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Ted Haggard

Ted Arthur Haggard is the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America. He was the head of the National Association of Evangelicals and the founder/head of the Association of Life-Giving Churches. He has also admitted to purchasing methamphetamines and visiting a gay male prostitute.

Sourced

  • I want a church I can stay in for years. I don't want surprises, scandals, or secrets from my church leaders.

  • Today's biggest headlines are stories about people who thought they were doing something that was secret: Jesse Jackson's secret girlfriend and child, Monica Lewinski's private meetings with the president and confidential girl talk with Linda Tripp. Just think of the news stories we've watched on television...

  • People know what's going on with other people. So, we are wise if we live our lives as if there are no secrets. If we have nothing to hide, then there's nothing for people to discover, and we're clean. Living as if there is no such thing as a secret will keep you from all kinds of pain and suffering, and it will open the door for you to receive God's love more fully. Live as if there is nothing to hide and you will maintain innocence.

  • So many times, I've seen men and women get into trouble when they travel away from home because they believe that no one will ever know what they do when away. This is a lie, and it will always come back to haunt you. In Genesis 38, the Bible tells the story of Judah, who went on a business trip. When he arrived at a distant town, he saw a prostitute and approached her to sleep with her. But he didn't have any money to pay her, so he had to give her some personal items as a down payment. Of course, everyone knew those items belonged to him, and soon what he had done in secret, far away from home, was a public matter. And, again, we're reading about his hypocrisy thousands of years later. His actions have brought shame to his entire famiy for many generations. It's just not worth it. I remember an old tent preacher saying, sin will take you further than you want to go; cost you more than you want to pay; and keep you longer than you want to stay.


  • I've never known anyone who has fallen into sin and been successfully restored by the formal church structure. Nor have I ever seen a formal church structure wisely deal with sin, enabling ministry to continue without interruption.

  • Don't punish people who repent; heal them. I don't believe that private sin requires public rebuke or removal from office if repentance is taking place. However, when no evidence of true repentance exists, then discipline is in order.

  • There is no such thing as a secret among our leaders; communication is very open and honest, and if it's not, then it can become seemingly brutal. You've heard my arguments for love, friends, and authenticity, but there are the deceivers, the manipulators, the control freaks, and the self-appointed teachers in the Body who would love to use our system for their own selfish purposes. We all know the realities of the old sin nature.

  • I am convinced: people with pure hearts live better lives! Actually, one of the things I look for in a staff member is innocence. I love it when a person is not full of malice or unforgiveness or is not wrestling with secret sin. You can just tell by their countenance-they are wonderful people to be around.

  • The third big idea is that we confess our sins to someone close to us--a friend or our spouse. I don't mean a public declaration of our shortcomings; I mean confession in the security of a trusted and living friend.

  • I am a firm believer in living as if there were no such thing as a secret. If we hide our sins and live in darkness, we will never get the healing we so desperately need; in fact, if it is hidden so well that we don't even recognize it, we may never even find forgiveness.

  • You know all the surveys say that evangelicals have the best sex life of any other group.

  • I think I know what you did last night. If you send me a thousand dollars, I won't tell your wife.

  • Hi, Mike, this is Art(hur). Hey, I was just calling to see if we can get any more. Either a $100 or $200 supply. And I can pick it up really anytime tomorrow, or we can wait until next week sometime. And so, I also wanted to get your address so I can send you some money for inventory. But that's obviously not working, so if you have it go ahead and get what you can. I may buzz up there. I don't know, maybe even later today, but I don't know if your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. So, I'll check in with you later today. Thanks, bye.

  • I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife.

  • I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver.

  • I called him to buy some meth, but I threw it away.
    • KKTV, accessed 3 November 2006.

  • I went there for a massage.
    • KKTV, accessed 3 November 2006.

  • I was referred to Mike Jones from the concierge at a Marriott hotel when I asked for a masseur.
    • KRDO, retrieved June 26, 2008

  • It was during the massage that it started to become sensual, and that led to him masturbating me... That was and is our only sexual contact.
    • KRDO, retrieved June 26, 2008

  • I bought it for myself but never used it. I was tempted, but I never used it.

  • During the conversation with Mike during and after the time he masturbated me, he told me about some drugs that he could get for me that would enhance my masturbation experience.
    • KRDO, accessed June 26, 2008

  • I actually used them three times, throwing them away in shame before use two times. It is for these offenses that I confessed being immoral and deceitful.
    • KRDO, accessed June 26, 2008

  • The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There’s a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life.
    • MSNBC, accessed November 5, 2006

  • Please forgive my accuser...and, actually, thank God for him. I am trusting that his action will make me, my wife and family, and ultimately all of you, stronger. He didn't violate you; I did.
    • In a letter to New Life Church; published in Colorado Springs Gazette, November 5, 2006.

Attributed


  • You called my children animals!
    • According to Richard Dawkins, Haggard accosted him and his film crew as they were leaving the New Life Church. Dawkins suggests that the remark could be a reference to the Theory of Evolution.
 
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