Well Gentlemen,
RE: Ted Haggard Gets Meth and a Massage (Pres. of Evangelical Association)
And we wonder if Godmen has as future? Here is an example of a leader gone undetected for a long long time. In the midst of his brokeness he continued to lead without an ounce of outward struggle to his staff or family. This is a by product of the view of leadership that says one's personality and leadership gifts trump one's inner integrity.
If there were a place to reveal one's brokeness, would not some of these things get healed and these kind of revelations need not take place? Oh yeh, there is -Godmen and Samson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have mercy on the guy. but, his deception at this level of leadership is endemic in the evangelical world. If we were to see what is under cover, it would be shocking and we all know it.
If anything, Godmen has to pull the veneer off the pretense that all these leaders are getting a pass on struggling to stay and be in integrity. No one gets a pass. For us to hold our leaders up as if they were non human is our own fault. We are part of this guys fall. We contributed. We allowed him to lead without anyone knowing about his inner life--ANYONE.
Once again, Samson takes on such an important role in this healing as its main point is to give up trying to be perfect and stop trying to dupe anyone into thinking you have it all together. Let's throw down the gauntlet here and just say,,,Stop lying. You are a man and you struggle. Where are you at with this part of your humanity? Do you have a place to reveal its dark under belly? If not, get prepared to hide, lie, sneak around, and put on a false face.
This guy will have thousands project their own darkness on him and let him be the scapegoat for all thier crap they are hiding. I say we rush to his defense and offer our services as a gathering of honestly broken men who refuse to hide and pretend. We are out of the closet on every level. We are sinners saved by grace and by walking in the light we have fellowship with one another. We welcome all liars as we know how to lie. We welcome all wanderers as we know what it is to sneak off and create a world in our head or behind closed doors. I am this man on some level or have been.
We welcome all men who struggle with impulses they would be embarrassed to tell their spouse or friends. Here, you can share it without shame and without anyone throwing a bunch of spiritual BS about how God can deliver you. Yes, he delivers us. It is from the false idea that someday you can get strong enough not to need a band or brothers you check in with weekly or even daily and tell them where your heart is it.
LEADERS DON'T GET A PASS ON BEING CLEAN AND SOBER....
Godmen and Samson take your place at the corners of the city and be vigilant. There are many more scandels to come. Let us meet them head on before they shame so many people needlessly. May our meetings be the first place to openly reveal our needs and see them as normal and real and get beyond the shame and hiding.
David Bunker "A Broken Man on the Heal"
11 Comments:
At 11:32 AM , Anonymous said...
I very much agree with most all of this article. I think that there is another way to look at the problem, I am not excusing the Pastors poor decisions. I just think that we should look at some of the reasons that would cause him to make these poor choices (choices that he and his family will suffer for the rest of their lives).
First of all the sad reality is that our "Christian culture" here in the U.S. does not allow Pastors and Christian Leaders to admit that they are sinners and are hurting! We are all suppose to go to church and pretend that we don't sin, and if we do nobody really wants to here about it, and if they do its only about the minor sins.
I believe one of the primary things that contributed to Pastor Haggards fall was stress! He most likely worked very long hours (60 to 80 hrs a week) with his duties as pastor of such a large church and him being Pres. of the Evangel-ical Association. It is unlikley that he had much time for his family and friends. Christian leaders for the most part believe that the longer and harder that they work the more that "THEY" will accomplish for God. This is what the Corporate world has taught the church. When Christ was on earth he spent about 20 hrs a week in ministry the rest building relationships, he was God and he always did the will of the father! Who do these people think they are? A lot of them are out there having heart attacks for Jesus! When a leader is under a lot of stress, even though it can be very ego boosting. Good judgement goes out the window, for a little pleasure in their lives. It is so easy to lock your office door get on your computer and find a porn site, and find a little pleasure. Stress and over work will bring your resistance to temtation way down.
Another thing that will contribute to our lack of resistance to sin are wounds. We are all wounded is some way (we live in a fallen world) we are mostly unaware of how those wounds affect our lives and decisions. I would venture to say that pastor Haggard has some wounds from his Father (childhood) that have never been healed (Unacknowledged wounds will never heal).
