Ted Haggard
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Ted Haggard is the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and he was President of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) from 2003 until November 2006.
In January, 2005, TIME magazine named Haggard among the 25 most influential evangelicals in America:
Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals
As president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Haggard represents 30 million conservative Christians spread over 47,000 churches from 52 diverse denominations. Every Monday he is one of just a handful of evangelical leaders patched into a conference call with West Wing staffers to discuss policy concerns. “We wanted him (Bush) to use the force of his office to campaign aggressively for a federal marriage amendment, which he did not do,” says Haggard. He is working to broaden his group’s agenda. “With the growth of evangelicalism worldwide,” says Haggard, “we need to impact the cultureworldwide.”
- Source: TIME Names the 25 Most Influential EVANGELICALS in AmericaTIME magazine, Jan. 30, 2005
In November, 2006, Ted Haggard “resigned … as president of the 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals, following allegations he paid a Denver man for sex over the last three years.”
Two days later, Haggard was fired by an oversight board of the church he founded:
The board, called the “Overseer Board of New Life Church,” said in a prepared statement Saturday afternoon: “Our investigation and Pastor Haggard’s public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct.”
[...]Mike Jones, of Denver, came forward Wednesday and said Haggard had had a paid sexual relationship with him monthly for three years. Jones also said Haggard used crystal meth. Haggard denied the sex, but admitted he once bought the drug, decided not to use it, and threw it away.
- Source: Ted Haggard fired by New Life Church oversight board
One day later, Ted Haggard “confessed to a “lifelong” sexual problem.”
A process of restoration was started, but apparently not finished.
In December, 2008, publicity surrounding Haggard picked up in advance of an HBO documentary titled, The Trials of Ted Haggard:
In an HBO documentary set to air Jan. 29, disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard says he never claimed to be heterosexual, as was once reported, and he continues to struggle with same-sex attraction. But he’s committed to living a heterosexual life because he believes it’s better for children to be raised by a mother and a father.
[...]Haggard, a 52-year-old father of five, careens from self-pity to self-loathing to self-aggrandizement in the documentary.
- Source: Ted Haggard still struggles with sexuality, he says in documentary
Haggard refers to himself in the documentary as a sinner who deserved the punishment meted out to him. He says he came close to suicide.
But he said the year his family spent living in cheap motels or the homes of friends had ultimately strengthened his faith — although he held out no hope of returning to work as a pastor.
“I can’t imagine very many churches inviting me to speak, even though I am a better Christian now and have a better understanding of scriptures than ever,” said Haggard, who is back in Colorado working as a life insurance salesman.
“It has strengthened my faith. I do wish others had been more forgiving toward me. But I think those who hate me and judge me had a reason. I deserved it.”
Three weeks after church elders told Haggard to leave and ordered him to undergo “spiritual restoration,” they announced that after counseling he was “completely heterosexual.”
Haggard smiled wryly at the statement, saying he fits into neither the gay nor the evangelical community.- Source: Ted Haggard: I’m back from ‘wilderness’
A few days before the documentary aired, more allegations of sexual misconduct came to light:
Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard’s former church disclosed Friday 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.
- Source: Ted Haggard faces more gay sex accusations
Articles
- The Ted Haggard Dilemma: Can a fallen pastor ever redeem himself? by Patton Dodd, Haggard’s writer and editor for eight years.
News & News Archive
Ted Haggard news tracker & news archive
See Also
- Lessons learned from lying leaders by David Kowalski
- What can we learn from fallen Christian leaders? by Mary Fairchild
- When a Leader Falls: Work through the process of redemption and restoration ($) Collection of resources available as a training pack
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• This page was first posted: Dec. 15, 2008
• This page was last updated: Jan. 30, 2009
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