Ted Haggard is both a founder and a leader of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. According to various sources, in its best times, the Church had about 15 thousand followers (“Ted Haggard” 15). Haggard was considered to be ‘a a light’ sent from above until he was accused of sexual immorality in 2006. This happened when in October of that year, a former male prostitute spread the information regarding his relations with Haggard that continued for three years. This point in Haggard’s biography became the beginning of his impetuous downfall. In the following paper, more details from Haggard’s biography will be addressed to show how this prominent man was both a ‘saint’ and a ‘sinner’.
Ted Haggard began his mind-blowing career as a religious leader as a pastor of a Christian Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1978 (Harmon 28). Later, in 1984, Haggard found a new church in Louisiana being encouraged by his friend. He called his church ‘New Life Church’, and aimed to offer his followers a chance to have a better life, free from the things that were burdensome such as immorality and idolatry. Initially, his church meetings were held in the basement of his house. However, by 2005, Haggard managed to acquire a new building for his church. The building was located in the north of the city, and was intended to accommodate over 7,000 people (“Ted Haggard” 16). Besides, Haggard initiated the Association of Life-Giving Churches, which had its objective to coordinate the activity of Christian congregations associated with New Life Church and their pastors.
Haggards played an important role in the country’s political and social life. According to “Ted Haggard” (16).
On most issues, Haggard backed President George W. Bush. Reportedly, he took part in weekly conference calls with members of the president’s staff or the president himself. During the 2004 election campaign, Haggard encouraged evangelicals to register and vote. He spoke out against abortion and homosexuality and supported amending the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. During 2006 election campaign, Haggard championed the passage of a proposed amendment to the Colorado constitution banning gay marriage.
Also, in 2004, Haggard issued “For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility” (“Ted Haggard” 16). This document aimed to answer such difficult issues as:
- whether abortion should be permitted;
- what position should the state have regarding homosexual marriages;
- how can poverty be exterminated;
- what can be done to provide high-quality education for all;
- what can be done so that all people in the United States could enjoy welfare.
Haggard even worked on improving the economical situation in the country using advocating free-market possibilities. In addition, he paid a lot of attention to the issues of the environmental protection. Particularly, he strived to discredit the Kyoto Protocol ratification by the U.S. Senate because he thought it would lead to jeopardizing the country’s sovereignty.
Haggard’s family life also seemed exemplary to many people. The man was married in 1978. His wife, Gayle Alcorn, gave birth to five children: Christy, Marcus, Jonathan, Alex, and Elliott. The family was considered to be exemplary for many years. Not only close friends, but all the other people agreed that Haggard’s family was a model for imitating. Especially, children in the family were praised for their excellent behavior, obedience to parents, and exalted moral principles. Haggard’s son Marcus became famous as a founder and a pastor in Boulder Street Church in Colorado Springs.
However, Ted Haggard’s glorious ‘race’ with Christ had a sudden and a very unpleasant ending. In October 2006, a male prostitute, Mike Jones informed the wide public about his sexual relations with Haggard that continued for three years (Nguyen para. 3). Jones openly described facts not only from Haggard’s secret sexual life, but even stated that the pastor was a drug addict, regularly taking in methamphetamines (Lowry 8). According to “Ted Haggard” (15), “after reviewing the accusations made against him, the board of overseers at New Life Church decided that Haggard was guilty of “sexually immoral conduct” and removed him as the church’s pastor”. Thus, a famous man, beloved by thousands of people, became a dirty sinner in the eyes of the whole country.
The wide public was shocked upon learning such details from Haggard’s life. People could not believe what they heard or read. Typical comments regarding Haggard’s actions were the following: “I feel really bad for his wife and family and his congregation. I know it’s a sad day for them, too”, or “it made me angry that here’s someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex” (Nguyen para. 7, 15). Haggard’s behavior made numerous Americans disgrace the Christian faith as something of illusory nature, and having no power at all.
Some people believe that Haggard was falsely besmirched by a man in want of money (Harmon 28). However, there exist too many facts supporting the accusations by Mike Jones (Smolowe 70). In addition, there were the other young men, who stated that Haggard either tried to have sexual relations with them or actually did so (“Ted Haggard” 18). Also, the famous pastor was accused of other serious sins such as drug addiction and excessive alcohol drinking (Lowry 8). As a result, Haggard appeared as a terrible liar, deceiver, and hypocrite in the eyes of common people (Sharlet para. 8).
In conclusion, it should be stated that Ted Haggard is one of the most ambiguous figures among American evangelizes. Famous as the founder and the pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, the initiator and the head of the Association of Life-Giving Churches, the head of the National Association of Evangelicals, a famous human rights activist, and active politician, Haggard lost his glory and authority after a series of sexual scandals. A few young men accused him of homosexual inclinations, sexual harassment, and abuse. In addition, Haggard was exposed to taking drugs and excessive alcohol drinking. The man openly confessed to most of the above-mentioned accusations. As a result, he lost his prominent positions in his Church, and the other religious and social organizations. Thus, Haggard’s era of being a ‘saint’ ended, and the new period in his life of being a ‘sinner’ came. Today, Haggard is putting a lot of effort to rehabilitate himself among the wide public. He is trying to show up on television, and regain the public’s trust. However, his former success seems to be a matter of a long-forgotten past.
Works Cited
Harmon, Andrew. “Is This A Face You Can Trust?.” Advocate 1047 (2011): 28. Print.
Lowry, Brian. “The Trials Of Ted Haggard.” Daily Variety 302.20 (2009): 8. Print.
Nguyen, Kim. Ted Haggard dismissed as church leader. 2006. Web.
Sharlet, Jeff. Haggard’s Downfall. 2006. Web.
Smolowe, Jill. “The Preacher And The Prostitute.” People 66.21 (2006): 70. Print.
“Ted Haggard.” The Religious Right: A Reference Handbook. Amenia: Grey House Publishing (2007): 14-43. Print.