3 Comments

• Scott Scrimshaw says:

  January 26, 2009 at 4:17 pm

  Again I say: May I suggest that Mr. Haggard look to the example of Jim Bakker the former disgraced PTL club host: Admit the sin & the wrong. Lay low. Build again from the ground up – refusing to capitalize on the national forum his sin has made possible.

  His going about on National TV, his HBO program and now more accusations is sad. His sin didn’t arise overnight and it wasn’t short lived in the acting of it out. He needs to live a quiet, non-public life letting the work of Gods discipline take its course restoring him as a man.

  Jim Bakker demonstrated a contriteness which over a long period of time offers a restoring faith in Christ as the redeemer. Haggards “words” of repentance,”words” of self comprehension and “words” of behavioral recognition are lost in his desire to be in the spotlight. Jesus gets laughed at because of it.

  And why shouldn’t Jesus be laughed at? I am new to this town, with a church on almost every corner and a culture of Christianity rotten at its core. It’s a Christianity in love with itself, it’s institutions, it’s power. So many Christian folk around here seem infatuated with their own personal legacies of greatness. They know what their Grandfather did, who James Dobson is but they seem to not know Jesus. Few have made it safe enough to know the dark secrets of their own children, friends and family let alone those who might walk into their churches, homes or lives. That gets messy. Jesus loved “messy”, lived “messy” and died “messy”.

  It seems to me this is a faith community whose haggard and worn icons, leaders and institutions are being judged. Amen! The resulting brokenness, humiliation, and exposure of shallowness might just work its work and bring about redemption. Just ask Jim Bakker.
• David Rietveld says:

  January 26, 2009 at 4:21 pm

  I agree with Mr. Haggard about making things right with those whom you have wronged. This is part of the gospel message of Jesus Christ…to forgive as you have been forgiven.Christians around the world embrace the Holy Scriptures as the inspired Word of God, and I believe Mr. Haggard does as well. In fact, Christians look upon the Bible as a guide for righteous living and “a lamp unto their feet.” This is the standard Christians use to keep their moral compass pointed in the right direction. Without a reference point, such as the Bible, we might as well make up our own set of standards and live by those. That way nobody is wrong and we can all be right in our own eyes…this is the beginning moral chaos.

  But after we have been forgiven by God and our fellow man, we still have to live with the consequences of our sin, i.e. King David (See Psalm 51). The Scriptures repeatedly state how the office of an elder, a teacher of the Word, or a Pastor is one that should not be taken lightly in the first place because of the tremendous responsibility given to that office. For example, in the book of James, the writer warns Christians in chapter 3, verse one, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” (NIV)

  In the Bible, Paul warns a young pastor by the name of Timothy against the very things we are talking about today…”It is a true saying that if a man wants to be a pastor he has a good ambition. For a pastor must be a good man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must have only one wife, and he must be hard working and thoughtful, orderly, and full of good deeds…Also, he must be well spoken of by people outside the church-those who aren’t Christians-so that Satan can’t trap him with many accusations, and leave him without freedom to lead his flock.” I Timothy 3:1-2 & 7 (Living Bible Paraphrase)

  “Pastors who do their work well should be paid well and should be highly appreciated, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching…Don’t listen to complaints against the pastor unless there are two or three witnesses to accuse him. If he has really sinned, then he should be rebuked in front of the whole church so that no one else will follow his example. I solemnly COMMAND YOU in the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ and of the holy angels to do this whether the pastor is a special friend of yours or not…Remeber that some men, even pastors, lead sinful lives and everyone knows it. In such situations you can do something about it. But in other cases only the judgement day will reveal the terrible truth. In the same way, everyone knows how much good some pastors do, but sometimes their good deeds aren’t known until long afterwards.
  I Timothy 5: 17,19 & 24-25 (Living Bible Paraphrase)

  Then in Paul’s second letter to young Timothy he concludes by saying, “For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth, but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas…The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point. fully prepared to do good to everyone. II Timothy 4:3-4 & 3:16-17 (Living Bible Paraphrase)

  It is an unfortunate situation for New Life Church and for Mr. Haggard. I feel the church followed the biblical mandate, as painful as it was for all involved. (See I Corinthians chapter 5) Yes, God forgives sin, but the consequences of that sin have far reaching effects…the Scriptures are full of examples of this from the Garden of Eden to the days of the early church. Plus, the Scriptures are clear on how the church is to conduct itself should problems come to light.

  I must say that I have never met Mr. Haggard, but I have a genuine concern for him personally. But as a leader of a church, that professes to be the figurative body of our Saviour, I believe he has disqualified himself from the race and from leadership in the church of Jesus Christ; the very Church that Christ died for and who now stands at the head.
• Paul says:

  January 28, 2009 at 5:55 pm

  What a hot load of horse manure! Most intelligent people know what a plague on the human condition religion is. The myth makers should stop because we do not take these fakes seriously any more.