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Title: Haggard stepping down amid gay affair inquiry
Source:
We Hold These Truths & Denver Post
URL Source: http://whtt.org/index.php?news=2&id=1029
Published: Nov 2, 2006
Author: Eric Gorski
Post Date: 2006-11-03 06:47:43 by Red Jones
Keywords: None
Views: 1111
Comments: 59
Haggard stepping down amid gay affair inquiry Denver Post Nov 02, 2006 Haggard stepping down amid gay affair inquiry By Eric Gorski Denver Post Staff Writer http://DenverPost.com Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 03:51:34 PM MST Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals and founder and leader of the Colorado Springs-based New Life Church, stepped down Thursday following allegations that he has had a three-year homosexual affair with a male prostitute. Mike Jones, a self-professed male escort, talked publicly of the affair Wednesday morning on KHOW radio. Haggard denied the affair Wednesday night to KUSA Channel 9 News. But today, Haggard stated he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio..." After consulting with his spiritual counsel and the church's board of overseers, Haggard said, "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date." In the interim, the church's associate senior pastor, the Rev. Ross Parsley, will serve as acting senior pastor of the church. Haggard's lawyer, Martin Nussbaum, emphasized that Haggard has not admitted to the affair. Nussbaum said the church's bylaws state that if an allegation of immorality is made, the proper action is for Haggard to step down and put himself on leave. The Colorado Springs church, with 14,000 members, is the largest New Life congregation in Colorado.
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#1. To: All (#0)
I still withold judgement as to whether the accusations are true or not. I think I heard a report that Haggard himself admitted that some of the story is true. But I still don't know what to make of it.
Wonder which part is true - the having a homosexual affair, paying for the sex, or the drug use? Richard W.
and I just heard Haggard himself interviewed on National Public Radio. He was saying he's never had homosexual sex. that he's been failthful to his wife. and that he's never used illegal drugs.
In other words, guity as charged.
All men die. Not all men truly live. Live for something, rather than die for nothing.
Yep, just another friggin' RepubliPervTM.
#2. To: Red Jones (#1)
I think I heard a report that Haggard himself admitted that some of the story is true.
#3. To: Arete (#2)
#4. To: Red Jones (#3)
He was saying he's never had homosexual sex. that he's been failthful to his wife. and that he's never used illegal drugs.
#5. To: angle (#4)
In other words, guity as charged.
#6. To: Red Jones (#0)
All men die. Not all men truly live. Live for something, rather than die for nothing.
#7. To: Arete (#2)
Public Eye (May 26 -June 1, 2005) Pastor Ted's formula for media savvy by Cara DeGette Pastor Ted Haggard and his flock at New Life Church have been riding a surge of publicity this month. First there was the trip to Israel, where Haggard and a team of other Christian evangelicals met with Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu. Then it was off to Jerusalem for a tête-á-tête with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to talk about the relationship between evangelicals and Jews. Back in the United States, the gregarious Haggard, who heads up the National Association of Evangelicals as well as Colorado Springs New Life megachurch, was inundated with requests from the talking titans. Here was the lineup, in the words of Haggard's niece, Carolyn Haggard, as she was trying to juggle her uncle's schedule earlier this month. Friday (the 13th) · Interview with Baabaara Walters location TBA. · [Bill] O'Reilly will start taping at 5 p.m., so a car will pick you up at the ABC taping location and take you to the FOX studio. They would like you to discuss the environment and two other topics that you think are significant for the evangelical community. They are giving you a long block, so 8-12 minutes. · Also this Friday, Dateline will be here in the Springs for the Mill. Sunday (the 15th) · Dateline (NBC) will be here on Sunday. ad nauseum... Rob (producer for ABC) would LOVE it if you'd touch upon heaven during your sermon Sunday ... so, just something to think about . . . Wednesday (the 18th) · Tom Brokaw will be here at New Life Church. His schedule has changed, so he will be arriving in the Springs on Tuesday and would like to spend time with you on Wednesday ... "Now, we just need CBS (since we have FOX, NBC, and ABC), and we'll have quite the week!" Whew is right! To prepare for the onslaught, on May 10 Haggard sent to New Lifers and friends of the church the following tips on "doing a good job ... representing born-again, Bible-believing Christians." 