A new, exciting, (potential) gay sex scandal!

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A new, exciting, (potential) gay sex scandal!

Postby Xenu » Thu Nov 02, 2006 7:38 pm

I have absolutely no idea if this is true, but the very existence of the accusation thrills me to the core. You may remember Mr. Haggard from Richard Dawkins' "The Root of All Evil" special, and for smugly suggesting that he advises President Bush every week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061102/ap_ ... llegations

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The leader of the influential National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man.


The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."

The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.

Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: "Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife."

In a written statement, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."

Mike Jones, 49, told The Associated Press that Haggard paid him to have sex nearly every month for three years. His allegations were first aired on KHOW-AM in Denver.

Jones said that he had advertised himself as an escort on the Internet and that a man who called himself Art contacted him. Jones said he later saw the man on television identified as Haggard.

He said that he last had sex with Haggard in August and that he did not warn him before making his allegations this week.

Jones said he has voice mail messages from Haggard, as well as an envelope he said Haggard used to mail him cash, though he declined to make any of it available to the AP.

"There's some stuff on there (the voice mails) that's pretty damning," he said.

Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs for the evangelicals association, expressed shock.

"Is this something I can imagine of Ted Haggard? No," he said.

Carolyn Haggard, spokeswoman for the New Life Church, said a four-member church panel will investigate the allegations. She did not identify the board members.

"This is really routine when any sort of situation like this arises, so we're prepared," she said. "The church is going to continue to serve and be welcoming to our community. That's a priority."
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Postby Bennett Cerf » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:22 am

There are situations where a wrongly accused person might feel obligated to resign.

This seems unlikely to be one of them.

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Postby Rspaight » Fri Nov 03, 2006 12:38 pm

The above story doesn't seem to mention the allegation that Haggard was allegedly hopped up on meth for these encounters.

I point this out only in the interest of accuracy.

Ryan
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Postby Rspaight » Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:57 pm

Church Leader Says Haggard Admits To Some Indiscretions

Updated: 10:14 AM Nov 3, 2006
11 News

A sudden about-face in the scandal facing New Life Church's pastor.

After Pastor Ted Haggard went public Wednesday night denying allegations of a homosexual affair, senior church officials told KKTV 11News Thursday evening, Pastor Ted Haggard has admitted to some of the claims made by a former male escort. The church's Acting Senior Pastor, Ross Parsley, tells KKTV 11 News that Pastor Haggard has admitted to some of the indiscretions claimed by Mike Jones, but not all of them.

An email has also reportedly been sent to Church staff saying Haggard admitted to some of the accusations.

What those indiscretions were remains a mystery. Mike Jones took a polygraph examination, and was asked about his claim of a sexual relationship with Haggard. The polygraph examination showed "some deception." However, the person who administered the test said on Denver radio station KHOW that the results could be skewed by Jones's "mental and physical exhaustion."

Thursday morning, Jones went on a Denver radio talk show and said Pastor Haggard paid him for sex over the past 3 years. Jones also claims Haggard used drugs with him.

Right now, the situation is under investigation by an independent panel of leaders from four outside churches. The leaders are from Colorado Springs, Larkspur, Westminster and Louisiana. The panel's role is to decide if Haggard will be exonerated, released from his duties or restored to his pastorship.

Earlier Thursday, Haggard resigned as President of the National Association of Evangelicals, and placed himself on administrative leave as head of New Life Church. New Life Church has an estimated 14,000 members, while the NAE claims roughly 30 million members.
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Postby lukpac » Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:56 pm

Evangelical leader says he bought meth but 'never used it'

POSTED: 4:30 p.m. EST, November 3, 2006

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (CNN) -- The Rev. Ted Haggard, who resigned as one of the nation's top evangelical leaders, admitted Friday he had contacted a male prostitute for a massage and bought drugs from him.

Haggard, 50, said he never had sex with Mike Jones and never used the methamphetamine he bought.

He was one of a group of religious leaders who regularly participated in conference calls with White House aides.

Haggard told reporters earlier this week that he did not know Jones, who claims to have had a three-year sex-for-money relationship with the pastor.

In an interview Friday with CNN, Jones said Haggard got his number from a "newspaper or Web site" when Jones was advertising as an escort.

"He called me and said his name was Art from Kansas City," said Jones.

He and the pastor "hooked up" once a month, Jones said, and he gave the pastor a "contact" from which Haggard could obtain methamphetamines.

Jones said he went public with the allegations because, "The more I researched about Ted Haggard and what was being said about gay marriage [at Haggard's church], I became very angry and, I go, this is not right for someone who is up there preaching marriage should only be between a man and woman, and he's going to a gay man for sex.

"I felt I owed it to the gay community to expose the hypocrisy," Jones said.

