A Fall or An Unveiling?

Haggard - Wasted, Pallid, Ghastly

Haggard: not tamed; wild in appearance, having a worn or emaciated appearance. Synonyms - wasted, pallid, ghastly

Wasted: Laid waste, ravaged; unprofitably used, made, or expended; intoxicated from drugs or alcohol

Pallid: Spiritless; lacking signs of life

Ghastly: Having a death-like quality; resembling a ghost ; shockingly frightful or dreadful

I often find the ironies in life interesting. One example of this is the name of the pruported evangelical pastor Ted Haggard (believe me, I almost choke in even typing this title). It is sort of like Creflo having the last name "Dollar". Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?

Well, the truth is that there is not one thing funny about this situation with Haggard. He has admitted to some extremely shameful and destructive acts while practicing his ministry. However, what is even more disturbing is how the "church" had lifted this man up to a place of leadership, prominence, and pastoring.

Why was the "church" unable to see what was really in the heart of this man? Why do so many talk about his 'fall from grace' when he alone is not responsible for this situation? Does God just leave His church unequipped and vulnerable to deception, unable to discern Godly leadership?

I contend that this case of Ted Haggard is not a fall from grace at all, but an unveiling. This is not someone who has made a mistake. This is someone who has been bewitching and misleading the church for years. God is unveiling what is really in the heart of this man and in doing so, He is unveiling what is in the heart of those who followed Haggard and were blinded by him.

The church has been deceived and this road seems to follow the same predictable path:

1. Elevate
2. Excuse
3. Entertain

Elevate - Raising Up Wolves as Shepherds

The first erroneous step which occurs is that the church lifts up those who are not leaders after God's own heart. There are a few clear signs for such persons: 1) They are worldly and do not direct your affections above; 2) They emphasize the benefit of works while offer very little about the new birth; and 3) They offer up a representation of Christ that is incomplete or distorted. 

For some, church is more of a business than a ministry. They focus on how to draw in the crowds, teach on how to obtain financial prosperity, and secure a position of worldly acclaim. They cannot afford to let you truly be born again, otherwise you would be under the control of the Holy Spirit versus under their influence.

As a result, they encourage a lot of "good works", directing people into acts of penitance (even if they don't call it so) as they continually seek approval and acceptance from God. I am not saying that good works are...well...not "good". I am saying that there is a differnce between good works and God's works. We cannot work ourselves into God's grace.

In an interview with Weekend America on July 30, 2005 Haggard was asked to explain the difference between Truth and faith. His response was:

"I believe in the scientific method. I think the truth is something that can be...there would be emperical evidence to demonstrate it. But sometimes the emperical evidence is iffy and then you get into faith. I think it is important for people to separate between truth and faith; and to represent their beliefs or their hopes or their persuasions as that and represent truth as truth."

Are the truths of God only those things which can be proven scientifically??? Can we "prove" that Jesus is the Son of God with emperical scientific evidence? If not, then according to Haggard, this is not a "truth" only a matter of faith. This is an example of the slippery slope which comes from watering down the Word of God in order to gain the acceptance of the world.

"And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi." I Kings 12:31

In I Kings Chapter 12, the nation of Israel divided itself into two territories: Israel and Judah. Jeroboam, the king of Israel, sets up counterfeit worship in order to secure for himself a position of power and esteem over Israel. To ensure that they stayed under his command, he erected this false system complete with temples, idols, altars and priests from the most base elements of the people. This is the essence of why people set-up false ministries; they want to control the people. In doing so, they surround themselves with people just like themselves.

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." II Peter 2:19

Excuse - Touch Not Satan's Anointed

"I am a deceiver and a liar." Ted Haggard, Letter to New Life Church, November 5, 2006

What is the next phase of this delusion? After elevating those who are false teachers, the church begins to make excuses when their folly is revealed. Instead of seeking an open, honest, and God-inspired response to the situation, we attempt to sweep the sin under the rug.

It is typically at this time where you hear the choruses of, "Well, we are all sinners...Judge not lest you want to be judged...But look at all of the good they have done...You had better not touch God's anointed."

Let me ask you something, "Where is Satan's anointed?" If it is Satan's objective to hinder the church, then is he just hoping Christians will leave Jesus Christ and become Satanists? No. He has ingrained himself into the very fabric of that which would call itself the church, perverting and diminishing God's Holy Word so that people will think they are worshiping Christ as they are filled with every unclean thing. If you want to read a comprehensive overview of God's instructions on judging, I would recommend the following series Didn't God Instruct Christians Not to Judge?.

