Update III: Haggard cops to buying drugs and receiving a “massage,” but not sex. OK.
Later…You’re welcome, Bob. 
Update II: Remember this, public bloggers: YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE, so don’t even try. So far I’ve read on a Christian blog that I’m “bad-mouthing” Haggard (the blogger apparently ignored the second half of the post), while non-Christians say I’m being “easy” on Haggard because he’s a Republican.
Take my advice: blog how you want and say what you need to say. Tell the truth, and watch unconstructive and flat-out misguided criticism bounce off you.
Later…Christians, focusing on the fact that the homosexual prostitute failed the lie detector test is missing the point. As I said and linked earlier, Haggard admitted to some “indiscretions. The “sex worker” may be lying, but the point is that Haggard opened himself up to this mess, whatever the “indiscretions” may be. I, for one, don’t need to know the nasty details.
Read David “Jolly Blogger” Wayne’s post about the Haggard mess.
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Update: John Kerry redux? Fasten your seatbelts!
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A reader asked me to blog about former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, pastor, and outspoken opponent of homosexual “marriage” Ted Haggard, accused of paying a homosexual whore for sex. I wasn’t going to touch it, but as a Christian, I need to say something.
Here’s a newsflash for unbelievers: Christians can be perverts, too!
[Update and clarification: Yes, sex outside of marriage is a perversion of what God intended, too. We all fall short of God's standards, so in a sense, we're all perverts. It's a perverted world! Anyway, if you don't feel like discussing this, check out my GodBlogCon wrap-up post.]
At first Haggard denied the allegations, saying “I’ve never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I’m steady with my wife. I’m faithful to my wife.” Then he admitted to “some of the indiscretions claimed by Mike Jones, but not all of them.”
So which part is he denying? Is he copping to the sex but not the drug use? He popped a pill or two but didn’t have sex? It really doesn’t matter. Haggard’s finished as a “Christian leader,” anyway.
Hypocrisy is mightier than the sword. When you preach/teach/nag against something and people find out you’re doing the thing you preach/teach/nag against, you are a hypocrite who deserves ridicule, especially if you’re high profile.
Having said all that, I have to say this: No Christian should be surprised that Haggard may have given in to his perverted thoughts and turned them into perverted actions. It’s a temptation we all face (temptation in general, people, not necessarily the same-sex kind).
On a personal note, I’ve never been tempted to start drinking again or return to the depraved lifestyle I once led, but the possibility of falling back into those sins is always there. I am tempted in other ways. Running a public blog and dealing with anonymous and thoughtless idiots and haters tends to bring out the “old woman” who wants to curse these people, hunt them down, and dare them to say to my face what they write in e-mails or on this blog.
But I pray through it, knowing that God has placed me here for a purpose, and acting like a fool in public is not part of that purpose.
Christians constantly are being watched, and rightly so. Any little thing we do that appears hypocritical, unbelievers jump on it. To justify their own sin and rebellion, they “expose” ours and say, “See? The self-righteous hypocrite!” They rejoice when they “discover” we’re human, too!
But I’m glad they’re watching me. I defy the stereotype of what a Christian should be. Remember the car commercial catchphrase, “This ain’t you daddy’s Oldsmobile”? Well, I ain’t your momma’s Christian.
I debunk the myth of the doormat Christian, the “nice” Christian who won’t defend herself or won’t speak the truth boldly and loudly for fear that it would appear “unloving,” and I hope the unrepentant get an eyeful.
Back to Haggard. He got lost somewhere along the way, but the beautiful thing about God’s grace is that it never leaves the believer. If he is truly saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, Haggard has a mighty arsenal at his disposal. God allows these things to happen to Christians for a variety of reasons, and I won’t try to guess why this happened to Haggard.
The Bible teaches that we’re all sinners, Christians and non-Christians alike. The difference between the two is that Christians are forgiven for all the sins they’ve ever or will ever commit. Non-Christians are not. They are still under God’s wrath, and unless they repent of those sins and accept Christ as their Savior, they will be judged and punished as unrepentant criminals.
Haggard knows that God has already forgiven him, but the difficult part will be asking his family to forgive him and forgiving himself. Christians know that no matter what we do, the one true God still loves us. He loved us enough to sacrifice his Son so that we wouldn’t be punished for our perversion. Christ bore the shame of it for us.
This fact should embolden all Christians. So don’t despair or shrink away in embarrassment as we learn more about the extent of Haggard’s perversion. Pray for him and heed God’s warning:
“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. ” (Galatians 6)
