I watched the HBO documentary “The trials of Ted Haggard”. It was an very personal look at the days after this pastor fallen from grace. I have a few observations.

First, I can understand the reaction from the church elders. The church board of overseers fired him. I am not surprised by their action. Haggard preached on the the sin of homosexuality in all these years. He became a laughing stock of the community. Haggard reinforced the image of hypocrisy in the fundamentalist movement. He preached one thing and he practised the opposite. He was a liar and a deceiver. Haggard admitted to that. It was obvious that Haggard had to leave the church he founded.

Second, this is the point I did not understand from the documentary. It stated that Haggard signed an agreement that he would leave the State of Colorado. I can understand the elders of the New Life Church want Haggard get of out of town. American is a free country, Homosexuality is not a crime. Haggard and his family should be free to choose where they reside. How can a church dictate a person who has not committed any crime not to step foot in a State? What can legally prevent Haggard to live in the State of Colorado?

Third, I do not understand the hatred of some of the members of the New Life Church. The members were deceived by Haggard. They were angry and shocked. In comparison, Haggard’s sin is not telling the people that he had homosexual thoughts and tendency. Haggard admitted that his struggle of homosexuality and his belief in the Bible. It then manifested into voyeur acts of hiring a male prostitute, buying drugs and inducing another male member of the church. Those were all morally corrupt behaviour. I do believe that Haggard has to truly repent from his acts. He apparently repented from his action. He put the blame squarely on himself. He was trying to say nice things about all his accusers.

Fourth, we have to admit that human sexuality is complex. No one can explain how or why a person is a homosexual. Why does the fundamentalists highlight homosexuality as the number one sin? I know churches that open up to prison ministries. They accept convicted criminals into their congregation as the lives of the ex-convicts turn around. Homosexuality is not a crime (at least not in this country). It is not even classified as an illness. If Christians can accept repented ex-convicts into their congregation (as they should), why they cannot accept a person who struggle with their sexual identity (it is not even a crime)? If the concern is hypocrisy, we have to look deep inside. Jesus told the teachers of the law who bought in a woman caught in adultery, “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” The crowd left. Jesus never condemned the woman. He just gently said, “Go and leave your life of sin.”

What would Jesus do with Ted Haggard? I believe he would said the same thing.