WorldNetDaily: Haggard scandal: Wake-up call for evangelicals?

A much-needed perspective on the sad story of The Rev. Ted Haggard, who lately has confessed to sins that, while they might not be as dire as those of which someone has accused him, are bad enough to warrant his laying down his pastorate and all positions of church leadership. I Timothy chapter 3 tells us why: in a phrase, a church leader must be beyond reproach.

Frankly, the fall-from-grace of a pastor who grew a church to 14,000 members doesn't surprise me in the least. 14,000 could be the population of a small city. Furthermore, Ted Haggard has strayed from Bibilical precepts of church leadership and policy for years; that's how he grew his church to 14,000--probably nominal Christians, with no real root. (Cf. the Parable of the Sower, in Mark chapter 4, for a relevant illustration.)

More than forty years ago, Tennessee Williams charged, in a memorable play later adapted for film, that mainline churches were full of hypocritical leaders, each having a disqualifying sin in his life. So now the "Iguana Syndrome" has affected an "evangelical" church. So much for church-growth fads, and may this be a lesson for everyone.