Today morning, Pastor Ted Haggard will be speaking publicly about his dalliances with gay male escort, Mike Jones. It’s the first time he’s speaking in front of a crowd about his scandal (though a documentary about him did air on HBO earlier this year).
He’ll be speaking at Elevation Church in North Carolina:
Young pastor Steven Furtick said on his blog that Haggard’s appearance would be a chance for “the story of the deception of sin and the forgiveness of God speak for itself” and to “serve as a salient reminder of the devastating results of disobedience, and hopefully, the beginning of a personal healing process for many hurting people.”
The article states that “Many congregants openly identify as gay or lesbian” at Elevation Church. I wonder how that works.
How can so many gay or lesbian people go to a church where Ted Haggard will be held up as an example of a man who fell from grace because he acted on his homosexual desires? He is an extreme example, of course, but Haggard’s not being brought in just because he had an affair. (You don’t have to look that far outside any church to find an example of that.) He’s being asked to speak primarily because of the homosexuality issue.
Is this church accepting of gay people who want to have relationships wth same-sex partners? Are they supportive of marriage equality? I doubt it. Just like other churches, they make LGBT people feel inferior and immoral. I’d love to know why gay people attend that church…
I did like this headline, though: “Ted Haggard gets Elevated. Again.”
(via Pam’s House Blend)