Ted Haggard

I heard this morning while watching the news that brother Haggard of the National Evangelical Association has entered into some serious challenges.  There is a small personal connection here.  A couple of months ago I had the chance to have a candid conversation with a niece of his about the emerging church and the postmodern cultural shift.  It was a lively discussion.  I was impressed by her deep regard for brother Haggard.  This morning as I watched the news coverage my heart went out to him and his family.  My good friend Will Samson offers some good wisdom on how to process this:

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.

Pray for Haggard’s successor at the NAE - While Ted Haggard is stepping aside from his church temporarily, it appears that he has resigned permanently from the National Association of Evangelicals. And, while I was not a fan of all his politics, Haggard was nonetheless a champion for the environment and human rights, and expressed openness on the issue of domestic partnership benefits for homosexuals. I fear a conservative backlash within the NAE to this incident, whatever the outcome.

Of course the next thought comes to mind as a possible response to some of us responding to this: why care?  Well…firstly because this is a brother in Christ in need of burden-bearing.  Secondly, he is a leader in the broader evangelical community to which I align myself with.  Thirdly, I know what it feels like to be caught in something shameful.  Admittedly, I have no idea how he feels.  I don’t have a quintillionth of the platform and visibility of this brother.  So the embarrassment and sense of shame probably feels like Mt Kilimanjaro on his and his family’s back.  I write this response because I felt a special burden to stand in the gap for him, his family, and the larger evangelical (’c'atholic) community that recognizes his leadership in the Body.

Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn

A recent article informs us that black men are not fairing well in our society.  I was just recently in conversation with my mother dealing with a topic very similar to this.  She told me about how growing up during Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era black folks of varied socio-economic status lived in the same communities.  She talked about how integration paved the way for middle class/affluent blacks to leave those close-knit black communities for greater opportunities.  This left behind a black under class in mostly urban centers.  What also happened in this black middle class exodus was a weakening of traditional black institutions that were autonomous from the dominant culture.  Anyways…this article gives much food for thought for those of us who are engaged in inner city work or ministry.

ht: Max (when are you going to start a blog man!)

Gordon Parks…a true Renaissance man

 

 

(November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006)

I stand in amazement of the figures that have recently passed on from the scene (e.g. Coretta Scott King, et al).  I remember as a child hearing about Gordon Parks and his contribution to what I call the black prophetic canon.  He will be missed.  His voice and contribution to the arts and social change will be remembered for a long time.

Click here for more info.

Coretta Scott King dies at 78

This story at MSNBC…

Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)

To Anyone With Family Members Signing up for the New Medicare Prescription Drug Plan

Make sure they are not going to places where only ‘one’ or a few options for drug coverage are being discussed.  Your Family member can go to their local SHIIP (Senior’s Health Insurance Information Program). office or location where they will be informed of ‘all’ the drug plans being offered for that state.  BEWARE:  there are reports of department stores and pharmacists giving the elderly few options when they have a whole range of options for drug coverage.

Thinking about Tookie

Many thoughts. Very few words. I have been thinking about Stan “Tookie” Williams alot lately. Actually I am a little depressed about the whole deal. I found this quote from one of my favorite theologians, D. Stephen Long in his book The Goodness of God. I thought it somehow applicable to this situation.

Christianity was born out of the imprisonment and execution of an innocent person. Given our history, we cannot seek the solution to crime in a punitive prison industry. Although Christians and other innocent persons have often been labeled as criminals, this does not imply that all criminals are unjustly persecuted. Some people do evil things that require the kind of correction imprisonment could potentially bring. Imprisonment should not be a time of punitive retribution but an opportunity for people to face the reality of the evil they have committed in hope that they might yet repent and turn toward the good. p. 299

Did Stan turn toward the good? I hope so. Whatever good that he did do I hope that it finds it way towards the hood in the midst of nihilism and violence. I hope the good that Stan may have done be not swallowed up by the revenge of the State. Much more to think about.