Haggard "Completely Heterosexual"

Ted Haggard "discovered" that he is completely heterosexual after undergoing three weeks of intensive counseling. Haggard was accused by Mike Jones, a male prostitute, of having a three year sexual relationship with him. Jones also said that he had bought drugs for Haggard. This led to Haggard's resigning from the New Life Church which he founded and today claims to have over 14,000 members. He subsequently placed himself under the supervision of an oversight board and went to seek counseling

The Rev. Tim Ralph, who was on the oversight committee, said the three week counseling had helped Haggard immensely....."He is completely heterosexual," Ralph said. "That is something he discovered. It was the acting- out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."

Haggard also sent an email message to the congregation of his former church:

Jesus is starting to put me back together. I have spent so much time in repentance, brokenness, hurt and sorrow for the things I've done and the negative impact my actions have had on others. That sadness continues as my family and I, along with so many others, go through the painful consequences of my actions. Jesus and his followers, though, have saved my life. As part of New Life's efforts to help me, they sent Gayle and me to Phoenix for a three week psychological intensive that gave us three years worth of analysis and treatment. We all wanted to know why I developed such incongruity in my life. Thankfully, with the tools we gained there, along with the powerful way God has been illuminating His Word and the Holy Spirit has been convicting and healing me, we now have growing understanding which is giving me some hope for a future.

The email goes on to discuss his plans for the future:

Jesus is starting to put me back together. I have spent so much time in repentance, brokenness, hurt and sorrow for the things I've done and the negative impact my actions have had on others. That sadness continues as my family and I, along with so many others, go through the painful consequences of my actions. Jesus and his followers, though, have saved my life. As part of New Life's efforts to help me, they sent Gayle and me to Phoenix for a three week psychological intensive that gave us three years worth of analysis and treatment. We all wanted to know why I developed such incongruity in my life. Thankfully, with the tools we gained there, along with the powerful way God has been illuminating His Word and the Holy Spirit has been convicting and healing me, we now have growing understanding which is giving me some hope for a future.

The oversight committee is said to have encouraged Haggard to leave Colorado Springs. "It's hard to heal in Colorado Springs right now. It's like an open wound. He needs to get somewhere he can get the wound healed." said Rev. Mike Ware of the oversight committee. They recommended that Haggard join a different church and continue Christian counseling. They also suggested that his next job be in the secular realm.

Haggard's accuser, Mike Jones, thinks that Haggard has not been completely honest:

Jones, 49 and a self-admitted gay man all his life, told talk show host Peter Boyles on radio station KHOW he believes Haggard has "more demons and dirt" he needs to clean out. He's still lying to himself. If he's not truly honest with himself, he'll never be over it. If I was going to issue an apology, it would be a paragraph long, Jones said. "He was definitely pulling the emotional strings for his followers. Ted, you need to be honest with yourself," Jones said over the air. "If you're a gay man, you're a gay man."

Comments

[ggwfung]

bit of bad timing with him getting all that coverage just before the mid-terms. Now, if you were into conspiracy theories ...

ggw