This is the first in our new weekly series, appearing each Wednesday, detailing the transgressions of those who have preached so virulently against the LGBTQ community.
The Facts:
- In 1978, this man married Gayle Alcorn.
- He and his wife have five children.
- He became the senior pastor of a 14,000 member congregation.
- He was also the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, a 30,000 member organization.
- In 2006 it was alleged that he had an affair with a prostitute/masseur Mike Jones.
- In 2009, Grant Haas is said to have been paid off, by the church, in 2006 to keep quiet from telling his story with this man.
The Culprit:
- The Evangelical Hypocrite of the week is Ted Haggard.
The Story:
In November of 2006, Mike Jones came forward to say that he had been carrying on a three-year “relationship” with the Senior Pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Ted Haggard. Jones details this in his book, I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted Haggard’s Fall.
Yes, in the midst of speaking with President George W. Bush on a weekly basis, pastoring a thriving mega church, parenting five children, and backing Amendment 43 to ban gay marriage, Haggard was paying a man to have sex with him and also was using crystal methamphetamine.
After this allegation, there was another that came from within the church, including a church volunteer, Grant Haas, whom the church paid off to keep quiet. This allegation came on January 23, 2009, the week before The Trials of Ted Haggard was released on HBO.
So by now you are thinking, “Yeah, yeah I’ve heard all of this what’s the big deal?” Well, I’ll tell you.
The New York Daily News reports that, “Ted Haggard’s wife is standing by her man, no matter how many times he may have had homosexual affairs.”
According to Gayle Haggard, Ted’s wife, their marriage is great! Better than ever!
“My husband Ted Haggard is free from homosexual compulsions – for real this time.”
Haggard has been through many sessions of counseling and has “reformed” his ways back to being straight once again. I just wonder how many times one has to “go back” to being straight before it sticks.
Jezebel stats it this way:
“Haggard spoke as though he’s been treated for OCD, saying that since therapy, ‘I have not had one compulsive thought or behavior.’ The conversation felt creepily glib, especially when Haggard asserted that ‘we have a lot of evidence’ that he’s completely heterosexual – presumably referring to his five children.”
If you’d like to hear what Ted Haggard has to say then you can read his “Healing Overview,” a letter written by Haggard, depicting his amazing four-year transformation that, if I had to be honest, will take him a lifetime to accomplish.