The Christian blogs, forums, and news stories have been buzzing all week about Ted Haggard. Lots of diverse opinions out there. Rather than pretend like my perspective is somehow insightful, I'll copy and paste the quote that resonated with me the most (thanks to TSK): So does that mean that church is full of hypocrites? Not necessarily. It means that its full of deceivers and liars which is basically every single one of us and church is the best place to go to confess it and get it sorted out. The crying shame is that many Christian communities are no longer safe places to share our bad choices and our dark corners and get them cleaned up so we can live in purity and up-rightness. If you find a church that is, hook up with it. They need you and you need them.
I'm sorry to say that saving face is the name of the game in some churches I've attended, especially Asian American ones. Talk the talk, put on your Bible study leader hat, raise your holy hands up in song, bow your head and close your eyes during prayer. Pray for those who aren't like you. The Christian girls will like you, and the Christian guys will want to be like you. No one likes a loser. I'm OK, you're OK! Well not really. I'm screwed up, you're screwed up. And we're all kind of losers.
I'm taking a course at my church called the Healing Path now, or "THP" as us cool cats like to call it. I should not blog about it, but I can say that it is refreshing, challenging, and humbling. And something I never imagined myself being dragged into taking. I can only imagine how difficult it is for people in power, like Ted Haggard or Bill Clinton, to find a safe haven for healing when us lay folk have a tough time ourselves. |