I have a unique prespective on these issues because I have a Ministry Here in Alaska that takes Pastors and Christian leaders out into the wilderness to unwind. I have been doing it for over 25 yrs. and have taken some of the top Christian Leaders in the nation fishing. Everyone of them upon departing has said to me in some way "I didn't know how much I needed that"!
Tom Feliciano
Eagle Crest Ministries
Eagle River, Alaska
At 6:34 PM , THE SAINT said...
You realize the problem is that a minister's cant be real. They cant let others in religious settings know that they struggle, so they hide and dont let others come along side and help. It is no excuse for him, but that is the condition that these ministers find themselves in.
At 6:35 PM , JohnIV said...
What do you think of the fact that we do not hold Christian Government officials or soldiers responsible for the slaying of innocent Iraqi men, women and children?
Do you believe that they should be held accountable?
I mean they were created by God and since they were created by God they have a spark of the divine.I feel they would fall under the "least of these" which Jesus said he was... So I have a hard time believing that he would not have a hard time with a "peace bomb" being dropped on the head of the "least of these"
At 9:06 PM , Shawn Wilson said...
I'm not here to dicuss what others have said about this blog. I'm here to say that I am a man. And I struggle. I struggle with God, my thoughts, my heart, etc.
I am 25 years old and grew up believing that God had "called" me to the ministry. I even went to that horrible place know as Bible college :) You know where you go and learn a lot about God and forget how to talk to Him or connect with Him in a real way?
Anyway, I loved this blog and your webpage. I need this and the Church needs this. Men have had their balls removed by a belief that if we are nice and not to aggressive then we are like Jesus. However, Jesus is the man who opened a can of whoop #$% on the temple courts one day, and the man who challenged a religious system that smelled like dung in the nostrels of God. WE forget that Jesus was a MAN too. Lord may we remember that you are more like King Arther, William Wallace, and less like Pee Wee Herman.
Much love,
Shawn
At 8:09 PM , Anonymous said...
I just read about this movement in the local paper and just could not believe that this opportunity had finally arisen! I can now oppress and abuse my wife and family, cuss as much as I want, waste my money any way I see fit and abuse the hell out of anybody and anything I want in the name of Christianity with no worry of consequences! Oh yes, this is because I'm a "Godman".
Civilization has spent the last 2000 years trying to pull ourselves out of the stone age, and this group advocates moving back the clock and undo most of this progress. Remember the dark ages? There's a reason it was called "dark." The Church ran the government and nobody had a chance. It was all run by persons who considered themselves "of God". Hell, kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out. I've grown increasingly cynical about organized religion, and this "Godman" movement takes the cake. While Jesus advocated turning the other cheek, a Godman would break out the lead pipe and bust the hell out of the other guy.
Maybe we should ship you crazy zealots to Afghanistan and you can kill the bad guys by spraying your testosterone all over them. Oh, I'm mistaken. They're zealots too! You all seem to have been carved from the same block and share many of the same core beliefs.
I'm ashamed to say I share the same religion as you - you've removed Christ from Christianity. Forget the right. Forget the left. You guys are on another planet!
This is just great. The world has to contend with another religious player advocating that men can do whatever the hell they want without consequences. Thanks, Godmen. We're now back in the stone age. Where's my club.
At 10:39 PM , Kathryn said...
