THE FALL OF A SPIRITUAL LEADER

• First some background on what we know.  Ted Haggard was the president of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs.  Christianity Today featured him in a major article on his leadership and his vision for evangelicalism.  He ardently opposed same–sex marriage and made many statements defending heterosexual marriage as God’s ideal.  On a recent broadcast on Colorado TV station KUSA, Haggard stated that he “never had a gay relationship with anybody and I’m steady with my wife.  I’m faithful to my wife.”  But the end of last week, the proverbial dam broke when Mike Jones, a self-described male prostitute, claimed publicly that Ted Haggard had been paying him for sex and drugs over the past three years.  Jones admitted that he was motivated by a desire to expose evangelical hypocrisy and influence the election on 7 November.  (For example, Colorado is one of several states considering a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a “union of one man and one woman.”)  Subsequent to his disclosure, Jones failed a much-publicized polygraph test, arranged by the Peter Boyles talk show in Colorado.  The administrator of the polygraph test said that Jones’s results “indicated deception,” especially in his response to two questions:  “Did you lie when you said you had a three-year relationship with Ted Haggard?” and “Did you lie when you said you had sexual contact with Ted Haggard?”  Ironically, during his Sunday sermon on 29 October 2006, Haggard prayed in public for the election and that all “lies would be exposed.”  He went on, “Father, give us grace and mercy.  Father, help us this next week and a half as we go into the national elections, and Lord we pray for our country.  Father, we pray that lies would be exposed.  We pray that deception would be exposed.  Father, we pray that wisdom would come upon our electorate and that they would think with clarity and with decisiveness, and Lord, that we would be a model for the whole world to see how people can disagree passionately but the rule of law. . . will prevail.”  Finally, in an email to staff members of the New Life church, acting senior pastor, Ross Parsley, wrote that “The board of governors has met with Pastor Ted.  It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true.  He has willingly and humbly submitted to the authority of the board of overseers, and will remain on administrative leave during the course of the investigation.”  Haggard has resigned as president of the NAE and this past Saturday, 4 November 2006, resigned as senior pastor of New Life Church.  By his own admission, Haggard is guilty of purchasing methamphetamine from Jones and now has admitted to some sexual indiscretions.  That this is a tragedy is obvious.  It is scandalous and will harm the body of Jesus Christ.   

• Second, how do we process something like this?  (1)  It is important to remember that, although this is scandalous, the Lord Jesus can take care of Himself.  His redemptive program will go on and “the gate of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).  Scandals are not new and how they are dealt with and how they are processed bear evidence of God’s grace and His justice.  One of the most glaring examples of scandal is of course King David.  Although the king was deeply in tune with His God, David had a problem—a woman problem.  He took whomever he wished and the chapters before 2 Samuel 11 document that problem.  So, when he saw Bathsheba bathing, he took her.  The results were catastrophic.  David committed adultery, she conceived and David had Uriah, her husband, killed.  If we are correct in the timing, for one year David lived with this guilt and cover-up.  But Nathan the prophet exposed David and he was broken.  Psalm 51 documents his repentance and his renewal.  David did not appeal to God’s justice but to God’s grace and mercy.  God forgave David, but the consequences of his sin were felt throughout his family and his kingdom.  It was a monstrous tragedy!  The effects of Haggard’s sin will be felt across the church and across his family.  In Saturday’s New York Times, there was a photograph of Haggard in his car being interviewed by a reporter.  Next to him was his wife and in the back seat at least one of his children, a son.  Can you imagine what hurt, pain and emotional trauma is now at the center of their lives?  There is a dear price to pay for sin and Haggard will experience that.  (2)  Haggard’s fall demonstrates how serious being a leader really is.  Leaders, according to Scripture, are always called to a higher standard—and Haggard is no exception.  Leaders experience scrutiny and examination at a level not expected often of those they lead.  Further, because they are leaders, they are vulnerable.  If there is a character flaw or a weakness, Satan will attack and sometimes succeed.  Haggard offers an example of this.  For that reason, we must pray for our leaders and we must hold them accountable.  There must be accountability structures in our lives as leaders to guard and protect us.  (3)  King David was told that his sin done in private would be done in public and he would be disgraced.  That of course occurred when his son Absalom rebelled.  All the nations surrounding Israel at that time now had an opportunity to blaspheme the name of God.  That will occur because of what Haggard did.  But because Haggard's sin has been exposed, God’s holiness and His justice are vindicated.  He will not tolerate nor will He condone sin.  Our prayer must be that God will bring Haggard to repentance and that He will use this tragedy for His glory and His purpose.  He did so with King David and He can do so with Ted Haggard.

See ChristianityToday.com (3 November 2006) and Alan Cooperman, in the Washington Post (3 November 2006).