Haggard thread #2

Haggard, in his letter writes:Our church body is a beautiful body, and like every family, our strength is tested and proven in the midst of adversity. Because of the negative publicity I’ve created with my foolishness, we can now demonstrate to the world how our sick and wounded can be healed, and how even disappointed and betrayed church bodies can prosper and rejoice.

gasby writes:Is Haggard apologizing for his infidelity or for his gayness? Is the dark side that he talked about his urge to commit infidelity or his homosexuality?

Haggard's infidelity, not with whom, ended prominent pastor's tenure, official says
By Eric GorskiThe Rev. Ted Haggard lost his pulpit because he admitted to "sexual immorality" outside of his marriage, and the gender of the other person involved had no bearing on the decision-making process, a member of the panel that fired him said Monday."Not one time in 3 1/2 days (the panel met) was it ever addressed or discussed that this situation was with a man," said the Rev. Michael Ware, senior pastor of Victory Church in Westminster.
"That never entered the conversation," Ware said. "Let's diffuse that right now. I think people are trying to make this a debate about evangelicals and homosexuality, and this was not a debate in this situation at all."Ware's comments shed more light on Haggard's stunning fall as one of the nation's most prominent evangelical leaders. Other observers parsing Haggard's two-page apology and confession that was read Sunday at New Life Church in Colorado Springs say they can't tell what "darkness" he is struggling with - marital infidelity or same-sex attraction.

RMN writes:Haggard's scandal may be the best known but is hardly the only one. Consider what happened just a week before, at a church Arterburn declines to name:During the Sunday sermon, the pastor turned on his PowerPoint screen to highlight scripture notes for his congregation."But the PowerPoint notes didn't come up - it was the most disgusting picture from his pornography collection," Arterburn said.Elders removed the pastor immediately, and he is being counseled now by Arterburn's ministry.

DenverPost writes:Those who have guided public figures and religious leaders through their darkest moments say Haggard's road ahead requires honesty, humility, rest, submission to authority and - above all else - time.The outcome - possibly several years down the road - could range from retreating to private life to a second act for Haggard. The evangelical Christian world is populated by rehabilitated figures such as Watergate felon Chuck Colson, who runs a prison ministry, and disgraced PTL founder Jim Bakker, who has a TV show again. (...)"We are not very good as a church with knowing how to do restoration,...We either want to sweep it under the rug and say it's no big deal or we want to make it impossible."Haggard's restoration is to include a clinical exploration of his sexuality, possibly including a polygraph test and consulting with a psychologist, church officials say. Haggard has said he is not gay."There is a tendency to say, 'A heterosexual affair, any of us could do that,"' Campolo said. "But there is not the same grace shown to people who commit a homosexual act. Somehow this is put into a super-sin category."