FOR SALE : Crystal Cathedral

The bankruptcy sale of Reverend Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral has all the drama of a genuine holy war, but the entire mess boils down to who's going to get the "Almighty Dollar" – actually, dollar should be pluralized. Schuller's mega-church is $50 million in debt and the church's creditors are tired of waiting for their payments. Earlier this year the creditors forced the Crystal Cathedral into bankruptcy after the ministry defaulted on its debts. Ministry assets, including the Crystal Cathedral are currently being liquidated in a court-ordered sale to satisfy the ministry's obligations, but the church's ministry is still fighting to prevent the sale.

Here's where the Catholic Church entered the fray. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County wants to build a Cathedral. By their own estimates, building such a Cathedral would cost the Diocese well over $100 million dollars. On the other hand, buying the Crystal Cathedral at a liquidation sale would save the Diocese over $50 million, and they wouldn't have to deal with all the hassles of a construction project. So, the Catholics have submitted a $53.6 million bid.

Not so fast, you papists! Officials at Chapman University, a university with ties to the Disciples of Christ – a Protestant denomination, want the Crystal Cathedral too. They've only bid $50 million for the building, but they're sweetening the deal by agreeing to lease the building back to the Crystal Cathedral ministries. I'm sure the Pope is crying foul.

David Green, an evangelical CEO reportedly filed a bid of over $50 million too.

Finally, the Cathedral Ministry has put out its own call for a miracle…asking listeners to show that God is on their side by forking over donations so the ministry can pay off its debts and avoid the sale.

It's hard to figure out which party will get God's endorsement, but there's one thing for sure – the endorsement is going to cost over fifty million dollars. I hope God's good for it!