TedHaggardI can't think of another career choice where ones life can change so rapidly from being on top of the world in your job in one minute and being virtually unemployable the next minute when you are a Church Minister.
I say this after reading today about Ted Haggards continueing saga about his fall from grace http://everyhomeachurch.blog.co.uk/2006/11/05/ted_haggard~1299098 ,and what he is planning to do now. Here is a guy who a few short months ago was at the top of the Minister tree. He had a growing Mega Church, was the head of the Evangelical Association (30 million members) of the United States, was in close contact with President Bush. He was totally humming in his professional Life.
Two months on, Haggard and his wife are moving out of Colorado and moving to a cheaper place to live. They are both going to study Psychology and try and get jobs when they finish their studies. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5159405 .Within a blink of an eye, all Haggards contacts, prestigious friendships with people such as James Dobson count for nothing. All his professional skills, experience and success counts for nothing as he tries to rebuild his life. No matter what you think about Ministers doing drugs and having Gay sex, you have to admit that is a pretty brutal punishment that will last to his death. There will be no respite or real forgiveness by the institution.
The scary thing is this is not uncommon. I know around a dozen acquaintances who were Ministers, were snapped behaving inappropriately (some of it pretty minor) have resigned and then completely vanished, because in the end Christians and church do not know what to do with them and do not want to be reminded of them.
I do not accept what Ted Haggard did (and neither does he) but I can't help but feel incredible sympathy for him in regards to starting again with literally nothing. We all have skeletons in our closets, but the consequences such as these remind Pastors to make sure the skeletons are kept firmly buried and continue pretending to be near perfect if they want to survive in there chosen career.