Haggard Sex Scandal Could Damage Evangelism and Revival

The head of the US Life Action Ministries has voiced his concerns over the impact that the Ted Haggard scandal will have on evangelism and revival.

Pastor Ted Haggard was a leading evangelical in the US until the weekend when he confessed to "sexual immorality" amid accusations that he had indulged in gay sex. Following the accusations, Haggard stepped down from his position as leader of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the 30m-strong National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) last week.

"My heart is breaking over the reality of what Ted is facing and evangelicals as a whole," says Byron Paulus, the Executive Director of Life Action Ministries, in a report by Mission Network News.

Paulus fears that the problem may be more deeply rooted than many Christians realise, something that will come as a shock to most Christians if he is right. "It's probably more widespread in the hearts of God's people than perhaps we want to admit or acknowledge."