Haggard

There are those who would take this incident, read into it, and quickly conclude that churches are chock full of people kidding themselves -- people acting like they've got it together, but are actually just flat-out messed-up as anybody.

They'd be exactly right.

Then there are those who would say, "But we never said our churches are for perfect people.  They're hospitals for the sick."

They'd be misleading you.  They're not hospitals for the sick.

I've been a part of -- literally -- dozens of churches, thanks to my life of moving.  I have never -- not once -- been a part of a church that seemed like a hospital for those sick with sin.  Never. 

And yet, we are sick with sin.  Jesus was being ironic (wasn't he?) when he said he'd come not for the healthy, but for the sick.  He knows:  We're all terminal.  We're hopeless, addicted, hooked on ourselves.

I've just never been part of a church that agrees.  Sin means loneliness and death. That would imply desparation.

Writer Andree Seu recently quoted Samuel Shoemaker, an early leader in Alconholics Anonymous.  Shoemaker learned a desperate church might look like:

"...people do not come to AA to get made a little better.  They do not come because the best people are doing it.  They come because they are desperate.  they are not ladies and gentlemen looking for a religion; they are utterly desperate men and women in search of redemption.  Without what AA gtives, death stares them in the face. With waht AA gives them, there is life and hope.  There are not a dozen ways, there are not two ways, there is one way, and they find it or perish...

"AA does not expect to let anybody who comes in stay as he is.  They know he is in need and must have help," he says. 

Then, he turns to the church.

"Have you ever been drastically dealt with by anybody?  Have you ever dared to be drastic in love with anybody?"

Saying that churches should be hospitals for the sick does not make them so.  Pretending that we are not -- all of us -- addicted to ourselves does not make it so, either. 

I'm not sure if there have been major hypocrisy scandals at the top of AA.  I'm honestly not sure if there could be.

Comments

[beth white]

hey brant! I'm not techno savey but and I really don't have a comment on Haggard at this moment I just wanted to try and see if I could make this thing work.... by the way this is your high school, Lois Jones, classmate, Beth Throneburg White.

[Fayola Shakes]

Like I told this guy, who also blogged about this, (link is here http://cameronconant.blogspot.com/2006/11/cult-of-personality-if-i-ever-lose-my.html#comments)
, well said.

[Douglas_Coombs]

"And yet, we are sick with sin. Jesus was being ironic (wasn't he?) when he said he'd come not for the healthy, but for the sick. He knows: We're all terminal. We're hopeless, addicted, hooked on ourselves."

Ouch. Too true. And the worst part is that I've been not taking it too seriously recently. In the middle of moving, I've really neglected confesion. Time to avail myself of God's grace. Thanks for the reminder.

Doug

[MWest]

Nice post...
Romans 7: 14-25

[justin]

well said. now if we can just figure out how to stop trying to make excuses when these things happen and just repent authentically...hmmm...maybe a cover up is the way to go.

[The Planter -Bob Carder]

Jessica, I love your writing and you are truly a blogging maniac. I'm proud of you for this post and I'm very hopeful that the church in America will experience transformation through your generation.

My generation messed it up and I am counting on your generation to redeem us.

You are an incarnational Christ follower!

[Brant]

Beth! Great to hear from you! Wondering what you're up to -- please tell me about your family and stuff.

Bob, I'm okay with being called an "incarnational Christ follower".

I'm not, generally speaking, okay with being called "Jessica".

[Shawn Bashor]

Just wanted to say that I do not believe there can be scandal as this in AA, this is for one simple reason, there is not an expectation in that organization for perfection. They do not pretend to be perfect people, in fact they will readily admitt to being "sick" in the disease of alchoholism and or addiction.
Unfortunantly in the organization of the modern church people have this expection of being perfect and or to be preceived as such. It is generally full of people wanting to "belong" while There is only one place we should desire to belong and that is the Lambs Book of Life. The only difference between this gentalman and everyone in organized religion who may be quick to judge him is this gentalman is in a public office and had his sins exposed. So it begs the queation, are any of us worthy to judge him, in my opinion I have no right to comment on what he struggles with as I have struggles of my own. I just thank God that He has shown me grace beyond measure. So while the media can run all the smack they want about him, I would challenge every member of the body of Christ to examine themselves and ask if they are any different then this guy? Yes I did just compare being a pastor of an organized church to holding a position in public office!

[euphrony]

Yeah, most often a "hospital" is not the most accurate description of a church. More often, it seems, a better fit would be mortuary - full of dead people who have been dressed up to look as beautiful and perfect as possible.

A friend recounted to me once of a time when he seriously gave up on the whole church-thing. He and another man were leading a small-group discussion with some teens. It was an intimate discussion, and trying to be honest and encouraging my friend opened up and talked about the things he has struggled with. The teens, encouraged by this honesty and seeing someone who could understand and possibly encourage them, also began to openly talk about their struggles. Then the other adult chimed in. He stated that he was thankful to God that he had not sinned at all in the last week, and that he felt that soon he would be able to go a whole month or even a year without sinning. The teens stopped talking; discussion over.

[Shawna]

I like the mortuary analogy.

So, how do we change? How do we get off this crazy train? How do we turn churches from places where we all "pretend" everything is ok into a hospital that meets the diseases head on and at least attempts to fix them?

[Brant]

Shawna, I invoked AA here because I think their approaches hold promise in addressing your questions.

Though we say "we're all sinners in need of grace", we continue to elevate people, particularly pastors and people in media, to a status they don't deserve, and one that actually harms them, I think.

Like the corporate world, we have tiers of experts and layers of professionals, and I'm continuing to wonder why we need them. I say this, knowing we need THEM, but not their status. In order to protect status, however, we have to create an illusion of actually being "pretty good" and clean people.

You'll note in AA, no one there thinks they're "pretty good". It's desperation time.

[Alice the Brit]

I enjoyed reading this and everyone's input.

Me, my input? nothing stellar really..... I try so hard not to judge that I don't even read or watch the news at all, I know that's a bit of a "ostrich in the sand' mentality, but the news as a whole does NOT report good things!

So the fact is that the first I knew about this was reading it here and then hearing Brant on the radio this morning.

I know I have done and allowed things to be done/happen in my presence that are wrong, considered sin and that surely grieved God greatly, I am certainly not going to judge anyone else.

I think the bit about all of the above that saddened me the most was the "I'm SO in denial about myself" man whose "total cr*p" comment, (excuse my french) totally shut off and closed off the teenagers from being able to talk about what they struggle with.

This is why this younger generation has so many 'cutters' among them, trying to deal with the pain inside, trying to let it out in a way they can, because talking about it seems so 'not the way to go' because they might disappoint their family, friends, peers, whatever.

I'm pretty much ready for Jesus to come back now!

Alice,
who just so happens to be reading "The Glorious Appearing" right now!

[John]

We have a long way to go if you've never been part of a church that seeed like a hospital for the sick. I know I don't have what it takes to fill those shoes. Does anyone?