Posted on 05/27/2011 11:21:48 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Crystal Cathedral is being put on the market as the church seeks a way out of its crippling debt.
The Orange County church is hoping the sale of its imposing glass building will generate enough revenue to save it from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and make good with some 550 creditors.
It has been looking for an exit strategy from its financial woes ever since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October.
The reorganization plan includes the sale of the 40-acre campus to a real estate group with a guaranteed option of leasing it back for 15 years.
After four years, the church would have the option of buying back the Crystal Cathedral, the 13-story Tower of Hope, the welcome center and the cemetery.
Not part of the buy-back deal, however, is the Family Life Center, the campus’s four-story office building that is already up for sale.
Creditors and vendors are still waiting for a combined total of $7.5 million in overdue payments from the church, which it has promised to re-pay in the next 42 months.
No details have been given about potential buyers or the sale price. The Southern California megachurch, whose founder is Robert H. Schuller, is set to be considered at a June 1 hearing.
Church spokesman John Charles told the LA Times: “It’s great news. It gives us the opportunity to pay everybody off and start fresh.”
The Crystal Cathedral will still continue its ministry, which includes worship services, community outreach programs and the weekly Hour of Power broadcast, uninterrupted.
Sheila Schuller Coleman, senior pastor and daughter of the founder, expressed optimism in the new plan, noting that paying back the creditors has been a top priority and that this is the chance to finally do so.
“We are pleased that we are able to honor the debt that we have incurred and to honor the creditors who are due their payment,” she said in a statement.
"The Crystal Cathedral Ministries would like to thank our church members and friends around the world who have given from their hearts to help rebuild a solid foundation from which we can continue our ministry and launch the new vision for the Crystal Cathedral Ministries."
The new vision includes stepping up community outreach efforts such as feeding the hungry and providing resources for job searches.
The reorganization plan includes the sale of the 40-acre campus to a real estate group with a guaranteed option of leasing it back for 15 years. After four years, the church would have the option of buying back the Crystal Cathedral, the 13-story Tower of Hope, the welcome center and the cemetery. Not part of the buy-back deal, however, is the Family Life Center, the campus’s four-story office building that is already up for sale.
Related threads:
Feds Probe Salaries at Bankrupt Megachurch
Crystal Cathedral megachurch files for bankruptcy
Mark Driscoll to Preach at Crystal Cathedral, ‘Hour of Power’
Passing the baton [Coral Ridge Presbyterian, Focus on the Family, and Hour of Power]
[2009] Man Kills Himself In Schuller's Crystal Cathedral
Televangelism Empire In Chaos Over Family Split
Crystal Cathedral TV preacher removed by father
What is Robert Schuller 'rethinking'?
Robert Schuller & Son on Larry King on Gay Marriage
The "Gospel" According to Schuller
Schuller's Son to Run Crystal Cathedral
[2004] Report: Shots Fired In Crystal Cathedral [C.C. Orchestra conductor, Johnnie Carl kills self]
550 creditors? Yeesh- their phones must be ringing off the hook all day.
Say what you will about Crystal Cathedral and Robert Schuller, but they were there for me at a very, very difficult time in my life.
I was watching out of curiosity one Sunday morning, when things were pretty bleak for me. When invited by Pr. Schuller, I called their 800 number to ask for prayer
And while they did not directly lead me to the Lord, I believe with all my heart that they were used by the Lord to point the way, which I found just a short time later.
Larry Carlton is an excellent Jazz guitar player who was shot in the throat by a couple of punks breaking into his house to steal his vintage guitars. He almost died.
But, after he miraculaously recovered, Larry Carlton was on Crystal Cathedral one Sunday morning, playing an acoustic guitar and singing a beautiful rendition of “Our Father Which Art in Heaven.”
It brings tears to my eyes to even think about it now.
God bless Robert Schuller.
God bless Crystal Cathedral, and may they find their way out of their problems and reconnect with the foundations of the Christian faith as taught in the Bible.
My inlaws used to attend there. They were huge financial supporters of the church. They were friends with the Schullers. I think most of the attendees there were part of their generation, and they are dying off now.
They passed away many years ago. They are interred in the Memorial Gardens at the church. I keep wondering if one day there will be a couple of urns shipped back to us C.O.D. because of the church’s financial woes.
After four years, the church would have the option of buying back the Crystal Cathedral, the 13-story Tower of Hope, the welcome center and the cemetery.
Uhhh. The cemetery is up for sale?
Who buys a cemetery, and what do they do with it?
And a ping to Gamecock for his megachurchianity list.
And the urns will be stamped "please return empty".
The main theme of Evelyn Waugh's novel The Loved One.
The movie starred Robert Morse, Rod Steiger (!) and Johnathan Winters as the Reverend Mister Glenworthy: "I've got to find a way to get these stiffs off my property!"
The YBPDLNPL is generally published infrequently, but based on the exploits of the megachurch pastors posts can spike for a period of time. If you would like on or off of this list please FReepmail me.
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If I was a foreclosing lender, I’d try to market it to Joel Olsteen to put in a huge screen and set up a second campus.
That one in Finland is imposing, but ugly. Perhaps they could rent it out for a low budget sci-fi movie.
Why are they in debt in the first place?
Why are they in debt in the first place?
Flashy pageants, is my understanding.
Are you sure it’s not the sexual abuse of minors? I’m not trying to be degrading, but if church members were tithing, I would think the church would be self-supporting.
Is there more to this story than meets the eye (fingers)?
by Ken Connor
Of course, it’s not a cathedral at all. To be a cathedral, it would need a cathedra or bishop’s seat. To have a cathedra, it would need a bishop.
Is there more to this story than meets the eye (fingers)?
It could be that some of your perverted Catholic priests infiltrated the Crystal Cathedral but unlikey...
...Probably costs associated with television time and not enough supporter out there in tv land...
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