This is probably one of the most random posts I have done so far and might ever do, who knows? I have my DVR set to record Oprah everyday and didn’t realize she was interviewing Ted Haggard. You may not know who Haggard is, you may not care. . .but he was the pastor of a mega church in Colorado Springs that in 2006 was outed for having a homosexual relationship.
Again, you may not care. . .but the reason this pops up on my radar is, I’ve heard him speak before. One summer when I was in college our youth group went to Colorado Springs for a conference that was being held at New Life (Haggard’s then church) and he was one of the speakers.
He is popping up again because Alexandra Pelosi (Senator Nancy Pelosi’s daughter) did a documentary on his “crisis” as he calls it for HBO that aired tonight.
I’m not going to comment on him and what he did, rather what I want to talk about is the way the church treated him. In both the interview with Oprah and the documentary he discusses the “punishment” he received from his church. He and his family were exiled from the state of Colorado, forced to leave their home and the kids had to leave their school.
This is so disturbing (or maybe even hypocritical) to me. Church is family, and his family turned their backs on him. That might seem harsh for me to say and I’m aware as I’m an outsider looking in.
I think Haggard summed up my feelings best in the documentary when he said: “They (his church) would have realized that I am their business. Someone struggling with sin is the purpose of the churches on earth. The churches on earth are here to help people with their sin problems.”
(Side note – sin in this case is how his church described his actions, again I am not commenting on the choices he made.)
The ironic thing to me is, he started that church in the ‘80s and he is a big part of what the church is today.
I know that he made some bad choices and has made a lot of people mad but I am amazed at the enjoyment the new media seemed and seems to get from beating him down. I guess being a pastor made this such a dramatic “fall from grace.”
I wish him and his family all the best. Okay, I’m off my soap box now, thanks for letting me rant. See I told you it would be random, but since this my blog and this is what I’ve been pondering I thought I would share it here. . .thoughts? And you can disagree with me. . .
Im sure there will be a (more scathing) follow up of this interview and others and Mr. Haggard, as well as The Church, on littleballofury.blogspot.com. Atho you are not far off the mark Kate.
I’m with you, Kate. Unfortunately, I know all too well that sometimes the “safety net” of a church home can be more like a lion’s den. Not that he and I experienced the same thing by any means, but I think the lesson to be learned here is that if people care more about PERCEPTION (associating/accepting certain “sins”),then people who are already hurting/struggling will become even more hurt/humiliated. If we (as a people and body of Christ) care about LOVE (and that’s what Jesus was all about), we get the opposite result- comfort, peace, and acceptance.
I feel for him and his family. It might not be “right” in his church family’s eyes, but that doesn’t mean that he deserves to be treated like he was…