Yes, I think that it was a somewhat missed opportunity for the body of Christ as a whole. But I also believe that New Life Church did exactly what they needed to do. At the 26min 50sec point in his audio message, Ted expresses disappointment that his church did not "rejoice with him" that his sin had been exposed. What he fails to acknowledge is that this was after THREE DAYS of him denying the allegations to his church and the media.

I believe that if he had come clean when first confronted, things would have turned out differently for him. I'm glad to hear he is doing well, but I do not appreciate his perspective that he is a victim.

Well, I don't go to Haggard's church so I don't know. He might be entirely right. Most organizations, when scandal hits, deny everything, or admit one error but pretend everything else in their system is just peachy. Sad to say, churches regularly do likewise.

We seem to not realize that it's our humility, not our perfection, that attracts the lost. Perfection (or at least technical competence) just draws the superficial… yet after we've drawn this sort, we wonder why there are so many hypocrites among us.

Haggard's downfall was a great opportunity to point out that leaders fail but Jesus doesn't, and how many of our so-called "accountability" systems really don't come close to doing the job. There but for the grace of God go we all, and we need to keep preaching that.

For all the reasons given in your original linked article, I can't help thinking that this is way too early for Mr Haggard to be back in the pulpit. It's honestly not helping him (even if he feels it is), his family or anyone else.

I am kinda weirded out by his response. I believe that it is a good thing to share the Gospel but did Mr. Haggard ever think that maybe people were so wounded by his actions in his church, and worldwide, that they couldn't do much else but try to heal from the betrayal they felt.

If he feels so strongly about this why did he not come before his church and make the statement rather then having someone read his thoughts to the rest of us? He personaly had the "world at his feet" after this all came out so why didn't he grab the microphone and share the Gospel himself?? Why lay the blame on everyone else?

Maybe this is just his way of spreading the shame around. Who knows the motive? Let's keep praying for him.

I think so. Paul said we should boast in our weaknesses. We focused too much on how awful the sin of Haggard was and not enough time on rebuilding him and sharing the story of very broken people and the amazing love of Jesus with the on-lookers of the world.

God says there is NOTHING we can do to separate ourselves from His love, and yet Christians have a long list of things that can separate yourselves from their love adn community.

i wrestled with whether or not to comment on this post. this hit me pretty hard two years back for a couple of reasons, none of them directly related to haggard or his church. when richard dawkins filmed an exchange with haggard for one of his endless anti-religion rants, haggard became for me the poster-boy for evangelicals who would never let go of a literal genesis, garden of eden, noah's ark, tower of babel - the crowning moment being when ted said to dawkins, 'well, you must not know much about evolution.' ?!?!? and that put into one person and one image and one sentence all that i had come to realize was the absolute stupidity of the loudest voices in evangelicaldumb. and i pretty much felt, what's the use - mike, you're just banging your head against the wall.

but being someone who has battled 'hidden sin' - if that's the label we put on these kinds of things that lie under our beds or stuffed deep in our closets - i saw a lot of myself in ted as his world collapsed and i just kind of thanked God quietly that none of my sin was ever exposed as front page news.

as for whether or not God gives us 'opportunities' every two to three years - well, i think we need to look at those moments not as the tops of mountains or depths of valleys we need to shout from, but more accurately as the cliffs we eventually come to and step over when we run to Self too long.

even ted's words here ... there's still a lot of 'me' in them.

take that however you will.

mike rucker
fairburn, georgia, usa

It's hard to take from Ted what he offers. Reconciliation and redemption for a fallen pastor is not about whether he can get back in the pulpit. It is about who he is before God. Does God call us back to ministry the same way after a "fall"? I am reminded of how Elijah's ministry was changed after his encounter and subsequent run from Jezebel. He was to appoint his successor. He was reminded of the little guys that were still faithful, as if he had lost touch with the spiritual heartbeat of the nation. And it was in grace that Elijah stood. God took the time to explain to him.

