Ted Haggard

Like a lot of Christians, I’ve been watching the news unfold on Ted Haggard of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Read the press release Read the story of CNN

As a pastor, I have several thoughts on this. Some may be surprising but here are some of my reactions now that things have gone from "accusations" to "admissions of guilt."

1. I’m glad that the truth is coming out. I think that Mr. Jones
actually did the right thing. Just like we should expose darkness in
other people’s lives… we need to live authentic lives. Clearly, as is
in the press release, Haggard has done something terrible and needs to
address it before moving forward. (I think the blatant lies to the
media and the purchase of meth were themselves enough cause for removal, now that he has confirmed the sexual side of it… it’s just clear that he needs time away from ministry to heal.) I don’t claim to be perfect, but one of the reasons I am so transparent about who I am is exactly this… look at me for who I am. I’m not perfect at all but I don’t try to hide it either.

2. As New Life moves forward, I hurt for Ross Parsley and the rest of the staff. They
have a lot of work to do to repair a sense of trust with people who
feel like they’ve been deceived by someone they trust. I think the
swift action of the governing body is actually the first step to
repairing that. I also can see how replacing him is going to be tricky.

3. I hurt for his family. I can’t imagine the horror of realizing your dad has been living a double life for so long. It’s one thing to go through a life of "living publicly" like all pastor’s kids must do… but to then see all of that crash down in front of the world, pure and total horror.

4. I’m excited to see that they are looking at a restoration plan. This is honorable and loving even in the midst of Mr. Haggard blatantly sinning before the whole world. (The initial denials that we know so far… confirmed by Haggard.)

5. I still hope that the constitutional ban on gay marriage passes in Colorado. After all, that was Mr. Jones’ agenda. I hope voters still show up at the polls and do what they need to do.

Let this be a call to all men/women in ministry, get yourselves in a real accountability relationship. Not one that glosses over the simple stuff… but that cuts to the heart of the matters and drills down to what’s really going on.