Ted Haggard, former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, has been forced to resign as senior pastor:
In the wake of accusations by a former male escort that the Rev. Ted Haggard had a three-year sexual relationship with him, an independent oversight board at Mr. Haggard’s New Life Church found that he had “committed sexually immoral conduct” on Saturday and dismissed him as senior pastor.
I personally disagree with Mr. Haggard’s position on gay marriage, and I do so based on the scriptures as I understand them. But rather than cast the first stone as so many others in the blogosphere have done, I feel it is important to view this situation through the lens of compassion and understanding.
Compassion, first and foremost, for Mr. Haggard’s wife and children, who will now need to sort through the wreckage of their marriage and try to overcome the damage which has been done to their family.
But compassion as well for Ted Haggard, who, like all the rest of us, is a sinner in desperate need of forgiveness. By violating his vows to his wife and his responsibility to his family and his church, he has much for which he should make amends. And his wife would be justified if she chose to divorce him. Which should make our compassion for him all the more real, as he watches his entire life collapse before him because of this sin.
However, this incident calls for understanding, as well. Understanding that perhaps it was the very “taboo” that conservative Christians put on homosexuality which made it more difficult for Mr. Haggard to confront his struggles with fidelity to his family in light of his struggle with lust and addiction.
Furthermore, it calls for understanding that the actions that so many on the religious right have pursued against gays and lesbians are based not primarily on scripture, but rather on personal bias. While I don’t mean this to say that there is not a genuine discussion to be had over whether homosexuality is a sin or not - I believe that there are arguments from scripture on both sides of this question - I believe that the vilification of the “homosexual agenda” and the ostracization of homosexuals from certain segments of the church have no basis in scripture.
When we look at the way Jesus loved people, he did not do it by telling them that they must act a certain way or live a certain lifestyle before he would have fellowship with them. Instead, he ate dinner with them. He called them to be his disciples (even a rather irredeemable zealot who would later betray him). He cared for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Only afterward did the call to obedience to Jesus transform their lives.
I believe this should be the model for the church today - even and especially for evangelicals. You know what? There are a lot of people out there in the world with whom we may not be terribly comfortable. And we may have some questions about whether their lifestyle is the right one to be living. But rather than condemn them before we even know them, shouldn’t we follow the example of Jesus and love them as they are? And then, if they choose to commit their lives to him, we can walk alongside of them and figure out what the scriptures and the Spirit are calling them (and us) to do - together.
This process is as much about us as it is about them. Perhaps we are right and they really are the sinner in need of repentance. But then again, perhaps the sinner is ourself? How will we know if we are not willing to apply that unconditional love of Jesus?
Ted Haggard’s fall gives those of us who are evangelicals a chance to examine ourselves so that we may love people as Jesus did, rather than push people away as the world does.
But will we find the strength to do so?
November 7th, 2006 at 12:51 am
Pastor Ted was my pastor and I just have a few comments on the situation since it is so close to home. I appreciate your article and asking for understanding for him. He really does need forgiveness, as do all of us for our falleness. But I don’t think that your analysis that it was the ostracizing of gays that made it “difficult for him to confront his struggles” is correct. I’ve been in the ministry long enough to know that there are many (more than you think) Christians that struggle with homosexuality. So I can say without a doubt that church leaders are aiding, counseling and restoring people who struggle with this issue quite often. It does not shock or surprise us. As long as the church has the resource, I really doubt that they will turn away a person who struggles with homosexuality and wants to repent and be restored. That has been my experience of the church. Specifically, I think you will be hard pressed to find any statements from Haggard or any member of New Life Church that are hateful towards gays. Yes, Pastor Haggard taught against homosexuality. But it was never singled out. In fact, he taught more against “high mindedness” than homosexuality. My church is for the most part, conservative and politically right-winged. But, they are so loving. And I wish you can experience some of that love that comes from a conservative church that teaches right and wrong but just loves (like you keep encouraging people to do.) And this love is so overwhelmingly evident last Sunday when we all gathered to worship. There were no judgmental words against Pastor Ted, just lots of love, forgiveness, and focus on Jesus. And I believe it was because Pastor Ted had put that DNA in all of us. And on an aside, I would argue that just because I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and that it should be protected under the law does not mean that I’m against gays. There are ways around that so that all people can have civil liberties under the law, gay or straight. But of course you know that.
God is love. And as a member of an evangelical church that is mostly religious right, we love our neighbors like you wouldn’t believe. We really do. I know many of you have very specific political leanings, but do not accuse us of not loving the poor or our neighbors. The world is a lot larger than the media (which is unfortunately how most people get their ONLY info about the world.) There’s so much goodness that the media is not covering about us… so much! The media only reports the political part of the religious right, but it’s not the big picture. And when you don’t have the whole picture, things can get twisted…. Let me just say again, there’s so much goodness. Thanks Steve for letting me comment about this. I’m not political so I’m not saying anything about that. I’m just letting you know more about my church and my friends at my church. -elaine
November 7th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Thanks for that, Elaine. It’s good to get some understanding from someone who is really close to the subject, and I will take your views at face value. I think many times “Mr. Know-It-All” (me) writes from the perspective of “this is how it is ’cause that’s how I see it” rather than simply asking good questions. I could have done better in this regard.
I actually was deeply saddened by Pastor Ted’s troubles. Even though he and I may disagree on certain political issues, this “social justice evangelical” (Jim Wallis’ words about himself apply to me as well) really admired him for the way he was trying to live out all of the teachings in the Bible, the “liberal” ones and the “conservative” ones (labels which don’t really make sense when talking about Jesus).
I really hope that he is able to overcome his struggles, strengthen his marriage and family, and one day return to effective ministry. And I hope your church overcomes this difficult situation and continues to be a place where people can have their lives transformed by Jesus!