Sin in the body of Christ. Hypocrisy in leadership. Failure in the pastorate.

Yep, It’s out—Ted Haggard has a sin problem.

I know Ted. I have had some time to talk with him and hear his heart. And I knew it all along. My radar was going off…and it was right. He is exactly what I guessed—a sinner. And a really bad one—just like I am.
 
In the wake of the events, Ted and his church did the right thing. Let’s make sure that we do the same. It’s easy to look down on Ted’s sin while ignoring our own. Isn’t it funny that we are so quick to see the sin of others but so slow to recognize our own.
 
It’s not just individual sin, but each group seems to have their own acceptable sin—a sin of choice. It seems that it is so easy as a Southern Baptist to point out the sins of others. We see sexual sin and we shake our heads at the charismatics. We see theological compromise and we shake our heads at the Episcopalians. We see abuse involving Catholic clergy and we shake our heads.

But sin isn’t isolated to other religious groups. Yes, we have our own sins. Ours seem to focus on success. We will do anything to get it (and “it” usually involves a big church, positions of prominence, book sales, or where we are listed among speakers for a conference).

We will spread rumors about those with whom we disagree, ignoring the ninth commandment. We exaggerate the size of our churches to impress our friends. We fudge résumés to get a better job. And we can’t even pass a resolution in favor of integrity in reporting.

One thing I’ve noticed–those who go down because of greed, financial indiscretions, or power plays are often allowed wide latitude because their risk taking has paid off in the past as they’ve wonderfully impacted lives. They seem to have built up some brownie points. But when the risk goes awry… the line is pushed… the accountability is gone… those brownie points disappear like a marshmallow at a camp fire.

These are far more of a struggle for us than the temptation of a man kissing a man… but just as sinful. Homosexuality is certainly sin, but we manage to glance the other way at pride, covetousness, and other “inner” sins. And the outward sin seems to attract many more sermons at our meetings.

To balance the slate, here is a list of suggested topics for this year’s pastors’ conference:
• The House that Little White Lies Built
• God’s View of Fat Men
• “You like me, you really, really like me!” —Battling insecurity in ministry
• King of the Hill: Help and healing for those that didn’t make it all the way
• Playing Fast and Loose May Cut You Loose
• Whose Kingdom Are You Building?
• “He said, She said.” Are you the hero to your family that you are to everyone else?


Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is Missiologist at NAMB, an overeater, occasionally loses his temper, is often unsure of who He is in Christ, and has a thought life that could use some work.