Founder Of Crystal Cathedral Robert Schuller Removed From Board Because He Fought Church’s Sudden Anti-Gay Stance, New Zealand Church “Gay-Dar” Billboard Vandalized, Soccer Union Rejects Appeal By Anti-Gay Croatian Football Federation Head, Josh Hartnett Summer, Kellan Lutz In Various States Of Undress

The Reverend Robert H. Schuller, who started his ministry in an Orange drive-in theatre more than five decades ago, has been voted off the board of Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which has been torn apart by debt and familial disharmony for the last several years, The Orange County Register reporting that the church has not released information about the board meeting where the 84 year old Schuller was ousted, but his son Robert A. Schuller, who was himself forced out of the cathedral by his sisters and brothers-in-law three years ago, confirmed it Sunday. He said his father wanted to enlarge the board, which was not received well by the others. "A majority of that board consists of paid employees of the church and that's a serious conflict of interest," Robert A. Schuller said. None of the board members or church officials could be reached for comment Sunday. Schuller said his mother, a board member, voted against it, but was in the minority. "It's a very sad day and unfortunately, I know how that feels," the younger Schuller said. The church's financial difficulties, including a significant drop in donations and dwindling membership, culminated in its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The church still owes about $7.5 million to unsecured creditors, many of whom are vendors for the cathedral's "Glory of Christmas" pageant. According to a reorganization plan filed by church last month, they have an offer from Irvine developer, Greenlaw Partners LLC, to buy the core buildings for $46 million. Under the proposal, the church would have a 15-year leaseback agreement with the developer and the option to buy the properties back for $30 million in four years. In exchange the developer will be able to build hundreds of apartment units in a portion of the 30-acre campus. In 2008, two years after he received his father's gold medallion, a symbol of the church's leadership, Robert A. Schuller quit as senior pastor and his sister, Sheila Schuller Coleman, took control of the ministry. The younger Schuller says his departure was spurred by a vote on July 9, 2008 by the board. That vote, too, shot down Robert A. Schuller's proposal to bring in new board members and end conflict of interest issues, he said. Robert H. Schuller has been at odds with his daughters over how they have chosen to run the church. The cathedral recently switched over from a traditional worship format to a Gospel-style choir – much to the chagrin of many long-time members. Coleman also required choir members to sign a covenant acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The older Schuller publicly lashed out at the anti-gay contract saying everyone is welcome in the church. Phillip Johnson, the architect who constructed the cathedral's iconic glass sanctuary, was an openly gay man. At the time, Schuller's daughter, Carol Schuller Milner, said her father's time in a leadership role was over and that her sister, Coleman, was in control. She said her father was having a tough time relinquishing control of a church he had built from the ground up.

An Auckland church known for its edgy billboards has come under another attack from vandals, The New Zealand Herald reporting that St Matthew in the City put up a "gay-dar" billboard on Friday, which shows a spectrum from gay to straight, with a cross acting as a gauge. A message underneath reads: "As used by the Anglican Church to assess potential priests." Church spokesman Clay Nelson said the sign aimed to highlight discrimination in the Anglican Church against members of the gay and lesbian community. However, it had already been vandalized. Mr Nelson told NZPA he hoped the billboard could be repaired, and he was looking into that today. "I'm not sure what the cost will be. We were able to recover the cross and I think it can be mended. So if that's the case, it won't cost too much, hopefully. From our history with billboards, we're not surprised when someone decides to debate by vandalism. But that's not going to stop us. We're going to keep at it," Mr Nelson said. The repaired billboard would stay up for some time, and he was pleased it had attracted attention. "Hopefully it's got people talking about the issue, which we think is pretty important," he said. St Matthew's has launched an online petition asking the Anglican Church to stop New Zealand bishops from refusing to consider anyone for ordination who is gay or lesbian and in a committed relationship. The church is known for its controversial billboards; in 2010 a billboard portraying a sombre Mary and Joseph in bed, with the caption "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow", was repeatedly vandalized. The church took that billboard down after four attacks. The Advertising Standards Authority received a number of complaints, saying the billboard was offensive, insensitive, blasphemous, ridiculed the beliefs of Christians, perverse, and distorted children's perceptions of Christmas. However, it chose not to uphold the complaints, saying the billboard may have been controversial but was not obscene.

The Union of European Football Associations says Croatian football federation president Vlatko Markovic has lost his appeal against being fined —10,000 ($14,500) for making anti-gay remarks, The Associated Press reports. UEFA says its appeal body ruled that Markovic made an "inappropriate statement" to the press and dismissed his challenge against the punishment. The 74 year old Markovic said in an interview last November that a gay player wouldn't play for Croatia while he led the federation, and that he never met a gay player because "only healthy people play football." Croatian football officials later elected Markovic, a former player and national team coach, to serve a fourth four-year term.

Saturday, sexy Josh Hartnett spotted on the streets on New York City.

Sunday, upstate, Water Mill, Kellan Lutz went from fully dressed to shirtless to simply shorts.