CNN's Denver affiliate, KUSA-TV, reported that a voice recognition expert concluded that the voice mails left for Jones probably were from Haggard. A more detailed analysis was under way.

In at least one of the messages, the speaker identifies himself as "Art."

Haggard's middle name is Arthur.

Church member: 'It's political'

Haggard resigned Thursday as leader of the National Association of Evangelicals -- a group representing more than 45,000 churches and 30 million people -- and he also stepped down temporarily from leadership at New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

Haggard told KUSA on Friday that he received Jones' name as "a referral" from a hotel where he was staying in Denver.

He did not name the hotel. "I did call him," Haggard said. "I called him to buy some meth, but I threw it away."

Haggard spoke to the Denver TV station from inside a car, with his wife, Gayle, in the passenger seat.

"I was buying it for me, but I never used it. I was tempted. ...

"He told me about it. I went there for a massage."

Asked whether Haggard's admission of knowing him was a vindication, Jones replied, "Thank you. Exactly."

Earlier, Jones said he would not back down from the allegations despite a polygraph test that a polygraph administrator said showed "deception."

Jones took the test voluntarily, answering questions about his alleged ties with Haggard.

Test administrator John Kresnik said the results "did show deception" but that Jones was physically and mentally exhausted. Kresnik said he would like to take the test again after Jones had slept and eaten, which could provide more trustworthy results.

The Rev. Ross Parsley, who assumed leadership of Haggard's church, said Haggard had made "some admission of indiscretion -- not an admission to all of the material that has been discussed, but there is an admission of some guilt."

Time magazine named Haggard as one 2005's 25 most influential evangelical leaders, and he has close ties with the White House, participating in a regular conference call with other religious leaders.

White House counselor Dan Bartlett on Friday called the revelations "shocking and disgraceful if they turn out to be true. I think it's important that we do find out exactly what it is right and what is wrong here and get to the bottom of it."

Haggard has put himself on administrative leave as senior pastor of his 14,000-member church.

Church members who spoke with The Associated Press were stunned. "It's political, right before the elections," said longtime member Brian Boals, according to the AP.

Another, E.J. Cox, 25, told the AP the allegations are "ridiculous." "People are always saying stuff about Pastor Ted," she told the AP. "You just sort of blow it off. He's just like anyone else in the public eye."
Accuser: 'I won't back down'

During an interview Friday with a Denver radio station after the polygraph test, Jones said, "I'm disappointed. I won't back down from statements."

Haggard had told KUSA on Wednesday, "I've never had a gay relationship with anybody. I'm steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife."

He added, "I have never done drugs, ever -- not even in high school."

Jones said he has an envelope containing two $100 bills from Haggard, and saved telephone messages from him.

Colorado considers same-sex marriage ban

Jones said four months ago he learned Haggard's true identity when he saw him on television. He said he became upset when he learned that Haggard's church supported a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage that's on the ballot in Colorado next week.

Colorado is one of eight states where voters will consider bans on same-sex marriage.

"I cried many nights, I got sick tormenting myself about whether I should do this," Jones said. "I finally had to come to peace with myself ... I had to do the moral thing."

Jones, who said he no longer worked as a prostitute, described himself as a Christian and said that while he was a registered Democrat, he had voted for Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush for president.

In a written statement issued by his church Thursday, Haggard said he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."

"I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity," he said. "I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."

Under the church's governing structure, a board of overseers will lead the inquiry, with the power to discipline or remove Haggard or restore him to the pulpit, according to the church's statement.

Before word broke of "some admission of guilt," other prominent religious conservative leaders openly supported Haggard.

James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family -- which is also based in Colorado Springs -- called it "unconscionable that the legitimate news media would report a rumor like this based on nothing but one man's accusation." "Ted Haggard is a friend of mine, and it appears someone is trying to damage his reputation as a way of influencing the outcome of Tuesday's election," Dobson said in a written statement.

Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, said that "the accusations do not comport with the person that I know."

"Since 1942, the NAE has never had a moral, ethical or financial scandal of any sort. Thus, this is very painful," Cizik said. "I believe that our record of speaking and acting in conformity with biblical values will be upheld."

CNN's Delia Gallagher contributed to this report.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Postby Bennett Cerf » Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:39 pm

So he hired a prostitute but didn't have sex with him and bought meth but didn't take it. Sure, that's believable.

Honestly, what 50ish evangelical Christian married father of five who has never taken a drug in his life hasn't had a sudden temptation for meth while receiving a massage from a male prostitute?

I can't believe I overlooked this line in the original article:

Carolyn Haggard, spokeswoman for the New Life Church, said a four-member church panel will investigate the allegations. She did not identify the board members.

