The Rev. Robert H. Schuller handed over the leadership of the Crystal Cathedral to his only son on Sunday, ending a half-century as pastor of a church he started in a drive-in movie theater in Orange County and built into a worldwide ministry.
Schuller, 79, waited until the close of his New Year's Day sermon to announce that Robert A. Schuller would succeed him as senior pastor Jan. 22. He will also take over the popular "Hour of Power," a religious program broadcast around the world.
"Bob needs your prayers," Schuller said, fighting back tears, his strong voice wavering with emotion. "But it is up to the congregation, not this guy or that guy -- to make it happen."
The younger Schuller asked the congregation for help. "I need your prayers. I covet your prayers. From the time I was born, God has equipped me and allowed me to take on this incredible challenge. I am honored and humbled."
Like the pastor sons of evangelists Billy Graham and Oral Roberts, Robert A. Schuller, 51, follows a well-known figure of 20th century American Protestantism. But unlike televangelists such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, the elder Schuller stayed out of politics.
He set the tone for his upbeat ministry by first preaching from the roof of a drive-in theater snack bar in 1955. Setting aside the fire-and-brimstone sermons then common, Schuller developed a relentlessly optimistic form of Christianity that linked the power of positive thinking and self-esteem with uplifting Gospel messages. The mix was appealing enough to pack his church and attract millions of TV viewers around the world.
His ministry became a model for the thousands of nondenominational congregations -- including some of the nation's largest churches -- that have popped up in recent decades to serve believers uncomfortable with the formality of old-line faiths.
"Schuller is to be credited as one of the inventors of the megachurch," said Donald E. Miller, director for USC's Center for Religion and Civic Culture. "I suppose he is also someone who caused critics to raise questions whether this was just about marketing or about the truth of religion."
A devotee of the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, the power-of-positive-thinking pioneer, Schuller has written more than 30 books, including five New York Times bestsellers. His writing is filled with aphorisms such as "inch by inch, it's a cinch," "turn your scars into stars" and "I will bloom where I am planted today!"
