The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif. (Flickr/Christopher Paulin)
A woman who rents out camels is among creditors who have been stiffed by the Crystal Cathedral, and says the church’s publicly-stated intention to pay the $7.5 million it owes to various small businesses or employees was a sham, it was reported today.
And church officials say bankruptcy may be pending for the megachurch, a one-time drive-in house of worship that grew into a worldwide television religious powerhouse.
Kristina Oliver told the Orange County Register that she lost her house to foreclosure because the once-famous megachurch has been unwilling or unable to pay her the $50,000 it owes for renting camels and other animals for its holiday pageants.
Oliver had been sitting on a panel of creditors set up to negotiate with the church and help it avoid bankruptcy. “I honestly believed that the church was going to come up with an equitable plan to pay us all,” she told the newspaper.
“But I now know that all they wanted to do was string us along,” she was quoted.
The son in law of Cathedral founder Rev. Robert H. Schuller told theRegister he was unaware of the impasse between the church and the creditors until the panel of small creditors sent a letter to him Thursday.
“If the vendor committee stops working with us, we will have no choice but to file Chapter 11 (bankruptcy), because we don’t have the money to pay them right away,” said Jim Penner, a board member of the church and Schuller’s son in law.
Penner told the Register that paying the woman who supplied the Crystal Cathedral with rented camels, and the other vendors, is the church’s goal because “it’s Biblical.”
“But we don’t have $7.5 million in the bank,” he told the paper.
Several television broadcasters and an equipment rental company have sued the church for millions of dollars they are owed. But many of the vendors are small business people, like the camel wrangler, a dry cleaner and a props manager for the once-famous “Glory of Easter” pageant.
The Cathedral was founded by Schuller at a drive-in movie theater not far from Disneyland, that at one time purchased time on hundreds of television stations around the world to spread Schuller’s sermons in a TV show called “Hour of Power.” The church has had succession problems in the Schuller family, and is reportedly $55 million in debt.
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Wish the author had noted the value of the physical property the church has. Is it more than the $55 million they owe?
Obviously, very poor stewards of their own money and other peoples! One of the principles of Christianity!
…Why am I less-then-suprised that the Schiller monstrosity, aka the ‘Crystal Cathedral’, a symbol of the Gospel-Of_Aqusition movement, (a Ferengi-like interpretation of so-called ‘Christianity’), CAN’T pay it’s debts by such a houmongous amount?
Bad enough that religious conservatives, sensing their waining social influence, pull out their pocket howitzers eveytime someone buys birth control, etc.;
Worse that these churchs use every ‘duck & weave’ tactic in the book, (like the money laundering scandal at ‘N.A.M.B.L.A., on the Tiber’, aka The Vatican), AND feel they have ‘special rights’ to encourage violence against gays, woman & other miniorities, while proclaiming their piety!
If true, $55 million in debt after selling donated property is virtually criminally irresponsibe. After all these years, no leadership.
Read this link about living debt-free:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/17/inam.soaries.dfree.pulpit/index.html?hpt=T2
Curious to see the inflated payroll of this “church”. I’m sure the family has gotten rich. Let’s investigate how big there houses are, what kind of luxury cars they drive, etc. I hope they get what they deserve. But they won’t. Yet another reason I don’t trust Christians.
Have you ever seen Schuller Sr. or Schuller Jr. preach from an open bible? Unfortunately, all either one of them ever preached was a bunch of feel-good psycho-theo babble that was little more than apostacy from beginning to end. God will NOT be mocked.
When will religious people wake and realize that religion is just another scam to take your money?
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I was suckered by PTL, I understand…we were lied to too. Sr. Schuller, by his wicked fruits…was not a Christian. Just because someone says he is a ‘Christian’ and sits on a bench on Sunday, or one so called ‘preaches’ the gospel, does not make one a Christian. ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ that are in many churches, can’t be trusted. One reads the Word of God and trust Jesus Christ, not MAN. Most people don’t seriously read the Bible or read it at all. Can you trust the religion of secular humanism, communism either? Can we trust Washington who also stole our money? And lied? and killed? no one is born without sin, except Jesus Christ. the ‘isms’ are religions too. Some of these ‘preachers’ belong to cults of secret clubs who worship Lucifer.( that is their ‘god’)Many of us were lied to, but learned the hard way. Investigate Schuller too. He had no fruits of the Holy Ghost, no righteous actions. ‘Pretty’ does not cover sin. Millions in debt? I see no example of Christ renting camels to spread the gospel. what rubbish! false prophets are everywhere. Jesus is the Rock, not man, fallen angel or new age religion. A beautiful building and false ministries will not bring people to Christ Jesus. don’t go on credit and we should pay our bills. It is stealing, if we don’t pay. Go without, better to wear rags than to ‘look’ successful. Our states and cities did that too. built, built and went on credit, now the whole nation is in debt. No wisdom of God about all that. Now is the time to turn to the Rock of Christ Jesus, everything else is sinking sand. Pray, forgive and don’t be a coward.
For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written. (Romans 2:24)
“Curious to see the inflated payroll of this “church”. I’m sure the family has gotten rich. Let’s investigate how big there houses are, what kind of luxury cars they drive, etc. I hope they get what they deserve. But they won’t. Yet another reason I don’t trust Christians.”
There is nothing Christian about the Schullers. It’s a convenient front for their money-making activities. They peddle exactly the same stuff psycho-babble as Antony Robbins or any of the rest of the ‘positive thinking’ crowd. The only difference is a thin whitewash of religion.
just from friendly advice from the Word, “Man does not live by bread alone but from everyone word from the mouth of God”. It’s too bad that thousands hang their hats and souls on the preacher instead of the Word. Men are fallible, no excuses, but the LORD and His Word is infallible.
fixed my typo, sorry bout that… just from friendly advice from the Word, “Man does not live by bread alone but from every word from the mouth of God”. It’s too bad that thousands hang their hats and souls on the preacher instead of the Word. Men are fallible, no excuses, but the LORD and His Word is infallible.
Mr. Frano, and of course you know N.A.M.B.L.A. because you are a member.
I am astonished to hear the news as we have been blessed by the Sunday’s messages. Personally, I do not think God’s name is undermined. Rather, it is a matter of financial discipline as what is happening in the U.S.
Let’s pray that the church can withstand the crisis, although running a family-like organization is never an easy task.
“26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” That is all I have to say to ALL churches. According to their master, they should not worry. Money should appear out of thin air…if they have faith! LOL
Re: Andre LaChapelle’s statement, “According to their master, they should not worry. Money should appear out of thin air…if they have faith! LOL” – - -
The Bible actually tells us not to get in debt and, if we do get in debt, to pay our debts in order to avoid such situations as this.
My concern has to do with the Schullers taking trips to China when their debts are forcing others into foreclosure. I also have to wonder why they built such grand monuments instead of saving for this very rainy day. Schuller Sr. grew up during the Great Depression. He surely knew another time of economic trouble would come. That trouble has been building since the early 1970s, after all.
I agree with statements made about there being too little emphasis on the Bible. Jim Penner uses the Bible much more than Schuller Sr or his daughter does. Schuller Jr. wanted to make the service more Bible based and was fired for it.
Long story short, the Schullers seem to have made some very human mistakes and now are having to pay for them – just as we all do.