I have to laugh as this just reminds of WCG having to dump the Pasadena property because of failing income. Grandiose religious schemes and mega churches are turning into money pits all over the country!
Crystal Cathedral Sells Property for $46M in Bankruptcy Exit Plan
By Elena Garcia | Christian Post Reporter
The Crystal Cathedral, seeking a way to resolve its debt woes, will sell its church and 40-acre campus for $46 million to an Orange County developer, according to the federal bankruptcy plan filed Friday.
Greenlaw Partners of Newport Beach will buy the property in Garden Grove, Calif., and plans to build apartments on the land, the Chapter 11 exit plan filed at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana disclosed.
The real estate developer will lease the property back to Crystal Cathedral for $212,000 a month and guarantee exclusive lease rights for 15 years, according to the reorganization plan.
The church administration will have the option of buying back the church, the landmark venue of its "Hour of Power" broadcasts, for $30 million within the next four years.
The bankruptcy plan is awaiting approval. It could be approved as early as late summer.
Crystal Cathedral, whose founder is Robert H. Schuller, has been looking for an exit strategy from its millions of dollars in debt ever since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October.
The Schulers have never been people to whom I look for spiritual guidance, but I had a strong sense of deja vu a couple of years back when the news came out that Robert Schuler and his son had had a rift come between them. In a way this bankruptcy and sale are perfectly predictable.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, a mega-church can be both inspiring and exciting to attend, if you find the right one and don't allow them to draw you into the cult-like slavery which was expected of us at WCG. I've found that the difference between being a committed follower of Jesus Christ and a full blown fanatic can be a fine line. You want to give God the glory and testimony for blessings in your life, but for some, that becomes the entire content of their conversation. That tends to put others off rather than drawing them to Jesus Christ.
BB
I have been to the Crystal Cathedral for summer organ concerts and the Glory of Christmas a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteI would never allow myself to attend any of their services. It was bad enough catching bits of them on tv.
It is impressive - but - it is so focused and geared towards making money that it is appalling. The front sidewalk in front of the building is paved with dedication tiles of people who have donated millions of dollars to the church.
Their bookstore is bigger than some of chain bookstores,, and sadly filled with some of the most incredibly stupid religious chatski's imaginable. At Christmas they attempt sell so much stuff that they set up an extra tent outside the bookstore building and fill it to the brim.
It's membership is aging and they cannot draw in younger members. their school is being sold, so that will send those families elsewhere.
Ah yes, the Disney people-mover plastic megachurches with everything all neatly packaged for rapid consumption.
ReplyDeleteIt's all empty spiritual calories, leaving you begging for more while leaving you spiritually starving to death.
The herds of cattle, not sheep, are prodded to keep moving while the money flows and flows and flows for no particularly good reason other than it makes the hosts feel so good to give to the parasite hirelings because of their compulsive addiction for corporate religion on a grandiose scale.
Here's what I don't get: They are selling it for $46 million, but can buy it back within four years for $30 million?
ReplyDeleteJimmy D.
All narcissistic leaders doom the organizations they build because they can never allow anyone with the ability to carry on in their place to rise to the point where they are a threat. That is a good thing, in the final analysis.
ReplyDeleteHerbert Armstrong even destroyed his own son when he became a perceived threat, just like Schuler.
That left the door open for an inept and unprincipled opportunist like Tkach to ascend the ladder and take over, soon destroying everything we all labored and sacrificed to build.
It happens in politics and business also.