Filthy rich megachurch whacko pastor and insurance salesman; have their ever been two jobs more identical? Either way, your job is to speak bullshit at people until they're confused into paying you lots of money for a completely useless product. Sure, your product might be a little useful to some people, but for the most part you're just a con-man playing the rubes for all they're worth.
It's funny, but our pastor has never mentioned giving money to the church. He has mentioned things in the building that needed fixing or replaced, and of course mentioned charity or the church member that is in hard times due to a fire or disease, but he's never said "send me your money if you really love God". That Ted Haggard is a conman, pure and simple. Using God is just his angle.
I think any pastors who are living lavish lifestyles and make their homes in mansions are, frankly, shitty ministers. Now, I'm not saying they should live in abject poverty necessarily, but anything beyond a comfortable lifestyle where all needs are fulfilled, is indulging in greed when that money could be used for helping the less fortunate.
Irrespective of his sincerity, Haggard's failing was, if you want to criticize him, hypocrisy...not being a "health and wealth" money-oriented preacher. He grew a church from meeting in his basement to one with 14K members (and anyone who is pastor of a church that size is going to live in an upper-middle class fashion just like the CEO of a business that size was. I'm not a fan of Haggard but the stereotype that any pastor of a mega-church is a money grubber is bullshit. That said, there was some weird shit last year about him asking for donations "while he was in recovery"...it never came to anything but it does play to the stereotype. One can assume that once you get used to living on over $100K a year, having to see that income go away probably reveals whatever weakness you might have in the area. I know someone who once had it good and now she doesn't have that kind of income, and the longer she lives the more debt she acquires because she can't bring herself to settle for what a working class income will buy. But I digress...
