Loving, Learning, and Leading

Crystal Cathedral asks vendors for forgiveness | cathedral, vendors, creditors - News - The Orange County Register Posted using ShareThis The above link is regarding the current financial difficulties experienced by the Crystal Cathedral in Orange Coutny California.  Many of you will recall that this is the church founded by Robert Schuller who is well known internationally, particularly for his message of positive thinking, grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The article outlines that this "megachurch" has "megadebt".  Despite defaulting with many of their vendors who helped supply things such as exotic animals for opulent productions such as the "Glory of Christmas".  The church has asked its creditors for a 90 day reprieve from legal action while it closes many of its ministries such as daycare, athletic ministries, and camping ministries to pay for the 2+ million dollar debt.  The irony is that is continues to worship in the extravagant Cryst

Yesterday, I had the privilege of meeting with one of my staff Pastors, and we had a significant discussion regarding suicide.  This pastor was ministering to a young adult (about 17 yrs old) who expressed the desire to end her young life.  She was already in a setting where she was getting professional psychiatric care, but as we try to listen and enter into the pain and angst that this young woman experienced daily, we were struck by our inability to come to a common consensus on the issues surrounding suicide.  Suicide is the 10th most common cause of death in the U.S., so it is relatively common.  Among young adults in United States, 15-19 yrs of age, 5 will take their lives today.  Yet, despite its frequency, we found that the young woman had already heard several inconsistent, supposibly Biblical responses to her pain. Traditionally, Christians have often described suicide as an unpardonable sin.  The only suicides listed in scripture tend to be with people who had questionable