Sinners and hurting? Yes. I understand the desire to attract more men into churches; however, it is leading men into a devilish plot. Please, GodMen, don't fall into Satan's traps. There is a trend in Christianity today of getting men to delve more into pornography and/or violent behavior under the guise of being "real Christian men". Wild At Heart comes to mind, among others. Beating their breasts (in some cases), discussing fantasies that would make Hugh Hefner blush, and acting "macho" because "Jesus cleansed the temple and spent forty days in the wilderness" smack more of patriarchy than love for God. Yes, Jesus got angry. He got angry at thieves who used His Father's House for their thievery. He got angry at Pharisees who burdened the people with laws that kept them from God. He got angry for a purpose, not to be "macho". Yes, He fasted 40 days in the wilderness. What about "uppity" women? He put them front and center to announce His resurrection! Macho men probably wouldn't like Jesus. He reached out to the poor, women, outcasts, and lifted them up. The sad reality is that all this Christian "macho" behavior is going to lead to domestic violence in the name of "leadership" (The Bible never teaches men to "lead" their wives. There is only one priest between God and mankind: Jesus, "head" meaning "source" or "origin".). From what I have read, some of these men are already being rude to their wives and neglecting their families by being away too much despite the Biblical injunction against that. What of the command (Genesis 1:26, & )Ephesians 5:21) that all believers are to submit themselves to one another? What of I Corinthians 13? What of God's desire that men (and women) walk humbly before Him? (I Peter 5:5). Humility may not be popular, but we are to take up our cross daily and follow Christ. Remember, in Christ the way "down" is up and the way "up" is down.
At 9:25 AM , Anonymous said...
Some people get really scared when men start to just talk about being men! Jesus was most definately a man's man. He was a carpenter back when there were NO power tools OK?
One thing I haven't seen here is the point that Ted Haggard fell from a position which is not biblical. The american idea that we have this single man "leading" a congregation is such a holdover from the Catholic church and the Priesthood of Aaron. We are all priests and kings and we should NEVER look to a man as our leader other than the GodMan Jesus. Until the church figures out that out model of government is flawed we will continue to see the "big men" fall.
At 11:04 AM , fightingpreacher said...
JohnIV said...
What do you think of the fact that we do not hold Christian Government officials or soldiers responsible for the slaying of innocent Iraqi men, women and children?
Do you believe that they should be held accountable?
I mean they were created by God and since they were created by God they have a spark of the divine.I feel they would fall under the "least of these" which Jesus said he was... So I have a hard time believing that he would not have a hard time with a "peace bomb" being dropped on the head of the "least of these"
Johnniv, I would like you know that I am a veteran, and currently I am contracted at a military post. I serve the men and women of this country who fight for our freedom and protection from terrorism. Yes, there are innocent people who die in war, BUT OUR SOLDIERS ARE NOT KILLING INNOCENT IRAQ'S! Yes sometimes bombs kill the innocent but they are not the target. Further, in the Gospels a Roman Soldier came to John the Baptist and asked him what he should do. John responded with "Do as you are told and be content with your wages!" Look up Exodus 15:3 and Psalm 144:2
At 3:05 PM , Anonymous said...
Kathryn this goes without saying, but you either did not read Eldredge's "Wild at Heart", did not understand it, or you read a seriously abridged and revised version because it does not advocate violence or pornography. Sorry.
At 3:07 PM , Anonymous said...
Johniv, you've swallowed it all, hook, line & sinker. Cough up the kool-aid while you still have a chance.
At 9:59 AM , Micky said...
About 3 years ago I dropped into a black hole – four months of absolute terror. I wanted to end my life, but somehow [Holy Spirit], I reached out to a friend who took me to hospital. I had three visits [hospital] in four months – I actually thought I was in hell. I imagine I was going through some sort of metamorphosis [mental, physical & spiritual]. I had been seeing a therapist [1994] on a regular basis, up until this point in time. I actually thought I would be locked away – but the hospital staff was very supportive [I had no control over my process]. I was released from hospital 16th September 1994, but my fear, pain & shame had only subsided a little. I remember this particular morning waking up [home] & my process would start up again [fear, pain, & shame]. No one could help me, not even my therapist [I was terrified]. I asked Jesus Christ to have mercy on me & forgive me my sins. Slowly, all my fear has dissipated & I believe Jesus delivered me from my “psychological prison.” I am a practicing Catholic & the Holy Spirit is my friend & strength; every day since then has been a joy & blessing. I deserve to go to hell for the life I have led, but Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross, delivered me from my inequities. John 3: 8, John 15: 26, are verses I can relate to, organically. He’s a real person who is with me all the time. I have so much joy & peace in my life, today, after a childhood spent in orphanages [England & Australia]. God LOVES me so much. Fear, pain, & shame, are no longer my constant companions. I just wanted to share my experience with you [Luke 8: 16 – 17].
Peace Be With You
Micky
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