GROWING CHURCHES
TED AND GAYLE HAGGARD
History is jammed with leaders who were caught in the golden cage of the adoring throngs. Jesus told His disciples that it was for their good that He go away. I don’t think He was referring only to the redemptive aspect of the cross, but also to the tendency we have of making a man, not the Holy Spirit, the one we follow.
For Ted and Gayle, the restoration is ongoing; the healing, a lifetime endeavor. Our God gives us in each day a new portion of mercy. All we have to do is be humble and repent.
A lifelong commitment to humble service would rebuild Ted’s trust more than all the TV and movie contracts.
—name withheld
CIVIL RIGHTS AND WRONGS
I applaud the authors of your article “Gay Rights Are Not Civil Rights” (July). As the pastor of a predominately African-American congregation and one who grew up in the era of the civil rights movement, I am disappointed by the lack of courage on the part of black leadership to address this issue. I encourage African-American pastors to join the fight for the family because this issue will be our last stand.
—Rev. Phillip M. Davis, Nations Ford Community Church, Charlotte, North Carolina
It was God’s will for me to be born black. It was not His will for me to be a homosexual. The Lord saved me and delivered me 25 years ago from the gay life. Being a homosexual is a chosen lifestyle. You might say, “I was born that way”—but that is the reason you must be born again. You can be set free from the control of sin through Jesus Christ. I am happy and have been married for nine years (to a woman). I am an assistant pastor and I tell my testimony by the leading of the Holy Ghost.
