Posted on 11/03/2006 7:55:35 AM PST by Alex Murphy
The Reverend Rob Schenck, president of the Evangelical dominated National Clergy Council in Washington, DC, and chairman of the Committee on Church and Society for the Evangelical Church Alliance, America's oldest association of Evangelical clergy, released this statement today on the resignation of the Reverend Ted Haggard from the presidency of the National Association of Evangelicals:
"Ted Haggard has denied the allegations made against him. So far, there is only one accuser. The Bible says no man is to be condemned on the testimony of a single accuser. We must prayerfully wait out the investigative process and continue to judge by the evidence.
"Should this accusation prove true, it will only be another in a long history of human failure. The Bible says if we say we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us. Evangelical Christianity does not rest on frail and sinful human beings, but on a just and righteous God in who 'changes not.
"We should pray for Ted Haggard, his family and church and for his accuser that the truth be made known, repentance follows and restoration for all who may be affected."
Rev. Schenck is traveling to Maine today and is not available for comment until Monday morning, November 6.
A further statement on the nature of the case will be issued by the Reverend Dr. Charles Nestor, senior fellow for public policy for the National Clergy Council. Dr. Nestor is available for interviews through the National Clergy Council office. Contact Dane Rose of National Clergy Council at 202-546-8329, ext 106.
Prejuding the congregation, eh? Isn't there a verse about motes or something like that somewhere in the Bible someplace?
Actually I believe I said at the beginning of that, "it sounds like they are...." If I didn't, I should have. That specific sentence should have a qualifier like, "they probably won't ever get around to..." I base the "probably" on the first news reports of support in spite of where things stand. I'm sure they are in a difficult position. But their ministry is toast if they fail to give a biblical response.
Your emphasis just may be misplaced. I think a better reading is: We are to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. His, not ours. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. All have sinned and fallen short.
By that standard we are all Ted Haggards. None of us is worthy to stand before God. None of us is worthy to preach His Gospel.
Rather than say that we expect them to fail, we should say that we hope they will not fail. Rather than say we expect them to do what is wrong, we should say that we hope that they will do what is right.
We are to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.
It is His righteousness. But it is righteousness. There are biblical qualifications to be a pastor. I think it is an "everybody lies about sex" equivalent to always throw out "none of us is worthy." It is a focus on one doctrine at the expense of others and leaves the church without any means to seek holiness and purity.
I did not jump to any conclusions. The church is already saying they stand by their man. It is all very Bill and Hillary if you ask me. We the church of Jesus Christ need to take sin seriously. The man has admitted to breaking laws. Is it a felony to buy meth?
Remember now.....he BOUGHT it but never USED it.
Are they standing by him with expectations that he will return to the pulpit even if found guilty? If so, then they may be looking at a watered down gospel. OTOH, if they are standing by him because he is a fellow sinner saved by grace, and capable of being redeemed, then what is the problem with that? Isn't that what churches are for?
Is it a felony to buy meth?
No. It is generally a misdemeanor unless there is some intent to distribute. Further if you complete a drug rehab program after a misdemeanor drug conviction, your conviction will be expunged. Kinda like God forgetting your sins.
Pastors are not perfect. They should be held to a higher standard, no question about that. But then we must always remember that our own sins look so much worse on other people than they do on us. And are our sins any less eggregious? Who are we comparing ouselves to? Haggard or Jesus?
Meth....Massage....But no "Happy Ending" ?
Yes, some pastors are awesome, but I think I have a jaded view because I was an Episcoplian till it got so extremely weird. I bet you do a great job
News flash--Repubs and conservs often vote for people they strongly suspect are homosexual. As long as they do not make it a problem for the voter, the voter doesn't make it a problem for the pol. And to a certain Southern Senator...We already know. We voted for you, anyway. So don't let some idiot blackmail you. When we put you out of office during the next primary season, it's not because you're light in the loafers.
The things I am tempted by (chocolate, hamburgers, fries, pizza, bacon) are deadly too. Those are very serious things for someone over 50 to be tempted by. I give into those temptations because I am weak, and I really like hamburgers.
I am no better than Haggard. He just seems to have more idle time and money than I do. If I had lots of money and lots of time to spend it, I'm sure I'd have more serious temptations than fast food.
Thankfully the Lord keeps me busy and poor.
I mean like it says in the only prayer our Lord taught us: "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." The message is quite clear. If you do not forgive others, then you reject God's mercy for yourself.
His Kingdom and His righteousness.
I think P-Marlowe answered that very well:
Your emphasis just may be misplaced. I think a better reading is: We are to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. His, not ours. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. All have sinned and fallen short.
By that standard we are all Ted Haggards. None of us is worthy to stand before God. None of us is worthy to preach His Gospel.
That's pretty scary isn't it.
With that in mind, I forgive you, stripes.
There are other things in that prayer we need to pay attention to. You can't take that entire prayer to mean we should just dismiss sin as an issue. Forgiveness should never be the enemy of righteousness. In fact, it totally loses its meaning if it serves to excuse and cover sin. In our love for sin we have degraded the gospel and God's grace into nothing but an excuse for sin rather than freedom from sin.
God's mercy cannot be far behind.
Come on! This is not biblical Christianity. It is a perversion of Christian doctrine.
He immediately stepped down. I seriously doubt he would have done that if the story wasn't at least partially true.
Forgiveness generally follows admission and repentence. All I have heard from him are some semi-lame deflections.
Forgiveness does not mean that he should return to the pulpit. Ronald Reagan said that Christ convinced him that his recovery was dependent upon him forgiving John Hinkley. That did not mean that Reagan would be willing to walk into a room with Hinkley, hand him a gun, and stand quietly, stating he trusted him not to shoot again.
Similarly, if a captain steers his ship into the rocks, he might be forgiven, meaning he doesn't have to pay the penalty of his actions, but that does not mean he should get command of the ship again after it's repaired. There are things you can do which DO disqualify you from a leadership position in the Church.
Whenever we condemn sin, we should also acknowledge that as humans, we are always at risk for sin. Flee sin, but it is extremely dangerous for any human to hold themselves up as an example of what others should be. I firmly believe Satan tempts such people beyond their ability to resist.
I think many of the pastors who have fallen have begun as sincere expositors of Scripture. At a certain point, though, the acclaim of the crowd can be very seductive. I tend to be careful about criticizing professional athletes, for example, because I know how irresponsible I would have been if I had been inundated with the applause and money many of them are when I was twenty or so. Many of these pastors, like the athletes, get money and fame beyond what they ever expected, and being rich, powerful, and sin-free is not an easy thing to do.
There is all the difference in the world between excusing and forgiving. If there is an excuse for something you did, then there is nothing to forgive. Forgiveness means looking directly at the sin of the other person, for which there is no excuse, and forgiving it. And then saying to the person that the sin is wiped out between you as if it never happened, and that things between you will be as they were before.
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