Rev. Schuller Seeks $$$$ from Crystal Cathedral; Appears in Court on First Day of Bankruptcy Trial

Rev. Robert Schuller's old ministry in Orange, California may be bankrupt, but he says they still owe him millions of dollars -- and he's fighting for every cent.

The once-powerful preacher showed up smiling in a crisp black suit today (November 2, 2012) on the first day of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries' bankruptcy trial, according to the Newser website.

Schuller said he let the ministry use his intellectual property, but that would not have included selling his recordings online. "We did not understand it," Schuller said in a court statement.

But ministry attorneys say Schuller already milked the church of millions of dollars in "lavish compensation and perquisites" before Crystal Cathedral Ministries went bankrupt in 2010. And "if they pay everything they are asked, then there will be no money for the cathedral," says the ministry's chief executive.