"In 1955, I accepted a call from the Classis of California of the Reformed Church in America to establish a church in central Orange County. Certainly the scope off the ministry that resulted is something no one could have predicted from its all-too-humble beginnings." This kind of grand yet understated tone pervades the autobiography of Robert Schuller, My Journey: From an Iowa Farm to a Cathedral of Dreams. Schuller's life began in 1926, "at the dead-end of a dirt road that had no name and no number." He was the fifth child in a poor, conservative family, and he grew into an earnest young man whose hard work and discipline fueled a rapid rise to success and power. Schuller's account of his personal life is both idealistic and candid (of his wedding night, Schuller writes, "The explosion of true joy and unalloyed affection was our reward for having waited to offer our virginity, each to the other!"). And his descriptions of his seminary years, his early ministries in the Midwest, and his move to California illustrate the development of his popular "Possibility Thinking" message, which built on the foundation of Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. Schuller's influence on American Christianity has been immense. He has muffled the doctrine of sinfulness in favor of an optimistic message about joy, success, and possibility. And although the reader may wish at times the author had used fewer exclamation marks and given himself more to circumspection, My Journey is an engrossing spin on the classic Horatio Alger tale. --Paul Power


From Publishers Weekly
Schuller has inspired and motivated millions with his books, sermons and Hour of Power television show. Almost from the beginning of his ministry, he has combined biblical truths with psychological insights to preach the message of possibility thinking. In this autobiography, Schuller engages in a series of folksy fireside chats as he tells of his journey from growing up on an Iowa farm to founding and pastoring the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif. Schuller's first church in California had been set up in a drive-in movie theater, but even then he knew he was going places: "I was on my way to a great future.... That awesome birth of possibility thinking overwhelmed me with confidence, vision, courage, faith, hope, enthusiasm, optimism, and energy!" In spite of his phenomenal successes, Schuller has experienced a variety of personal ordeals along the way: his wife's breast cancer, his daughter's loss of her leg, his son's divorce from his first wife, critics of his ministry and his own brain hemorrhage. Through it all, though, Schuller turns pain into possibility. Like one of his sermons, his autobiography describes the ways that one impending catastrophe after another turns into a miracle of God's mercy and grace. Schuller's message is simplistic "if you have to bawl, then turn it into a ball" and his prose can be vapid and maudlin. Nevertheless, his throngs of admirers will welcome their inspirational leader's portrait of his life. (Nov.)Forecast: This is a major launch for Harper San Francisco, with a feature in Parade magazine, a Today Show appearance and a 10-city national author tour. Perhaps most importantly, Schuller will hawk the book directly to his many fans on The Hour of Power, which is the nation's most-watched church service.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


The Reverend Theodore M.Hesburgh, C.S.C, President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame
This is a life that not only instructs, but inspires.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Dr. Robert H. Schuller has inspired millions for more than 50 years. Here, he tells the inspirational and moving story of how he rose from a poor Depression-era Iowa farm boy to the leader of a multimillion-member international ministry. Dr. Schuller steps down from the pulpit to share his amazing spiritual journey with his many followers.

FROM THE PUBLISHER