Christian leaders, Ted Haggard, publicly admitted he purchased the illegal drug methamphetamine from a gay escort in Denver.
50-year-old Haggard, who resigned from the NAE on Thursday, November 2, amid concerns over his behavior, denied he ever had sex with the man.
He also stepped aside as senior pastor of the New Life mega-church in Colorado Springs, in the US state of Colorado, on Thursday, November 2, after Michael Forest Jones, a self-described former gay prostitute, accused him of having a sexual affair for three years and using the drug, commonly known as crystal meth, during those encounters.
Haggard had been rallying support against gay marriages and therefore, Jones said, he decided to speak out. “It made me angry that here’s someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex,” Jones said.
TIMING QUESTIONED
Some of Haggard’s supporters questioned the timing of the allegations ahead of crucial mid-term Congressional elections Tuesday, November 7. "It’s amazing this guy would wait until six days before an election, when there’s a marriage amendment on the ballot. Surprise, surprise," said State Republican Party spokesman Bryant Adams in comments published by the online edition of the Rocky Mountain News, a Colorado daily.
James Dobson, founder of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, reportedly condemned media for publicizing "a rumor like this based on nothing but one man’s accusation." On Friday morning, November 3, KHOW radio had a volunteer polygraph examiner administer a test to Jones. The examiner reportedly believed Jones was being "deceptive" on some questions. He also expressed some concerns over Jones’ mental state, stress and fatigue, which he claimed might impact the results of the test. Haggard said he was pleased his accuser failed portions of the polygraph test.
"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 was quoted as saying by the Rocky Mountain News. The pastor had been credited with rallying evangelical voters behind the Republican Party to help re-elect President George W. Bush in 2004. In a statement the White House called the allegations "shocking", but stressed it did not believe that would affect the outcome of next week’s election.
MASSAGE REQUESTED
Explaining more details, Haggard told the Denver television station KUSA outside his house in Colorado Springs that he bought the meth from 49-year-old Jones, after contacting him for a massage. "I did call him," added Haggard. "I called him to buy some meth, but I threw it away."
Haggard suggested he could not remember where he threw the meth away saying he threw it away "right after" he bought it. "I never kept it very long ’cause it was wrong," Haggard said. "I was tempted, I bought it, but I never used it."
Asked whether he ever had sex with Jones, Haggard answered: "No I did not."
Haggard said he was on an extended suspension of his senior pastor role and had resigned from the NAE, which has 30-million members, because his trust was in question. "Those roles are based on trust," Haggard told KUSA, monitored by BosNewsLife. "And right now my trust is questionable."
DENVER HOTEL
Haggard said he met with Jones in a Denver hotel room after receiving a referral from the hotel in which he was staying. In a statement seen by BosNewsLife, the NAE confirmed that "the eleven-member Executive Committee unanimously accepted his resignation with regret."
The NAE stressed that it "appreciates his many years of effective leadership" adding that "knowing Rev. Haggard" it "found the initial reports of misconduct to be shocking and difficult to believe." While it recognized "the stark reality of the power of sin in all our lives," the group said that «the Bible holds Christian leaders to higher levels of accountability."
The NAE stressed that "it is especially serious when a pastor and prominent Christian leader deliberately violates God’s standards of conduct."
CHRIST’S "MERCY"
However the group also said that it believes the "grace and mercy of Christ is able to forgive all sorts of sin… We pray that the overseers’ ministry to him will lead to his eventual moral healing, restoration in Christ, and service in the Church."
The NAE said it has begun praying for Haggard, as well as his wife Gayle and their children as well as "the New Life Church congregation" and for "the man who has accused" Haggard.
Haggard has led the 14,000-member New Life Church for 21 years. "The response in our church is sadness and surprise," said the Reverend Rob Brendle, an associate pastor at New Life in published remarks. But, Brendle added, "We believe in him and we stand with him." (With BosNewsLife News Center, BosNewsLife Research and reports from the United States).
