Just got done watching a truly sad documentary on former National Association of Evangelical's President Ted Haggard. The man truly has lost everything in the two years since it came out that he had a homosexual affair and engaged in illegal drug use. The Church he served defrocked him and told him he must leave the state for at least a year and a half. So for that time, Ted and his family moved from house to house and hotel to hotel. Because he didn't have anything more than a bachelors degree in Bible from a Christian University, he was unqualified for any high paying jobs (so for most of the time he didn't have steady work). On top of that, people would recognize who he was and wanted nothing to do with him. He has now been allowed to come home to Colorado, but he essentially lives underground trying to sell insurance.
A few things that struck me about this story:
1. From what I know, the church that Ted served, I believe to some extent, responded rightly. As a leader he is held to a higher standard biblically speaking; He was a huge leader in that Church and for the sake of the Body being able to move on they needed to separate from him.
2. That being said, right or wrong, when an Evangelical leader fails morally he is hated by EVERYONE! Those antagonistic to the Church lick their chops for stories like this, because it shows that "this moralist" is a hypocrite; Evangelicals however much they talk about grace, when someone big falls, do everything they can to get rid of them. I was truly saddened by the legalistic, self-righteous letters that Ted received from so called Evangelicals after his fall. In spite of the fact that he was repentant over his sins and didn't defend any of it, I didn't see anyone trying to carry the burden of this brother as Galatians 6 tells us to do, only condemnation which we are told not to do.
3. I realized how guilty I am of judging others. As my heart went out to Ted, I can remember my reaction when I first heard the news of his fall: embarrasment, shame, and disgust. The thought of reaching out to this badly wounded brother didn't even occur to me. The reality is everyone of us are sinners desperately in need of God's grace everyday (some of our sins are hidden, others are visible, but to God they're all transparent).
So I guess this is the point: Apart from the Good Shepherd that leaves the 99 sheep to look for the 1 that has strayed, none of us (from Ted Haggard to you and me) could have any shred of hope.
1 comment:
well said.
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