Interview: Rev. Schuller Reveals Where His Church, America's Churches are Headed

CP: I actually have yet to hear you preach, but how would you describe the messages you deliver each week. What do you try to convey to listeners?

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Schuller: First and foremost, I want to encourage, uplift and inspire people. That’s really my calling – to inspire people. I define the word ‘inspire’ from my Greek studies which means to breathe the breath of life. So I want to inspire people. And for me, that is communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a positive way. I always start with a text that I think is inspiring and uplifting and motivating and communicate that message in a contemporary way that people can appreciate and try to bring in the history and education to the process, communicate an awareness and understanding of the Bible that people can hold onto.

CP: Do you also bring in any of the suffering and sacrifice messages of Jesus and the cross?

Schuller: It depends on how that’s defined. The suffering of Jesus Christ is a true thing that took place historically and I think the suffering of Jesus Christ is very real and I think we need to recognize that as individuals. I think what’s more important, however, is for us to understand what that means. And for us as individuals it means that grace of Jesus Christ abounds. So I communicate not so much the suffering of Jesus Christ like The Passion of the Christ movie. When I think of that movie, I think ‘Wow, man, that’s tough.’ And we need to be aware of it. But what’s more important than that is what it means for us. And what it means for us is that we can live victorious lives if we confess Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord – that the direction that God has for our lives can be discovered, realized, lived and we can be people God’s designed us to be. And I that’s what I think the Christian life is all about – living the life that God wants us to live. So I don’t think God wants us to focus on the suffering of Jesus Christ as much as He wants us to focus on serving Jesus Christ.

CP: Do you also feel that the culture today is more receptive of the positive messages and people are maybe turned off by messages of suffering and the cross?

Schuller: There’s nothing wrong with talking about the cross because the cross is the symbol of hope and talking about the suffering of Jesus Christ is just one small piece of the whole Gospel message. And to focus too much on the suffering of Jesus Christ is to put emphasis on a small area which is insignificant compared to the larger area of serving Jesus Christ.

CP: You have a conference called “Rethink” coming up in January. It seems you have some big name speakers lined up from a wide range of fields, not necessarily just from the church or ministry. Can you tell me why it's so important to hear all these gurus from conservative evangelicals to emerging church leaders and media moguls?