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| The Crystal Cathedral |
Commenting on a news posting on the website of the
The Orange County Register concerning the ouster of the Rev. Robert Schuller as pastor of the Crystal Cathedral (
here), Kathi Jaworski, writing in
The Nonprofit Quartery (
here) succinctly summarized lessons to be learned from Schuller's fall from grace. She writes,
There’s good reason why best practices for nonprofits include independent, active Boards who guide the vision, provide skilled financial oversight, and avoid conflicts of interest. There’s a reason why good succession planning should involve both leadership from both the board and the departing chief executive. While it may be an extreme example, the downward spiral of Crystal Cathedral Ministries is a cautionary lesson for the field.
Churches should not be run as empires. Leadership in the church is about listening, sharing authority, and serving. Best practices demand not only an empowered church board but also an eager desire on the part of pastors and boards to empower others. Those best practices also require pastors and boards to intentionally challenge and, if necessary, remove from authority those who habitually abuse power for their own ends. Failures to adhere to best spiritual
and organizational practices can and all too frequently do have devastating consequences for churches. All it takes is for one influential voices, lay or clergy, to abuse authority or, as too often happens, to fail to exercise wise authority, and a church can go into steep decline. More than vision or even innovation, church leaders today need to engage in best spiritual and organizational practices if the churches they save are to remain vital, effective communities of the faithful.
