Saving Lives Through A Message of Hope For 40 Years

Where It All Began...40 Years Ago.

In September 1969, Robert H. Schuller visited his close friend Billy Graham at his Crusade in Anaheim, California. Rev. Graham said, "Bob, my weekly radio program is called the Hour of Decision. I think you should go on television with your powerful message and call it the Hour of Power."

So in February 1970, the foundation of what has become the longest-running, most widely viewed televised church service in the history of the world was laid when Dr. Schuller telecast his first Hour of Power program to the Los Angeles viewing area.

A year later, the Hour of Power was on in New York City. Chicago was added soon after. And by 1973, the program was seen on 12 stations across the United States.

By 1985, the Hour of Power's fifteenth year on television, it could be viewed by 70 percent of the United States' population.

Today, televised services from the Crystal Cathedral are watched by nearly one million persons weekly in the United States (available to over 200 million), across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the United Kingdom, Africa, Russia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Iceland, Sweden, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, making it the most-watched televised church service on television.

With today's technology, an estimated one billion people have access to the Hour of Power's unique, positive message of love and hope originating from the Crystal Cathedral. What an extraordinary opportunity!

Let God's Love Lift You UP!

By Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman

When children are learning to walk, to ride a bike, or to skate, they frequently fall, but they always get back up and try again. Children seem to have a resilience that we as adults sometimes lose because of life's "falls."

Recently, my husband Jim and I were visiting in Arrowhead, a California mountain resort where there is an Olympic ice-skating training facility. One day we went in, sat on a bench next to the ice, and just watched. I was amazed at the intrepid skaters of all ages— tiny little ones that looked to be no older than five years of age up to lanky teens. The girls twirled while the boys skated furiously.

Falls happened constantly, regardless of skating style, age, or gender. The glint of a skate as it hit the ice, hurled a skater into a twirl and soaring into the air...the skater sometimes landing gracefully, but just as often landing on a hip with a hard thud.

Not one of the young skaters ever cried. They always, always, always got back up, brushed off the ice, and courageously pushed off to try again.

What propelled these young athletic artists? Love of the sport and the dream of achieving a championship. Falling was simply part of getting where they wanted to be. It was an essential aspect of reaching their goal.

It has been a year of bumps and bruises. Setbacks have happened to all of us. None of us have been immune to the challenges that beset us. It's not been easy to get up day after day and keep on going, to push off again knowing we have as much chance of falling like a klutz as we do of landing a double Lutz.

Take a lesson from these young champions-in-the-making. Have you fallen? God has a hand out to help you get back on your feet. He is there to lift you up. He wants to pick you up and give you the courage to try again, to learn from your mistakes and soar—to be the star he created you to be. Let God's love lift you up over and over again. Push into your goal, your dream, your God-given destiny. God will never let you down!

The Heart of a Hero

By Mara Lee and Charles Stoffers, grandparents of Sgt. Joshua Charles Brennan (1985 – 2007)

Some day as you're strolling the Crystal Cathedral grounds, look for the "Walk of Faith" stepping stone attributed to Sgt. Joshua Charles Brennan (located adjacent to The Bronze Eagle sculpture outside the Memorial Gardens).

Joshua, our first grandchild, born May 30, 1985, was a selfless young man with a delightful sense of humor, high morals and wonderful personality. He was soft spoken, respected others, enjoyed music, and exhibited great public humility. Josh felt called to serve his country, so following his high school graduation, he joined the Army (September 2003) and fulfilled one of his fondest dreams - to become a paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

Josh was stationed in Vicenza, Italy, for a year before being deployed to Afghanistan (2004). Among the tragedies experienced there was the day his lieutenant was shot by a sniper and Josh made every effort to save his life. For his heroism, Josh was named Soldier of the Year for the 173rd Airborne Brigade and given a bronze star - a rare recognition for a soldier of his rank.

Following the completion of his enlistment (August 2007), Josh's plan was to attend college. But his enlistment was extended for an additional year and he found himself stationed once again in the rugged, bitter cold mountains of Afghanistan.

