Driscoll, Haggard and Protection

by Joe Thorn on November 3, 2006

Everyone is talking about Ted Haggard and the allegations of his drug use and infidelity. Mark Driscoll has even chimed in. It seems to be popular at the moment for some bloggers to hate on Mark Driscoll. But I hope everyone will consider his words of encouragement to pastors touching on the issues of accountability, protection and integrity. Check out Mark’s post at Resurgence.com.

About Joe Thorn

I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in Saint Charles, IL, and author of Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Jen is my wife, and Katherine, Elias, Madeline and Kilian are my kids.

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  • http://alienman.blogspot.com Brad Williams

    Joe,

    Thanks for the link. Your blog format is great, btw. It’s very easy on the eyes in the sense that its very readable.

  • http://blog.jasonkearney.net jasonk

    I can’t dog Mark’s blog too much, because what he said makes sense. It seems that his overall points are overshadowed by the fact that he places some of the blame for pastors’ infidelity on their wives’ physical appearance. That’s easy for us men to say.
    And it is also true. But its not politically correct to say that, because it places the blame for our sinful actions on someone besides ourselves.
    The fact is that when one of us falls, there are a lot of people to blame. Chiefly, we are to blame for our own sin. I sin not because my wife is unattractive, but because I am a sinner. I have a wicked heart, plain and simple. Haggard’s wife is pretty attractive. I doubt that he was seeking out sex from a man because his wife was out of shape. I listed out some reasons on my own site why I think Haggard did what he did, and why others have done similar things.
    Bottom line to me is that even with an accountability relationship, Haggard still would have likely done what he did. We need to come to the place in the body of Christ where we can be more open and honest about our sin, and not condemn people for it, just help them get better.

  • http://scott.club365.net scott

    it might be helpful to consider some of the allegations over on emerging grace’s site. there are a lot of people who consider driscoll’s article to be the worst analysis of the situation to date.

    emerging grace – http://emerginggrace.blogspot.com/

  • http://www.littlebluealien.com Mike Little

    I appreciate much of what Driscoll said on his posting, but the part about a wife “letting herself go” just wasn’t appropriate in this particular setting.

    Ultimately, I think the evangelical (we) church sets itself up for this by expecting some kind of “moral perfection” as one ascends the ranks of Christian “maturity”. Look at the Bible…it is full of stories of failed men of God that are used mightly by Him.

    Ultimately, this should be a story about why the Gospel is truly offensive…that a person that has such grevious sin can be forgiven and restored. Haggard’s sin just happened to be public. I wonder how any of us would stand in ministry if our the private thoughts of our mind were projected on a screen for all our parishioners to see.

    I think it is vital to create an atmosphere where there can be transparency…and a pastor simply MUST have brothers that he can be real with and share his struggles. Simply because someone has a particular struggle shouldn’t disqualify them from ministry. Acting on that struggle in a deliberate selfish fashion should…but much of this could be avoided if we could just be real with each other.

    We must not lose sight of the Gospel…and we must preach and have it preached to us every day. I pray for everyone involved in that situation. Most of all, I pray that the church’s (universal) response would be honoring to Christ and redemptive in nature and not to just score political points.

  • ryan

    I have read now on a few blogs now that people find Driscoll’s point to be “not appropriate at this time.” This really dumbfounds me. I would just ask when would it be appropriate?

    Personally I feel it could not possibly be more appropriate right now, as we have just seen a large figure in the Evangelical world fall because of sexual sin. I think it is moot that Ted just happened to struggle with homosexual temptation, and most struggle with hetrosexual temptation. The point is that we ALL struggle with sexual issues, in a sex obsessed culture such as ours, and we need to be willing to face the harsh realities of what we must do to protect ourselves from sexual immorality.

    Hate Driscoll for what he says, but I do not think you can question that he writes as someone deeply wanting his fellow pastors to stay sexually pure, and have good sex with their wives.

  • http://blog.jasonkearney.net jasonk

    Ryan,
    I can’t argue with you, because you are right.
    But I didn’t see Driscoll say anything about us men letting ourselves go. I may have missed it, so if I did, I am sorry.
    I’m aware of the fact that men are more visually stimulated than women, but let’s face it, when you hang out at a pastor’s conference, you’re not looking a bunch of trim, fit Adonis-types.
    I recently read a study that showed women are more and more becoming consumers of pornography. It was only a matter of time. So maybe its time for us guys to wipe the dust off of our bicycles and go for a spin a few times a week. If it is true what you say, that most sexual affairs are heterosexual in nature (and I believe it is), and if it really takes two to tango, then there are plenty of women out there who are dissatisfied with their husbands, and that means we have a duty to stay in shape, to not “let ourselves go.” Do you agree?

  • http://www.mikeandkaty.org/mike Michael Noes

    The context of Mark’s comments seemed directed towards men in leadership (pastors, etc) and their particular situation, and suggestions that might help them avoid moral failures. It’s for this reason that I understand his point about their wives’ appearances. I also do agree with jasonk that it’s the men’s responsibilities to do the same for their wives, and it does go both ways, but it seemed that, considering the context, Mark was focusing his attention to people in Haggard’s position.

  • ryan

    I would agree with you both (Michael JasonK) truth is we all need to do better in our marriages, of not becoming complacent and lazy. I am not saying we all need to look like Hollywood actors, but I am saying and what I think Driscoll is saying, is that it is wrong for spouses to take advantage of their covenant and quit trying to love the their spouse in ways that will require effort (this being the keyword) because we know they must remain faithful.

  • http://blog.jasonkearney.net jasonk

    Great point, Ryan. Great point.
    How bad is it for two people to take advantage of their vows by not watching their appearance?
    Bowden McElroy has a great article from last week on why people cheat, and it rarely has anything to do with just physical appearance. I had a pastor years ago who had a pretty, thin, nice wife, but he left her for a woman who was, well, fugly. So Bowden’s point, if I may, is that it is more about emotional needs than anything. Certainly that can spill over into physical appearance, and often does, but it goes a lot deeper than that.

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