Hypocrisy and the Pulpit

In “What if Former Pastor Ted Haggard Told the Truth?”, Jeff Buchanan, the director of Exodus Church Network, a controversial Christian organization involved with gay and lesbian issues, argues that the real tragedy of Ted Haggard, the disgraced pastor of a mega-church in Colorado, is not that he had a sexual relationship with a male prostitute, but that the evangelical church as a whole threw him out when he needed their support the most. Mr. Haggard claims that the church should have responded to his mistakes by reaching out to others struggling with their sexual identity. Mr. Buchanan agrees that the downfall of one of the most prominent evangelical preachers in America could have been a chance to open the church’s doors to those who feel marginalized.

I agree with Buchanan’s contention that Haggard’s disgrace was an opportunity for churches to reconsider how they approach the issue of homosexuality. However, I disagree with his assertion that Mr. Haggard’s attempts to hide his homosexual tendencies for years was simply because he feared the church’s propensity to idolize its leaders as “spiritual lions”, but sacrifice them like lambs when they fall.

Ted Haggard used his pulpit to gain power and prestige. As the head of the National Association of Evangelicals for three years, he participated in conference calls with the Bush White House. Before he was exposed, his annual salary was $138,000, well above the income of most of his flock. Rather than give all this up and seek help, he not only hid his sexuality but also was a prominent advocate for a Colorado referendum limiting civil protections for gays. Like Eliot Spitzer, Haggard's downfall was due to his own hypocrisy. He is not the helpless and innocent victim of an intolerant church.

Perhaps this choice shouldn’t be necessary. Maybe one day a man with an openly "complex sexuality" will become the head of a major evangelical organization, however improbable that seems. But Ted Haggard sought power and fame rather than admit who he was, eventually opening his fellow evangelicals to public ridicule. Now, as fresh allegations emerge, and as a new documentary from HBO attempts to analyze Haggard’s rise and fall, it is important to remember that he made a choice to be inauthentic so he could climb to the top of the evangelical world.