In September 2007, Joshua told his mother in a brief phone conversation that he wanted a Bible with more opaque pages so it would be easier to read at night with a flashlight, and shared how he was growing in his relationship with God. Attacks in the area his battalion was patrolling continued to increase and became more frequent and severe. Despite a gunshot wound through his calf, Joshua refused to leave Afghanistan, deciding to remain and do rehab. On October 26, 2007 - the worst day of our lives - Joshua's parents, Janice and Michael, received notification that Joshua had been killed in action. When his personal belongings reached home, his obviously used Bible had dirt in the binding and a family photo intact.

Joshua's memorial was one of honor and celebration. The family was overwhelmed by the love and appreciation expressed by so many - state and federal officials, enlisted soldiers, and people of all ages who lined the streets waving flags as his motorcade passed. A memorial fund was established in his honor, part to be used for a religious memorial. What we felt would best memorialize Joshua's faith and life - one of valiance, honor, love, significance and heroism - was a stepping stone in the Crystal Cathedral's beautiful "Walk of Faith." The Scripture verse we chose to inscribe on his stepping stone so appropriately reflects Joshua's heroic heart: "Greater love has no man than this. That he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Love Strong! Believe Strong! Forgive Strong!

By Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman

I had only been in my role as Crystal Cathedral Ministries' new leader for about a month. My first days were filled with new and exciting challenges that I had to trust God to help me navigate. I went before God and asked him daily, "What is it you want me to do? How do you want me to lead this ministry?" One evening as I was sitting down by the ocean, my feet dangling in the salty water, enjoying the light breeze and the dazzling sunset, I prayed my daily prayer of guidance from the Lord. But this night, a voice I recognized as that of my Heavenly Father penetrated my tranquil reverie and rang in my mind, "Sheila, I want you to be a strong leader!" I cringed at the words. My style of leadership is more of a team mom than a drill sergeant. But God continued, "I want you to Love Strong! Believe Strong! And Forgive Strong!" Oh! That I could do!

The more I thought about God's words - the course he had charted for the direction of my leadership - the more depth, the more wisdom I saw in these three mandates.

When praying with someone who is in the midst of enduring the pain of an estranged relationship, I have said, "Love Strong! Even though your love isn't returned. Believe Strong! That God will heal this relationship in his time. Forgive Strong! For the hurtful words and actions."

I share God's power-full words with you at the start of a new year:

• If you are lonely, feel estranged - Love Strong! "...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind....And love your neighbor as yourself" (MATTHEW 22:37-30).


• If you are afraid, worried, don't know where to turn - Believe Strong! "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (HEBREWS 11:1).


• If you've been hurt - Forgive Strong! "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (MATTHEW 6:12). Now that's a recipe for a power-full New Year!

A Heroic Journey

The Holy Family – Milestones and Miracles

Sculpted by J.Seward Johnson, dedicated at the Crystal Cathedral in 1999

J. Seward Johnson is world-renowned for his lifelike painted bronze depictions of people in real-life situations, for example, a sculpted businessman seated on a bench reading a newspaper, or a father teaching his child to ride a bike. Seward's bronze figures are so lifelike that people often sit or stand next to them, never realizing that the figures are not living, breathing human beings.

It was in this spirit that Mr. Johnson conceived The Holy Family, a very lifelike and life-size bronze depiction of Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus on their flight into Egypt.

For the first time, Johnson used glass eyes in these figures to duplicate the gloss and depth of the real human eye. He also chose to depict the infant Christ with highly reflective polished stainless steel skin to convey the idea that, in Jesus, each of us sees our own reflection.

This beautiful bronze masterpiece, gifted to the Crystal Cathedral by Dr. Keith C. and Elaine J. Wold (Johnson's sister), was unveiled and dedicated on Sunday, January 31, 1999. Thousands of visitors who come to the Crystal Cathedral to attend The Glory of Christmas, and throughout the year, have their photograph taken next to The Holy Family, a one-of-a-kind work of art.

More about J. Seward Johnson

After an early career as a painter, Johnson turned his talent to sculpture. Since then, he's created more than 250 life-size cast bronze figures currently featured in private collections in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, as well as in prominent places such as in Rockefeller Center and near World Trade Center's "Ground Zero" in New York City, and in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, Canada.

