[12.15.08] The Rev. Robert A. Schuller resigned as senior pastor of Crystal Cathedral Ministries roughly a month after he was removed from the church’s Hour of Power television program.
In an announcement posted on the Garden Grove, Calif. church’s Web site, the ministry said it had accepted Schuller’s resignation and would launch a search for a new pastor. In the meantime, Juan Carlos Ortiz, founder of the Crystal Cathedral Hispanic Ministry and a popular charismatic author in the 1970s, will act as senior pastor.
“Robert continues to be a valued and long-standing member of the Classis of the Reformed Church in America,” the announcement said. “It is expected that Robert will make an announcement soon regarding plans for his new ministry. The leadership and congregation wishes him all the best as his plans unfold.”
In October, Schuller’s father, Crystal Cathedral founder Robert H. Schuller, removed his son as host of the church’s Hour of Power TV show. At the time, the older Schuller said he and his son had been struggling with different visions for the ministry’s future and that it became necessary for the two to part ways.
“No longer will the Hour of Power be the voice and face of just one or two individuals,” Robert H. Schuller said.
Robert A. Schuller, 54, served as senior pastor of the church since 2006, when his 82-year-old father also appointed him host of Hour of Power. Guest ministers have been leading the program since that time, the Orange County Register reported.
A new senior pastor is expected to be chosen within six to 15 months, the Register said.
