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 …

Ted Haggard apologizes for "sin"

Ted Haggard apologizes for “sin”

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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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 …

Sympathy for the Devil: Why We Should Show Some Compassion for Ted Haggard

By Michael Shermer

I just watched the HBO documentary film, “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” produced by Alexandra Pelosi (which the media seem curiously intent on identifying not as a filmmaker but as the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House). The film is a follow-up to her 2007 film “Friends of God,” in which Haggard was prominently featured just before his downfall from revelations that he had homosexual relations with a male prostitute, with whom he also did methamphetamine. And all this happened right in the middle of the political debate about gay marriage, in which Haggard condemned homosexuality as an abomination and gay marriage as a sin that should never be legalized.

Now, I enjoy roasting a hypocrite as much as the next person, and I sat down to watch Pelosi’s film sharpening my typing fingers in preparation for slicing this evangelical hypocrite to pieces, especially after just watching him on Larry King Live, in which he failed to apologize to gays for condemning the very “lifestyle choice” he also presumably made. (In his Christian worldview homosexuality is a choice–a bad choice, a sinful choice, but a choice nonetheless). But I came away feeling some compassion for Ted Haggard, sympathy for the devil as it were. I don’t know if Pelosi intended her film to have this effect–I suspect not from her off-camera comments in the film as she follows the fallen preacher around Phoenix selling insurance door-to-door and bumming rooms off friends at which his family can live. But given what we know about the power of belief, and the fact that this man devoted his entire life and essence to being an Evangelical Christian and all that stands for–which is a lot when you are the titular head of the 30 million-strong National Association of Evangelicals–what a striking conflict his life has been (and by all accounts still is).

By now, most of us know that homosexuality is not a “choice,” any more than heterosexuality is a choice. Asking a gay person “When did you choose to become gay?” makes about as much sense as asking a straight person “When did you choose to become straight?” The answer is the same: “Uh? I didn’t choose. I’ve always felt this way.” Right, and all the evidence from biology, psychology, and behavior genetics (twin studies) points to the fact that most people are born straight, some people are born gay, and some are even born bisexual, and that’s just the way it is. In a large population (and six billion members of a large mammalian species certainly counts) with considerable variation in most characteristics, it is inevitable that even something as seemingly straightforward (if you’ll pardon the pun) as sexuality will likely show variations on that central theme.

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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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More gay sex accusations against Haggard

(Denver, Colorado) Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard’s former church has disclosed that the gay sex scandal that caused his downfall extends to a young male church volunteer who reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard – a revelation that comes as Haggard tries to repair his public image.

Brady Boyd, who …

TWO Calls on Authorities to Investigate Ted Haggard’s Former Church, Says Hush Money Scandal Emerges From New Life’s Closet

NEW YORK, NY – Truth Wins Out (TWO) today called on Colorado officials to investigate New Life Church, after the Associated Press revealed that New Life paid money to keep a male volunteer from publicly disclosing a romantic affair with the church’s former minister Ted Haggard.

According to the AP, New Life’s current Senior Pastor, Brady Boyd, said that the church reached a legal settlement to pay the man for counseling and college tuition, with one condition being that none of the parties involved discuss the relationship publicly.

“Until conservative churches stop shaming gay people and learn to accept them, we will see more tawdry scandals,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “These calamities are a direct result of the closet.”

Rev. Boyd denied that New Life paid hush money and said, “Our desire was to help him. Here was a young man who wanted to get on with his life. We considered it more compassionate assistance — certainly not hush money.”

TWO called on Colorado officials to look into the matter.

“Authorities should investigate to ensure that this volunteer was not manipulated or coerced into silence,” said Besen. “The leadership of New Life has little credibility and should not simply be taken at their word. At a minimum, Boyd should resign for using his position of power to pressure a vulnerable member of his congregation into silence.”

In 2006, Denver escort Mike Jones disclosed that he and Haggard had a three-year relationship where money was exchanged for sex. Shortly after, Haggard stepped down from New Life. Next week, HBO will air a documentary on the rise and fall of Haggard. The disgraced minister will be promoting the show in media appearances throughout the week.

There is speculation that the HBO special spurred the volunteer to contact a Colorado Springs television station to discuss the situation.

Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that defends the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community against anti-gay lies. TWO also counters the so-called “ex-gay” industry and educates America about the lives of GLBT people.

Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org

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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.”
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