Schuller Bombs in Talk to Russian Army Staff : Religion: Hostile audience of officers apparently finds O.C. televangelist’s positive thinking message irrelevant.

Invited to bring religion to the Russian army, Robert H. Schuller, the Orange County televangelist, found himself on Monday evening addressing a hostile, restless crowd of 600 officers who appeared to find his message irrelevant.

“We have completely different problems and a completely different language,” Alexander Nikitin said, shaking his head in disgust at the Rev. Schuller’s pep talk on the power of positive thinking. “He’s speaking for his own audience, for American senior citizens or for people who already have some faith in God.”

Like most of the officers, Nikitin said he attended because he had expected to participate in a meeting with American military officers. “Of course I wouldn’t have come if I had known this would be a sermon,” he said.

Schuller is visiting Russia to finish a tour that was cut short last September when he suffered a head injury in the Netherlands. During the current trip Schuller finalized a one-year contract with Ostankino Broadcasting Co. for rights to air his weekly “Hour of Power” service from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove.

Schuller’s message--that perseverance, optimism and faith will make any dream come true--found little resonance in this audience. With their olive-drab uniforms shorn of the old Soviet Army insignia, the officers said they were too concerned about keeping their jobs, finding housing and feeding their families to spend time dreaming about the future.

“He has no idea how Russian officers live,” said an officer who gave his name only as Mikhail. “We are like beggars--the government doesn’t worry about us anymore.”

Scornfully jabbing his finger at the Russian translation of Schuller’s best-selling book “Principles of a Happy Life,” which advises people to accept that “everything will turn out well in the future,” Mikhail added: “Living by these principles would be impossible for us.”

Schuller’s visit, the first time an American religious leader had addressed Russian officers, was arranged by Gen. Nikolai Stoliarov, assistant chief of staff of the Commonwealth of Independent States’ armed forces. Stoliarov had met Schuller this spring in Garden Grove after attending the evangelist’s Easter service.

“The more cruelty and hardship, the more worries about material things there are in life, the more important it is to make room for spiritual values,” Stoliarov commented in an interview.

Somberly, the general warned that army leaders must seek a new, humanitarian foundation to replace the collapsed ideology of communism. “An army is inherently built around violence,” Stoliarov said, “so it’s important to give soldiers spiritual values. Then they won’t raise their weapons against their own people.”

Despite Stoliarov’s fervor, the majority of officers seemed to resent the very idea of an evangelist preaching religion to the Russian army, which for 70 years had adhered to the Soviet state’s official atheism.

During Schuller’s 1 1/2-hour sermon, the officers continually grumbled aloud, scoffing at his points and criticizing what they took as a patronizing tone. Some noisily walked out, apparently concurring with Vasily Chorbikov, who characterized the sermon as “a waste of time.”

For those who were listening at the end of his talk, Schuller urged the officers to begin thinking positively and exercising leadership. “The future of your country depends on those sitting in this room,” Schuller said. “You must believe that each of you can change your country into the country you want it to be.”

Yet few officers said they believe that Schuller understands Russia well enough to offer advice. Instead of listening to sermons, they wanted to pursue one-on-one conversations with colleagues in the U.S. Army.