Megachurch Crystal Cathedral Ministries, founded by Robert H. Schuller, is selling its church and 40-acre campus to a real estate developer in Orange County for $46 million, to repay hundreds of creditors.

The property is being purchased by Greenlaw Partners of Newport Beach. The ministry can still lease the cathedral and core portions of the property for $212,000 monthly, the LA Times said.

Crystal Cathedral also has a 15-year guarantee of exclusive leasing rights in accordance with the Chapter 11 exit plan. The ministry wants to continue to broadcast Hour of Power, and other leased properties will be used for church administration, the LA Times reported.

Most of the $46 million paid by Greenlaw will go to some of Crystal Cathedral’s 550 creditors, the Orange County Register said.

Buy-back option

Under the agreement, the Schullers have a buy-back option within the next four years for the cathedral, most of the buildings and parking lots at $30 million, the Orange County Register reported.

Whether or not they can do that remains to be seen. In the last three years, out of total revenues of $70.8 million, the Cathedral lost $16.8 million, Orange County Register said. From January-April 2011, the church had a net loss of $1.4 million, the LA Times said.

Construction of apartments

What may be pivotal for the Schullers is the fact that Greenlaw has the right to construct apartments on areas that are now low-slung buildings, lawns and parking lots near the corner of Dawn Avenue and Lewis Street, Orange County Register said.

Greenlaw plans to build hundreds of apartments, and each one would knock off $20,000 from the $30 million that the ministry would have to pay to recover its cathedral and main buildings. This means some 400 apartments would slash off $8 million from its repurchase price, Orange County Register said.

Creditor approval required

The agreement requires approval by the Crystal Cathedral’s creditors, which number about 550. However, most of them do not qualify as eligible for full repayment, the LA Times said.

There are six categories of creditors who qualify payment from the proceeds of the sale. The first priority will be county tax authorities, followed by Farmers & Merchants Bank, which has a $36 million mortgage on Crystal Cathedral, LA Times reported.

The properties under mortgage are two campus buildings ( the Welcoming Center and the Family Life Center), a parking lot expansion, neighboring properties they acquired and refurbishments, the Orange County Register said.

The church owes $7.5 million to unsecured creditors including vendors who participated in Crystal Cathedral’s two major annual pageants—Glory of Christmas and Glory of Easter. Most vendor debt will be paid through sale proceeds, and the remainder will be repaid within the next 42 months, according to Orange County Register.

A statement filed by creditors to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court said that if Crystal Cathedral were not protected by the rules of bankruptcy, it would have “burned through $2 million in cash in the past six months,” Orange County Register said.

Condominium

Crystal Cathedral will also sell a Laguna Beach condominium valued at $999,000, the LA Times said. It may also lose its Family Life Center on Chapman Avenue, because its leasing rights are only for two years, and if Greenlaw finds new tenants, it has the right to terminate the lease, Orange County Register reported.

Reorganized church leadership

There will also be an internal reorganization of church leadership and control, with some financial power turned over to an independent board. The elder Schuller and Arvella, his wife, will sit on the board, but it will be controlled by outsiders who will control the budget and appoint a chief financial officer, Orange County Register said.

Under the bankruptcy plan, the chief financial officer will have an annual salary of $300,000, and he will be charged with revitalizing the church’s earnings which, in the last six months up to April 30, decreased by $4.6 million compared to the same period the year before, the LA Times said.

The plan will retain Sheila Schuller Coleman, daughter of Robert H. Schuller, as CEO, but her salary annually will be $69,525, the LA Times said. It will continue to hold services, conduct outreaches and broadcast Hour of Power weekly.

Filed for bankruptcy

Crystal Cathedral filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 18. It had by then sold several assets, downsized its staff and cut its air time in half. Its present congregation is now less than 5,000, Orange County Register said.

Robert H. Schuller stepped down from Crystal Cathedral in 2006, with the intention of turning over to his son, Rev. Robert A. Schuller. However, things went amiss and by 2008 the daughters of the founder and their husbands took over the church, LA Times said.

A financial statement showed that Crystal Cathedral lost $6.4 million in 2006, followed by $7 million lost in 2007, then $11.5 million lost in 2008 and $8.6 million in 2009 (with a 24 percent fall in donations that year). In 2010 it had a surplus of $141,000, but filed for bankruptcy in October with over $50 million owed to creditors, Orange County Register said.

In a statement, Schuller Coleman said, “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. We are thankful to the vendors for their patience and we are so sorry for any pain that they have incurred. To pay them back 100% has always been a top priority and we are grateful to God for providing the resources to be able to do just that,” LA Times reported.

Rev. Robert H. Schuller of the megachurch Cathedral of Praise passed the baton recently to his daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman.

Coleman, 59, has been an active leader in the Southern California church this past year. Previously she headed a Christian school under the church and led family ministries at the church in Orange County, the AP said.

Under the 83-year-old Schuller’s watch, for 55 years the church thrived. He will serve as chairman of the church board of directors. Of his daughter he said, “I’m very proud of her,” the AP said.