Johnson, the grandson of the founder of Johnson & Johnson, grew up as heir to one of America's largest fortunes. He could have lived a life of leisure, but instead chose to be actively involved in art and an array of other interests; he is president of a large oceanographic research institute in Florida, publisher of a science magazine, and founder of an off-Broadway theater in New York.

Maria Fury “Beat the Odds” with Heroic Faith

In the blink of an eye, life can change forever... as Maria Fury discovered in the spring of 2005. Maria had worked at the Crystal Cathedral for seven years as Secretary to Dr. Robert H. Schuller. She loved her work. Life was good. She had made many friends in her time at the Crystal Cathedral and believed with all her heart that the work she was doing for Dr. Schuller, day in and day out, reached way beyond the ordinary. "I never felt like I was just doing work," Maria shared in a letter to Dr. Schuller's son-in-law, Jim Coleman. "I always felt that I was sharing God's word with millions of people on behalf of the Crystal Cathedral."

One day while at work, Maria started having excruciating pain in her lower back. By the next morning her pain was so unbearable that her husband Dan rushed her to the hospital. The doctors immediately ran tests on her where they discovered a spot, confirming a short while later that she had Stage IV pancreatic cancer (the cancer had already metastasized in her liver). So, how does someone even begin to respond to news like that? Maria responded with heroic faith! And with the "effective and fervent prayers" of many, the exercise of good-health practices while undergoing rigorous chemotherapy treatments, and leaning heavily on the support of friends and family...Maria "beat the odds" of pancreatic cancer and survived far beyond what her doctors either predicted or expected. "Stage IV is not my cancer stage," Maria used to tell Dr. Schuller who thought of her like a sister. "My cancer stage is to live, survive and work for you!" And she did... for FOUR more years!

Maria Fury's heroic faith victoriously carried her across the "finish line" on August 28, 2009 when she passed from this life to the next. And like the great Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his friend in the faith, Maria now shouts these words with joy from heaven, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Unfold your understanding of "The Lord’s Prayer" every day in 2010.

English author and poet, Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) wrote a delightful tale titled Five Children and It. The story begins when a family of children discovers an ancient sand-fairy who agrees to grant them one wish each day. However, not foreseeing that bad as well as good can happen when we get our way, the children experience more trouble than happiness with each wish.

Some think prayer is telling our wishes to God, hoping to get our way when he grants them. However, it is much more. To teach his disciples and all of us how to pray, Jesus gave us a model prayer, "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 8:9-13), which is more about growing a trusting relationship with our heavenly Father than getting what we want from him. As we grow in faith, our prayers become less a wish list and more an intimate conversation with God.

YOU can unfold your understanding of "The Lord's Prayer" every day in 2010 with the help of the Hour of Power 40th Anniversary Lord's Prayer Wall Calendar for Possibility Thinkers.

Through the calendar pages, you will grow your personal prayer life daily as "The Lord's Prayer" guides you to... ... God, ... give God to be the Lord of your life,... God to meet your needs, ...ask God's , and ...feel the embrace of his . This calendar may also serve as your 2010 appointment calendar. Each day's square is large enough for you to...jot down appointments...add birthday and anniversary reminders...or note other dates you need to remember.

Included with the calendar is a sheet of stickers that you may apply to your calendar whenever you want to PRAISE God, give him PERMISSION to act, PETITION him, experience his PARDON, or feel his PROTECTION. By the end of 2010, you'll look back through this unique calendar and be reminded in so many ways of how, throughout the year, you have powerfully and profoundly interacted with the living God!

This special 40th anniversary edition calendar is also our way of celebrating the miraculous way God has moved in the hearts of people all across America and around the world to keep his word alive and on the air through the Hour of Power. And that forty-year history of positive ministry can be extended another forty years and beyond only with YOUR help. There is no other way. YOUR financial gifts are what make the Hour of Power possible.

Thank you for being part of God's positive answer to our prayers today as you send your gift with your request for your own 2010 Lord's Prayer Calendar!