Another BIG SHOT Christian Falls…My Thoughts on the Ted Haggard Scandal, and the Depravity of Homosexuality

Another high profile Christian leader has fallen……Last week, accusations were made against National Association of Evangelicals President, and Colorado Springs Pastor, Ted Haggard (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227579,00.html). A gay, male prostitute accused Haggard of having a 3 year sexual relationship with him, and of buying and using methamphetamines. Haggard did the typical “animal caught in a trap” routine and began to “chew his own leg off” by lying about the accusations and claiming innocence. A couple of days later he admitted to buying meth and hiring the male prostitute, but claimed he threw the meth away, and only had a “massage” from the prostitute. Today (11/5/06) in a statement read to his church, (http://www.newlifechurch.org/) Haggard admitted to “sexual immortality” saying that he had a “dark, and repulsive” side that he has struggled with his entire adult life. For what its worth…here are my thoughts….as a Christian…and as a Pastor…

Initially, I get very angry when I hear of something like this. Not only has this incident affected Haggard’s family and church….it really affects all Christians. Anytime a Pastor falls, people inevitably ask the question: “I wonder if my Pastor is a lying, phony as well.” The fact is that Pastors aren’t perfect. But for every Ted Haggard that’s having a secret affair, there are probably 50 Pastors who are loyal, servants of God who are faithful to their wives….of course the media has no interest in them, because there’s no story there. Imagine THAT headline: “Pleasanton Pastor Says He’s as Strait as a West Kansas Highway…and He’s Never Cheated on His Wife.” Needless to say, it wouldn’t garner much attention, but I think there are more Pastors like that than people realize. Haggard KNEW that he was living a lie and should have gotten out of the ministry years ago and dealt with his problem. He didn’t….and now he’s paying the consequences. We must never forget…. “what we do in the dark, will be brought to the light.” (Mark 4:22)

Another thing I’ve noticed is that the “Pastor Scandals” seem to be getting worse. Remember the Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Bakker debacles of the 1980’s? These two high profile Christian leaders “fell from grace” because of their sin involving women and money. Their sin was evil. But their sin was also heterosexual. While heterosexual sin is damning and grievous in God’s sight, homosexual sin, in some ways is even worse. How is that? Because HETEROsexuality itself is not a sin. Its good for a man to be attracted to a woman….God designed it that way. The problem comes when the attraction takes place outside of marriage. HOMOsexuality is wrong….always wrong…and it’s somewhat warped. Men aren’t designed to be attracted to other men….nor are they designed to have sex with each other. Even the pro-homosexual movement ought to be able to look at the body parts and see that homosexuality doesn’t work. It’s a sin against God….and it’s a sin against nature. That’s not popular to say these days….but deep down….we all know its true.

Furthermore, the Bible indicates that homosexuals reach a somewhat deeper level of depravity. The Bible says: “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (Romans 1:26-28 NASB) Notice that they were sinners to begin with. And they turned further and further away from God…and God’s judgment upon them was to “hand them over” to indulge in the unthinkable perversion of homosexuality. All sin carries consequences. But the bizarre sin of homosexuality shows, in a way, the judgment of God being carried out, on THIS SIDE of eternity. Our country is becoming more depraved….and you can see it in the Pastor Scandals. It used to be “women and money.” Nowadays, its “homosexuality and drugs.”

Just like HETEROsexuality, money itself isn’t evil. Money can be a blessing, but when it leads to corruption, sin occurs. Snorting meth is always wrong. Do you see the progression I’m talking about? Sin involving “women and money” (two things which are NOT inherently sinful, though became sinful because of the circumstances) versus sin involving “homosexuality and drugs” (two things which ARE inherently sinful, ALL THE TIME). I’m certainly not defending Swaggert and Bakker for their sin….but Ted Haggard is in a whole different ball park.

