Robert Schuller Dies At Age 88
Dr. Robert Harold Schuller died at an Orange County, California Artesia care facility Thursday. Reverend Robert Schuller is best noted for his Hour of Power television ministry and founder of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.
Dr. Schuller’s Protestant ministry was part of the Reformed Church in America. Robert Schuller and his late wife, Arvella, began their evangelical ministry on just $500 in 1955.
The reverend’s beginnings include preaching positive and uplifting messages from the rooftops of drive-in movie theaters in southern California.
Robert Schuller’s grandson, Bobby, had this to say about his grandfather.
“He was a young guy like me, and he was going out there and trying new things. He did so many amazing, innovative things.”
Reverend Schuller wrote numerous books on how positive thinking and having an optimistic attitude helps a person get through tough times in life. He also provided examples and ways to withstand and overcome the hardships that come with living.
For example, Robert Schuller’s daughter, Carol, lost part of her leg because of a 1978 motorcycle accident. However, Carol went on to become a championship skier.
Dr. Schuller wrote, “When tough times come, we need to take tough action, to hold on until the tide turns for the better, to tenaciously dig in and bloom where we are planted.”
The Associated Press reported the Reverend Robert Harold Schuller was born in Alton, Iowa, in 1926. In 1950, the Reformed Church in America ordained Schuller. From 1950 to 1955 Reverend Schuller was pastor of Ivanhoe Reformed Church in Chicago.
Schuller’s $20 million Crystal Cathedral was completed in 1980.
In the 90s, Reverend Schuller’s friendship with President William Clinton resulted in the motivational speaker and author becoming inundated with a slew of letters and telephone calls from irate people.
In a 1992 radio interview, Dr. Schuller responded, “I do let people know how great their sins and miseries are. I don’t do that by standing in a pulpit and telling them they’re sinners. The way I do it is ask questions. Are you happy? Do you have problems, what are they? So then, I come across as somebody who cares about them.”
The Washington Post reports Dr. Schuller was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2013. However, he decided to withdraw from receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatments after his wife died.
Robert Schuller’s wife, Arvella, died on February 11, 2014, following a brief illness. Robert Schuller and Arvella had one son, Robert A. Schuller, and four daughters, Carol, Jeanne, Gretchen, and Sheila.
[Photo via PRWeb]
