tim liu's blog

As a pastor, it's been painful to hear the story of the fall of Pastor Ted Haggard. I've read his books, seen the fruit of his ministry, and even attended a class taught by the worship leader at his church. I believe that he was a good man who served God, but is now facing the consequences of his sin. One of the saddest things is to hear people reveling in his failures and ridiculing him for being one who fell to the same sins he spoke against.

One of the best responses that I have heard is from this Discipleship Journal newsletter:

"Everything in your life is public. There are no secrets. Everything you say, everything you do, every place you go, every thought you think is going to be known by all. So if you don't want to do something that you'll have to keep secret, don't do it. Don't believe the lie that you can ever say something, do something, go somewhere, or think things that others won't know about. People who believe in secrets are people who ultimately fail."

Those straightforward words of exhortation come from Ted Haggard's 2002 book, Letters from Home...Everything You Need to Know to be Successful in Life.

It may be tempting to condemn Pastor Ted for his sins, but before any of us begins throwing stones at our brother in Christ, consider this: If each of us had to openly admit our deepest, darkest secrets to the whole world today, how would we fare?

The answer is pretty obvious, I don't think any of us would be too happy if all of our secrets were brought to light. Not to excuse Haggard's failures or to pronounce a hasty forgiveness, but I think this is exactly what Jesus meant when he confronted the woman caught in adultery and asked the one who is sinless to cast the first stone.

I am sorry for Haggard and his church and his family. Its not easy to be live in the spotlight. He didn't make it. But knowing the darkness of my own heart, I can't honestly confess that I am any less a sinner. Thankfully, the place of failure is where God's grace begins.

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Another great commentary ("When Leaders Implode") comes from one of my favorite pastors, Gordon MacDonald who recovered from a great failure in his life.