"This is really routine when any sort of situation like this arises, so we're prepared," she said.


Just how often does a situation like this arise?

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Postby Rspaight » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:35 pm

he Rev. Ted Haggard, who resigned as one of the nation's top evangelical leaders, admitted Friday he had contacted a male prostitute for a massage and bought drugs from him.

Haggard, 50, said he never had sex with Mike Jones and never used the methamphetamine he bought.


That is literally laugh-out-loud funny.

Almost as good as Jimmy Swaggart's "I paid a prostitute for sex, but all I did was watch."

Ryan
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Postby Xenu » Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:22 pm

It looks as of today like he's gone for good.
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Postby Rspaight » Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:25 pm

'I am a deceiver and a liar'

PAUL ASAY and CAROL McGRAW/THE GAZETTE

The Rev. Ted Haggard took his leave of New Life Church on Sunday, acknowledging that his conduct had led him to be “appropriately and lovingly removed from ministry” at one of evangelical Christianity’s biggest and most powerful churches.

In a letter read at two services — the first at the Colorado Springs megachurch in the five days since a Denver man came forward to say he and Haggard had a longterm sexual relationship — Haggard apologized profusely, saying he alone was responsible.

“I am guilty of sexual immorality, and I take responsibility for the entire problem,” Haggard wrote. “I am a deceiver and a liar. 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.”

Clutching tissues and sharing hugs, New Life members — along with the national press and surely some non-members drawn by the spectacular fall of one of the most powerful figures in the evangelical movement — filled all 6,000 seats of the church’s auditorium at the 9 a.m. service. Hundreds more stood along the back wall or sat in the aisles. Another 800 piled into an overflow auditorium and watched the 9 a.m. service on television screens.

Some seats were empty for the second service, at 11.

“I know this situation will put you to the test,” Haggard told his former flock. “I’m sorry I’ve created the test, but please rise to this challenge and demonstrate the incredible grace that is available to all of us.”

Ross Parsley, who was appointed acting senior pastor on Sunday, tried to rally the congregation. Comparing the church to a family, he said that in difficult times families come together.

“Our feet are not planted in any man, method or ministry,” Parsley said. “I don’t think this is the last chapter of New Life Church. In fact, I think there’s a whole book waiting to be written.”

He spoke again at an evening service, telling worshippers Haggard’s confession should inspire them to examine their own lives.

“This is the defining moment of New Life Church,” Parsley said.

The theme that the church was still strong despite its crisis was repeated often Sunday morning, and congregants appeared determined to move on.

They gave Parsley a standing ovation. They gave the board of overseers a standing ovation, and they stood and applauded once more for Haggard’s son, Marcus, when Parsley announced he was at the 11 a.m. service.

But there was no doubt that New Life Church had suffered a serious wound. Many congregants milled around the lobby on Sunday with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Extra cases of tissues were brought into the auditorium before the services.

The Rev. Larry Stockstill, who read Haggard’s letter and is chairman of the New Life overseer board that fired him, told the congregants: “This hurts. This rocks our world.”

Teresa Sahhar, an 11-year member, called the Haggard situation a “tragedy in our family.”

Haggard was fired Saturday as New Life’s senior pastor for “sexually immoral conduct.” He had resigned two days earlier as president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals.

Stockstill declared from the pulpit that the members of the board were still not sure just what Haggard did. But Stockstill said that what they did know was enough to warrant Haggard’s dismissal.

“He developed a pattern of deception,” Stockstill said in a press conference after the services.

Last week, a male prostitute in Denver named Mike Jones claimed that he had a three-year sexual relationship with Haggard, and also helped him buy methamphetamine. Haggard admitted buying the drugs but said he never used them, and denied having sex with Jones.

Haggard’s statements to the press and to the board were inconsistent, which Stockstill said was an indication Haggard was “out of touch with truth and reality.”

Stockstill said Haggard and his wife will undergo a lengthy restoration process under the guidance of prominent spiritual leaders, including Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson. The process, which could take years, will include a more comprehensive examination of Haggard’s alleged misdeeds, and will include polygraph tests.

“All we did was uphold Ted Haggard’s bylaws,” said Tim Ralph, a board member and senior pastor for New Covenant Fellowship in Larkspur.

The board will help New Life select a new senior pastor, a process they hope will be completed by the end of the year, Ralph said.

Stockstill told the congregation that Haggard was relieved at the decision, saying that it was the same conclusion he would have reached.

“One day,” Stockstill said, “Pastor Ted Haggard will bless the world again.”

Haggard, who founded New Life 21 years ago, was listed by Time magazine as one of the nation’s top 25 most influential evangelicals. Stockstill said Haggard’s ministry had rocketed up “almost like a meteor,” and speculated that the stress of leadership left him open to temptation.