1. If a camera is on you during a worship service, worship; don't dance, jump, etc. Secular people watching TV are touched with authentic worship, but jumping and dancing in church looks too bizarre for most to relate to. Remember, people watching TV news are not experiencing what you are experiencing. They are watching and thinking. Worship indicates sincerity, dancing and jumping looks like excessive emotionalism. 2. If reporters want to interview you, talk with them, but use words that make sense to them. Speak their language. Don't talk about the devil, demons, voices speaking to you, God giving you supernatural revelations, etc. Instead, tell your personal story in common sense language (I was a drunk but God changed me and now I'm sober, I'm grateful, etc.). 3. Don't be nervous. Be friendly and open. Reporters typically don't have an agenda, they authentically want to know what we do and why we do it. For example, Barbara Walters is working on a story about heaven and will interview me and get some supporting shots from the church ... Since we believe in heaven, we are, in fact, a good source. So, if she talks with you, don't be spooky or weird. Don't switch into a glassy-eyed heavenly mode, just answer, "Heaven is real. It's the place where God will be fully present with his people. He will reward people in heaven. Heaven is better than Colorado Springs." Say it straight and clear. Don't worry (Yeah, sure!). Come to think of it, many of Pastor Ted's guidelines could really come in handy in all sorts of encounters ... -- degette@csindy.com
http://www.csindy.com/csindy/2005-05-26/publiceye.html
All men die. Not all men truly live. Live for something, rather than die for nothing.
#8. To: angle (#7)
LOL Richard W.
don't be spooky or weird
#9. To: Arete (#8)
LOL- what? No rolling around on the floor "speaking in tongues"? No tamborines? No snakes or poison drinking? No guy in a wheel chair getting "healed"?
If a camera is on you during a worship service, worship; don't dance, jump, etc.
#10. To: Burkeman1 (#9)
We don't want them to think we're weird. We want them to think "send money".
Speak their language. Don't talk about the devil, demons, voices speaking to you...
All men die. Not all men truly live. Live for something, rather than die for nothing.
#11. To: angle (#7)
Can the use of crystal meth cause these illusions? Could this also explain Bush talking about God speaking to him?
Don't talk about the devil, demons, voices speaking to you, God giving you supernatural revelations, etc
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#12. To: Red Jones (#0)
I'd say that pretty much confirms his involvement.
Haggard stepping down amid gay affair inquiry
the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal bread.
#13. To: bluedogtxn (#12)
someone put up a link showing that the Denver tv station sent the voice mail to a voice expert and that the expert said it was Haggard. and on the voice mail he was according to this Jones fellow asking for crystal meth.
#14. To: Red Jones (#13)
The evangelical vote is dwindling.
#15. To: Burkeman1 (#9)
Richard W.
don't be spooky or weird
#16. To: Red Jones, angle (#13)
Angle had a link showing that this guy was refusing to play ball with the Israel lobby in August. Payback, maybe?
someone put up a link showing that the Denver tv station sent the voice mail to a voice expert and that the expert said it was Haggard. and on the voice mail he was according to this Jones fellow asking for crystal meth.
the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal bread.
#17. To: robin (#14)
Well, they keep getting caught fucking and sucking each other behind closed doors. I'd say their movement is losing a little Joementum.
The evangelical vote is dwindling.
the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal bread.
#18. To: bluedogtxn (#16)
Could be but I thought he was one of the leaders of the group wanting to invest in a "Disney type" Christian theme park in Israel. Richard W.
this guy was refusing to play ball with the Israel lobby in August.
#19. To: Arete (#18)
AMERICAblog: Religious right preacher Ted Haggard allegedly wanted orgy with 18 year old guys .
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#20. To: bluedogtxn, angle (#16)
Oh now that's intriguing. I guess he wasn't selected at random then.