In 2006 Schuller yielded the pulpit to his son, Robert A. Schuller. However there was a difference of opinion on how the church should be run, leading to the son’s ouster some three years later, causing some church members to leave, the LA Times said.

The son is now with the American Life Network, a cable television channel in Dallas that is geared towards family programming, the AP said. After the split Schuller focused on grooming his daughter, the LA Times said.

Schuller started the church in 1955 in a drive-in movie theatre. Under his watch the church grew to 10,000 members and he later wrote several books and now hosts the TV program, Hour of Power, the LA Times said.

Schuller will still speak once a month at the church about “possibility thinking.” However of late the church has faced financial debt. From 2008 to 2009 revenue dropped 27 percent from $30 million to just $22 million, the AP said.

The Crystal Cathedral has a $55 million budget deficit and is being sued by four large creditors in the Orange County Superior Court. One of them, Indiana finance company, says the church borrowed some $2 million to purchase electronic equipment. Also some 100 vendors are owed millions of dollars for unpaid work, the LA Times says.

Some blame the economy, others blame an aging congregation. The church has responded by selling 170 acres in southern Orange County, and took measures to tighten its belt including layoffs, limiting the TV airing of Hour of Power, and canceling their Easter pageant, the AP said.

Coleman said the church’s financial state has improved largely these past months and she will continue to solidify finances, the LA Times said. Of her new position she said, “I truly know that God is here, he loves this ministry and my call is to help take the ministry into the future and to continue dad’s ministry,” the AP said.

She said, “My role is to help him finish strong and hold him up so he can preach till the day he dies,” the LA Times said.

Some 100 faith leaders across Virginia urged recently senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner to endorse far-reaching climate change legislation as a moral imperative.

The effort, spearheaded by Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, gathered the signatures of the faith leaders from five religious traditions—Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Unitarian Universalism and seven denominations of Christianity, Episcopal Life said.

The Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit organization, promotes energy conservation due to climate change; and seeks to help faith groups see their role as stewards of creation, according to their website.

The VIPL letter said, “As religious leaders from across the Commonwealth, we are writing to express our alarm at the state of environmental stewardship here in Virginia, and nationwide.

For us as people of faith, this is an issue of basic fairness and justice; not only because we are called to care for creation, but because of who will be harmed most by inaction: the poor and voiceless,” Episcopal Life reported.

The letter said that landfills and toxic plants are generally placed in low-income communities, causing health problems and perpetuating the cycle of poverty, the Richmond Times-Dispatch said.

The letter sought legislation in the Senate that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

It also said, “In affirming the moral need for climate legislation, we are mindful that this may raise the cost of basic goods, so we also ask that any such legislation include social safety-net provisions for families that are already struggling,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch said.

However, the Senate may not take up the legislation this year, the Richmond Times-Dispatch said.

Webb is traveling in Asia this week, while Warner is traveling in South America. The letter was presented to their staffs. However, a spokesman said Warner “is fully on board for energy independence and climate-change legislation,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch said.

Will Jenkins, a spokesman for Webb, said: “Senator Webb appreciates the input of these leaders on this important issue. The United States should pursue energy policies that include conservation, renewable and efficient energy technologies, and the expansion of our domestic energy resources in a safe and secure manner,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch said.

Question: “How should a Christian respond to persecution?”

Answer:
Theres no doubt that persecution is a stark reality of living the Christian life. The apostle Paul warned us that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus told us to expect persecution from the world because if they persecuted Him, they will persecute His followers also. Jesus has made it very clear to us that those of the world will hate us because they hate Him. If Christians were like the worldvain, earthly, sensual, given to pleasure, wealth, ambition, the world would not oppose us. But Christians do not belong to the world which is why they hate and persecute us (John 15:18-19). Christians are, or should be, influenced by different principles from those of the world. We are motivated by the love of God and holiness, while the world is driven by the love of sin. It is our very separation from the world that arouses the world’s animosity toward us. The world would prefer that we were like them; since we are not, they hate us (1 Peter 4:3-4).

As faithful Christians, we must learn to recognize the value of persecution and even to rejoice in it, not in an ostentatious way, but quietly and humbly because persecution has great spiritual value. First, persecution allows us to share in a unique fellowship with our Lord. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul outlined a number of things he surrendered for the cause of Christ. Such losses, however, he viewed as rubbish (Philippians 3:8), or dung (KJV), that he might share in the fellowship of Christs sufferings (Philippians 3:10). The noble apostle even counted his chains as a grace (favor) which God had bestowed upon him (Philippians 1:7).

Secondly, in all truth, persecution is good for us. James argues that trials test our faith, work or develop (endurance) in our lives, and help develop maturity (James 1:2-4). For as steel is tempered in the flames of the forge, trials and persecution serve to hone down those rough edges that tarnish our character. Yielding graciously to persecution allows one to demonstrate that he is of a superior quality than his adversaries. Its easy to be hateful, but an ugly disposition throws a light upon our human weakness. It is much more Christ-like to remain calm and to respond in kindness in the face of evil opposition. Without question this is a tremendous challenge, but we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us and the wonderful example of the Lord to encourage us. Peter says of Jesus: When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23).

