She remembers being about 4 and, as her father worked in his study that doubled as a bedroom, hearing a knock on the front door. She answered, and a tearful woman asked, 'Is the pastor here?' It was one of Sheila Schuller's first realizations that their small house in Garden Grove was also a sanctuary. In the years that followed, long before Robert H. Schuller became an iconic religious figure with a worldwide audience, she came to see her father as 'just the local pastor down the street,' someone whose job it was to preach on Sundays and help ease people's problems. The little girl is now 58, married and the mother of four. Her father is 82, white-haired and slowed but mounting a comeback. In ways she never imagined until recently, Sheila Schuller Coleman -- not her younger brother, the family's former heir-apparent -- will be the one 'to help my dad finish strong.' Earlier this month, Robert H. Schuller anointed his eldest daughter as the church's co-leader and the person who would carry the Crystal Cathedral's banner into the future. The announcement capped a tumultuous year for the Schullers, as a father-son split over 'a lack of shared vision' led the younger Robert A. Schuller to surrender his senior pastor status and leave the church after his father stripped him of his role in the TV ministry. The elder Schuller is among the most influential American preachers of the past half-century, having written best-selling books and converted a small ministry into the one that broadcasts the 'Hour of Power' worldwide from the gleaming Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. But the ministry, like the family bonds, has fallen on hard times. Hurt by the economy and, perhaps, changing tastes, attendance and viewership have declined. Robert H. Schuller, who handed his son the reins in 2006, told the congregation this month that he planned to return to a prominent role and put in two more years. But in the future, he said, it will be his daughter 'who's making this church, not the preacher.' Sheila Coleman admits it's a daunting proposition, but that's not to say she feels overmatched. 'I guess it should be a scary time. Call it naivete, but I don't feel it. I actually have a strong sense of anticipation. I'm very excited about what we can do.' The details on her new role are yet to come, but it's clear the church's board believes it needs Robert H. Schuller back at the helm -- at least for now, with fundraising suffering. He remains the storied, titanic figure behind the church, which traces its inception to 1955 in a drive-in theater lot. If those were carefree days, these are not. Shadowing everything at the cathedral, spoken or not, is the family squabble. 'The mistake I felt we made as a family -- and it was done out of love -- was that we tried to pour all our seeds into one bucket,' Coleman says of her brother's ascension. 'God wanted the seeds to be disseminated and scattered so the kingdom could grow.' She says the entire family laments the internal friction. 'My dad was very hurt, and (brother) Robert was very hurt. The healing will take time. I see signs it's beginning to happen. The thing that was so hard for me and the family is that so many people in the church, and our viewers and the public who saw us as the model family, said, `Wow, oh no.' For some reason, they didn't think it would happen to us.' Robert A. Schuller is the only son among five children. He and a business partner recently announced that their company had bought AmericanLife TV Network with hopes of making the station 'the destination for family values.' Through a spokeswoman, Robert A. Schuller said his schedule didn't allow time to be interviewed, but in a statement he said he wished his sister well. 'I have great respect for the work she does at the ministry and as an educator and believe she will add tremendous value in her new position,' he stated. Coleman has a doctorate in educational administration and leadership. She's been on the church staff since 1973, except for a four-year stint as a public school teacher. She has been directing the church's Family Ministries, but now she also will serve as an occasional preacher. 'I know it's going to sound very different,' she said, 'but I believe my role is to mother this ministry. Which means to nurture the congregation, the staff.' Coleman says her sermons won't sound like those of a preacher. 'My messages will be very light on Scripture,' she said of her planned appearances at the pulpit every four to six weeks or so. 'They'll be stories, primarily, with lessons. They'll be biblical concepts, but my platform on the `Hour of Power' and the cathedral on Sunday mornings is as an outreach to the unchurched.' (Begin optional trim) Poised to become the public face of the ministry, Coleman laughs easily and acknowledges having had a bout with religious skepticism as a college student. The doubt is behind her, but she still says that faith is fraught with illogic. 'I tried to make it logical,' she said of that period. 'When you're a science major, everything is why, why, why? And every time I'd ask why, I could come up with a logical explanation but then I'd right away come up with another why. Finally, I realized I just needed to take a leap of faith. I know it sounds trite, but it's just a leap of faith. I just said, `Lord, I don't know that I can understand this, I can't explain it all, but I'm choosing to believe in you.' The minute I did that, everything fell into place.' (End optional trim) The church's leaders need faith these days. TV ratings are down 50 percent from their heyday, and the church is selling property to pay a $50 million debt. Coleman chuckles at the notion that the cathedral's time has passed. 'Faith is believing in something even though you can't see it, even though it goes against reason,' she said. 'That's my faith, and I do believe we have our best days yet to come.' 