Sunday, November 05, 2006

The Fall of Ted Haggard

Ted Haggard was a well-known evangelist, the pastor of a mega-church, and a politically influential opponent of same-sex marriage—until a few days ago when it was revealed that he had been involved in drugs and homosexual activity. He fell, in disgrace.

I hate when things like this happen. It is a tragedy for all of us. Nobody is perfect, and when one suffers, we all do. When a Christian is shown to have clay feet—especially a prominent one—the whole body of Christ suffers a tarnished reputation. I fear this is one of the consequences of “the Church” becoming so deeply involved in politics and social battling. I hope we (“the Church”) will handle this in a loving way that will glorify God, as that should be the aim of all that we do and say. Forgiveness comes through the grace and mercy of God, through Jesus.

Here is a Yahoo article that comes from Reuters:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - Disgraced U.S. evangelist Ted Haggard, a vocal opponent of gay marriage, said on Sunday that he was guilty of "sexual immorality" and that he had long battled with a "repulsive" side of his life.

"I am guilty of sexual immorality, I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark and I've been warring against it my entire adult life," Haggard said in a letter that was read to his New Life Church in Colorado Springs by a church overseer.

Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after being accused by a male escort of having had a sexual relationship with him. He also agreed to step down as senior pastor of the New Life Church on Saturday."