Robert H Schuller

Chapman University, Diocese of Orange emerge as front-runners for Crystal ...

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Chapman University and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange appear to be the front-runners to buy the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral, but if church insiders vote to block the sale of the property, creditors vowed to sue, according to court documents filed Tuesday.</p><p> In that event, the creditors committee will attempt to recover what it sees as "preferential" payments to church insiders in the two years leading up to the church's Chapter 11 filing, the documents said.</p><p> A spokesman for the Crystal Cathedral did not return a request for comment. More than a dozen family members have been employed by the church and a U.S. trustee for the bankruptcy court has questioned the job duties of several insiders.</p><p> As part of the filing by the creditors committee, a compromise also was offered: the church's board can pick a buyer - with the committee's approval - or the creditors group will pick one that might not include lease-back or buyback options.</p><p> The documents also warned that if insiders vote to reject its plan, it will also attempt to recover money from the May 2010 sale of the church's 170-acre Rancho Capistrano property that was deposited into a trust account.</p><p> Potential buyers for the Garden Grove church to exit Chapter 11 were named, but the filing mainly focused on the diocese and the university, revealing that both raised their bids by several million dollars.</p><p> The committee also called for a sale price of at least $50 million, the amount the church said it owed its creditors when it filed for bankruptcy last October.</p><p> Church officials announced 10 days ago that it no longer wanted to solicit offers for the property and instead began a faith-based effort to pay its debt, relying on donations. Now, the creditors committee will move forward with a potential exit plan for the church, founded by Robert H. Schuller. That plan is expected in the coming days.</p><p> The Diocese of Orange, according to the documents filed Tuesday, increased its cash offer from $50 million to $53.6 million and would require the Crystal Cathedral's ministry to leave the property after three years.</p><p> The extra $3.6 million would be used as rent payments for the church for two years. If the church leaves sooner, then it would receive the remaining balance. The diocese also would attempt to help it find a new space of at least 50,000 square feet.</p><p> "This sanctuary should remain a place of worship and remembrance, nothing less," Bishop Tod D. Brown said in a statement Tuesday.</p><p> Brown has said that the diocese needs a worship space for the more than 1.2 million parishioners in Orange County. The 3,000-seat Crystal Cathedral is a less expensive alternative to a proposed $100-million Catholic cathedral project in Santa Ana.</p><p> Chapman University amended its original offer of $46 million to $50 million and also offered the church two individuals related to Chapman with "extensive experience in business, financial and operational strategy," according to a letter dated Aug. 4. This option allows the church to lease back and repurchase core buildings and land, including the cathedral, the Tower of Hope and the memorial gardens.</p><p> University President James L. Doti did not return repeated requests for comment, but in the same letter, he wrote that Chapman "wants the ministry to take advantage of the repurchase right."</p><p> "The Crystal Cathedral is one of the most significant and beloved buildings in the world, and the ministry should have every opportunity to own it once again," he wrote.</p><p> The documents also disclosed that there is a new potential buyer for the property but gave no specifics.</p><p> The committee statement mentioned other formal proposals, a $47.5-million bid from arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby, and a $50-million one from My Father's House Church International, which was singled out as an "inferior" offer.</p><p> The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 14 in Santa Ana.

Rev. Robert H. Schuller voted off Crystal Cathedral board ...

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller has been ousted from the board of directors at the Crystal Cathedral, the Orange County megachurch he built into a televised empire after getting his start preaching from the roof of a drive-in theater, his son said Sunday night.

Schuller, 84, stepped down from the pulpit five years ago and had long before ceded day-to-day control of the Garden Grove ministry, largely to his children and other relatives.

There were conflicting reports about what had taken place between Schuller and the board members. But Robert Anthony Schuller said his father was ousted because he had proposed adding new members to the board, which he described as blighted by conflicts of interest.

"My father wanted to add board members, and they didn't want that because they would lose control," said the younger Schuller, who was himself voted off the board three years ago. "They kicked him off. ... I feel bad for him because he's had to watch his life's work go down the toilet the last three years."

The elder Schuller, who had been a non-voting but influential member of the board with the title chairman emeritus, could not be reached for comment.

Jim Coleman, president of Crystal Cathedral and the husband of Robert H. Schuller’s daughter, declined to comment when reached by telephone Sunday night. His wife, Sheila Schuller Coleman, took control of the church more than two years ago, marking a family schism that has dogged the ministry, culminating in its bankruptcy.

Several longtime church members and officials said Sunday that they found Robert H. Schuller’s departure from the board startling -- and an unsettling reminder that the church’s leadership and finances are in chaos.

"It’s an unusual thing," said Jim Case, a former board member who also confirmed Schuller’s ouster. "It surprises me." He said the board’s decision was part of an ongoing "power grab.

RT @: Rt @: RT @: Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.~ Robert H. Schuller

RT @: RT@ : Rt @: RT @: Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.~ Robert H. Schuller...

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines. Robert H. Schuller

High achievers spot rich opportunities swiftly, make big decisions quickly and move into action immediately. ~ Robert H. Schuller

RT@ : Rt @: RT @: Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.~ Robert H. Schuller...

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