Ted Haggard, the scandal, the Church

Since the Ted Haggard story broke, I have wanted to write a commentary on it, but have held back because I didn't want to sound condescending but at the same time not backdown from our responsibiltiy to obedience.

I share this article by Greg Stier, that I think is dead-on. There has been many good commentaries written on this tragic subject. Stier is a guest columnist for The Christian Post and this article appeared on the Saturday November 4th online edition.

I wanted to share the three points Stier made in the article:

How should we as Christians respond to this scandal?

1. Pray. We need to pray for Ted Haggard, Ted’s family, New Life Church and, yes, Mike Jones (the gay accuser). We need to pray that, from the ashes of this scandal, there will be genuine repentance and restoration no matter what the actual sins and transgressions were. We need to pray for the name of Christ to regain renown in spite of this setback.


2. Be careful. Galatians 6:1 reminds us, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." That last sentence should make us all take heed. We need to watch ourselves. Maybe our sin is not in the meth or Homosexual category but we all have our battlefields where we wage war against our own spiritual nemesis. In addition to warning us this passage reminds us that our heart should always to be to restore the fallen brother. If there was sin and there is genuine repentance our sole goal should be to see his spiritual life and family life completely restored. Does that mean that, if there was flagrant sin, that Ted Haggard will automatically or eventually be restored to his position of leadership? That is for the leadership of Ted’s church and denomination to, under God’s guidance, figure out. We need to pray for them as they seek God’s guidance.

3. Remember that this is no laughing matter. I joke around alot on these blogs but not on this particular post. Why? There is nothing funny about this scandal. The name and fame of Christ are at stake with the watching world.


The Ted Haggard Scandal...No Laughing Matter
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