with $500 when he began preaching from the roof of a concession stand at a drive-in movie theater southeast of Los Angeles.

The church’s motto – “Come as you are in the family car” – tapped into the burgeoning Southern California auto culture and the suburban boom of post-World War II America.

By 1961, the church had a brick-and-mortar home, and Schuller began broadcasting his “Hour of Power” in 1970.

In 1980, he built the glass-and-steel Crystal Cathedral in the Orange County city of Garden Grove to house his booming TV ministry, which was broadcast live each week from the 2,800-seat sanctuary. At its peak in the 1990s, the program had 20 million viewers in about 180 countries.

Schuller’s message – that “possibility thinking” and love of God overcome hardships – was a uniquely American blend of Bible and psychology. It was inspired by late author Norman Vincent Peale, who wrote “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Schuller also wrote more than 30 books, including several best-sellers.

Schuller’s admirers included fellow evangelist Billy Graham and Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. His friendship with President Bill Clinton raised eyebrows among conservative Republicans.