Megachurch founder Rev. Robert H. Schuller dies

LOS ANGELES, April 2 (UPI) -- Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founder of the megachurch Crystal Cathedral, died at the age of 88 Thursday.

His grandson Bobby Schuller tweeted the news Thursday morning.

Schuller formed the Crystal Cathedral in Southern California and built an empire with the self-help message of "possibility thinking." His church held thousands at his services which were broadcasted to millions across the world.

He started the Reformed Church of America in 1955 out of a drive-in theater.

I'm not interested in people who have religion. I'm interested in talking to people who turn God off," he said in response to criticism that he was too secular.

He was an unofficial adviser to Presidents Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. For the most part, though, he tried to stay away from politics.

The church began to fall into crisis in 2008 and in 2010 when it filed for bankruptcy protection. The church owed creditors millions and began laying off employees while still giving the top people in the church large salaries.

In 2013, his grandson Bobby sold the cathedral to a Catholic church and began to lease space at another church. Schuller cut ties with the church, saying it owed him millions of dollars. At the same time, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and given two years to live.

His wife, Arvella, died last year at 84.

My Grandfather Robert H. Schuller passed this morning into eternal life with Christ.

— Bobby Schuller (@BobbySchuller) April 2, 2015