The evangelist forced out of his job after being caught up in a sex scandal involving a male prostitute has left a "spiritual restoration program" and no longer has any ties to the megachurch he founded, the congregation's new pastor said Sunday.
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(Photo: AP Images / David Zalubowski)A portrait of Ted Haggard, pastor of New Life Church, locate north of Colorado Springs, Colo., hangs in the world prayer center on the church's campus, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006.
Under a severance deal that Ted Haggard reached with the church in 2006, he agreed to leave Colorado Springs and not talk about the scandal publicly. The deal expired at the end of 2007. New pastor Brady Boyd said Haggard was now free to live where he wanted and has returned to Colorado Springs.
"They have moved back and they live in the original house that they lived in for many years," Boyd said of Haggard and his wife, Gayle.
Haggard answered the telephone at his Colorado Springs telephone number on Sunday and confirmed he was in the city but said he couldn't talk to reporters.
He was fired in 2006 as pastor of the 14,000-member church he established, after a former male prostitute alleged they had a cash-for-sex relationship. The man also said he saw Haggard use methamphetamine.
Haggard, who also stepped down as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and said he bought meth but didn't use it.
Haggard then moved to Phoenix with his family to begin what church leaders called a spiritual restoration program, which was expected to include counseling and prayer and last five years or longer. Boyd said Haggard asked to released from the restoration program in January and is no longer connected with New Life.
Haggard and church officials clashed last summer after Haggard sent an e-mail to a Colorado Springs television station outlining his plans to work as a counselor at a Christian-run halfway house in Phoenix. The e-mail also solicited financial support.
A four-pastor team of overseers said that those plans were unacceptable and that Haggard would seek secular employment instead.
Boyd said Haggard was in private business but didn't have any further details. He said there were no plans for him to work again at New Life.
The New Life Church was the site of a shooting in December in which two sisters were killed after a gunman fatally shot two people at a mission center in suburban Denver.
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What does that mean? All I know is that the scriptures are very clear that those who practice sexual immorality will not enter into the Kingdom of God. Anything short of ruthless honesty and commitment to recovery is half-measures. If he continues to underestimate his issues he is heading towards another fall. He'll keep falling until he surrenders himself to God and to others who will tell him the hard truth. We all know that the enemy is ruthless with us and will attack us where we are weak. That's why he needs to be in accountability with others. Proverbs talks about how 2 are better than one, and a chord of 3 strands is not easily broken. If he goes his own way, he will fall, there is absolutely no question about it. I don't wish it for him, but it's inevitable.
perhaps he just got tried of being emotionally water-boarded.
Hmm, doesn't sound good. I know from personal experience dealing with those with addictions and recovery, it's usually not a good sign when the sick individual decides to go their own way. Especially concerning is the desire to go back to the ministry, especially just after rejecting counsel. It's a real sign of unrepentance and self reliance. None of us know the reasons for his leaving, but I predict this will not end well for him if he goes through with his plans.