First the king stepped aside for the crown prince. Unfortunately for the prince, the king found his son’s performance as monarch unsatisfactory, so he got the nobility to give him back his throne and banish the prince to the wilderness. Then the king, having finally grown too old to continue his duties, decided it was time to elevate his daughter, the crown princess, to the throne. The important thing, of course, was to keep the throne in the family.
This may sound like a European royal soap opera, but instead it is being played out in southern California, specifically at the Crystal Cathedral. The Reformed Church in America congregation founded in a drive-in theater by the Rev. Robert Schuller in 1955 has a new leader, and you can guess who she is. According to the Associated Press:
The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founder of Southern California’s Crystal Cathedral megachurch and host of the “Hour of Power” televangelism broadcast, announced Sunday he will retire after 55 years in the pulpit and his daughter will take over.
The 83-year-old Schuller told his congregation that Sheila Schuller Coleman will become sole lead pastor, after sharing that role with her father for the past year.
Coleman previously served as principal of a private Christian school run by the cathedral and head of the Orange County church’s family ministries division.
She was ordained just a month before she was appointed to head up Crystal Cathedral Ministries.
Coleman’s appointment comes two years after Schuller’s son, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, split from the church during a family rift that made headlines. The younger Schuller had been groomed to take over for his father.
Robert A. Schuller is now part of Dallas-based American Life Network, a cable channel aiming to produce family-oriented programming.
I will admit that I’ve never been a fan of Robert Schuller, who built his church aping Norman Vincent Peale and eviscerating the gospel. Part of the reason he forced his son out, so I’ve heard, is that he objected to a more biblical focus on Christ and the cross, which perhaps Schuller Sr. thought made him look bad. I know nothing about his daughter, though it doesn’t sound like she has anything like the pastoral experience to lead a congregation such as the Crystal Cathedral (was she really approved for this position by the California Classis?). But here’s the real question that I pose for discussion: is it valid for Reformed churches to become what amount to family kingdoms, with children succeeding parents in leadership?
The Reformed Pastor 
July 11, 2010 at 5:38 pm
I’m no fan of the Schuller’s … they seem to do what they want despite what a “Reformed” classis would ordinarily do.
But…
1. The RCA seems like a pretty lame “Reformed” body.
2. I’m not sure how one would get experience to pastor that monstrosity. It would be an amazing nightmare to take over. Those knowing the challenges ahead would probably be smart enough to say “no”. Maybe her job of running an elementary school and dealing with children and whiny parents is ideal!
3. Say what you will, most small reformed churches are train wrecks. Their “session” thinks being an elder means micromanaging the pastor when usually they are completely ignorant of scripture and their chief qualification for being a “ruling elder” is that they fog a mirror!
So while I admit that I too was a bit stunned over the news, compared to the little or nothing for Christ’s kingdom most reformed churches get done, I wondered if the reformed system is much better really.
I’m not criticizing you… I’ve loved your coverage of the PCUSA GA. I just think the situation in most mainline reformed churches is such a joke, how is this one really that much worse?
At least they have a catechism class there! God bless my brother!
July 11, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Good response, Ken. That’s my impression of the RCA as well.
July 11, 2010 at 6:30 pm
As to the question of whether ‘Reformed’ churches (or any churches) should be family fiefdoms, the answer is clearly no. But I’m not sure the evangelical Reformed denominations are that much better. We too have our own version of something too closely resembling a self-perpetuating order. There are voices in the wilderness in both the EPC and PCA who are pointing out that our pastor class isn’t particularly diverse, and not just in terms of race, but life and educational background as well. It’s a tough issue to be sure, and I for one don’t have a whole lot of answers as to how to tangibly broaden the pastoral call beyond the familiar, while not compromising on the essentials of Reformed evangelicalism. I’m concerned that while I have some idears, I don’t know that I have many answers. But I’m considerably more concerned that more folks aren’t even asking the questions or willing to consider that this needs to be seriously looked at given the church’s post-Christian and increasingly post-Caucasian mission field in America.
July 11, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Jason,
I’m not sure what you mean about the need to broaden the diversity of the EPC and PCA pastoral classes. I could use an example of what you mean. One could argue that the PCA has too much diversity, as the “By Faith” magazine I think has identified at least 6 camps within the PCA.
The question posed about children succeeding parents in pastoral roles is interesting. The whole question of how to pass on from one pastor to another has many approaches. I understand (not from reading any primary sources, though) that there is a presbyterian tradition of co-pastor which is supposed to ease this type of transition. The EPC last year rejected that method. In the end, it is about the congregation issuing a call to a pastor to serve, with the presbytery approving the call. Normally, in a presbyterian circle, a son would not be called to replace the father. The pastor replacing a previous pastor has enough trouble filling the shoes of the previous guy without having the “What would your father say” phrase hanging over him.
July 13, 2010 at 3:13 am
“But here’s the real question that I pose for discussion: is it valid for Reformed churches to become what amount to family kingdoms, with children succeeding parents in leadership?”
I would generally agree with the thrust of your comments. But remember that Jonathan Edwards was brought in to Northampton Church while his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, was minister, and eventually succeeded him.
July 13, 2010 at 7:33 am
Good point, Jim.
July 13, 2010 at 7:42 am
Lyle Schaller, who wrote dozens of books about the dynamics at work in Protestant congregations, long ago made the point that churches of the same size function in similar ways. A small Lutheran congregation is more similar in its dynamics to a small Baptist or Presbyterian or United Methodist congregation than it is similar to a large Lutheran church.
The real comparison here is to other large ministries in America; and there is a definite history of attempts at family dynasties. Oral Roberts and Billy Graham both come to mind as recent examples. I say ‘attempts’, for I’ve seen marginal long-term success in the second and third generations continuing the ministry. It seems that these ministries are really built around a charismatic (using that in a sociological sense, not theological) figure; it flounders when trying to transform itself into an more stable, rational institution.
July 13, 2010 at 7:06 pm
You are going to have episcopacy one way or another. Better to have an established method with rights, duties and responsibilities and capable of being removed than making it up on the fly according to the whims of the powerful.