In my reading it is not us that can bring good and glory out of a spectacular fall, it is God (according to Romans 8:28 - which applies to the church). These times will certainly be about humility and our humanness, but Ted seems to be saying the best testimony is the one who blew it the worst. I would rather have a man of integrity live out his life day by day who finds holiness as the product of surrendering his life moment by moment to God.

What I would want to hear from Ted is not more beeking (as in "beek, beek, beek") about how "we" didn't do it right, but rather how God dealt with him, and he with God. David's confession was complete, it seems. As soon as he was caught by Nathan he laid everything bare - and paid a price for his sin the rest of his life. What does restoration and redemption look like for a man with everything who dabbles in drugs and male prostitutes. It is David's Psalm 51 that gives insight into this - we all need that sense of desperateness for God and His presence.

If God puts us back into ministry, that is His choice to make, not mine, or Ted's.

The issue isn't mission or "the Gospel".

The issue is the refusal of the evangelical community to face the deep theological structures that generate a public, high-minded moralism while not addressing personal brokenness.

Your communal rhetoric makes it very difficult for people to be honest about where they are at...for all your talk of grace. This isn't just about your "national voices", they are merely reflections of the congregational cultures from whence they rise.

The answer is not to "stand against the gays". The answer is to find a way to robustly and safely understand human sexuality and its murkiness beyond the simple ideals of your cultural obsession with behaviors.

Wow...I'm not sure he has the full right to say that others missed it when he sinned. Where there may be some truth to what he is saying, he really put the entire church's back against the wall with the backlash from his selfish sin. He was the president of the "National Assoceiation of Evangelicals"...he in his own mind was representing the whole nation of evangelicals, so what he did effected the way the entire church of America looked to the public. He gave the appearance to many, that he didn't really believe what he professed, and since he was in charge of the NAE, he put a smudge on the entire church. It just seems everytime he turns around, he's trying to divert the attention somewhere other than where HE missed it.

Are we to love him, help restore him, and cover him? Yes. However he is the last one who should be pointing fingers at who missed it.

Yeah, I too, am uncomfortable with Mr. Haggard being in the spotlight again.

Henri Nouwen's book "In the Name of Jesus" uses the temptations of Christ in the desert to identify three central temptations for those in Christian leadership: to be relevant, to be spectacular, and to be powerful. Jesus, Nouwen says, was none of these; he offered only himself, as he was.

I can't help thinking Ted Haggard is still trying to redeem himself by being relevant, spectacular, and powerful. I want to say, "Listen, Ted: you cannot redeem this mistake. There is nothing you can do to make this better." (Only God can do that.)

Will God use his fall for good? Of course. But that's up to God, not up to church leaders, and it's certainly not up to Mr. Haggard.

Disappointing that he focused on how the evangelical church failed to use this as an opportunity to preach the gospel. Some of the sin he could have made clear was his deceit and denial which obscured the power of the gospel. It is always easier for us to see how others failed, than how we have failed. He just seems to be ducking responsibility again.
I'm sorry he was abused as a child. But what little I heard about sounded more like excuse making. Why did we need to know that? It is relevant for his personal, internal struggle- but does not relieve him of responsibility for his actions.

The public issue is the responsiblilty and integrity of leadership; that there is a standard to which we hold leadership accountable.

That is different from the personal issue lived out in the smaller community; about being all we can be in Christ. Everyone is free to do and be what they want. The church community is a group of people pursuing Christ-likeness in their lives. It is about accepting and encouraging those who are on the same journey as us, and yes, that includes a safe place to bring failures and struggles. This, though, does not preclude the call to holiness in the New Testament. Romans 8 shows that God has provided everything we need to be a holy people. The Scriptural norm is that the follower of Jesus will be living a holy and loving life.

We see this pattern again and again over the decades - a Christian leader at the height of media attention who "falls," then who re-emerges in a public way. Never mind that they admit their sin, seek forgiveness, or whatever, the fact that they feel compelled to do so in the public media is telling.

