Update: More video with Mike Jones and Ted Haggard.
Update: Ted Haggard is now number one and two on Technorati. Here's the video where Ted Haggard fesses up to buying meth and tossing it.
I am reposting this blog post with a few updates after noticing that i am the Number 1 google search result for "ted haggard video" and feeling a little sense of responsibility to make sure this video and the other videos are here and are being updated - I am hoping the truth of the incident, as it gets leaked out more and more, will actually be helpful for the American church - maybe not republican politics, but at least the church. After me on Google are others with the same video - 2. beliefNet, then 3.Digg, and 4.YouTube which has two videos -
1. The confession in the car that i am showing above, and
2. an earlier video of a conversation with Richard Dawkins which - btw - is riding up on the long tail of Haggards past and riding high on the wave-crest of happy democratics surfing towards the next American election. It was kinda TIMELY, don't you think?
Number 1 result for "ted haggard t-shirts" is Jolly Blogger who offers a decent post on Ted Haggard but does not offer any t-shirts for the occasion, not a link to wildwOlf 's t-shirt slogan that says "I paid to have a good time with a male prostitute, and all I got was a lousy back massage!" nor a mention of Oliver Willis's Ted Haggard T-Shirt.
Not saying I approve of these t-shirts or anyone who kicks a brother when he is down. We evangelicals need a bit more time than most to see the humor in situations like these.
Original Post from Nov 3:
I don't remember Technorati ever having a preacher make number two and three top searches before. Postmodern Negro alerted me to this issue and my friend Will Samson has some good advice and thoughts in response:
"Please pray for Ted Haggard and his family - Even if you do not agree with all of his politics, he is in the middle of a private hell that most of us cannot relate to. This is true whether the allegations are confirmed or not.
Don't rejoice with either outcome - I find too many people, even some in the Church, hoping for one outcome or the other. Sadly, even my first reaction was to take sides. But love does not delight in evil. Period. If these allegations turn out to be true, how sad. If they are false, how sad. I pray we have the conviction to think this way.
The issue: Will Samson recommends the Washington Post summary of the allegations Story at this point is that he bought meth from a gay escort to experiment with it but threw it away - and there was no sex. We dont know the full story yet, but we do know Ted has resigned temporarily from his church and permanently from the National Association of Evangelicals. Bloggers will no doubt track the story for you. Will's advise should follow us as we follow the story over the next few weeks. A lot of emerging church folk will not agree with his politics but will surely hold him up in prayer during this difficult time as a fellow brother in Christ.
Heres the video. Ted sounds honest to me. He got tempted. He bought the meth. He got convicted. He dumped it.
Buying it was DUMB
Buying it from a male escort was DUMB
Even requesting the services [massage] of an escort in a hotel is DUMB if you are a pastor and above reproach. And a little weird. Maybe there is more to the story?
I met Ted only once - he was speaking at Peter Wagner's Post-denominational Conference in Pasadena, 1996. I really liked the guy. And what i already liked about him was his unselfish dream that as his church grew, other churches around it would grow also, rising with the tide of God's Spirit in the city. I still like the guy. I hope this issue gets resolved soon.
Updates: Bruce on the accuser's story and Ted's confession. Actually, Bruce at Ordinary Everyday Christian seems to be on top of it. As for me, I am going to bed soon. good night.
Related:
Ted Haggard. The Video
Meth Was a Bad Choice
Haggard and the Hazzard of Hotels
Carrying Your Dad's Dumbbell
Gayle Haggard: An Excellent Woman Who Can Find?
Technorati Tags: t-shirt, ted haggard, video
