THE CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL GOES BANKRUPT

Although I've regularly criticized televangelists and the ministries they operate as being little more than con artists operating under the banner of serving God's will, I find no solace in hearing that Reverend Robert H. Schuller's mega-church, the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California and its "Hour of Power" TV show are bankrupt. That predicament is likely to shake the faith of many of the church's followers and leave thousands of its supporters in a state of bewilderment. I wouldn't wish that type of crisis on any congregation

Still, you have to question how any church congregation or religious ministry could allow itself to become mired in $43 million dollars of debt. That's $4,300 worth of debt for each of the church's ten thousand members. Granted, that's not as bad as the national debt, but that's still a significant amount of debt.

Leaders at the Crystal Cathedral blame their situation on the drop-off in donations that accompanied the latest economic downturn, and there's no question that the economy has put a damper on charitable contributions in general, but I can't help but think that the opulence of the Crystal Cathedral itself is a testament to the long-time excesses of Reverend Schuller's ministry.

For years, Reverend Schuller preached a message of prosperity built upon the notion that positive thinking leads to prosperity, but that message is now suspect because all the positive thinking of his congregation was not successful in creating the necessary cash to meet the ministries' financial obligations or find a way to cut costs and still carry out their mission. And though many members of the Crystal Cathedral may feel that their own lack of positive thinking contributed to the current economic mess that faces their church, the real problem rests not with the members, but with the gospel of prosperity that their church leaders preached.

Positive thinking does not permit a person to ignore the workings of our financial world or operate as if God is a printer of money and will furnish all the cash a congregation needs if only a congregation maintains the proper mindset. For spreading that kind of false message, I blame Reverend Schuller and the rest of the leaders of the Crystal Cathedral. As a result of their misguided preaching, the members of their congregation must now suffer.