Why do the evangelical leaders who are caught in indiscretions or outright sins ask us to immediately love and accept them back into the fold, when they have not extended that same courtesy to those they condemned prior to their being exposed? Seems like a double standard am I missing something? Or is it that in falling they are having a Damascus road experience which is opening their eyes to what grace and mercy really are? And are they coming to realize that this is the way they should have responded to those they've condemnned in the past? I certainly hope so. Grace and Peace to all.
Frank

I am very sad for the state of the Christian church that is public-Ted Haggard etc. Yet I rejoice in the thousands of US Christians-rich and poor, weak and strong, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, and all other nationaities, all who live their quiet lives in submission to Jesus. They help the poor and weak, they teach in Chrisitan schools for 1/4 the wage of public teachers, they run homeless shelters, food banks, Goodwills and Salvation Army, they tutor, they job train, and they just plain give and tithe and support millions of mission activities all over the world. So, despite the egos and salaries and commentaries of many "public" leaders, I follow those quiet disciples of Jesus-they are my heros

"Mistakes were made" -- this is the phrase that echoed through my mind as I read today's article. I went back and read MacDonald's original article and I think it was right on in so many ways, particularly in thinking that precisely the wrong thing to do would be to rush Mr. Haggard back into the pulpit too soon. A restored brother and healed relationships are the goal, not the restoration of a place in the spotlight. I am an evanelgical-in-exile, attending a mainline denomination for a variety of reasons, many of them having to do with things MacDonald mentioned in his article. If one cannot serve Christ outside the spotlight, I wonder about the ability to serve in it. Haggard's insistence that his mess was a "golden opportunity" still smacks of grandiosity to me.

K. Lewis

Speaking as someone who was not a Christian at the time of Haggard's fall, I can say that he's right - it COULD have been used as an evangelical opportunity. But it wasn't the church's fault. It was Ted Haggard's.

If, when the story broke, he fell down convicted, admitted what he did and took responsibility for it, that might've actually done something.

Haggard's greatest mistake wasn't in using meth or gay prostitutes. It was lying about it when everyone could see he was, well...

guilty as sin.

This was Haggard's chance to evangelize. And HE blew it.

A sermon about removing the plank from his own eye before commenting about the speck in others' eyes would have been an approporiate message after Ted's fall. But our pastor, Joel Hunter, who personally knows Ted Haggard and calls him brother, took a different approach. He was in obvious distress when he told us "the home team took a hit this week..." but he didn't judge Ted. He said that he knew Ted, and that he was grieving for him and his family. He talked about what a terrible ordeal it must have been for Ted to live and struggle with this hidden sin for so long. His point was that Ted knew his behavior was sinful but was unable to solve the problem by himself. He said that all of us -- each of us -- as mere human beings, are inadequate to heal ourselves of our sins; but God is no mere human being. He and only he, has the power to take away our sins. And then Joel said the most amazing thing as he told us about the magnificence of God. He said that God "used a gay male prostitute to free Ted from the sin that chained him for so long." No condemnation for Ted Haggard, but only thankfullness for the greatness and love of our merciful God. In the end, God gets the glory; what a great message for a man and a church in a time of trouble.

Of course, every opportunity is a redemptive one, as Paul says "now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). All believers should seize the day with the Gospel call.

Not sure how human choices to engage in unsavory behaviors are "God-given" opportunities to evangelize.

Did church leaders miss an opportunity two years ago to present the gospel more widely through the media while the focus was on his scandal?

Um... what? We are called to present the gospel at all times, but this was probably a worse time than most. Even if I'm wrong about that, Haggard is not the one with the credibility to say it.

Jesus Christ came to forgive our sins and to purify us even from our inherent sinfulness. Rather than pointing to a fallen leader and saying "God could even forgive that," we have a much stronger opportunity several years down the road to say "Wow, look at the transformation!" Christianity -- and especially the words of Christian leaders -- lost credibility with Haggard's public fall. It probably wasn't a time of great public openness to Christian leaders talking even more about what could be... but apparently isn't. Let's show evidence of God's power more than we talk about what we believe God could do.

