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As I listened to what Ted says here, several random (non-related) thoughts come to mind.

-I don’t dislike Ted. But often he seems to be a victim of “being Ted” more than anything else.

-I agree: the Church isn’t great at restoration, at least the kind that gets sold in many evangelical churches. And we are particularly bad at “evangelical” restoration” when it comes to “famous Christians”…

-I wonder how Ted defines restoration. Because the kind of restoration that the Church preaches about and the kind of restoration that Ted sees happening for Tiger, Martha, Letterman and others is a different kind of restoration, right? I mean, they got their jobs back and/or kept them. But most churches speak of a different kind of restoration, am I right? So I’m not sure his analogy works. Is restoration for Ted getting his job back? Do we suck at restoration? Maybe. Was CBS gracious for letting Letterman keep his job? Sure. But aren’t we sort of talking about two different things.

-I know lots of people who would say: Without the Church, I’d still be a drug addict or homeless or hungry or depressed… So I think it’s unfair to judge the whole Church based on Ted’s situation. No, the Church can’t change people’s sexuality (that’s not for them to change), but I know many who would claim the church has helped “restore” them in other ways and we shouldn’t discount their stories…

-I never once heard Tiger Woods preach against random acts of sexual promiscuity. There are countless clips of Ted Haggard all over the Internet railing against homosexuality, offering sex tips to young couples, etc. The situations are different. Do they have some similarities? Sure. But they are very different.

-Ted’s lips are distracting.

-Martha Stewart mentions Restoration Hardware all the time.

-The Church offered a lot of grace toward Tiger Woods; I saw countless blog posts from pastors supporting Tiger. Most of them were golf fans.

-Ted says that CBS, NFL, PGA, etc. are better at restoration than the Church. And then he says, “And we’re the only ones who market that we know how to do it…” Right. But again, aren’t we talking about two different things?

-I think in the end this conversation is more about “celebrity” than it is about grace or restoration. While CBS handled Letterman’s situation quite well, I’m not sure that’s saying all that much considering they had a lot to lose, too–you know, if Letterman had lost his place as a “late-night host”. I’m sure there are countless no-named CBS employees that think CBS sucks! The same is true for Tiger Woods/PGA, etc… The thing is, lots of people thought Ted was odd long before learning that he enjoyed the occasional massage/meth combo. But… because he was a celebrity, one that preached (and often in a hateful manner) against being gay/bi, people (Christians and non-Christians) had a difficult time letting it go. But I think “his celebrity” didn’t help his chances for “restoration.”

But can we really judge the Church’s ability to offer grace/restoration based on Ted Haggard’s and Jimmy Swaggart’s situations? I think that’s unfair and a little non-practical…

-Regardless of whether or not the Church has helped or hindered, I think Ted has done a great job at restoring his spot in the public eye.

Sorry that this is random and doesn’t make a clear point. Still processing…

Found here.