Angle had a link showing that this guy was refusing to play ball with the Israel lobby in August. Payback, maybe?
#21. To: robin (#20)
ABC News: RNC Accepts Money From Army Porn Movie Distributor .
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#22. To: aristeides (#21) (Edited)
There are so many things wrong with that title alone. The RNC would not comment on the donations from Boyias or from the porn industry in general. So there's more.
#23. To: robin, angle (#20)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmNjfpoRZpE I hope this translates and you can watch Haggard on it. Very funny.
the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal bread.
#24. To: Arete (#18)
Hey, it's not called the Rod Of God for nuttin. If it's good for the fallen gender, a rod is far more appreciated by those with one. And, seems to be a rather cross denominational thingie.
#25. To: Burkeman1 (#9)
LOL. You are too cruel. Carry on.
No rolling around on the floor "speaking in tongues"? No tamborines? No snakes or poison drinking? No guy in a wheel chair getting "healed"?
#26. To: leveller (#25)
The front page of the Huffington Post now has up a screen capture from MSNBC of Haggard meeting with Bush.
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#27. To: aristeides (#26)
A ouple of buff and manly hunks, those two. Not that there's anything wrong with that . . . . .
Haggard meeting with Bush.
#28. To: aristeides (#26)
It'd be too much if Gannon was there at the same time.
#29. To: leveller (#27)
Anybody know who the third guy in the picture is, and what room that is (in the White House, I assume) with the picture of George Washington on the wall?
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#30. To: swarthyguy (#28)
The third guy in the picture doesn't look like Guckert/Gannon to me. I'm curious to know who it is.
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#31. To: aristeides (#26)
It's been reported they have weekly, every week, meetings of some sort.
Quite the happy couple.
All men die. Not all men truly live. Live for something, rather than die for nothing.
#32. To: angle (#31)
Maybe he will give a couple of mil to Bush's library and get a pardon. Oh yeah, he hasn't committed a crime, just behaved like a Liberal. Guess he's stuck voting Dem from now on.
#33. To: It Is A Republic (#32)
Buying meth isn't a crime?
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#34. To: aristeides (#33)
forgot about that ......... he'd better start saving up for that couple of mil......
#35. To: aristeides (#29)
The bright light, arriving from above, the dark interior beyond the door, and the portrait on the wall, combine to suggest an atrium. Is there one in the WH?
what room that is (in the White House, I assume
#36. To: leveller (#35)
That looks to me like a fireplace under George Washington's picture. I don't think you'd have a fireplace in an atrium.
Katrina was America's Chernobyl.
#37. To: bluedogtxn, bluegrass, Jethro Tull (#23)
"haggard has also rubbed shoulders with tony blair and ariel sharon" surprise, surprise...another ziocon-evangelist
#38. To: Esso (#5)
hahahahahahaha (love the trademark thingy)
Yep, just another friggin' RepubliPervTM.
#39. To: aristeides (#36)
Fireplace? Looks like a chair, to me. The upper contour of the dark area is both curved and pierced (genus one). What fireplaces have curved lintels? The shadows under the portait suggest brackets holding up a shelf, which supports what appear to be plants, which, in turn, support the atrium theory. More study is needed. Experts must be consulted!
That looks to me like a fireplace under George Washington's picture.
#40. To: leveller (#39)
that is definitely a fireplace. and that is an interior door as well. it is not an 'outdoor' area.
Experts must be consulted!
#41. To: Red Jones (#40)
How do you know? Are you an expert? Are you an interior decorator? And who puts foliage above a fireplace?
that is definitely a fireplace. and that is an interior door as well. it is not an 'outdoor' area.
#42. To: It Is A Republic (#32)
Your comments are sub-intelligent. Don't you have more self-respect than to post your tripe?
All men die. Not all men truly live. Live for something, rather than die for nothing.
#43. To: angle (#42)
i'm giggling.
#44. To: leveller (#39)
looks like a fireplace to me too. the darkened area looks like the screen. lots of people drape artificial ivy or put real potted plants on fireplace mantles.