The four board members who dismissed Haggard are all senior pastors elsewhere, and all are close friends of Haggard.

“I’ve been pastoring Covenant for 25 years,” Ralph said. “I’ve gone through a lot of stuff, and this is the hardest thing I’ve had to go through.”

For many in the congregation, the hardest part of the service was Haggard’s letter. Many cried as it was read.

“I am so sorry,” the letter began. “I am sorry for the disappointment, the betrayal, and the hurt. I am sorry for the horrible example I have set.”

Haggard admitted to “sexual immorality” without explicitly stating what that meant. He said he had “sought assistance in a variety of ways,” but none worked.

“When I stopped communicating about my problems, the darkness increased and finally dominated me,” he wrote. “As a result, I did things that were contrary to everything I believe.”

He asked congregants to stay faithful to God and to each other, and to forgive both him and Jones, his accuser.

“He is revealing the deception and sensuality that was in my life,” Haggard wrote. “Those sins, and others, need to be dealt with harshly.”

Haggard’s wife, Gayle, also wrote a letter to New Life’s women. She said she still loved Haggard and would stay with him. “We started this journey together,” she wrote, “and with the grace of God, we will finish together.”

She even managed a joke.

“For those of you who have been concerned that my marriage was so perfect I could not possibly relate to the women who are facing great difficulties, know that this will never again be the case,” she wrote. “My test has begun; watch me. I will try to prove myself faithful.”

She said that Haggard believed “with all his heart and soul” the lessons he taught New Life.

“He is now the visible and public evidence that every man needs a Savior,” she wrote.

At the conclusion of Gayle’s letter, the congregants again stood and applauded, unlike her husband’s letter, which generated mild applause at the 9 a.m. service and none at the 11 a.m. service.

“I have the upmost respect for his wife, Gayle,” said Kilyn Roth, who attended Sunday’s service, but is not a member. “You hope you could be as godly as she is if there is a similar situation.”
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Postby Xenu » Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:39 am

Lovely!

http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5799013&nav=8fap

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Just weeks after the senior pastor at a huge Colorado church was fired over gay sex allegations, the founding pastor of another church in the state is quitting for similar reasons.
This time it's Paul Barnes, whose suburban Denver congregation saw a videotaped message yesterday. On it, Barnes acknowledges having gay sex, saying he's "struggled with homosexuality" since age five, and has been "begging God" for help.

Barnes' church has about two-thousand members. That's a fraction of the 14-thousand who worship at the Colorado Springs church where Ted Haggard once preached. The longtime foe of gay marriage was fired last month after being accused of paying a male prostitute for sex. Haggard also quit as president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
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Postby Bennett Cerf » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:33 pm

Good news! Haggard is now "completely heterosexual."

Praise Jesus!

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Postby Bennett Cerf » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:01 am

Even as a firm believer in the notion that ALL major gay-bashers are closet deviants of some kind, I'm surprised by how many of them are being exposed.

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Postby Xenu » Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:09 am

As am I. It's one breathless, hypocritical high to another.
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Postby lukpac » Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:05 am

Back to Haggard...

http://www.slate.com/id/2172861/entry/0/

Haggard wrote Landrock that supporters can mail checks directly to the Haggard family at their Scottsdale, Ariz., address, but that if contributors wish to make their donations tax deductible, as they very likely will, they can make out their checks to something called Families With a Mission and write on the check that it is designated for the Haggard family. Ninety percent of these funds will then be forwarded to Haggard, while the remaining 10 percent will cover Family With a Mission's "administrative costs."
[...]
Wait, there's more. Savage and Coffman verified that the name and address of the man identified by Colorado's secretary of state as "registered agent" for Families With a Mission match the name and address of a man named Paul Huberty, who is listed online as ... a sex offender!
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD

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Postby lukpac » Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:13 pm

Police report

At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moved his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male int he stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area.

At 1217 hours, I saw Craig swipe his hand under the stall divider for a few seconds. The swipe went in the direction from the front (door side) of the stall back towards the back wall. His palm was facing towards the ceiling as he guided it at the stall divider.
[...]
When we got to the POC, we asked Craig to leave his bags outside of the interview room. This is standard procedure for safety reasons. I asked him for his driver's license. Craig left his roller bag outside the interview room, but brought his two-strapped carry bag in with him. I again stated that he had to leave his bag outside. Craig stated that his identification was in the bag. Craig handed me a business card that identified himself as a United States Senator as he stated, "What do you think about that?" I responded by setting his business card down on the table and again asking him for his driver's license.
"I know because it is impossible for a tape to hold the compression levels of these treble boosted MFSL's like Something/Anything. The metal particulate on the tape would shatter and all you'd hear is distortion if even that." - VD