LESSONS FROM TED HAGGARD
Ted Haggard's letter to his church http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1326184&secid=1 was one of the most well written confessions I have ever read. He blamed no one except himself and admitted to the dark struggles all through his adult life. He put it well when he said, 'The public person I was wasn’t a lie; it was just incomplete. ' A true pastor, he ended his letter by leaving behind some final advice on how the church to respond to the crisis that he created: advice which I feel all churches can also benefit in going through a difficult situation-
"I appreciate your loving and forgiving nature, and I humbly ask you to do a few things:
1. Please stay faithful to God through service and giving.
2. Please forgive me. I am so embarrassed and ashamed. I caused this and I have no excuse. I am a sinner. I have fallen. I desperately need to be forgiven and healed.
3. Please forgive my accuser. He is revealing the deception and sensuality that was in my life. Those sins, and others, need to be dealt with harshly. So, forgive him and actually, thank God for him. I am trusting that his actions will make me, my wife and family, and ultimately all of you, stronger. He didn’t violate you; I did.
4. Please stay faithful to each other. Perform your functions well. Encourage each other and rejoice in God’s faithfulness. Our church body is a beautiful body, and like every family, our strength is tested and proven in the midst of adversity. Because of the negative publicity I’ve created with my foolishness, we can now demonstrate to the world how our sick and wounded can be healed, and how even disappointed and betrayed church bodies can prosper and rejoice."
I pray that he will be fully restored and run the remainder of his race well.
Ted Haggard's letter to his church http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1326184&secid=1 was one of the most well written confessions I have ever read. He blamed no one except himself and admitted to the dark struggles all through his adult life. He put it well when he said, 'The public person I was wasn’t a lie; it was just incomplete. ' A true pastor, he ended his letter by leaving behind some final advice on how the church to respond to the crisis that he created: advice which I feel all churches can also benefit in going through a difficult situation-
"I appreciate your loving and forgiving nature, and I humbly ask you to do a few things:
1. Please stay faithful to God through service and giving.
2. Please forgive me. I am so embarrassed and ashamed. I caused this and I have no excuse. I am a sinner. I have fallen. I desperately need to be forgiven and healed.
3. Please forgive my accuser. He is revealing the deception and sensuality that was in my life. Those sins, and others, need to be dealt with harshly. So, forgive him and actually, thank God for him. I am trusting that his actions will make me, my wife and family, and ultimately all of you, stronger. He didn’t violate you; I did.
4. Please stay faithful to each other. Perform your functions well. Encourage each other and rejoice in God’s faithfulness. Our church body is a beautiful body, and like every family, our strength is tested and proven in the midst of adversity. Because of the negative publicity I’ve created with my foolishness, we can now demonstrate to the world how our sick and wounded can be healed, and how even disappointed and betrayed church bodies can prosper and rejoice."
I pray that he will be fully restored and run the remainder of his race well.
