Let's Talk about Ted Haggard

There are a lot of layers to this story, and I have a lot of conflicting thoughts. Here are some of them:

- It seems like it is easy to tell when someone is guilty. In a matter of two days Ted Haggard goes from not knowing Mike Jones to having gotten a massage from him as well as buying meth from him. That's a red flag.

- Speaking of the buying meth ... he said he was tempted by that. Has Ted Haggard never seen the faces of meth? How can anyone be tempted by meth? I just don't get that.

- I also find it interesting that while Haggard has publically admitted to getting a massage and buying meth, he was fired/resigned over "sexually immoral conduct." It seems like the spin and the reality have not caught up to each other yet.

- As far as the hypocrisy charge goes, I suppose he's as big a hypocrite as it gets. But part of me feels very badly for him. I don't know him or his church, but I wonder if he is a victim of the lack of authenticity in church. So much of today's Christian subculture forces us to act and speak in a way that is not a genuine reflection of where our journey actually is. I wonder if the the wave of his influence and success dictated a political message that was not real and authentic for him. We need to rage against that wave!

- Ultimately, I feel like we need to pray for him, his wife and kids, and his church. I am not sure what else to do. He is probably not going to get a fair shake from the late night comedians and the bloggers out there, so let's commit Ted Haggard to the One who judges justly.