Chalcedon Blog

Ted Haggard (I won't use his title "Reverend"), is apparently beginning his long restoration process under the oversight of men such as Jack Hayford, pastor of the megachurch Church on the Way in Van Nuys, CA, and Tommy Barnett, pastor of the megachurch First Assembly of God in Phoenix. It will involve a long process of counseling, advice, correction and rebuke.

James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, was also supposed to participate as an overseer but dropped out citing a lack of time. I can't imagine how Hayford or Barnett has any more time than Dobson.

I've condemned not only Haggard's actions, but the response of those around him, his church, and now this alleged restoration process. My "harshness" has drawn significant consternation from "compassionate" Christians armed with a single text: Galatians 6:1.

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

This verse is hardly appropriate in this instance. We are clearly in the territory of 1 Corinthians 5 where there is "fornication among you... such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles" (v.1).

One "compassionate" friend of Haggard's church recently wrote me the following:

As a friend of New Life Church and a charismatic believer, I was deeply saddened by your mean-spirited article entitled "Charismatic Fags," which gleefully cited charismatic leaders who had fallen into the sin of homosexuality. There was no word of compassion, grace, or love for Ted Haggard, his wife and children, or the heartbroken members of his church. The condemnation your article expressed against Christians who have struggled with sexual immorality is the antithesis of the mercy and forgiveness found in my precious Redeemer who said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." Your cynicism about Christian leaders who are healed of homosexual sin and restored to the Body of Christ denies the power of the Holy Spirit to bring deliverance and redemption to those who have fallen.

She's correct, I have no compassion for Haggard. I have no compassion for the delusional church members either who cannot discern between good and evil. I do not have a compassion for his wife who should have clearly known her husband was "up to something." Believe me, wives know.

The only party deserving compassion are Haggard's children. Even then, I am more concerned with the fact that "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you" (Rom. 2:24). I am outraged, not compassionate. Compassion is not even relevant.

Haggard did not "fall" into immorality. He jumped with both feet. Using such descriptives as "fall" and "struggle" are heinous attempts at whitewashing this grotesque offense against God. The woman who wrote me is part of the problem as she is prepared to coddle a man who must be turned over to Satan (1 Cor. 5:5).

Haggard does not require restoration by these elite megachurch leaders because Haggard was not "overtaken in a fault" and does not qualify for Galatians 6:1 as John Calvin makes clear:

When we perceive a brother to have transgressed, let us consider that he has fallen into the snares of Satan; let us be moved with compassion, and prepare our minds to exercise forgiveness. But offences (sic) and falls of this description must undoubtedly be distinguished from deep-seated crimes, accompanied by deliberate and obstinate disregard of the authority of God. Such a display of wicked and perverse disobedience to God must be visited with greater severity, for what advantage would be gained by gentle treatment? [1]

This is because the meaning of the Greek will not sustain an understanding of sin at the level of Haggard's as Rushdoony's exegesis of Galatians 6:1 makes plain:

The word fault is the Greek paraptomati, a falling aside, a slip or lapse. It does not refer to a willful malicious sin, but to weakness, an as yet insufficient strength in Christ. Thus, this particular text cannot be used with reference to malicious acts, nor to actions which show a contempt for godliness. [2]

The more severe treatment is excommunication as presented in 1 Corinthians 5. It also has the goal of "restoration":

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (v.5)

It's only in this way that we can "put away from among ourselves that wicked person" (v.13). This is so that God is not angered by the larger community and judges all of us for coddling such sin.

Haggard didn't want restoration. He wanted anal sex along with crystal meth to enhance the experience. Meth is regularly used within the gay community and its purpose is to remove inhibitions thereby creating more aggressive sex. It also helps to withhold ejaculation so the encounter can be sustained longer. This is all clear evidence that Haggard was well-versed in the practices of the homosexual underworld.

Haggard did not admit to the specifics of his immorality. It would be too embarrassing. Mike Jones, the gay prostitute, claims he was paid by Haggard every month for 3 years to have anal sex with Haggard. Folks, that's 36 times.

So, is Haggard repentant? No. He's sorry he got caught. If he was repentant and seeking restoration, he would have sought help a long time ago. If Mike Jones would have said nothing, Haggard would be bent over a hotel bed in Denver right now.

So, to the soft-spoken, feminized pastors of New Life Church I say, "pronounce judgment, and put him out of the church lest a worst thing fall upon both him and you." Your coddling of his wickedness is causing the heathen to blaspheme the name of our Lord even more.

1. John Calvin, Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul to the Galatians and Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1996), p.171f
2. R. J. Rushdoony, Romans and Galatians (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1997), p.398. See also Delling's discussion in TDNT IV:14f.