U.S. pastor says guilty of sexual immorality [Haggard finally admits it]

Reuters ^ | Nov 5, 2006

[VictoryGal]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - Disgraced U.S. evangelist Ted Haggard, a vocal opponent of gay marriage, said on Sunday that he was guilty of "sexual immorality" and that he had long battled with a "repulsive" side of his life.

"I am guilty of sexual immorality, I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark and I've been warring against it my entire adult life", Haggard said in a letter that was read to his New Life Church in Colorado Springs by a church overseer.

[garbanzo]

he accuser couldn't passs a lie detector test when asked if they had sex.

My guess is that the meaning of "sex" here is a bit fuzzy - the massages were probably "full-service".

[bmwcyle]

Good work!

[Timbo64]

The money is also TAX FREE!!! I have no sympathy for him.

[Jim W N]

"So co-incidental that this worm came out with these accusations right before the election."

FYI, this guy's been recorded on radio/TV admitting that his timing was exactly because of Tuesday's elections.

[OKIEDOC]

The Evangelicals are the hip hop sect of Christianity.

[Timbo64]

I guess if YOU have not heard of someone, they can't be important. And yes, Haggard is tied to Bush. Yeah, blame the MSM for this guy being a co-ksucker.

[dynoman]

This story is apparently important to athiests as the guy was interviewed by Richard Dawkins as if Haggard was representative of all Christians;

Richard Dawkins vs Pastor Haggard on youtube

I will say is that I was not nor ever would have been a follower of Haggard's, so I can somewhat agree with Dawkins.

[dynoman]

This guy *was* married.

[Kimmers]

I was thinking the same thing....I thought they were interviewing the prostitute.

My heart goes out for his wife and children....prayers for them.

[libstripper]

It's also why they don't belong in most positions of trust and responsibility where a scandal can do real damage to the group they are a part of, like the Catholic Church (pederast priests) and the House Republican leadership (Mark Foley). The Boy Scouts have never been so right.

[ElPatriota]

Thanks :)

[MineralMan]

"This story is apparently important to athiests as the guy was interviewed by Richard Dawkins as if Haggard was representative of all Christians;
"

---

Not really. It's a story with some importance, I suppose, but not especially to atheists, necessarily.

I have a number of friends who are in the ministry. They're more concerned about this Haggard guy than I am.

Personally, I'm suspicious of all pastors or ministers who operate extremely large churches...the mega-churches, if you will. There's something unpastoral about all the ones I've seen.

Private jets, vacations at Aspen...that sort of thing. I wonder how often these pastors stop by the hospital beds of their congregation members who are ill. My guess is that they hire someone to do that.

Pastors of small to medium-sized churches have my respect. They have a difficult job, for which they are not well paid, in general. Most of these that I have met are truly motivated by scriptural concerns.

It's the mega-church folks that I'm suspicious of. More power...more temptation. I doubt that the Jesus of the Gospels would approve very much of such churches. But what do I know?

[dynoman]

"I doubt that the Jesus of the Gospels would approve very much of such churches. "

Exactly, how many live as he lived and go in this world as he sent his disciples? If they don't do this - how can they be true disciples?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

A 11,000 church doesn't seem personal to me. How many of the congregants could he have known? Not to mention, how many associate pastors could he have employed and how many congregants could they have known? These churches remind me of clubs, where families go for supper and socializing. How faith-centered could it possibily be?

I remember reading about a mega church (I forget the pastor's name) and how it got started.

The "pastor" and his group went door-to-door asking people what they DIDN'T like about church. One of the things mentioned was too much attention given to Christ. The pastor then, when starting the church, wouldn't allow having a cross inside the sanctuary... he said it might be "off-putting".

Gee, if you don't have a church that mentions Christ, could it really be a CHRISTIAN church?

[MineralMan]

"Exactly, how many live as he lived and go in this world as he sent his disciples? If they don't do this - how can they be true disciples?
"

---

Almost none, and the few that do go in that path are generally scorned, but then so were Jesus and his disciples.

I don't think the typical church is that far off the mark, though. It's a gathering place for people who share a belief, and the pastor is the coordinator and teacher. A small or medium-sized church seems to fill that bill rather well.

Not all are called to be disciples and to live the nomadic existence that Jesus and the 12 did. It's not happening, and I don't think it is necessary. On the other hand, the mega-church often seems scarcely a church at all.

[Lee N. Field]

I'm a Christian and I've never heard of the him.

Depends on what circles you travel in. For Haggard, think Pentacostalist megachurch. The NAE I can take or leave. They don't speak for me.

[MineralMan]

Good post, I think. I've been to a number of mega-church services. Most, to me, seem more akin to a concert hall than a place of worship. The services seem more like entertainment than worship.

I can understand the appeal of this, but I don't think it's what Jesus had in mind at all. You're right...there is no personal connection there. Most of these churches, however, have small groups that assemble separately. The question is whether those groups have good leaders. Not everyone is equipped to be a pastor or any other sort of leader.

As for folks like Haggard, I'm sure he knew the congregants who donated large sums of money. That seems to be the order of things. The rest? Well, he didn't know them, I'm sure. Some associate might have, but a lot of people in the congregations of these churches don't really care about that personal connection. It's entertainment for a boring Sunday, and it makes them feel good and think they're worshipping. No problem with that, really, but they're missing an important element of belonging to a church...and that's a pastoral relationship.

In a small church, or even a medium-sized one, you can make an appointment and speak one on one with the pastor, who can counsel you in difficult times, advise you about questions of faith, or merely console you when you grieve.

He can do that because he knows you. He sees you in the congregation, meets you at church events. He has watched your children grow up and knows, at least to some degree, who you are.

I'm reminded of two funerals I attended this year. One was for a man who was nominally a member of a fairly large local church. He didn't really attend except a couple of times a year. The pastor was at a loss as to what to say about this man, and mumbled some general things, many of which were quite wrong. He simply did not know the man, even though he had been a member there for years. Those who did know him, and his family, which did attend services regularly, were not comforted.

In the other case, the funeral was held in a small Lutheran church. The pastor knew the man very well, and had known him and his family for many years. This funeral spoke directly about the man and was a great comfort to his family and friends.

That is the difference. If you are part of a church where you are known as an individual, you are part of a community that can give you real support when you need it. If you're part of a church where you are just a name in a database, then you won't get that kind of support. It just isn't happening.

[Dont Mention the War]

Are you serious? Are you sure?

Yup! I had to look it up because I didn't believe it either, but if you punch his name and "married" into any search engine, it'll pull up a ton of hits.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

A lot of the mega-churches in the United States do seem to be disproportionately run by mammon-seekers. And also, as you have stated, the smaller churches have a higher percentage of more respectable Christians.

[OldSmaj]

Disgraced U.S. evangelist Ted Haggard...

Can anybody tell me why I (or anybody, for that matter) should give a rat's ass about this bozo?

So what?

Does his ignorance and stupidity reflect on everybody or what?

It ain't no big deal...to hell with the idiot and get on with your lives...he sure ain't worth worrying about.

Just another big mouth, two-bit, money-grubbing, two-faced, Billy Sunday wannabe.

Let's move on and concern ourselves with this upcoming election, not some "fallen" angel.

I don't give a damn what his objections to homo marriage was and neither should anyone else.

Frankly, I'd never heard of the idiot until the left started pointing fingers and yelling about it.

Let's move on, please.