~PASTOR~ Ted Haggard, Again?

Ted Haggard, founder and ex-pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado and leader of the National Association of Evangelicals from 2003 to November of 2006 is back in the ministry. In 2006 a male prostitute alleged that he had been having homosexual relations with Haggard for three years and that he had also supplied Haggard with methamphetamines. A short time later, Haggard resigned his positions. Haggard was also the subject of a documentary on HBO after his fall from grace.

Ted Haggard has decided it is time for him to get back into the ministry and has started "St. James" church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There is a reason that New Life Church has not taken Haggard back. Haggard disqualified himself from the ministry by the sins he has committed. How long would his sin have continued had he not been caught? 

Unfortunately, ministers that get into sin can all too easily just jump right back into the ministry. We've seen it over and over throughout the years. Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Marvin Gorman, Roberts Liardon and many more have all left a black eye on the body of Christ and then "re-ordained" themselves back into the ministry. There will always be people that will flock to these charlatans and the media they get causes enough interest that people will go to their church to see the freak show!

When Jimmy Swaggart was caught in his sin, the Assemblies of God, of which he was an ordained minister, required him to go through their restoration process just like they would any minister that had fallen into sin. When Swaggart realized he would have to step down from his ministry for a time and be accountable to the leadership of the Assemblies of God, he stepped down and continued in the ministry sans the Assemblies of God. 

Roberts Liardon, caught in a homosexual relationship, stepped down from the ministry for a whole three months before deciding he was healed and restored.

Jim Bakker was right back into the ministry too, right after being released from prison.

In my opinion, having seen this type of thing happen first hand, these men have absolutely no idea how to make a living without receiving offerings. There were times that the Apostle Paul sewed tents to support himself. None of the ministers aforementioned would know how to "make tents". It is really sad that they can only make a living off of other people's hard earned money. My question is, how many of these men would go back into ministry if they new they would NEVER receive one offering, housing allowance, book royalties etc. If they would never again make one red cent from the ministry, I doubt they would be so quick to get back into full time "service for the Lord". Let them work for a living, swing a hammer with a construction worker and build a few callouses on their hands. Let them work 35 hours a week at a Wal-Mart and learn what it is like to barely scrape by without any benefits. Let them work midnight shifts at  a convenience store always worrying if someone will come in and rob them and maybe even shoot them. Let them drive a truck and see what it is like to live on the road., away from family and home This is where the money comes from to support those ministries. Haggard and these others have no appreciation for the money that is given so freely to them.

I recently emailed Ted Haggard asking him who his spiritual overseers are. I really didn't get a straight answer. I had a friend that I went to seminary with who had a way of manipulating people and doing bad things as a pastor. He always claimed that the pastor of a huge church in Tulsa was his overseer. The people in the church bought it when the guy in Tulsa didn't even know who he was. Jim Bakker had a group of directors or overseers that were yes men and gave him no spiritual governance whatsoever. Jimmy Swaggart had some board members that resigned their positions when he refused the restoration process offered by the Assemblies of God. Others on his ministry board were yes men too.

On Haggard's website, he and his wife talk about their struggles and hard times and never admit that all of their problems are because of Ted's sin and being caught. It is one thing to be caught in your sin and another thing to admit you have a problem and seek help before you are found out. It is hard for me to feel sorry for Haggard. Sin has a price and he knows that. I'm sure he has preached it from the pulpit many times. It would be nice if all these men would admit they sinned and realize that they should not be in a ministry because of their personal choices.

Haggard will probably build another successful ministry as has Swaggart, Bakker and others but where is the spiritual accountability? We can only pray that these men will open their spiritual eyes and realize that they have disqualified themselves from the ministry because of their choices and because they were found out.