Don't Shoot the Wounded

Excerpt from a post on The OOZE

With the advent of the latest news, the evangelical world has come to a choice point. They need to think carefully about how they will move forward. Opportunities to alter the course of a movement’s history do not come often. Now is the perfect time to let the world know we don’t serve a God who looks at our sin and is somehow in shock, disbelief, and denial. And God’s people shouldn’t be either. Now is the time to pray for Ted, his family and friends, and the Haggard’s spiritual fellowship. It is time to pray for the former escort, Mike Jones, who felt the need to air this allegation. We should lift up the divided communities in our nation—the gay and lesbian community, the evangelical community, and everyone in-between and intertwined. Now is the time to recover an ancient truth: Though David suffered extreme consequences for his sin, God never removed him for a single moment from serving as Israel’s king. Evidentially God knows how to differentiate between sin and sinner. If Ted comes clean and changes course through a process of healing and restoration, I pray the evangelical world will allow him to continue to serve as (to borrow Henri Nouwen’s phrase) a “wounded healer,” one who ministers the paradoxical power of Jesus from the pain and brokenness that is common to all of us. If the evangelical world doesn’t do this, it won’t be a judgment on Ted. It will be a judgment on the presumed inefficacy of the blood of Jesus.

This will be an interesting test for the church. What if Ted honestly repents? Will they ostracize him or restore him? Peter was restored after denying Christ. Will we follow the restoration guide in Galatians 6:1? Will we allow this scandal to distract us from the real issue of bringing Christ to a lost world? I hope not. Ted did serious damage to the cause, but we serve a mighty God who can rise above all of our failings.

Let's not get in His way.