Sacked sex-scandal pastor confesses: I am a liar

Mark Coultan, New York
November 7, 2006
Truth hurts: the congregation of the New Life Church responds to a letter read out to them from Pastor Ted Haggard, in which he confessed that he was guilty of sexual immorality.

FIRST it was: "I never meet this man." Then it was: "I bought drugs off him but I never used them, and I never had sex with him." But by Sunday, it was time for confession.

Ted Haggard, former head of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals — the man with President George Bush's ear — finally told all: he was a hypocrite and a liar. The overseers of the New Life Church in Colorado, which he founded, sacked him for "sexually immoral conduct".

It was the most spectacular downfall of an evangelical leader since the Reverend Jim Bakker was embroiled in a sex and accounting scandal in 1987.

In a letter read out to the Sunday congregation at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Pastor Haggard said: "I am guilty of sexual immorality, and I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar."

He said he wanted to clarify "my heart's condition" after telling reporters a series of stories since male prostitute Mike Jones alleged that the pastor had been paying him for sex every month for the past three years. Mr Jones also alleged that Pastor Haggard used methamphetamine to heighten the sexual experience.

The prostitute said he went public to expose the churchman's hypocrisy because of his support for measures to ban same-sex marriages.

In Pastor Haggard's letter to his parishioners, he said: "There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life. For extended periods of time, I would enjoy victory and rejoice in freedom. Then, from time to time, the dirt that I thought was gone would resurface, and I would find myself thinking thoughts and experiencing desires that were contrary to everything I believe and teach."

He said he had sought help, but it had not been effective.

"The public person I was wasn't a lie, it was just incomplete. When I stopped communicating about my problems, the darkness increased and finally dominated me."

Not all the accusations levelled against him were true, he said, "but enough of them are true that I have been appropriately and lovingly removed from ministry".

He asked the congregation to forgive his accuser, saying: "He is revealing the deception and sensuality that was in my life. Those sins, and others, need to be dealt with harshly. So, forgive him and, actually, thank God for him."

He said that he loved his wife.

"What I did should never reflect in a negative way on her relationship with me. The problem was not with her, my (five) children, or any of you. It was created 100 per cent by me."

His wife Gayle also wrote a letter to the women of the congregation, saying: "I know your hearts are broken; mine is as well." She said she still loved her husband.

How the terrorists help the Democratic Party in US 2006 Midterm election

"If a house is divided against itself that house cannot stand." (Mark 3:15)

The USA is not going to win the war in Iraq as long as her "house" is divided. The USA shall not prevail in Iraq, when for some persons in the US, grabbing for power is more important than winning the war in Iraq. The terrorists know that if the Democratic Party gains control over US Congress and/or Senate, the US President will be a lame duck in his efforts to win the war in Iraq. So, the terrorists helped the efforts to make the US President weaker by making the month of October as the highest casualties for US troops in Iraq for 2006.

The division among US politicians simply emboldens the determination of terrorists to wage war against US interests all over the world. A house divided surely cannot stand!

US President to visit Indonesia

After APEC meeting in Vietnam on November 18-20, 2006, US President, George W. Bush, is scheduled to visit Bogor, Indonesia. While Abu Bakar Baasyir, who was accused to be the mind behind the deadly Bali bombing that killed more than 200 westerners in October 2002, said that he was ready to debate with President Bush, Hizbut Tahir Indonesia, another Islamic group, objects to Bush visit.

Ted Haggard admits to certain accusations

Ted Haggard, the President of the National Association of Evangelicals in the US admits that he bought methaphetamines but denies the accusations that he regularly has sex with a gay person.

Apostle Paul said: "In the letter that I wrote you I told you not to associate with immoral people. Now I did not mean pagans who are immoral or greedy or are thieves, or who worship idols. To avoid them you would have to get out of the world completely. What I meant was that you should not associate with a person who calls himself a brother but is immoral or greedy or worships idols or is a slanderer or a drunkard or a thief. Don't even sit down to eat with such a person." (1Corinthians 5:9-11 TEV)

Please click this link for the full story Ted Haggard admits to some accusations