Fallen evangelical pastor Haggard faces claims he had relationship with ex-church volunteer

[babsbunny]

Fallen evangelical pastor Haggard faces claims he had relationship with ex-church volunteer

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-r...

By ERIC GORSKI | AP Religion Writer
12:24 AM CST, January 24, 2009

DENVER (AP) — Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard's former church disclosed Friday that the gay sex scandal that caused his downfall extends to a young male church volunteer who reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard — a revelation that comes as Haggard tries to repair his public image.

Brady Boyd, who succeeded Haggard as senior pastor of the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press that the man came forward to church officials in late 2006 shortly after a Denver male prostitute claimed to have had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with Haggard.

[Lost-in-FL]

1. Let me be the first.

[fasttense]

2. Well, there's a way to earn a college scholarship.

Have sex with your homophobic pastor.

Seems selling sex in the U.S. will get you just about anything...as long as you are young.

[MADem]

6. Is there much of a market for "aged meat" in that area of commerce, really?

I suppose youth is relative, and a forty or fifty year old looks fresh-faced to a ninety year old....but really? There's gotta be better ways to make a buck. That, to my mind, regardless of whether you're male or female, gay or straight, can't be a very pleasant job. Sure, the hours are good if you are able to price your product high enough to not have to work a lot, but the customer interactions have got to be a bit...er...onerous, more often than not. After all, if you've got the goods to get it for free, why pay?

[Turbineguy]

3. This church needs

Choir Boys.

[KamaAina]

4. Actually, the Village People need

a new member.

Construction Worker, Cop, Indian Chief, the other one -- and now, Preacher!

[MADem]

5. DAMN!! Hypocrite just can't catch a break, now, can he?

Poor old Ted...wonder how much longer his stoic wife will stay by his side?

That little golddigger who was shtuping the prevaricating pastor got a nice payday, now, didn't he? I wouldn't be at all surprised if he heard the ka-ching of the cash register the moment he laid eyes on that jerk!

Boyd said an "overwhelming pool of evidence" pointed to an "inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship" that "went on for a long period of time ... it wasn't a one-time act." Boyd said the man was in his early 20s at the time. He said he was certain the man was of legal age when it began.

Reached Friday night, Haggard declined to comment and said all interviews would have to be arranged through a publicist for HBO, which is airing a documentary about him this month.



Boyd said the church reached a legal settlement to pay the man for counseling and college tuition, with one condition being that none of the parties involved discuss the matter publicly.

Boyd said a Colorado Springs TV station reached him Thursday to say the young man was planning to provide a detailed report of his relationship with Haggard to the station. Boyd said the church preferred to keep the matter private, but it was the man's decision to go public.

The disclosure comes as Haggard, 52, is about to give a series of high-profile interviews to promote the cable documentary about his time in exile. He is scheduled to appear on CNN's Larry King Live on Thursday, the date of the documentary's premiere, and already has taped "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

See, if the church didn't make a big deal out of how their own God made people, old Ted would still be free to preach didactically about other issues, armed with certain knowledge that came down to him from the Invisible Man in the Sky. Instead, he's just a lying, hateful, closeted buffoon.

[no name no slogan]

7. That's FABULOUS!

This is the DU member formerly known as BurnTeddyBurn.

[gratuitous]

8. Ted, just lay your burden down

You are who you are. Your conflict originates solely from what someone else told you, and those persons were wrong. Lay down your struggle and be who you are meant to be. You'll be far happier.

[whistle]

9. Is Ted Haggard sick, or simply a sexual pervert or worse pedophile

...these stories about Haggard's exploits seem to always reference "young men" as though it all began as two consenting adults. Haggard has been chasing male tail for years and I can't help but think he was planting the seed way back during the adolescent phase of his targets.

[TWiley]

10. Hey Ted, whats it like being an Abomination?

[ThomWV]

11. Look at the bright side, at least it was a volunteer

[WhiteTara]

12. this is what happens when your ideology is

so rigid. These people are sad little specimens of humanity. Sorry for all of them.