On Haggard and Recovery in the Hospital for Hypocrites

I think that the first time I'd heard of Ted Haggard, at least that I can remember, was a few months ago when he and other leaders from conservative evangelical churches issued a statement saying that they believed global warming was for real and that it should be a concern for Christians. At the time, I saw that he was president of an organization called the National Association of Evangelicals, of which I don't think I'd ever heard, and pastor of a large Colorado congregation.

Today, a lot of us know who Ted Haggard is and about the allegations that he paid a homosexual "escort" for sex and was involved in drug use. (Also see here.)

I hope that this all proves to be untrue. But, true or not, I will be keeping Haggard, his family, and those he has led in my prayers.

And, true or not, I hope they won't cause Haggard to run from the Christian family or for the Christian family to turn its back on him.

I've often said that the Church is a hospital for hypocrites, a place of healing for recovering sinners. None of us measures up to our high ideals and we are all sinners. The Church is the best place for those addicted to sin to recover, a place where we can declare that we are "in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves," as we Lutherans often declare, and where we can hear the Savior Who stood up to a mob bent on killing a woman say to us, as He did to her, "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:11)

In saying all of this, I don't mean to make light of these allegations. Sin is deadly business and repentance is more than saying, "I'm sorry." Repentance is walking away from sin and walking toward God.

Sin is obviously alluring to all of us not because it's so repulsive, but because, at least momentarily, it's pleasurable.

The acts and motivations we call sins aren't inherently bad things; they're often good things done at the wrong times, in the wrong places, or with the wrong people.

And, since we like pleasurable experiences, we can, without keeping steadfastly turned to God, entice ourselves or be enticed into appropriating those experiences in the wrong ways. (And I believe, because we're all individuals, each of us finds some sins particularly pleasurable. But the thing I've noticed is that when we let one sin to nest in our lives, others start looking good to us, too.)

Pleasure is addicting and sin is an addiction to a pleasure that's unhealthy, either for us personally, or for our relationship with God, or our relationships with others.

Getting free of any addiction is painful. At AA they call the process by which that happens detoxification. In Christianity, the movement in which AA was born and bred, we call it dying to sin. We volunteer for this experience so that the old self can die and the new self can rise and walk, now and forever, with Christ.

That isn't easy. Fortunately though, our "Higher Power," the God we know in Jesus Christ, goes through it with us. He also gives us a family, that hospital for hypocrites, the Church, to help us through each day!

I hope that Haggard and all effected by these allegations--true or false--can find solace and new power for living in the hospital for hypocrites where repentant sinners are given fresh starts.

[UPDATE: Thanks to Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice for linking to this post.]

[THANKS SO MUCH TO: Pastor Jeff at Conblogeration for linking to this post and for his kind words.]

[THANKS TO: Mike of Mike's Noise for linking to this post. Mike lists a number of resources dealing with the fallout of the Haggard situation.]