Off The Cuff

Ted Haggard Goes Back To College

Posted by: From Arkansas in Are You Kidding Me?, What's Wrong With This Picture? on Aug 25 2007

Welcome back!

Perhaps you have not seen this before about Ted Haggard, former pastor of a megachurch. He was caught in supposed sexual immorality and resigned his post in the church. (The truth here is that he admitted to buying drugs but never admitted to having sex immorally. The story did not mention it that way) Now, he wants to go back to college and get a master’s degree as does his wife. Not bad. Start a new life. That works. What does not, for me anyway, is that he is asking for donations from people so that he can accomplish this task. What’s the problem?

First, the problem is that this is a media report famous for not getting the facts straight. The media is strong on the side of themselves and others who are willing to slam any and all preachers no matter what the problem. So, yes, this is raising some hairs on the back of my neck even as I type this out. The questions come on strong. What have they left out of this story? Is it even true? Is this simply tabloid sensationalism? Now for the other side of the coin.

IF the accusations are true and there is no more to the story, and that is a HUGE stretch judging from previous media blasts, then the problem is that this person has been paid a lot of dollars for the last two years and if he has used it responsibly, should have some of it left. He does have a house that he is selling worth about $700,000. When it’s sold, I’m sure that it would pay for a lot of that two years he needs to finish that part of his education.

My problem is that if he is using his money responsibly, he should not have to ask for donations. He could try to live like the rest of us do, from day to day. He could try to finance his goals as we do, by seeking God to help us in our time of troubles or for those who do not believe in God’s helping hand, get the financing through loans and grants the way the rest of the world does it.

Most of us do not have the fan base or contacts to ask for the type of donations that he asks for. We must go about our business working out our problems, seeking God’s help and waiting on Him to provide. I really wish I could see how he can do this and still be waiting on the Lord to help him.

But the big question here is…IS IT TRUE? It’s possible that we will not find that out in a biased news story from biased news people. I want to be fair here and am trying to do so. It really is hard to do when all the information is not available. But, again, it was reported originally that he did buy drugs and admitted it. His resignation was based on that, not on the sexual immorality that some guy claimed.

We should pray for him all the blessings that the Lord bestows on him. I pray that he walks in the Lord as he puts his life back together. He is a brother in the Lord and whether we think he is walking the wrong path or not, we need to pray for him.

NOTE: This subject can be hot so any commenting that you do, I would appreciate it if it’s kept clean and not flaming. My policy is that you can disagree with me. I am happy to hear anyone’s opinion but not if it has cuss words or nasty inuendoes. If it is in any way nasty, I will delete it. Thank you.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!