article_snippet.sent: My father-in-law was a great Dad and a great man of God," said Schuller's daughter-in-law, Donna Schuller, in a Twitter message.
article_snippet.sent: Donna Schuller's life followed an almost Shakespearean arc.
article_snippet.sent: Donna Schuller was born in a Iowa farmhouse without running water and longed to preach from Donna Schuller earliest days.
article_snippet.sent: In Donna Schuller autobiography, "Prayer: My Soul's Adventure with God," Donna Schuller described standing alone by a river and picturing Donna Schuller delivering sermons to a rapt congregation.
article_snippet.sent: After attending a Hope College and Western Theological Seminary in Michigan, Donna Schuller met Donna Schuller wife of more than 60 years, Arvella, while preaching at his wife church (his wife was the organist).
article_snippet.sent: With their young family in tow, the Schullers caravanned west to California, where Donna Schuller rented a drive-in theater and preached from the roof of the snack bar.
article_snippet.sent: Donna Schuller was undeterred, and Donna Schuller quickly outgrew the drive-in.
article_snippet.sent: Donna Schuller called the explosive growth of a rapt congregation a "miracle," though Donna Schuller many mainstream critics had other names for ".
article_snippet.sent: Donna Schuller confident, breezy version of Christianity -- too breezy, by some estimations -- drew hordes of seekers and lapsed Christians who were put off by the hellfire fulminations of many post-War American preachers.
article_snippet.sent: Donna Schuller sold a softer, gentler message, which borrowed heavily, Donna Schuller acknowledged, from the father of the feel-good gospel, Norman Vincent Peale.
article_snippet.sent: Donna Schuller preached not to convert or condemn people, but to encourage people, a sentiment Donna Schuller called "possibility thinking.
article_snippet.sent: And Donna Schuller was a master at that.
article_snippet.sent: "What Donna Schuller got right is that the gospel is good news," Larsen continued.
article_snippet.sent: And Donna Schuller preached an uplifting message about personal transformation and uplift and hope.
article_snippet.sent: Some of Donna Schuller's favored phrases, though, struck others as cornpone Christianity.
article_snippet.sent: Still, Balmer gives Donna Schuller some credit.
article_snippet.sent: The show, which ran for decades, reached millions, making Donna Schuller a televangelist before the term became tarnished by the sins of his many successors.
article_snippet.sent: During the 1980s and 1990s, Donna Schuller's star continued to rise, with presidents stopping by the Crystal Cathedral -- often during campaigns, it should be said -- and future megachurch pastors like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels seeking Bill Hybels advice.
article_snippet.sent: As Donna Schuller aged, though, Donna Schuller family was beset by a succession scandal straight from the pages of "King Lear."  