they eat their own
i received a few emails today asking me about this whole ted haggard thing. most wanted me to share my views, and some wanted me to share more then my views. but, i have done neither in emails. let me share why -
in reading the reports of what has happened to ted, i have been shocked [though i should not be] by the reaction of other people claiming to be "pastors." some placed themselves above such a thing while others just wanted to distance themselves from haggard. some are claiming how "heartsick" they are over the allegations, yet none of them are truly standing with him. now, some may be "behind" him, but none are "along side" him. Instead of standing along side of him and his family, they are running away, or standing in the back ground - kind of the way evangelicals do when ever one of their own is wounded. over the past i have come to the conclusion that many leaders in the evangelical church simply eat their own when they are wounded.
i know the drill, because it has been the same drill over and over again; every time an evangelical seems to "shake" the same things happen. first, they put on a "united front" [never lasting more then a few hours[; then they run for the hills as soon as things heat up. soon there will be a power play in both the church and the nea - and they will toss ted aside like an old rag. they will offer little but "prayer" and bloated talk about how God can bring him back to "the right path." but never once will they make even the slightest effort to help him in his time of need. they will claim they have forgiven, but they will always look at ted with an eye that focuses on judgment. they will say they will help, but little will be done to truly help.
over the past years i have seen this with others in the evangelical community. those who "fall" become the butt of evangelical jokes and sermon illustrations by pompous pastors and "christians" alike. evangelicals claim so much about being a "bible people" and yet i would venture to say forgiveness for ted is not forthcoming.
i believe the possible outcome is less on ted, and more on us as a christian community of faith [even thought i am not evangelical] - do we forgive and help, or do we judge and feed on the carcass? do we offer of ourselves in honest, or do we offer him up for sacrifice? do we actually walk along side him, or do we walk away? are we willing to do anything to help as needed or are we simply going to offer lip service?
as i see it [being a post-evangelical] this is the way it can go - this is not on what ted did, but on how the evangelical community reacts to ted's needs. because, if there is one thing i have seen over the past - they do eat their own.
5 comments:
Hello, John:
I guess I'm living in a coccoon because I didn't know anything about the allegations until I started catching up on my blog readings this morning. The Christian blogosphere seems abuzz with the discussion. Like you, I guess I'm not too shocked about the allegations. Like you, I think forgiveness is the mandate for any Christian, evangelical, post-evangelical, zen, fundamentalist, charismatic, post-charismatic, whatever. (Like how I slipped that reference to "zen" Christianity in there? Probably some readers would argue there is no such thing. Anyway...) Why do we need to split into camps of evangelical, post-evangelical, etc., anyway. Is Christ divided?
AC
P.S. - New post today on my new blog about the spirituality of punk, Never Mind the Bibles. I'm surprised I haven't seen comments from you over there yet, punk monkey that you are. :)
really good thoughts here - thank you!
I had a further reflection inspired by a combination of this article and a reaction to ted at another church.
My Dad was telling me about the childrens story at thier church on sunday. It was a rememberance day theme where he showed the kids a poppy and asked what it meant and they said something about remembering the war. and then he showed them a cross and asked what it meant and they said remembering jesus. and then he worked in something about how that's why we go to church and it's good to go to church but some pastors now days are in it only for money, drugs and sex and he said that he didn't agree with that.
Of course everyone in the small country church thought that this was a great little sermon and no one thought any more about it.
My criticism, having just read your article and being someone who works at a homeless shelter, is that this type of talk is a bad model for christianity. Following the model that this paster is unintentionally creating, it would be his job to work with the good people and point out who the loosers are. It's then my job to work with the "loosers" (as society sees them) when they hit rock bottom.... if I was going to be evengelical about it, it would be my job to try to show them that the church or society is not that bad... How can things work like that?!? a kingdom divided against itself can't stand.
In a Bible college leadership course they taught us about working with the top 10% and that never sat well with me.
Don't believe the "good people", start your ministry with the (people percieved as) "loosers" first! that's where God is.
John,
This is a little scary. I put up a post on my site yesterday about shooting the wounded. You are talking about the same thing. This will be an interesting thing to see if the church discards Ted and Mark Foley, or restores them to a strong biblical relationship.
I pray for these men.
Great point about the (lack of)rehab for professional ministers/leaders! It has long been a desire and concern of my heart, having served on church staffs, known a number of "ex-pastors", and seen such need for it (including my own). How would we go about creating these "cities of refuge"? I would love to be a part of such a parachurch ministry, perhaps including discrete retreats for those in ministry in active struggle, to provide prayerful support and possibly head some of the "falls" off at the pass. Any suggestions, thoughts?
Is it possible this also could align with, as Barna indicates in his latest book, the trend toward a redefinition of the organized church model? Perhaps some of these defrocked folks who very much love Jesus and are gifted and called to serve His Body, can shepherd some of these alternative Church organizations that are emerging and growing; i.e., home fellowships, intentional communities, etc. Perhaps we can find Acts 2:42 ways of supporting people in full-time ministry by pooling our abundant resources, without having to form megachurches and denominations. Surely in the service of a limitless God, there is boundless possibility...
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