#45. To: christine (#43)
http://www.harpers.org/SoldiersOfChrist-20061103288348488.html Some real gems here... {excerpt}...He was always on the lookout for spies. At the time, Colorado Springs was a small city split between the Air Force and the New Age, and the latter, Pastor Ted believed, worked for the devil. Pastor Ted soon began upsetting the devil's plans. He staked out gay bars, inviting men to come to his church; his whole congregation pitched itself into invisible battles with demonic forces, sometimes in front of public buildings. One day, while he was working in his garage, a woman who said she'd been sent by a witches' coven tried to stab Pastor Ted with a five-inch knife she pulled from a leg sheath; Pastor Ted wrestled the blade out of her hand. He let that story get around. He called the evil forces that dominated Colorado Springs—and every other metropolitan area in the country—“Control.” Sometimes, he says, Control would call him late on Saturday night, threatening to kill him. “Any more impertinence out of you, Ted Haggard,” he claims Control once told him, “and there will be unrelenting pandemonium in this city.” No kidding! Pastor Ted hadn't come to Colorado Springs for his health; he had come to wage “spiritual war.” He moved the church to a strip mall. There was a bar, a liquor store, New Life Church, a massage parlor. His congregation spilled out and blocked the other businesses. He set up chairs in the alley. He strung up a banner: SIEGE THIS CITY FOR ME, signed JESUS. He assigned everyone in the church names from the phone book they were to pray for. He sent teams to pray in front of the homes of supposed witches—in one month, ten out of fifteen of his targets put their houses on the market. His congregation “prayer-walked” nearly every street of the city. ...The lights came up. Pastor Ted, now before us in the flesh, introduced a guest speaker, one of his mentors, Jack Hayford, founding pastor of the 10,000- strong Church On The Way, in Van Nuys, California. Hayford is a legend among evangelicals, one of the men responsible for the revival that made “Bible- believing” churches—what the rest of the world refers to as “fundamentalist”— safe for suburbia. He is a white-haired, balding, eagle-beaked man, a preacher of the old school, which is to say that he delivers his sermons with an actual Bible in hand (Pastor Ted uses a PalmPilot). Pastor Hayford wants to “wedge” an idea in our minds. The idea is “Order.” ...Look! said Pastor Hayford, his voice sonorous and dignified. “All wonderful, all angels.” The angels were merely different from one another. Just, he said, as we have different “ethnicities.” And just as we have, in politics, a “hierarchy.” And just as we have, in business, “different responsibilities,” employer and employees. Angels, ethnicities, hierarchy, employers and employees—each category must follow a natural order. ...“There was,” Pastor Ted said one afternoon in his office, “a significant influence exerted on the last election by Colorado Springs.” He was meeting with me and another reporter, an Australian from a financial paper. “You mean,” the Australian asked, “almost like a force going out from Colorado Springs?” A force—Pastor Ted liked that. He smiled and offered other examples. His favorite was the Ukraine, where, he claimed, a sister church to New Life had led the protests that helped sweep the pro-Western candidate into power. ...Which brings us back to “Order.” Key to the growth of evangelicalism during the last that allows churches to grow endlessly while maintaining orthodoxy in their ranks. New Life, for instance, has 1,300 cell groups, or “small groups,” as Pastor Ted prefers to call them. Such a structure is not native to Colorado Springs; in fact, most evangelicals attribute it to Pastor Paul Cho, of South Korea, who has built a congregation of 750,000 using the cell-group structure. American megachurches that have adopted the cell model unaltered have had only partial success. ...Free-market economics is a “truth” Ted says he learned in his first job in professional Christendom, as a Bible smuggler in Eastern Europe. ...But Pastor Ted's true genius lies in his organizational hierarchy, which ensures ideological rigidity even as it allows for individual expression. Not just anyone can lead a small group, much less a section; a battery of personality and spiritual tests must be undergone first, as well as an official background check. Once chosen, group leaders meet regularly with their own leaders in the chain of command, and members are encouraged to jump the chain and speak to a higher level if they think their leader is straying into “false teachings”—moral relativism, ecumenism, or even “Satanism,” in the form of New Age notions such as crystal healing. ...Royal Rangers, a Christian alternative to the Boy Scouts. The largest “outpost” of the Rangers in the country, 475 boys and men, rallies at New Life. Royal Rangers wear khaki military uniforms and black ties. They study rope craft and smallbore shooting and “American Cultures.” There is a badge for “Atomic Energy,” which boys can earn by making scale models of a nuclear reactor. Mainly, though, Rangers earn merit badges for reading the Bible. -Soldiers of Christ Inside America's most powerful megachurch with Pastor Ted Haggard Thursday, November 2, 2006. Originally from May 2005. By Jeff Sharlet.
