Ted Haggard Sexual Immorality, Evangelical confesses to 'sexual immorality' in letter. Less than a day after being fired from leadership of the evangelical mega-church he founded, the Rev. Ted Haggard confessed Sunday to "sexual immorality" and called himself "a deceiver and a liar."
In a letter read to members of his New Life Church on Sunday, Haggard said he is "a deceiver and a liar." Haggard apologized to his congregation in the letter and asked for their forgiveness.
"There is part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life," Haggard said in the letter read by the Rev. Larry Stockstill, a member of the board of overseers of New Life Church.On Saturday, members of the board ousted Haggard from the 14,000-member Colorado Springs church, citing his "sexually immoral conduct."
Mike Jones claims the prominent pastor paid him for sex over a three-year period. Haggard only admitted to receiving a massage from the Denver man, in an interview Friday with CNN affiliate KUSA-TV.
The pastor also admitted that he had bought methamphetamine but said he did not use the drug and threw it away.
In his apology letter, Haggard made no mention of drug use, but said, "I am guilty of sexual immorality." He also noted that "the things I did opened the door for additional allegations."
Haggard asked the congregation to forgive his accuser, whom the minister said revealed "the deception ... that was in my life."
Stockstill also read a letter from Haggard's wife to the women of the congregation. In it, Gayle Haggard said while her heart is broken, she remains "committed to him until death do us part."
The couple have five children.
After the letters were read, an overflow congregation, many of them wiping away tears, responded with a standing ovation.
The interim pastor, the Rev. Ross Parsley, then called upon congregants to forgive Haggard. ted haggard male volunteer, ted haggard male prostitute,
"It is OK to be angry, it is OK to grieve," Parsley said. But the "fall of one man" will not destroy the congregation, he said.
"Today our church family and Pastor Ted is more obedient, more repentant, more transparent than we've been in a long time," Parsley said. "You're watching the Gospel at work. You're watching healing and restoration start to occur as we go through this process."
After the service, 10-year church member Michelle Richmond predicted Haggard and the church will recover.
Read More: http://articles.cnn.com/2006-11-05/us/haggard.allegations_1_gayle-haggard-pastor-ross-sexual-immorality?_s=PM:US
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