Disgraced pastor speaks at Charlotte church

CHARLOTTE – Disgraced evangelist Ted Haggard spoke to a Charlotte congregation Sunday morning.

Haggard was the pastor of the 12,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the Head of the National Association of Evangelicals until a gay sex scandal in November 2006 led to his downfall.

He spoke Sunday morning to the Elevation Church as part of a series entitled “Healer.” Haggard apologized to the audience and shared details about the conflict and confusion he struggles.

“I am so sorry that I caused pain in your family,” Haggard said. “I am so ashamed that I misrepresented the body of Christ.”

In November 2006, a male prostitute claimed Haggard paid him for sex for three years and that Haggard used crystal meth. Haggard denies the drug allegations.

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Ted Haggard, Oprah Interview: Haggard And Wife Discuss Gay Sex Scandal (VIDEO)

Disgraced Pastor ted Haggard’s fall from grace was swift and devastating. Once one of America’s most influential religious figures, he all but disappeared from the public square when it was revealed that he had been engaging in sexual relations with a male escort and was paying him to score crystal meth.

Since his downfall Haggard has made a couple forays back into public life, like when he claimed to have undergone intensive “restoration” which made him into a “complete heterosexual” (which was then disputed by the new pastor of Haggard’s church, who said Haggard quit the program early and was not yet completely “restored”). However, he is now on a promotional blitz for his new HBO documentary, “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” made by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Haggard, along with his wife Gayle, took to the Oprah Winfrey show today to promote the documentary and discuss his life-long struggle with his attraction to men. He also addresses new allegations that he had a cash-for-sex relationship with a young, male church volunteer for over three years. See Ted Haggard, Oprah Interview: Haggard And Wife Discuss Gay Sex Scandal (VIDEO)