If Mr. Haggard has truly repented and continues to walk with God, then the Christian community will really have something to talk about. But not yet. Let him heal awhile longer, and give him some time to regain trust.

Dr Jack Haford and Pastor Barnett Helped Ted through this time. Ther is alot of downlow bisexuality in the church. I think if a pastor is stuugling he needs to find cofidential and anonymous help from some godly counsel somewhere. sexual abuse is the root of sexual confusion bi and homosexuality. The churh nned to help these people before they get busted and they need to get help before they get busted. How does your church treat memers stuggling with gay? do you exclude or befriend them?

I too am weirded out by Haggard's idea that this was an opportunity missed. But I love what Kevin Davis wrote here: There is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God!!!! Ted Haggard was a christian leader and still is a preacher, husband, father, citizen of the US and heaven, etc., etc. But mostly he is an example of God's unmerited favor. Hallelujah! I too am a witness of the Cross; I pray that I will not be a negative witness by my sin, unrepentance, arrogance, etc. Unfortunately, I am far too often just that...a negative witness. May God's grace begin to shake us all up until we are finally able to give Him the glory that He is due.

As a christian for over 35 years I can tell you first hand of what is happening over and over again. God gives the church body people with gifts and he sets up elders and decons, phrophets to spur on our Pastors to seek Gods face. What we have now is CEO's in office and everything goes through the Pastor. Who dares to challenge the Great Pastor OZ. People who are worth there salt. Ask them about there prayer life.
When you go to church today we have more pastors in office then ever before turning our churches into seeker friendly services.
Dont want to talk about that we might offend sister so & so.
I can't remember the last time I herd a Pastor let the holy Spirit have his complete way in a service. We have micro managed church time and programs to death. When Jesus left and told the disciples to wait in the upper room until you are filled with power from on high.
See what happened then. Our churches are a mile wide and a inch deep.Go back to the basics, get on our knees, get into the word.
When the preaching of the word and leading of the Holy Spirit is given full libertity it's the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin not group repentence over and over each week. Now we spend thousands of dollars on equipment and tecno junk to fill our pulpits with disco fog and turn down the lights for air guitar concert only just to walk away spiritually starving. Come back next week for your fast food fix.
Wake up church.Repent That goes for me to.

If the leaders blew an opportunity to 'present the gospel' then it was not because of the opportunity to present a redemption message but because they would rightly have to present the WHOLE Gospel - including the 'requirements' for leaders..

Those parts of the gospel may be hard to accept, but they have to be presented as well. They are the parts about leaders being above reproach, the seemingly rigid qualifications for deacons and leadership in the church. There is an element of self policing to be sure - and people would rightly question why Haggard didn't just quietly step aside long before and deal with his issues as a result of soul searching within himself.

If and when the church pointed this out, they would then be putting themselves in a catch 22. We can forgive one of our own as easily as we can a stranger but also that it's OK to ignore the gospel that disqualifies you from even being up there telling others how to live a full Christian life?

Or are they supposed to just say we are all human and you can't apply the standards to every leader BECAUSE we are human. The message that would come out as a result would be "Take with a large grain of salt EVERY sermon and word you hear from your spiritual leader because after all, they are just human and prone to the same deceit and hypocrisy we live day in and day out when we ignore our own sinful tendencies"

That.doesn't sound like a great redemptive message and the implications would be devastating. No one would look at their pastor, bishop or church leader the same again. So if the leaders purposely ignored a golden opportunity to present the good news, they probably did it in order not to stab Haggard in the back with his own sword and greatly set back the fragile advances the gospel has made on people's lives in this day and age where multiculturalism abounds and the choices are painfully plentiful.

How would that serve anyone well?

