Ted Haggard

I have never met Ted Haggard, but I have always liked him. While we have some theological differences and certainly “do church” differently, he seems to be a man who loves Jesus and has a passion to see the fame of Jesus Christ spread throughout the earth. So, I was saddened by the news of the events that led to his removal from ministry.

When I first heard the charges against him, my initial response was to defend him. I make no apologies for that. The Bible is clear that we are not even to entertain an accusation against a church leader unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. So, we should never give credence to any accusation against an elder or pastor without proper evidence.

However, now Pastor Haggard has confessed to sexual immoral conduct and has been forced to resign. As Christians, what should we think about this?

1. Everyone is a big sinner—including spiritual leaders. God’s grace is bigger than even the ugliest sin. Rather than driving him from God, my hope and expectation is that Pastor Haggard will have a new appreciation of God’s grace because he has a new appreciation of his own sin.

2. The key to the Christian life is not being good, but being repentant. Spiritual growth does not mean we get better and better, but that we go deeper and deeper in repentance. As J. I. Packer notes, the way up is down.

3. Don’t put your hope in leaders—political or religious. All human beings ultimately will disappoint you. Give them the respect that the Bible commands you to give them. Submit to them as Scripture tells us to submit. Follow them as the Bible instructs, but don’t put your faith in them. Jesus is the only leader who will never disappoint you. Part of the reason the story of David is in the Bible is to show us a) we need a righteous king, and b) no human can be that king. Even David, a man after God’s own heart, was not good enough to be our king.

4. The fall of Ted Haggard, rather than disproving the gospel, serves as greater proof of it. God can even save sinful pastors (I am proof). If that is the case, he can save anyone. The greatest testimony to God’s grace is not our goodness, but our sin, repentance, and rejoicing acceptance by the Father.

5. Leaders are held to a higher standard. The church did the right thing in asking him to step down. That is not contrary to grace, but consistent with it. Sin is serious and destructive and therefore cannot be swept under the rug. Leaders are expected to lead in godliness. Everyone who goes into church leadership understands this. You can be loved, forgiven, and fully accepted and embraced by God, but still not be qualified for church leadership.

6. It is scary to be a spiritual leader. We tend to forget we are in a spiritual war. Satan is wily and is gunning for spiritual leaders.

7. Related to the above, we need to get far more serious about praying for our pastors and elders. Pastors and elders are just men—weak men—and, unless the Holy Spirit sustains them, they will fall.

8. It is scary to be a spiritual leader (Part 2). When a spiritual leader falls, people are hurt. Pastor Haggard’s sin has not only hurt himself, but his wife, his five children, his friends, his church leaders, his congregation of 14,000 people, the Christian community of Colorado Springs, the National Association of Evangelicals (which the PCA is a member), and the reputation of Christ. When a spiritual leader falls, his fall is very public and the damage is far reaching.

9. God is still on His throne. The movement of the gospel doesn’t depend on any man. Even this horrible ordeal is in the providence of God. So, God will use it for His glory and the good of His people. We can be sure of that.