The video below demonstrates Ted Haggard's lies and continued deceit, even after the initial allegations.



Even the people closest to Haggard knew what was going on. Lou Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition is quoted in the article snippet below:

Sheldon disclosed that he and a lot of others knew about Haggard's homosexuality for awhile...but we weren't sure just how to deal with it. Months before a male prostitute publicly revealed Haggard's secret relationship with him, and the reverend's drug use as well, Ted and I had a discussion, explained Sheldon, who said Haggard gave him a telltale signal then: He said homosexuality is genetic. I said, no it isn't. But I just knew he was covering up. The Jewish Week, Christian Right Agenda In Shambles After GOP Defeat, November 10, 2006

Where was the accountability? Where was the Godly oversight? They didn't know how to handle it? The Scriptures are clear on how it should have been handled:

"And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." I Corinthians 5:2-13

How is it that the pillars of the church, those closest to Haggard and in ministry with him, were not aware of God's direction in such instances? Why did they not know what to do? Why did they join Haggard in continuing to cover up the truth? Why did they pay Ted Haggard a severance package of $138,000?

When the church is run more like a business than a ministry, you do what is called spin and damage control; even if it is in direct contradiction to the Word of God. Like Jeraboam, Haggard had picked leaders who had the same spirit as himself, so that even after he had stepped down, the same deception continued.

Entertain - Itching Ears

Once the mighty have fallen, there is a quick effort to offer a shallow effort of repentance so that the people can once again elevate the false teacher to a place of prominence.

After Haggard's deception was publicly revealed, Haggard picked four men to counsel him - all of whom had known him and worked with him in ministry for decades. One of the counselors, Rev. Tim Ralph, had the following to say:

"He [Haggard] is completely heterosexual," Ralph said. "That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing." Ralph said the board spoke with people close to Haggard while investigating his claim that his only extramarital sexual contact happened with Mike Jones. The board found no evidence to the contrary. "If we're going to be proved wrong, somebody else is going to come forward, and that usually happens really quickly," he said. "We're into this thing over 90 days and it hasn't happened."

Are you kidding me???

So it only took Haggard 90 days in the presence of these men to be cured of his "acting out" (is that what we call sin now)? Louis Sheldon has admitted that many close to Haggard knew of his double life. So these men, who had known Haggard for decades and were some of his closest confidants, were able to accomplish in 90 days what they had not been able to accomplish in over 20 years?

So now Haggard is back on the circuit (cause I sure can't call it ministry) serving as a guest speaker at churches and running an insurance business on the side. How blind, how stiffnecked, how obstinate must a church be to invite Haggard into the congregation as a speaker? Will the "church" continue to walk down this road of deception until Jesus returns?

"Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter." Isaiah 56:11

Just last week New Life Church acknowledged that there was evidence of another allegation of sexual impropriaty involving Haggard. A male church volunteer had come forward shortly after the initial male prostitue allegations surfaced in 2006. According to the church board there was "overwhelming pool of evidence [of an] inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship [that] went on for a long period of time ... it wasn't a one-time act."

What did the church leadership do when this came to light? They paid the young man off; reportedly a six figure settlement to keep him quiet about the abuse.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." II Timothy 4:3-4

Am I talking down to those who believed in Haggard? No. I am asking you to consider, if you are under the leadership of an unGodly man and you cannot see anything wrong, why is that? Is it that God has left you defenseless against these ravening wolves? Or is there some blindness in our own hearts that not only stops us from seeing that which is not pure, but allows us to follow after it?

It is all of the millions of Christians who supported Haggard that made this possible.

The fame he aquired in the world? Your endorsement made that possible.

The position as a leading evangelist he obtained? Your organization membership, book purchases, and conference attendance allowed that.

The money they spent to pay off the male church volunteer? Your money.

The severance package they paid Haggard? Your funds.

There can be no finger-pointing to Haggard without at the same time evaluating what it is in the heart of man that allows him to support such a farce. And don't stop at Haggard. This same spirit can be seen on Eddie Long, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Rick Warren, etc. Go on down the list.

What are people waiting for before they turn away from these charlatans who are pimping the church to make of themselves some great one?

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Revelation 18:4