Another church leader has fallen. Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, confessed to having sex with a male prostitute and to using methamphetamine while doing it. My thoughts are probably incongruous, sometimes contradictory, and change from minute to minute but here are a few right off the top of my head.
- CRAP!! There will undoubtedly be a strong backlash against Haggard, and I think there probably should be. I hate the impending black eye and any rash generalizations that will follow, lumping all "born again's" with Haggard and his association.
- Character always leads. I'll bet there was a time when Ted Haggard was an honest, God fearing husband who was doing his best to passionately follow God. There were probably little character issues that he had either dismissed completely or just never took the time to fully crucify. But the pressures of the rise to prominence will tend to squeeze those little character flaws until they become wild fires out of control. A person's character is who he is, so when the person at the top has areas that he hasn't let God touch, those areas will inevitably lead.
- Isn't it ironic? Ted Haggard had relations with a male prostitute. I can't think of a group of people in the world who are harsher toward homosexuals than evangelical Christians (at least the public voices of evangelicalism like Pat Robertson, Ted Haggard, et. al. Generally speaking of course). I say ironic, some will say hypocritical. Both are probably right.
- Respond like Christ. At this moment, I don't feel very kindly toward Ted Haggard. I feel like he's made the job of advancing the cause of Christ more difficult. But the job of the Church is to be a restorative agent in the world. That means Ted Haggard too. As much as it chides me at this moment, Ted Haggard needs the loving discipline that only the church can offer. I mean discipline in the true biblical sense... not punishment, but training for righteousness. There should be consequences, but we as Christians (evangelical or otherwise) have a responsibility not to crucify Haggard again. If we don't deal with our own propensity toward hate and judgment, we run the risk of landing right where Haggard did. Be careful when you think you stand, lest you fall. We shouldn't defend what he's done, or defend ourselves from public opinion. I think defensiveness has given "us" into a lot of problems. We should quit defending our rights, take up a towel and serve the least of these. Right now that means Ted Haggard. I don't in any way recommend letting him off the hook. I recommend restoration (see 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 2 Corinthians 2:3-11).
- Love Wins. The wake of this story will probably be far and wide. Ted Haggard's actions have relegated him to a notable list of fallen Church leaders with names like Swaggart, Bakker, and King David. But in the end, love wins. We have an opportunity to show the entire world the redemptive power of love. We can love Haggard without condoning what he's done.
- Less talk, more action. Personally, I think that as the Church we need to do a lot less talking on the political/public/news junkett scene and a lot more secret loving. 1 Peter 2 reminds us that we are to live such good lives among the people that when they say something bad about us, our lives will be testimonies to Christ's power (paraphrase). Let's not talk so much. Let's not spend so much time telling people what we are for (or more often what we are against) and more time just being for those things.
At the end of this whole thing, I pray that the Church will be moved to silence. They're not listening to what we say, they're watching what we do. We need to apologize and take responsibility for this but then we need to just start doing the things we're supposed to do. Less condemnation, more loving and calling people to follow us to true wholeness in Christ.
Today, I'll cringe a bit if I have to answer the question about whether or not I'm an "evangelical." My response probably won't be much different today than it would have been a few weeks ago, but there will be the looming question in my mind about whether or not I'm being pigeon holed. But such is life as a follower of Jesus. Some will misunderstand and others won't care. But the lesson I hope I take away from this whole thing is that I don't want to defend anyone, least of all myself, with words. I want my life to be an example, so that people who want to pigeon hole evangelicals will have a harder time doing it because of the kind of life I lead. Then I want to boldly and unapologetically call Christians to do the same. We can play a part in making sure nothing like this happens again, if we will ruthlessly deal with those "little" things that become consuming drives, and if we challenge those in our lives (not the general masses, but those who have given me the right to speak into their lives) to live the same way.
I'll be praying for Ted Haggard today. I hope you will too.
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12 comments:
Thanks for challenging me baby....as always. Love you!
Mrs. You know who. :)
Last week we discussed this fallen pastor during our Sunday morning gathering. I'll share the highlights (echoing some of what you have already said):
Context: We were talking about how the people of God are supposed to be people who have been transformed and who are agents of transformation in the world. If we are not different and cannot truthfully claim that we have been transformed, then we have nothing to offer anyone.
So, what do we do when someone like this pastor falls so hard? If we are different, then we cannot distance ourselves from him, crucify him, demand the most severe punishment, be critical of him, stand in judgement of him, or throw rocks of any kind at him. That is not to say that he should not be held accountable and, at least, temporarily removed from his position. But the most important thing for the body of Christ to do is to pray for him, reach out to him, love him, and be agents of transformation in his life to restore him.
What we need is to keep our eyes on Jesus and run the race with endurance (remembering that obedience is better than sacrifice)... or we too will fall.
You share some very good thoughts on a fallen Christian leader and a helpful response. We are all sad for Ted Haggard, his family and the entire Christian community which suffers by association.
However, a couple of thoughts on your statement about Evangelicals:
I don't know who these evangelicals are who are so harsh towards homosexuals. Most prominent evangelicals work very hard to stress that homosexual sin is not any more destructive than any other sin. The thing that gets some into trouble is simply saying that homosexuality is sin at all. I don’t think I have read any harsh, hate language from any respected evangelical leader including Ted Haggard. The problem is if any evangelical simply says what the scriptures say about homosexuality, they are called hateful and harsh and are attacked ruthlessly by…well, just about everybody. The fact which makes the situation seem irreconcilable is that most Bible believing Christians do not accept the idea that homosexuality is an orientation deserving of protection, like race. We believe it is harmful behavior which is condemned by a loving God because it hurts the people who are caught in its grip.
