Horse's, Snuggies, and New Life Church

An early morning snowfall prevented me from following through with my outdoor running plans, so I defaulted to Plan B and went for a quick jog on the treadmill at my local gym. I usually listen to my iPod while I run, but I plugged into the local news instead so I could get an update on the weather. I'm learning that watching the weather around here is about as accurate as referencing a magic eight ball. As it turns out, the magic eight ball was wrong again.

Anyhow, I stayed tuned to the news after the informative weather report because the upcoming story happened to be about my church...again. The media has been such a frequent guest of our church in the past two years that I'm considering hiring an agent. It only makes sense.

As it turns out, our former pastor has again made a name for himself in the national news. We learned a few weeks ago that the prestigious and highly acclaimed HBO is set to air an interview with him at the end of this month. Then, a "new" set of allegations were brought to light this week when our local ABC station announced its plans to air an interview with a member of our congregation who apparently had an inappropriate relationship with our former pastor.

For those of you who don't know, Ted Haggard, the founding pastor of my church was fired a couple of years ago as a result of a scandal that was broadcast all over national news. By the time I arrived in Colorado, Ted was already gone. He was never my pastor. The church has spent two years trying to pick up the pieces in addition to coping with the tragic event of December 9, 2007. But, the media loves a story...and it seems that a healing, thriving, tenacious, God-centered church doesn't boost ratings. Even worse, Colorado Springs news anchors have little else to talk about. Case in point...the New Life story was followed by a piece on a retiring police horse and a brilliant segment about Snuggies, the blanket you can wear. Now, there's news you can use!

I'm not sure what the media hopes to accomplish with this latest headline. Truth be told, most people in our congregation moved on a long time ago. We are not surprised by the latest allegations, and we won't be surprised if more stories surface in the future. Like every one of us, Ted is a sinner and he obviously had more than his fair share of secrets. The church has gone to great lengths to offer him (and those who were affected by his poor choices) counseling, assistance, financial support, and forgiveness. So, let us move on already. Otherwise, we need to make plans to negotiate my contract.