Robert Anthony Schuller - Leaning into God When Life Is Pushing You Away

Copyright 2009 by Robert A. Schuller

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted nlt are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted nkjv are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted nasb are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations noted The Message are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations as noted are also taken from J. B. Phillips: The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition. Copyright J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.; Todays English Version, Copyright American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992; The Amplified Bible: Old Testament. Copyright 1962, 1964 by Zondervan Publishing House (used by permission); and from The Amplified New Testament. Copyright 1958 by the Lockman Foundation (used by permission); and Gods Word Translation. Copyright 1995 Gods Word to the Nations. Used by permission.

FaithWords

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First eBook Edition: November 2009

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ISBN: 978-0-446-55835-8

I dedicate this book to Jim Poit, Holly Hagler, Jim Case, Anita Sherbanee, Donna Schuller, Sharon Cleaver, and Paul Park. We met together for the first time on July 9, 2008, as the Consistory of the Crystal Cathedral. We met every week for several hours in the hope of making positive changes for the kingdom of God. They stood by me when I needed them the most. They were there to comfort me when I cried, counsel me when I was dismayed, and assist me when I needed a helping hand. I also want to give a special thanks to Errol Smith and Doug DiSiena for their assistance in special ways.

Without the contributions of the following people, this book would be nothing more than a thought or an idea. The process from conception to reality is a long, arduous journey. It begins like all works of art or projects with a vision, a dream, or a hope. Those mental images evolve into plans or outlines that when executed, adjusted, and persistently moved forward will produce a desired outcome. This book was no exception.

The idea began with the hope of writing something that would help people establish and maintain a relationship with God and others in spite of the forces that work against them; to create a tool to help build a church without walls; to edify the kingdom of God, not with bricks and mortar, but with the lives of Gods children. With this vision an outline was written. In the spring of 2008 Sheila Coleman presented the first outline. This became the frame, the skeleton, and the road map. From there, William Kruidenier put the meat and muscle on those bones as we pushed the dream forward. Course corrections were made. Details were tweaked.

When it looked as if the book was complete in October of 2008, we realized that there was a major component still missing: we needed to help readers integrate the thoughts and the ideas into daily living. We needed a series of questions that could be used individually or collectively. Beth Funk, who has worked with me for nearly fifteen years, was brought onto the team and wrote the questions that you see at the end of every chapter.

I want to also acknowledge the publishing team of FaithWords, the assistance of Sealy Yates, my book agent, and all the other people who have had a hand in making this possible. Finally, I want to thank my wife, Donna, and my children, Chris and Angie Wyatt, Bobby and Hannah Schuller, Christina Schuller, and Anthony Schuller for their faithfulness to the dream of building the kingdom of Goda church without walls.

When I first began writing this book, life was relatively predictable. I was senior pastor of the world-famous Crystal Cathedral, a role I was groomed for and expected to fill until it was time for me to retire. In early 2008, I engaged in a new media project at the Cathedral that would have enabled our local and global Crystal Cathedral communities to stay connected to our ministry 24/7 through the Internet and facilitate my dream of an international church without walls. Things were moving in a positive direction and seemed to be unfolding as planned. But life doesnt always go as planned.

One of the great joys of my life has been to serve the Crystal Cathedral Ministries both on the International Board of Directors and as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. But God unexpectedly and radically began changing the direction of my life in July 2008 when the first in a series of decisionsnot of my own accordwas made that turned my world upside down. To make a difficult story short, by early September I was no longer part of the weekly Hour of Power television broadcast, and in October was replaced as leader of the Sunday morning worship service at the Cathedral. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, in November I resigned from my position as senior pastor of the Crystal CathedralI couldnt live with a pastors title if I had no pulpit from which to preach. I would be less than honest if I said I did not struggle with intense feelings of betrayal and confusion and frequently found myself crying out to God, Why is this happening? Where are You taking me? If ever there was a time when I felt like disconnecting from God and others, that was it.

While that transition in life has been a very painful oneone that Im still processing with my wonderful and supportive wife, Donna, our four loving children, and many faithful and caring friendsI am often reminded in new and exciting ways that the God in whom I place my trust is still good, is still involved, and is still faithful. And in Him I have found hope.

Good things are often birthed from adversity, as I can bear witness in my life. Ive held firmly to the belief that Gods plans for me are good. That His intent is to prosper [me] and not to harm [me], to give [me] hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11) and that the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me (Psalm 138:8). In the early eighties, God gave me a personal purpose statement that I believe is as relevant today as it was then: to inspire people to take positive action in their lives. No matter what, no matter how, my hearts desire is to help bring about positive change in the lives of people and society. Preaching has been the primary way in which Ive done that in the past. But now, I see that God has given me a fresh opportunity to achieve this purpose in an even greater way using the new media of today.

Early in 2009, in partnership with my talented son-in-law, Chris Wyatt, I launched a new, for-profit, kingdom-based business called ComStar Media. Recognizing that broadcast pulpit preaching no longer effectively reaches younger generationsand because both Chris and I have a deep love for and desire to reach this generationwe embarked on this journey together. Even as I write this, the details for this new venture are rapidly unfolding. But this much I can tell youComStar Media is dedicated to changing the face of Christian television programming. How will we accomplish this? By integrating an existing television network and companion video Web site using cutting-edge technology. ComStar Media will offer a new format of kingdom-based entertainment programming including reality television series, daytime talk shows, and weekly magazine series that complement a broadcast schedule of family-friendly, classic television programs from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. By the time you hold this book in your hands, more information about ComStar Media will have been made public.