Posted on 08/14/2007 1:56:59 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
They prayed with him, laughed at his jokes, gave him a standing ovation and said he looked like the man who could lead New Life Church.
More than 10,000 people crammed into the sanctuary at two services Sunday to see Pastor Brady Boyd preach his stuff. A senior associate pastor at Gateway Church in suburban Dallas, he is here this month to try out for the leadership post of the Colorado Springs megachurch.
Even the “end zone” seats, almost behind the pulpit where visibility is bad and where church members seldom sit, were packed. Extra chairs had to be set up.
New Life’s pastoral selection committee has been searching for a pastor since the firing of church founder Ted Haggard, who admitted in November to “sexual immorality.” A gay former escort from Denver has since written a book describing a relationship with Haggard.
It took the committee nine months to find their top choice. The church’s overseers — an outside group of pastors who have authority over New Life’s pastor — have given Boyd the nod. Church members will vote Aug. 27 whether to accept him.
By the way the crowd responded to his sermon Sunday, he may be a shoo-in. Even before he appeared, there was excitement fanned by the loud praise music, and lights turned the sanctuary shades of orange and chartreuse.
In the foyer, Paula Gabriel was awaiting the service. “We are so excited, we’ve been anticipating this moment — for God to bring us a shepherd,” said Gabriel, a church member for seven years.
Another member had similar thoughts: “We are worn down by the past and excited to get on track to go forward,” Brad Nyght said.
Before Boyd spoke, Mike Ware, one of the church overseers and senior pastor at Victory Church in Westminster, told the congregation that “We prayed, fasted and probed. The Lord spoke to us and said this is the man.”
Ware told the crowd that he was impressed by Boyd’s integrity and especially by two of his responses during the detailed selection process that included background checks. “He told me that his most important goal was to make Jesus famous and not himself ... and he also said this was not a career move, but a kingdom (of heaven) assignment.”
Boyd has said he has no political aspirations and only wants to move the congregation forward.
Haggard, who had grown the church from a basement Bible study group to more than 14,000, members, was an evangelical political superstar as president of the National Association of Evangelicals. He and James Dobson of Focus on the Family worked to turn Colorado Springs into a center where political candidates sought their anointing.
Ware told the New Life congregation to “open your heart to this man. Relax and don’t judge or compare.” He added, “Can you imagine if you had to stand up here this morning?”
Boyd, 40, dressed in a khaki suit, blue shirt and orange striped tie, brought laughter with his first line when he took to the pulpit.
“Well, here I am,” he said with a boyish grin. “I told my wife, Pam, if I can get through the first five minutes ...”
He noted that Sunday was his wedding anniversary, and then introduced his wife and two children who were in the audience. “Eighteen years ago today my best friend said ‘I do,’” he said.
Later in a news conference, he answered a question, on many people’s mind this day:
“I have never been unfaithful to my wife,” he said.
But he noted in the sermon that he almost lost her once because he worked 80 hours a week at a Christian school when he was in his 20s. She packed her bags because she felt alone in the marriage. He promised to quit his job, and he did the next day, becoming a low-paid board operator at a radio station so he could spend more time at home.
Later she gave her blessing when at age 31 he became a pastor, helping heal Trinity Fellowship Church in Hereford, Texas, which at the time had gone through a scandal and lost all but 50 members. Then he went to Gateway, a Dallas-area megachurch where he is one of several associate pastors but does much of the preaching.
He told the New Life congregation that he would ask every staff member’s spouse to let him know if the staff worked too much at church and didn’t spend enough time at home.
There was much applause.
On this day, he was more Billy Graham in style than the laid-back preaching of two of the country’s most most popular evangelical preachers, Rick Warren and Greg Laurie, who head megachurches in California. Like Laurie, of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Boyd has said as a youth he used marijuana and other drugs before finding Jesus.
Boyd gave a forceful don’t-let-the-devil-make-you-do-it sermon that brought cries of amen and hallelujah from some in the sanctuary.
“The enemy is a negotiator who wants to see what price tag you have on your soul,” Boyd told them.
He then offered up his own non-negotiable values that define his life — values he said that he would never give up for money, material goods or weak moments of the flesh.
He said he would always follow Jesus, always protect and lead his family and put them first, and would always be merciful with people.
He drew laughter on several occasions with asides. When he was talking about Eve being tempted by a snake in the Garden of Eden, he noted, “If you ever encounter a talking snake, you know things aren’t going as they should.”
At the conclusion of the service, he asked those with marriages in crisis, who had bad health, and other troubles to come forward to be prayed for. Many gathered in the aisles, heads bowed in prayer.
During the news conference, he was asked whether he was going to try and fill Haggard’s shoes at New Life Church.
“No," he said. “I’ve been working for 40 years to fill my own shoes.”
He said that he has never met Haggard but that he had left a great heritage. “I have deep respect for that,” he said. He also said he has never spoken to Dobson but looks forward to meeting him.
Boyd pointed out that New Life was considered one of the top 50 churches in the country and that its members will rebuild its reputation by “being good stewards and serving the community.”
Boyd will give sermons on Aug. 19 and 26 and hold question-and-answer sessions with church members. He must receive two-thirds of the vote of the congregation Aug. 27, or the church will have to restart the search.
Melvin Dalton, 40, summed up the prevailing mood: “I think he has good values. He’s a good preacher. There are two more services to see who he is. So far, so good.”
Dunno about this. The whole mega-church thing leaves me feeling slightly nauseated.
Why? I am not a great fan, but why do you have that reaction?
People like Rick Warren, Greg Laurie, Joel O, David Hocking, Billy Graham, John MacArthur. They build really slick organizations, and sometimes they even preach the gospel, but if they really want to wear the mantle of Cotton Mather, they would be changing lives as well as hearts. This church itself—lead by a royal homo hypocrite—is a case in point. The media stardom of the Sunday show becomes more important than either the message, or the accountability of the people who preach it.
You might want to rethink your list of suspects.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.