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God's gift: Last year, worship band Desperation Band joined the other music ministries of New Life Church in Colorado to record a live worship CD and DVD called My Savior Lives (Integrity). After the concert was recorded—and before the CD or DVD came out—the church's pastor, Ted Haggard, confessed to sexual immorality and purchasing illegal drugs. He stepped down. The church was devastated.

The guys in Desperation, New Life's student ministries band, believe God gave them the songs on My Savior Lives to help them through this crisis. Lyrics such as, "One thing … I found through all the troubles that surround, you are the rock that never fails" suddenly meant more after Haggard's announcement. God knew they needed these words—even before they needed them.

"Songs we wrote before the scandal are more introspective about our troubles than anything we could write now," says Jon Egan. "We've drawn great strength from them. God knows what we need better than we do. He was preparing us for this time."

How we survived: New Life Church was rocked by their leader's fall and hidden struggle. "I think everyone felt some measure of shock, anger, confusion and a sense of, 'what was he thinking?'" says Glenn Packiam.

However, the church did not turn on their pastor. There was deep sadness, Glenn says, but they realized Ted Haggard was the same guy he'd always been. He was a sinner in need of grace. And so, New Life clung to the gospel message—that Jesus died for sinners, not perfect people—and to one another. "For weeks, we didn't want to be alone," says Jared Anderson. "We'd just call people up to hang out—just to be together and process."

Lessons in pain: Glenn, Jon and Jared told IYF about two truths they learned in their church's trials:

1) Gossip and curiosity about others' sin can be dangerous. "The temptation was to look at every media story and say 'Did you guys know about this?'" says Glenn. "But that can poison your heart." In fact, Glenn says life after the scandal reminded him of the story in John 21. In it, Peter asks Jesus what will happen to another disciple. Jesus tells Peter to only worry about himself. "Everybody wants to gossip about details," Glenn says. "But I think the Lord is saying, "What is that to you? You follow me."

2) Unchecked sin creeps up on a person. "I want to let the Holy Spirit really put a search light on my heart," says Glenn. "What are the roots of the sin issues in my life?

I want to heal the wounds that lead me to temptation before they grow."

Part of God's help in fighting sin is to rely on others. "Our friend was warring with stuff and none of us knew," says Jared. "He couldn't master it. He never reached out. For us, this is the ultimate sermon illustration about accountability. Now, all of us are digging into real accountability. It's not just 'Are you good?' but 'How are you really?' This has been a big reminder that we're all broken people."

Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Ignite Your Faith magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Ignite Your Faith.

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