One Life

I just wrote to the participants of the Lausanne YLG about Ted Haggard and the lessons we can learn. My prayer mentor responded with a quote from a friend of his who is in Ted Haggard’s church. I wanted to pass along one paragraph to you all from that email:

Many close to Ted are asking, “How could this happen?” Years ago I asked Jim Downing, one of the patriarchs of the Navigator work, “Why is it that so few men finish well?” His response was profound. He said, “They learn the possibility of being fruitful without being pure. God is slow to remove His hand on a man He has anointed. One day that man may sin, then experience God’s blessing. Then it happens again and again and he begins to believe that purity doesn’t matter. Eventually he becomes like a tree rotting inside that is eventually toppled by a storm.”