Fallen pastor Ted Haggard is coming to Albuquerque to speak at New Life City this Friday through Saturday, writes our New Mexico Independent colleague Matthew Reichbach.

Ex-Pastor Ted Haggard to speak in Albuquerque

According to the Albuquerque Journal’s Newseeker blog, “The Rev. Alan Hawkins, pastor of New Life City in Albuquerque, said he extended the speaking invitation to Haggard to help people who may be struggling with ‘confused sexuality’ and other issues that led to catastrophe in Haggard’s life.”

New Life City is not related to New Life Church, the evangelical mega-church that Haggard founded in Colorado Springs.

A staunch opponent of gay rights, Pastor Ted was forced to step down from the pulpit and his role as head of the National Association of Evangelicals in 2006 after he admitted to an ongoing sex and methamphetamine pecadillo with a male escort. Later, Haggard was called to answer additional allegations leveled in Jan. 2009 that he had engaged in an inappropriate and drug-fueled sexual relationship with Grant Haas, a young male church volunteer. Haas claimed that New Life Church leaders knew about the illicit affair and later reneged on a “financial comfort” payoff. Current New Life pastor Brady Boyd vigorously denied the payment was “hush money” as it was portrayed in press accounts at the time.

Read the whole sordid saga at The Compleat Ted Haggard sex, drugs and hush money timeline.

Shortly after being outed in 2006 by Denver escort and masseuse Mike Jones and participating in a church-mandated restoration therapy, Haggard said he was “completely heterosexual.” However, in January 2009, the fallen pastor told the Los Angeles Times, “I am a heterosexual with issues” just as he embarked on a press junket for the HBO bio-pic “The Trials of Ted Haggard” and the Haas revelations were making news.

“My invitation to him is just because I love him, and he’s a valuable human being,” Hawkins said of Haggard, according to the Albuquerque Journal. “My belief has always been that a person is not defined by his worst moments and that his lifetime of good service was not canceled by this action.”

Starting Wednesday, the nation gets to peer inside the couple’s marital crisis while the stern presiding judge wags her finger and raises the sassy questions Larry King and Oprah dared not pose.

Ted Haggard, upper right, and his wife Gayle appear in the Divorce Court rings. (Screenshot/Divorce Court)

Join us as we follow Judge Toler’s conversation with the Haggards.

2:30 p.m. - Judge Lynn Toler — who was an actual judge in Ohio — sits in her chambers with the Haggards. Anyone hoping to see the disgraced pastor taking an oath in a courtroom — hand on a Bible — will be disappointed.

It appears the Divorce Court schedule is as flexible as Ted Haggard’s sexuality — the first of two Haggard episodes was scheduled to air April 1, but the day arrives and KDVR-TV in Denver is showing Part II of the interview.

Quick recap: The Haggards decided not to get divorced. Ted asked for a divorce from Gayle because he had become “toxic,” but she refused.

Haggard blames male escort Mike Jones for telling him about methamphetamine. He says he’s faced temptations in every decade of his life. At the judge’s prompting, he admits he hasn’t acted on his homosexual desires “for the most part,” and says he tried to overcome the urges through prayer. The judge is skeptical he was able to banish these urges so quickly after being exposed.

2:35 p.m - Ted wasn’t born gay — he was traumatized in seventh grade with “some homosexual play” and has successfully prayed it away.

Gayle discusses her process — how does she love Ted? How does she forgive him? She admits to jumping to “a lot of conclusions” and accused Haggard of living a double life. The judge calls her on this — “He did lead a double life.” Gayle says it took time to “get to the place where I could really hear him” after her husband had “been through an internal, private hell.” Initially, she blamed Ted for the crisis. The judge is having none of Gayle’s attempt to blame the victim, herself: “He lied, he bore false witness.”

2:40 p.m. - We’re back after a commercial. Ted says after he disgraced his wife he “went way overboard,” even going so far as to make the bed and pick up his socks. If that’s what it takes to apologize for a meth-fueled affair with a male escort …

Ted and Gayle’s daughter, Christy Haggard, appears on a splotchy video link. Her father was “so apologetic and humbled,” which encouraged her to bond with her father. The judge asks if Ted had been holier-than-thou before the scandal. No, no, Christy says, she put her father on a pedestal. She says Ted is less judgmental and allows her to be “less harsh” on herself.

Christy admits her father could “relapse” and go back to having sex with massage therapists but says she wouldn’t love him any less if it happened.

2:45 p.m. - Cut to another commercial after some flying graphics. Benefiber provides closed-captioning for the show, which is good news for irregular viewers who are hard of hearing.

2:50 p.m. - Judge Toler asks if there’s anything Ted could do that would be “divorceable” — what if he falters again and Gayle finds Ted “with another guy, would that put divorce back on the table?” The judge doesn’t ask how Gayle would react if she found Ted with another guy on a table. Gayle says she can’t guarantee she could go through it again.

Ted says he kept his illicit affairs a secret because he was afraid “she would divorce me.” He also “guarantees you the woman can cuss.”

