The leadership of the New Life Church issued a statement regarding Rev. Haggard. Apparently, the revelations continued and his offenses were such that remaining on the staff was impossible. Reading between the lines, I suspect the overseers determined that the offense was not an isolated event and was of such a nature that they believe some kind of lengthy process of restoration is in order. Most Christian churches will go a long way with a minister to effect reconciliation and given his standing and service there, I suspect he will be given many opportunities to figure out where things went wrong.
There is an almost crushing grief that I, and many others, feel for him and his family.
Anon don’t know you too well, CK.
He could be bisexual or he could be a homosexual man who fell in love, wanted a family and put on the good show. Lord knows there are thousands of gay men who have done the same. I was married to a woman I loved very much. We had children. I loved them very much. But I had no sexual attraction towards women. None. Nada. Zip.
I had to think of naked men in order to have an orgasm with my wife. I couldn’t stand lying to her each time we made love. I was having a affair while holding her. The mental and emotional energy it took to live the double life eventually caused me to have a mental breakdown, which was the beginning of being honest and whole. I now accept myself as a gay Christian man and I have no need to lie anymore to myself or anyone else. The sin is lying and adultery, not his sexual orientation.
CK would love it so simple. People are either gay or straight in her mind. I think things are more complex. The man probably truly does have attraction to women. He also truly does have attraction to men. Sometimes he is much more attracted to men and so he slips and falls. If he were perfect he would be faithful to his wife. But since he isn’t he sins and he asks for forgiveness. Pray for the man. Dr. I would like you to comment on this.
I think I may have some idea what he and his family are going trough right now. I was in full-time ministry, preaching against homosexuality, was married, had a child. I also know the powerlessness of being hooked on meth. The pain that you and your family expierience when it all comes crashing in is overwhelming and stays with you a lifetime.
It is so much better to be living an honest Christian life now. My family, friends and church know my true faith and my true sexuality.
Haggard and his family will go through a long and painful period of mourning, but thank God that we have His promise that those who mourn WILL be comforted.
If he was open about his sexuality enough to be performing gay marriages he most likely would not have a wife to cheat on and could have had an open, honest relationship.
The message here is that modern society is so debased that hyprocracy is the only true sin. If this man performed gay ‘marriages’ no one would care about him cheating on his wife with another person and engaging in sodomy.
I doubt it was Jesus who made him frequent a prostitute and score meth.
It is not hard to figure out “where things went wrong.” Jesus made it clear in Matthew 6:5 what would happen to people like Reverend Haggard. Reverend Haggard chose to ignore the Bible and Jesus, and got exactly what they promised.
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
Jesus does not lie. Reverend Haggard made praying in public (“to be seen of men”) the centerpiece of his life, and as promised, Jesus gave him his “reward.”
The lesson here is that no one should mess with Jesus. He meant what He said, and no one can say they were not warned, especially someone who preached from the very book where the warning was printed.