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Title: [Ted] Haggard Leaves Colorado
Source:
www.huffingtonpost.com
URL Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070418/haggard-scandal
Published: Apr 19, 2007
Author: ERIC GORSKI
Post Date: 2007-04-19 13:23:13 by Ferret Mike
Keywords: None
Views: 388
Comments: 22
DENVER — The Rev. Ted Haggard moved Wednesday from his longtime home in Colorado Springs to Phoenix, where the disgraced minister will join the same church that helped fallen televangelist Jim Bakker. Haggard, 50, resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year, after a former male prostitute alleged a three-year cash-for-sex relationship. The man also said he saw Haggard use methamphetamine. Haggard confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and said he bought meth but never used it. As part of his severance package from New Life Church, a 14,000-member congregation he started in his basement, Haggard agreed to leave Colorado Springs, a city he helped make an evangelical center. "When he moved out of town today, there was a kind of relief on the part of the church that life can get back to normal," said the Rev. H.B. London, one of three ministers overseeing what has been called Haggard's "restoration." "For the Haggards, it is the beginning of a huge new chapter. It's a brand new start for them, the beginning of a new beginning." Before his fall, Haggard was an emerging voice in evangelical politics. He took part in White House conference calls and fought to broaden the movement's agenda to include environmental issues. In Phoenix, Haggard plans to pursue a graduate degree in counseling at an area university, said London, who heads an outreach effort for pastors through Focus on the Family, the Colorado Springs-based conservative Christian group. London was not sure where Haggard would be studying. The Haggards and two of their children _ another three are grown _ are expected to live in a home made available by a supporter. Ted and Gayle Haggard have ties to Phoenix. The couple spent three weeks at secular treatment center in the area after the scandal broke. And the Pentecostal church they will attend, Phoenix First Assembly of God, is led by the Rev. Tommy Barnett, another member of Haggard's restoration team. Bakker, the televangelist, found refuge at Barnett's church after being released from federal prison for bilking supporters of $158 million. He volunteered at a Los Angeles church mission run by Barnett's son. London said he believes Barnett told his congregation Sunday that Haggard would be joining them. Barnett and officials at his church did not return calls seeking comment. Haggard faces a test in going from being on the pulpit to becoming just another face in the pews, London said. "Once you were in charge of a megachurch and a mega-staff and making mega-decisions, now your main decision is where you're going to school, where to eat and what you're going to do on your day off," London said. The Rev. Mike Ware, a member of a separate panel of pastors that investigated the claims against Haggard, said: "We've all been in agreement that Ted should have a fresh start, gain some fresh perspective, and it's very difficult for them to get the kind of healing they need staying in Colorado Springs." Ware said Haggard is continuing to receive counseling, which officials said will include an exploration of his sexuality. Haggard has told his advisers he does not believe he's gay. As part of a severance package that will pay Haggard through 2007, Haggard agreed not only to leave town but to refrain from discussing the scandal publicly. He did not return messages Wednesday. Haggard's most recent annual salary was about $138,000, benefits excluded. His former congregation has felt the sting of the scandal. Since Haggard's fall, attendance has fallen 20 percent and giving has dropped 10 percent, said Rob Brendle, an associate pastor. As a result of the decline, the church laid off 44 employees, or 12 percent of its work force.
A portrait of Ted Haggard hangs in the world prayer center on the campus of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. in this 2006 file photo. Haggard moved Wednesday from his longtime home in Colorado Springs to Phoenix, where the disgraced minister will join the same church that helped fallen televangelist Jim Bakker. Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year, after a former male prostitute alleged a three-year cash-for-sex relationship. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, FILE)
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 15.
#1. To: Ferret Mike (#0)
Election funds pay $206,000 toward former congressman Foley's legal bills By Amie Parnes Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers Posted April 19 2007 Washington -- Faced with the possibility of criminal charges for the sexually charged online messages he sent to teenagers, former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley continues to rack up hefty legal bills, Federal Election Commission reports released this week show. From January to March, Foley paid more than $206,000 to Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, a Washington law firm, the campaign finance reports indicate. Although David Roth, a West Palm Beach lawyer, has served as Foley's spokesman and key public adviser throughout the investigation, the campaign reports do not indicate he has been paid by the former congressman. Roth could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Foley's once-hefty war chest is quickly receding mostly because of his public downfall and legal woes. Before resigning from office in late September, the congressman had more than $2.9 million in his campaign account, money he received from supporters across the country. Seven months later, Foley, the Republican who represented part of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, has $1.7 million left in the account, which he can legally spend on whatever he wishes as long as it relates to his former office. In the same three months Foley paid his sister and campaign manager, Donna Winterson, more than $4,800. He also made an $11,000 credit-card payment to American Express and spent $11,000 for moving expenses when he sold his Washington town home and moved back to Florida in February. Foley also wrote checks for several miscellaneous items, including $400 to remove a lighting fixture from his Washington home and $500 for the relocation of a computer. The reports show Foley also returned $7,500 to more than half a dozen campaign supporters who asked for refunds. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials said Wednesday they are still conducting an investigation into the Foley matter. Last month state authorities said they were considering whether to charge Foley as an Internet sex predator because of sexually explicit online messages he sent a teenage boy from a hotel room in Pensacola. Authorities called the string of messages a clear violation of Florida's law on Internet sex predators. That law states "any person who knowingly utilizes a computer online service or Internet service to seduce, solicit, lure, entice, or attempt to seduce a child" is committing a third-degree felony and could receive a jail sentence of up to five years.
Another unreadable thread thanks to the two-faced backstabbing cocksucker who can't post an embedded hypertext link.
Try google. And valium.
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#13. To: angle (#1)
#15. To: HOUNDDAWG (#13)
Another unreadable thread thanks to the two-faced backstabbing cocksucker who can't post an embedded hypertext link.
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