The Confessions of Ted Haggard

One of the people who inspired me to be a writer and minister was a great man of God named Jamie Buckingham. I followed Jamie's monthly article in Charisma Magazine, "The Last Word", which was a lovingly critical view of news and trends in the Body of Christ. After his untimely death in 1992, the role of Church watchdog and commentator at Charisma Magazine fell to J. Lee Grady, who has, in my opinion, filled Jamie's prophetic and literary shoes in a admirable manner -- not an easy thing to do, I might add.

If you don't subscribe to Lee's weekly column/e-newsletter, "Fire in My Bones", I highly recommend it. Lee has been a voice of maturity and balance in the Church today, and particularly in the Charismatic Movement. I admire the bold stands he has taken on controversial topics over the past several years. He is an important voice in the Church today.

With that being said, my eye was drawn to the alert that came in on my BlackBerry this morning announcing Grady's latest column, which is an extensive interview with Ted and Gayle Haggard. Lee has been tough on Ted, and on other Church leaders who have fallen into sin over the years. So I was a little surprised that Ted would agree to the interview. I'd like to give you a sample of the discussion, and then a link for you to read the entire interview on Charisma's Web site.

Like Jim Baker's book, "I Was Wrong", I believe this interview is a must read for anyone in vocational ministry -- but it is really essential for all Christians to read, because we are all called to "full-time" ministry. There is much we can learn from  Ted and Gayle in what they have been through since Ted's fall into sin. And there is much we can learn from the reaction of the Church to Ted's fall.

Here is an excerpt of the interview, along witth a link to read the entire interview on Charisma's Web site.

From J. Lee Grady's "Fire in my Bones":

After Colorado pastor Ted Haggard admitted to an embarrassing moral failure with a male prostitute in November 2006, the Christian community wasn't sure what to do with him. Some people wrote him off and kicked him to the curb. A few wept and prayed for the pastor and his devastated wife. We all tried our best to move on—knowing that the American church had suffered a big black eye through the ordeal.

I didn't know what to say to Haggard when the news broke two and a half years ago. Like so many others who had read his books, listened to his sermons and admired his church, I felt betrayed. I sent one brief e-mail to let him know I was praying. After he appeared in the HBO documentary The Trials of Ted Haggard earlier this year, I decided to ask him if he would talk to Charisma about his healing process.

Ted and Gayle drove to Orlando and we talked for more than two hours over lunch. I thought it would be awkward, but both of them were as gracious as they were eager to share their hearts. They still seemed to carry a lot of pain. Their emotions were still raw from having the ugliest details of their personal lives broadcast on national television.

The Haggards agreed to do a print interview, and I gave them the liberty of writing their answers so that they could be sure the sound bytes didn't get distorted. I wanted them to express their hearts clearly. Below is a short version of that interview. The longer version has been posted on our Web site and is available here.
Charisma: You probably feel as though you've been to hell and back since your moral failure in 2006. How are you doing now?

Ted Haggard: My visit to hell on Earth as a consequence of my own actions was both devastating and eye-opening. It took a tree to fall on me, but I did get the point. As a result, my spiritual life is undoubtedly stronger now. I am becoming the man I always prayed to be. Becoming worse than a leper in the eyes of others has deeply humbled me, to say the least.

Charisma: Do you have any plans to go back into ministry?

Ted Haggard: Since the release of the HBO documentary The Trials of Ted Haggard in January, we’ve had millions of visitors to tedhaggard.com and thousands of e-mails that included words of encouragement and invitations to speak and write. We’ve appeared again on Oprah, had two appearances on Fox network and have spoken in a variety of venues. It’s all humbling and embarrassing. But it does seem to help others, and we are being received with more love and respect than I’ve ever had in my life.

Charisma: For about a year you were under the discipline of a team of ministers. What did you learn from that?

Ted Haggard: I learned that what I had been teaching others for years is true: We should all live our lives as though there is no such thing as a secret. And I realize how much my sin costs others. Secrecy empowers sin. What I should have done is find a safe place to openly confess my sin and find a path to effective repentance. I am deeply sorry for those I have hurt and disappointed in my process.

Read the entire interview with Ted and Gayle Haggard

Related articles:

Making (Some) Sense of the Ted Haggard Scandal (J. Lee Grady)

How Should We Respond to the Allegations about Ted Haggard?

 New Life Church After Ted Haggard

More from J. Lee Grady's "Fire in my Bones" column.