I read through most of the posts. It seems to me that instead of speaking about or against anyone we should just pray for the person just like we would anyone else who needs help.

right or wrong isn't for me to judge but what his family alone has endured has proven that the church has disgraced it's name by it's own actions. who are they to tell this guy where he can and can not live or worship.

God will judge them all, but I feel the church will pay more than anyone

I wonder if there would have been such uproar in the Christian community if what happened to Ted Haggard happened to Jane or Bob Doe in any church.
One thing that I have come to realize is that we as Christians idolize church leaders and pastors and when things like this happen, almost everyone is thrown for a loop. We aren't called to look onto Pastor X or Pastor Y but to look onto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
That however, is not an excuse for anyone holding an office in the church not to be careful and take heed. The bible specifically says that since they are in the position to influence many, they will be held accountable to a higher standard.
Funny thing is there are so many other people/pastors/leaders involved in the same thing or other things. Let this be a wake up call for each of us to get right with God. Let's remove the log in our eyes before taking out the speck in other's!

i heard that ted haggard was being interviewed on television this past week. i don't get cable so i didn't see any of it except clips from oprah show on the internet. it sounds like he's sowing more confusion into the body of christ and society by appearing in the media now. he says he's apologized to the gay community, but i can't figure out what or why he would do that. if he's preaching God's word, why apologize? he also seemed unclear on whether he thinks homosexuality is a sin now, because he talked in terms of failing to live out his ideals. he says the bible is filled with ideals. sounds like he's softening his view of sin to agree more with the world. it's a shame that he just doesn't go away and humbly serve God in obscurity, but i think that's part of his problem. he is mostly all surface and show as a celebrity christian personality but without much substance or depth. to remain in obscurity for the rest of his life would contradict his public and visible need to appear successful for the applaud of others. so now he's taking his doubts and confusion public rather than getting alone with God and staying alone with God to grow deep and mature. i see him as a little boy in a man's body, he comes across that way. i think our evangelical sub-culture encourages celebrity personalities to emerge because it brings recognition and acclaim to the evangelical world, when the publicity is positive, but that same method also brings shame too when the personality figure has a melt-down like haggard. haggard is the symbol of the superficial and shallowness in evangelicalism today. the church is trying to impress the world but comes off looking stupid and foolish. how disgraceful for a top evangelical leader to have to crawl to oprah or larry king, unbelievers, to confess and receive atonement of some kind. that just shows the shallowness of the marketing message of evangelicalism today. do you agree?

Bonnie, I have to disagree... I will never be able to 'get right with G-d.' When I rely on my own strength to sanctify myself, I deny the grace that has been given to me. When I acknowledge that I have fallen and have sin, repent, then he is faithful and just and will cleanse me. It is not my job to try to sanctify someone else. If I think I need to save someone else, I must repent of that thought as well. I can't change someone else.

Only if someone else [in our family] refuses acknowledge their sinful behavior and leave it are we called to call them out.

That is what that (and related) verses are speaking of.

I believe this situation reveals unequivocably the failure and downfall of the Church (30 Million Evangelicals). The Church is supposed to be a place where people can come as they are and find forgiveness and restoration. The Church failed miserably, much more so than Mr. Haggard. It is serious time to change the narrative we present to the non-Christ following world.

My husband and I and our two young boys were stationed with the Air Force in Colorado Springs and became members of New Life Church. My husband retired as an officer to commit to the church and built a home near the church. My husband was inspired by Ted's wisdom and vision but I was uncomfortable but trusted this was what God wanted for us. Our boys were committed to the youth ministry as well and my husband and I to the prayer ministry. I can not tell you how Spiritually devastating this has been to my family. I watched the HBO special and so did my family and he didn't seem to realize or attempt to minister to those who may have fallen due to his betrayal. It was a spiritual attack to more than just he and his family. One thing that caught my ear was he was saddened that he lost, among other things, his Influence and social standing. Is that even Biblical? Maybe that's a good thing.