Ex-pastor Ted Haggard holds home prayer meeting

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard says a well-attended prayer meeting at his home wasn’t the start of a new church, but a sign of his resurrection three years after he was forced to resign amid a sex scandal.

“For the people who come tonight, that means they believe …

Haggard says he suggested divorce after scandal

(Denver) Disgraced pastor Ted Haggard says he wanted his wife to divorce him after a sex scandal involving another man, but she refused.

Haggard made the comments in a two-part episode of the syndicated television show “Divorce Court” to be broadcast April 1-2. The show released a partial transcript Tuesday.

Haggard resigned …

Haggard wife says she knew about his ’struggles’

(Chicago, Illinois) Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard’s wife says she knew about his struggles with same-sex attraction for years and felt he was “winning the battle” before a scandal involving a male prostitute triggered his downfall in late 2006.

Gayle Haggard makes the remarks in an appearance with her husband on …

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)

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Ted Haggard says his sexual identity is … “complex”

Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard says his sexual identity is complex and can’t be put into “stereotypical boxes.” But he says his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever.

A new HBO documentary follows Haggard after a gay sex scandal forced him to resign as president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals. He was also fired from the 14,000-member New Life Church

Haggard says he still believes it’s “God’s perfect plan” for marriage to be between a man and woman, but he says “sexuality is confusing and complex.”
See Pastor in gay scandal says his sexual identity is complex WLOS

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Look On The Bright Side, You Aren’t Mrs. Ted Haggard

These are truly terrible times. You may have been laid-off. You may have been on the receiving end of a lay-off rumor. You may have been arrested for cooking meth in the home you share with the future son-in-law of the future of the Republican Party.

Cheer up, little clown. At least you aren’t Gayle Haggard.

Remember this lady? Her husband, former Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard, admitted to having sex and meth with a male prostitute. Ted was removed from his position at the influential New Life Church, then kicked out of a de-gaying program and is now trying to sell insurance in Arizona. The couple, who have five children, are still married. Explains Gayle:

I know to restore the honor to our children is to help restore honor to their father.

Yes, it’s easy to snicker. Ted is participating in a documentary in which he says he never claimed to be straight. Gayle’s snotty statement above implies that gay people are without honor. We normally love to luxuriate in the hypocrisy of Christian homophobes like Gayle, but today, our feelings about her are a strange mix of schadenfreund and empathy.

Schadenfrempathy, if you will.

See Look On The Bright Side, You Aren’t Mrs. Ted Haggard