Crystal Cathedral founder resigns from board

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) - The immediate plans of Rev. Robert H. Schuller, the founder of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries in Southern California, and his wife are unclear after they resigned from the church's board of directors over the weekend, their lawyer said Monday.

The Crystal Cathedral, a Protestant church that helped spark the megachurch movement in the United States after opening in 1970, entered bankruptcy procedures in 2010 after years of infighting among Schuller's family and church leaders.

The Schullers have been locked in a legal dispute with other board members. Talks to reach a settlement broke down last week, according to a statement from the Schullers over the weekend.

"We cannot continue to serve on the board in what has become an adversarial and negative atmosphere, especially since it now seems that it will not be ending anytime soon," Arvella Schuller, the pastor's wife, said in the statement.

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The couple's "immediate plans are up in the air right now," their lawyer, Carl Grumer, said Monday.

The Crystal Cathedral campus was sold to the Roman Catholic Church last year in a deal approved by a bankruptcy judge in November.

Schuller, now in his 80s, was known for his internationally broadcast "Hour of Power" TV show. His role on the board had already changed last year when directors voted to make him honorary chairman rather than a voting board member.

In 2006, he stepped down from the pulpit as senior pastor but continued to preach and sit on the church board. His son, Robert A. Schuller, stepped in as senior pastor. Two years later, after a dispute with the board, the younger Schuller was voted out by the board.

CNN's Greg Morrison contributed to this report.