Third, persecution enables us to value the support of true friends. Conflict sometimes brings faithful children of God together in an encouraging and supportive way they might not have known otherwise. Hardship can stimulate the Lords people toward a greater resolve to love and comfort one another and lift one another to the throne of grace in prayer. Theres nothing like an unpleasant incident to help the more mature rise toward a greater level of brotherly love.

So, when we think about it seriously, we can move ourselves forward, even in the face of antagonism, whether from the world or within the church, and press on. We can thank God for His grace and for His patience with us. We can express gratitude for those whom we love in the Lord and who stand with us in times of distress. And we can pray for those who would accuse, misuse, or abuse us (2 Corinthians 11:24; Romans 10:1).

Recommended Resource:
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe

We are studying the detail in Luke Chapter 22 at verse 47 where Judas and that gang approach Jesus Christ to have Him arrested.

It is possible to be physically close to Jesus Christ and have rebellion in your heart. Jesus makes no attempt to frustrate Judas’s hellish scheme. Jesus is calm and poised and in control.

Jesus knows what has to happen, that we might be saved, rescued, washed, forgiven, justified, sanctified, and anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus shows no fear as he faces the enemy. Jesus is Master of the whole situation.

Judas had started well, being appointed treasurer of that band of disciples, but what counts is not how well we run at the beginning, but how we complete the course remaining faithful to Jesus.

Jesus was going to the Father, but not so Judas.

Peter barges in with his sword and cuts off a man’s ear, but Jesus heals the severed ear to show that brute strength and physical resistance is NOT the way for the disciple of Jesus to walk. Peter in a sense missed! He was not going for the man’s ear, but for the man, and Jesus makes amends for Peter’s mistake.

Is this what we do today when someone makes a mistake? Do we minister to that person? Do we make amends? Or do we gossip about the mistake, and spread rumours about the person? There are deep lessons here as we see how Jesus acted on this dark tragic occasion.

This gracious healing miracle should have made the gang stop and think. It should have made the mob consider what they were doing – but NO.

A religious festival is on, but look at the behaviour of the leaders of Worship in the Temple. It is the Feast of the Passover.

Verse 52. You come out to Me as I were a common thief. Can you imagine these men in their resplendent robes trampling out down the valley to the Garden of Gethsemane? As well as the religious leaders there were around 200 soldiers, armed with weapons one would use to go and hunt a wild animal.

Verse 53. They had been such cowards. They couldn’t do this openly. They were not only in natural darkness, but they were in spiritual darkness too.

Verse 54. Jesus is led away, humbly but with dignity. And Peter follows, afar off and at a safe distance. There is no safe distance when you are distancing yourself from Jesus. Peter is watching, trailing behind, and in great danger.

We are called to come close, and draw near and be right at the very heart – involved – participating – faithfully following and serving Jesus – where He has placed you and appointed you.

The religious leaders finally had Jesus in their hands, but not His Love in their hearts.

They should have been in the hands of Jesus – the tender, loving, healing hands of Jesus. But, they took Him and led Him to Caiaphas’s house, the House of the High Priest.

They wanted to kill Christ, and have Him removed from their sight, and His Voice silenced once and for all – this troublemaker – this radical, popular preacher.

Originally here:
Word from Scotland

Author bio:
Alexander “Sandy” Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness – on the Moray Firth Coast – not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40 a.m., New Orleans time, at wsho.com.

Question: “Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important?”

Answer:
The resurrection of Jesus is important for several reasons. First, it witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not a God worthy of our faith and worship. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting that is death and the victory that is the graves (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Second, the resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same. All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we take comfort in the fact that our God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains in detail the importance of the resurrection of Christ. Some in Corinth did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in this chapter Paul gives six disastrous consequences if there were no resurrection: 1) preaching Christ would be senseless (v. 14); 2) faith in Christ would be useless (v. 14); 3) all the witnesses and preachers of the resurrection would be liars (v. 15); 4) no one would be redeemed from sin (v. 17); 5) all former believers would have perished (v.18); and 6) Christians would be the most pitiable people on the earth (v. 19). But Christ indeed has risen from the dead and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep (v. 20), assuring that we will follow Him in resurrection.

The inspired Word of God guarantees the believer’s resurrection at the coming of Jesus Christ for His Body (the Church) at the Rapture. Such hope and assurance results in a great song of triumph as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

How do these concluding verses relate to the importance of the resurrection? Paul answers, …you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (v. 58). He reminds us that because we know we will be resurrected to new life, we can suffer persecution and danger for Christs sake (vv. 29-31), just as He did. We can follow the example of the thousands of martyrs through history who gladly traded their earthly lives for everlasting life via the resurrection.

The resurrection is the triumphant and glorious victory for every believer. Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scripture. And, He is coming again! The dead in Christ will be raised up, and those who remain and are alive at His coming will be changed and receive new, glorified bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important to salvation? It demonstrated that God accepted Jesus sacrifice on our behalf. It proves that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that those who believe in Christ will not remain dead, but will be resurrected unto eternal life. That is our blessed hope!

Recommended Resource:
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas.

Originally here.