The Church Must Grow or Perish
Robert H. Schuller and the Business of American Christianity
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
To fully understand American Christianity, it’s essential to understand Robert Schuller. The Church Must Grow or Perish: Robert H. Schuller and the Business of American Christianity examines Schuller’s indelible imprint on the American church, and how he developed a model of ministry—both lauded and critiqued—that transformed Christian life and community across this country. Schuller’s story is the starting point for powerful trends that continue to shape much of American religion today: televangelism, seeker-sensitive outreach, megachurches, the suburbanization of white Christianity, pastoral entrepreneurship, and market-oriented Christianity in pursuit of growth. Authors Mark T. Mulder and Gerardo Martí explore Schuller’s drive to develop a theology, a persona, and a set of practices that he believed were necessary to keep Christianity vibrant long into the future. They trace Schuller’s career arc from his beginnings as an Iowa farm boy to his years as a charismatic Southern California preacher—one who believed that in order for the church to thrive, pastoral leaders needed to borrow from the best practices of big business, including the entertainment industry. This fascinating biography is essential reading for those who want to fully understand a transformative force in American Christianity.
Endorsements (4)
“A master salesman in his innovative approach to ministry, famed positive-thinking mega-church founder Robert Schuller was at heart a small-town pastor whose obsessions with church growth grew out of the affinities and tragedies of his youth, and enduring fears that American Christianity (and society) was in sharp decline. In this beautifully crafted, smartly argued biography, esteemed sociologists Mark Mulder and Gerardo Martí explain the complexities of his intentions and thought, as well as the market-driven ambitions that made him a ‘how to’ model for many of his peers and young pastors nationwide. In the process, they open up a remarkably fresh rendering of late modern American religious culture that should be deemed a must read.”
“Mulder and Martí have crafted a masterfully nuanced biography of Robert Schuller. They trace how his spiritual ambition for influence and expansion transformed his beloved Crystal Cathedral empire into a gilded iron cage, ultimately leading to his downfall. This compelling book not only sheds light on a fascinating and complex figure but also serves as a poignant cautionary tale for all clergy.”
“These days when negativity prevails in many houses of worship, it is refreshing to recall Robert Schuller’s positive ‘possibility’ messaging. But Mulder and Martí have done much more than that. They challenge us to see in Schuller the origins of a business model through which American faith communities have adapted to the marketization of American culture. Whether readers are wholly convinced or not, they will find much here of value for understanding contemporary faith communities.”
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