With that said, I think we can learn something from Ted Haggard. After he went through the “denial stage.” He finally “came clean” and did the right thing. He admitted his sin. He is seeking help. He submitted to the authority of his church leaders. And amazingly he asked his church members to NOT hold a grudge against the male prostitute who “went public.” In fact he said they should be thankful for the prostitute’s honesty, because its forcing Haggard to deal with his sin. Ted Haggard committed horrible immorality. He did something very wrong. And now he’s doing something very right. He’s being honest before God and seeking forgiveness and change. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:7) If Haggard is really repentant…then God will forgive him, and cleanse him.

Another thing I want to point out is this: Pastors (and really all Christians) get into trouble when the “main thing” no longer becomes the “main thing.” Our job is to glorify God in all we do, and to proclaim the gospel to a perishing world. Our main job is not to lobby Washington, or win the world to our political party. Guys like Ted Haggard get so immersed in the culture wars that they forget the eternal, spiritual war. We must confront our culture and we must speak out against sin. But I’m afraid Haggard may have spent too much time hob-knobbing with the President, when He should have been spending time with the Lord. I think some mega-church leaders get so intoxicated with the power and the numbers and the popularity that they open themselves up to Satanic attack, and to devastating sin….and then they make complete fools of themselves by doing things like opposing gay marriage, while secretly having a gay affair.

Another thing, I’ll point out is that Haggard says he believes every word of what he’s taught publicly about homosexuality. He calls it sin….he’s right. We just didn’t know it was a sin he struggles with. His opponents will no doubt use this to try and prove that all Christians are hypocrites and that the gay life is “natural” for some. But Ted Haggard’s fall from grace has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with whether or not the gay life is sin. It IS sin. Period.

One last point (unless I think of another one). All Christians need to remember that “pride cometh before the fall.” (Proverbs 16:18) This is just another lesson that sin is a vile cancer upon our souls and when it rears its ugly head its devastating. Haggard has his weak points….one of which is apparently homosexual temptation. I have to be honest…I’ve NEVER struggle with THAT temptation. It boggles my mind to think of how ANYONE can struggle with that. But obviously some people do. Of course we ALL have our own weak area, and our own sin. I need to recognize what mine are and declare an all out war against it in my life….and so do you. Sin hinders our fellowship with God, and it messes up our relationships with each other. Sin can lead to tremendous embarrassment, and devastate our family. Sin is the biggest problem this world has ever seen, or ever will see. And sin….amazingly…..was judged, defeated, and paid for on the cross by Jesus Christ. Those who turn to Him as Lord are forgiven because of His death. I believe Ted Haggard is truly saved…which means the punishment for his “gay sex” was taken by Jesus Christ. Which also means the punishment for whatever depravity you’ve done, was taken by Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, what a Savior! Thank Him, Praise Him, Follow Him, and Imitate Him…..and while you’re doing that, BE ON GUARD against the sin in your life, and the devil who wants to devour you (see 1 Peter 5:8). He sunk his teeth into Ted Haggard last week. Next week….it MAY be YOU! Be ready! Be vigilant! And when sin and temptation come knocking at your door……send Jesus to answer it.

Comments

[snowman]

Great article. I think it is also important to remember that the bible says sexual sin is also against the body.Nothing like taking the sin unto ourselves and into our own body. The temple.I also think it is not a large leap from one type of perversion to another. As one who struggled with internet pornography, I can attest to that. However the work of Christ on the cross is able to redeem us, and restore what the worm has destroyed. I thank God for your boldness Pastor Shane. We need to keep our "men of God" in our prayers. They are not infallible.

[Audrey]

I appreciate your article, shedding some positive light on a horribly sinful story about this Pastor's fall from grace, so-to-speak. The positive being his honesty and contrite heart, and the reminder that we ought not stray too far into the world lest the same happen to us.
It's just so disappointing, though, to see the leader of such a large flock fall like this...and to see others pounce on him as a lion on a lamb for his mistake. I'm sure there will be no follow-up story about his repentant heart, the church's discipline or his apology to the church. I'm not surprised by this, of course, in a fallen world, but I'm still grieved by it.
Thanks for a great blog.