Much more at:
All men die. Not all men truly live. Live for something, rather than die for nothing.
#46. To: angle (#45)
gack
He moved the church to a strip mall. There was a bar, a liquor store, New Life Church, a massage parlor. His congregation spilled out and blocked the other businesses. He set up chairs in the alley. He strung up a banner: SIEGE THIS CITY FOR ME, signed JESUS. He assigned everyone in the church names from the phone book they were to pray for. He sent teams to pray in front of the homes of supposed witches—in one month, ten out of fifteen of his targets put their houses on the market. His congregation “prayer-walked” nearly every street of the city.
#47. To: christine (#46)
Not being Catholic, he can't blame a priest for molesting him as an altar boy.
I've already said too much.
#48. To: angle (#42)
and from a person with a negative IQ, be proud because you are entertaining, stupid, but entertaining........
#49. To: It Is A Republic (#48)
Perhaps you might want to reflect further on posts #33 and #34, genius.
and from a person with a negative IQ, be proud because you are entertaining, stupid, but entertaining........
#50. To: MUDDOG (#47)
he'll think of somethin'.
Not being Catholic, he can't blame a priest for molesting him as an altar boy.
#51. To: It Is A Republic (#32)
Do you support your party or your citizens? That, sir, is the point of reality we now approach.
Maybe he will give a couple of mil to Bush's library and get a pardon. Oh yeah, he hasn't committed a crime, just behaved like a Liberal. Guess he's stuck voting Dem from now on.
#52. To: scrapper2 (#49)
never claimed to be a genius and neither should you as the message completely skipped you...........
#53. To: tom007 (#51)
money, being the political bottom line, sends everyone, right or wrong, looking to their party for support, unless they are rich enough to go it alone, then they are stripped of power without being a party piece ............... most people cannot name their elected officials, much less who is running, what they have done, or even vote for that matter ......... 10 second sound bites and the cash to put them on the air is where thye party is ............
#54. To: christine (#44)
I now vaguely remember that the resolution of this issue once seemed important to me, but can no longer recall why.
#55. To: It Is A Republic (#53)
i can see the special attraction this haggard guy would hold for you GOP types - he is a pervert like foley, O'Reilly, Drudge, etc. but he is an even bigger hypocrite. i understand how you feel compelled to defend him.
Remember, free speech is a privilege, not a right. In time of war speech should be censored and even prosecuted if it crosses the line. ~ Aaron on LP
#56. To: angle (#31)
It's been reported they have weekly, every week, meetings of some sort. They look like they've just picked out their china.
Quite the happy couple.
"I woke up in the CRAZY HOUSE."
#57. To: leveller (#54)
laughing..
I now vaguely remember that the resolution of this issue once seemed important to me, but can no longer recall why.
#58. To: Morgana le Fay (#55)
didn't defend him wicca woman, quit reading between lines that do not exist because you are not very good at it........
#59. To: It Is A Republic (#58)
just running a little "Clinton did it too" interference for your new pervert pin up?
Maybe he will give a couple of mil to Bush's library and get a pardon. Oh yeah, he hasn't committed a crime, just behaved like a Liberal. Guess he's stuck voting Dem from now on.
Remember, free speech is a privilege, not a right. In time of war speech should be censored and even prosecuted if it crosses the line. ~ Aaron on LP
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