The real “crime” of evangelicals is having an actual literal view of the scriptures. If you’ll remember, the term use to be fundamentalist, which at its core simply means taking a literal view of scripture. That term has now been replaced in common usage by the term “evangelical.” Your own comments about cringing at the term illustrate the successful vilification of this new classification and those who actually believe the bible to be true and relevant for us today. The simple fact is as long as we believe in a higher, objective truth that is morally binding on mankind, no matter what you call us; we will be condemned as hate mongers.
This of course leads us to the wisdom of your suggestion that we let our love do the talking. Great word! Sadly though, if we “Speak the truth in love” there will be those who will have nothing to do with our love as long as it is in any way accompanied by truth.
By the way...great angry picture of Ted H. What happened, you couldn't find one of him in a hocky mask with a machete?
I would partially agree, about "most evangelicals." Generally I'm characterizing the most vocal and visible. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, et al. I also don't know that those evangelical leaders are just quietly taking a literal view of the scriptures and taking a stand for scriptural fidelity and being brutalized by the media. After 9/11 I heard more than one very public mention that the attacks were God's judgement on the sin in america, especially homosexuality. There was enough said about it that you preached a sermon on whether or not God was judging us. I think you were right, God was not judging us. Dispensation of grace etc.
I'm not in any way saying that we need to go along to get along. I'm not saying we need to minimalize the scripture in any way. But as you've mentioned, the Church, evangelicals (draw the lines however they need to be drawn), are more often classified by what they're against, rather than what they're for. I cringe not because I'm an evangelical, but because of the way John Q Public might be hasty to classify my beliefs based on a few outspoken voices. To me, that does matter. It is important what people think of us. Not important from the standpoint that we need to waver and wag to public opinion, but from the standpoint that the way people categorize us has an impact on how well they listen to us.
My point is simply that it will be much more difficult to villify us as hate mongers if we are relentlessly serving, loving, mending brokenness, and helping the needy, if we're protesting less and doing more. That's something that we can only do on an individual level. The crimes of an individual are applied to the whole. The good of the indidviduals aren't. I don't think all evangelicals are like Ted Haggard. I think the vast majority... vast majority... like you and I are apalled by what happened. My hope is that in the face of the situation that's presented itself, more individuals will work to cast the life and teachings of Christ in a more positive light. I'm not working or pusing toward a more positive general perception of evangelicals or Christ. That's not within my sphere of control. I am working and pushing for more Christians taking seriously the call to love, serve, and take up the towel. I think the Church is good. I love the Church and believe it is God's vehicle for grace. But I want it to do better. Not because it sucks, but because it's got the full potential of the Godhead. Reach for the highest goal. Press on. Run the race well.
I hear you. I do wonder where you have heard the views of Ted Haggard, Jerry Falwell, or Pat Robertson. Do you read a lot of their books or are you a regular subscriber to their sermon series'? I think you know most of what you know of them from the press, which, by and large, seems to be committed to doing anything it can to discredit evangelicals. Obviously I don’t subscribe to many of the idea of a Roberson or a Falwell but honestly I don’t know what they really stand for. I do know they are not terribly influential among mainstream Evangelicals. They are the most “vocal and visible” for a reason. I believe that they are the ones “quoted” because they will say things that when taken out of context can serve the agenda of discrediting Evangelicals. That being said, I have never heard them personally attack a homosexual or any other person the way they have been personally attacked. They have made general statements about a widely discussed issue. Agreeing or disagreeing is fair game but the personal attacks are terribly hypocritical. Those most committed to “tolerance” seem to be the most mean spirited and intolerant when crossed.
While we should always show more love and serve more, if we think that will change the public perception of Evangelicals we are mistaken. Much of perception in contemporary America is created by media which is notorious for distortion. Have you ever seen the news crews at our events ministering to the poor in San Antonio? I’ve had them there in the past and you are lucky if you get a mention and a misquote on the late news. Ministry to the poor is great in their eyes as long as you don’t do it in the name of Christ. When you do, they are not interested. You see at the core, their problem is not with Evangelicals it’s with Christians. As long as we don’t act like Christ or profess the name of Christ we’re fine. How much news have you seen about Rick Warren’s ministry to aids victims in Africa? He is actually one of the most influential Evangelicals but you don’t hear much about what he’s doing. One preacher who screws up dominates the news for a week while thousands serving the poor doesn’t get a mention. No one had ever heard of Haggard until someone who failed a polygraph outs him. I wonder if there was anything good that he’d done that just didn’t seem news worthy.
I know I’m ranting but to be honest, I’m just not comfortable with bashing the Church based on the distorted reporting of our critics. Yes, we have lots of room for improvement and growth. But I’m one who believes we shouldn’t believe our own press, good or bad. I just don’t believe the press. As you know, I really resist the popular band wagon which bashes the church in hopes of being accepted by the “politically correct.” Whenever I’ve seen it done (Miller, Willow, etc.) it just doesn’t come off as intellectually honest.
I guess my biggest concern is when you’re done tearing down the church, what do you build in its place? The church is imperfect and as long as people like you and I are a part it always will be. How are we going to attract people to a community if we are always bashing it? I don’t know, if I weren’t a believer you couldn’t get me to become a part of the church the way some writers today characterize it. The good news is I’ve grown up in the church and I know from first hand experience that they are wrong.
I am glad you are working and pushing for more Christians to take seriously the call to love, serve and take up the towel. I’m proud of you for that. Keep it up! I just think there are some in this generation to who would do well to remember that the church was doing that long before they arrived on the scene and it will continue long after they are gone…whether the culture acknowledges it or not.
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