ted haggard

Yorktown, Indiana,

United States Occupation Former Protestant Christian Evangelist

Ted Arthur Haggard (June 27, 1956) is a former American evangelical preacher. Known as Pastor Ted to the congregations he served, he is the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and was leader of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) from 2003[1] until November 2006.

In November 2006, he resigned or was removed from all of his leadership positions after he admitted soliciting prostitute Mike Jones for homosexual sex and methamphetamine. Initially Haggard denied even knowing Mike Jones, but as a media investigation proceeded he acknowledged that some allegations, such as his purchase of methamphetamine, were true. He later added "sexual immorality" to his list of confessions.[2]

After the scandal was publicized, Haggard entered three weeks of intensive counseling, overseen by four ministers. On February 6, 2007 one of those ministers, Tim Ralph, stated that Haggard "is completely heterosexual."[3] Ralph later said he meant to say that therapy "gave Ted the tools to help to embrace his heterosexual side."[4] Contents [hide] 1 Early life and work 2 Ideology 2.1 Theology 2.2 Politics 2.3 Teachings on homosexuality 3 Television and movie appearances 4 Homosexual sex and methamphetamine drugs scandal 4.1 Allegations 4.2 Rumors prior to the Jones allegations 4.3 Response to allegations 4.4 Admission and removal from job 5 Claims of complete heterosexuality 6 Since leaving the church 7 Books 8 See also 9 References 10 External links 10.1 Official 10.2 News articles and interviews //

Early life and work

Ted Haggard was born in Indiana.[5] His father, J. M. Haggard, a practicing veterinarian in Yorktown, Indiana, founded an international charismatic ministry, which was featured in a PBS Middletown documentary series.[6] In 1972, at age sixteen, Haggard became a born-again Christian after hearing a sermon from evangelist Bill Bright in Dallas, Texas. As a co-editor of his high-school newspaper in 1974, he published remarkably frank articles which described services that were available to prevent and deal with increasingly prevalent pregnancies and STDs. These articles scandalized his small town and embroiled him in a free-press lawsuit.[7]

Haggard subsequently attended Oral Roberts University, a Christian university in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

According to Haggard, in November 1984, when he was an associate pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his confidant and mentor Danny Ost, a missionary to Mexico City, had a vision of Haggard founding his church in Colorado Springs. Accordingly, Haggard moved to Colorado shortly afterwards, and founded New Life Church. Initially, the basement of Haggard's house formed his church, which then grew to rented spaces in strip malls.[8]