Two Options for One Fallen Man

Go ahead. Pick it up. The stone will fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. It’s ideal to hurl with ease at this self-confessed “meth-buying, gay escort-massaging” man of the cloth. And there couldn’t be a better time. He’s laying right in front of you exposed…willing to receive what you have for him. Make him pay!

I too see the pile of stones. I walk by because I’m not worthy to pick one up. Oh, the thought has crossed my mind. I have to explain to my three boys why they will never see Ted Haggard, with his contagious smile and infectious laugh, standing in front of them ever again. They will never again tug at my shirt and excitingly say, “There’s Pastor Ted!” I have to share that our Pastor made a bad choice and there are consequences for bad choices. That weak man really threw my family a curve ball. So, why shouldn’t I have the right to fire a curve ball right back at him?

Jesus.

It’s not about the fall of one man. It’s about the rise of another. Without Jesus, we are all screwed. Completely lost. We are all at the mercy of one Man…a Man who knew from the beginning of time that Ted Haggard would struggle and lose his honor, his ministry and maybe even his family.

In an email that I received from Ted yesterday, he said,

“We are completely dependent upon Him. Yesterday I saw the Phil 1:19 in a new light. It says, ". . . for I know that through prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance."

I am so desperate right now. Thank you for your love.

I am so sorry. Please forgive me.

Ted Haggard"We are Easter People"

You see, when Ted says, “We are Easter People,” he understands that his only hope for his restoration is His Resurrection. When the earth shook and the stone was rolled away that Easter morning, Ted’s hope for healing began.

It’s bigger than the fall of one man. It’s about the excruciating pain of the effects on his family and on the New Life family.

It’s bigger than the double-life that gripped him over the past few years. It’s about his daily fight to get a hold of a sin that was killing him.

It’s bigger than the assumption that hypocrisy was being preached from the pulpit. It’s about a man who was desperately trying to let the words on his own lips penetrate his own soul.

Even Gorilla Glue won’t put the pieces back together. His only chance, his only hope, is the fact that today Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father.

And so is yours. How does that rock feel? I’m not quite certain how you have enough strength, integrity, or piousness to continue holding it. Drop it.

Show me a man holding a stone, and I’ll show you a man who has completely forgotten what Christ has done for him.

Genesis 9:18-27
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth. 20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.

Ham’s goal was to expose his father's vulnerability and weakness.

His two brothers, on the other hand, stood in the gap exemplifying grace and reverence for a man who was unable to do so for himself.

The Bible clearly illustrates two different approaches to dealing with a fallen leader.

24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." 26 He also said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. 27 May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave."

So thousands of years later, Ted, just like Noah, lays before you bare and helpless…unable and unwilling to fight back. Do you offer him a cloth to cover his nakedness? Or do you prefer to stand around the water cooler and talk about yet another preacher biting the dust? Is this yet another convenient reason to put off Christ? Did you really need another one?

Seriously.

If you are looking for perfection…keep looking until Christ comes again. As long as Churches are run by humans, there is guaranteed to be humanness. Are you willing to give up the fullness that Christ offers because you are holding out for a perfect Church or Pastor?

I think the Bible is pretty clear about the Godly way to deal with sin. This is no time to “Ham” it up. See the “Shem” for what it is and extend a hand of grace to the same people whom you hope will do the same for you.

I think these are the times when true character comes out. Not only for Pastor Ted, but for all of us who choose to throw stones or extend grace.