Here’s some news — Ted says he would preach again if he got the opportunity. It’s because people feel better about him when they finally meet him, whereas before he didn’t live up to their lofty expectations.

“Divorce shouldn’t be a given when you face your darkest day,” Gayle says. She had to look at Ted and see “so much that was painful” but “at the end of the day” wants to grow old with him.

2:52 p.m. - Another commercial! Is it possible to rebuild trust once a spouse has cheated? The judge wants to hear from you for a future show.

2:55 p.m. - The judge wants to “bullet point” the “take-aways”:

Forgiveness is a process. Part of the process involves effort, you can’t just say “forgive me,” it’s a continuous job, even if it takes years. Never stop thinking, understand your bottom-line goal.

Gayle adds a take-away: Value the relationship, be aware of what you want to rescue.

What’s next? Ted says they want to tell their story — and sell insurance. People are nicer to him after the crisis. He’s “so incredibly grateful” that everyone’s so nice. It’s been a wonderful process, Gayle says, leading to the kind of intimacy she’s always wanted.

The judge addresses her own husband directly — she wants this kind of intimacy in the Toler marriage but warns him “don’t go in this direction.” In other words, if a meth-crazed, illicit homosexual affair is what it takes to reach the Haggards’ new-found intimacy, she wants none of it.

And with a quick segue to a Frank Azar commercial, Divorce Court is out.

Ted and Gayle Haggard (Illustration/Ernest Luning)

The Haggards weren’t getting divorced — in fact, their marriage is stronger than ever, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. No, the couple wanted to talk with the show’s presiding judge, Lynn Toler, about how the former New Life Church leader’s troubles brought them closer together and bolstered their Christian faith.

“This is part of Ted’s journey,” Gayle Haggard told the Gazette. “It’s made him a better man. I see what has happened as a divine rescue.”

The Fox show usually features sordid tales of anger and betrayal — next week, it’s “DNA Week,” involving suspected cheaters who agree to submit their offspring to genetic tests — but when the Haggards’ episode airs, it’ll likely be a sordid tale with a happy ending. No, not the kind of happy ending Pastor Ted sought from male escort Mike Jones.

What will “Divorce Court” watchers learn, come April Fool’s Day? The Gazette offers a taste:

After the scandal broke, Ted says he asked Gayle to divorce him.

“I told her life was going to be difficult for her, but if you divorce me, people will embrace you.”

Biblical principals of forgiveness, compassion, steadfastness and her husband’s genuine repentance helped Gayle through the darkest hours, she said, and she believes his struggles have deepened his Christian walk.

“I think he is better equipped to minister to people than ever before,” she said.

Following a round of interviews on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Larry King Live” and “Good Morning America” earlier this year, Pastor Ted is back on the road with speaking engagements at prominent evangelical churches across the country, the Gazette reports. Here’s the “Ted Haggard Healing Overview” the disgraced pastor sends churches that extend invitations, including the revelation that the Haggards “immediately sensed God’s pleasure” after recent television appearances.

In addition to the anticipated divine pleasure, the Haggards were paid an “undisclosed amount” for their appearance on “Divorce Court,” the Gazette reports. It’s unknown whether that’s the same “undisclosed amount” of hush money as what Haggard’s former church in Colorado Springs paid to a young male New Life parishioner who claimed he shared an “inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship” with the pastor.

That’s the same young male parishioner who subsequently charged the evangelical megachurch with reneging on the hush-money deal after the young man started talking to the press around the time an HBO documentary about Haggard was set to air.

Wait, was that before or after a character from “Dog the Bounty Hunter” set out on a pro bono investigation to determine the extent of Pastor Ted’s picadillos with young male parishioners, and the church’s efforts to cover them up? If you’re having trouble keeping track of the scandals surrounding Haggard, you’re not alone.

So set your TiVo (the show airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on Fox 21, KRMX, in Colorado Springs and at noon on Fox 31, KDVR, in Denver) and pop the popcorn. It’ll be an April Fool’s Day for the books.

Christianity Today urges the New Life congregation to own its part of the saga in Holy Laughter: Remembering Haggard’s sin — and ours:

It is understandable that such churches — and sadly, there are hundreds of them — want to forget, as quickly as possible, the notorious sin and the scandalous pastor who brought shame to it. And that such churches would strive valiantly to tell itself and the world, “We’re not like that. Really. That doesn’t represent us. We’re much better than that.” That it would do its best to put the episode behind itself and move on.

But woe to the church that does that. We should wonder, in fact, about any Christian anywhere who does not look at Ted Haggard and say, “Oh yeah, I could have done that,” or more honestly, “To my deep shame, been there, done something very much like that.” Instead of thinking of Haggard and his ilk as ugly exceptions to our general moral uprightness, we should remember that we are part of his ilk.

A much more cynical tone permeates Belief.net’s take on the movie and subsequent interview on Larry King Live, especially St. Gayle Haggard:

She is, instead, thoughtful, kind, gracious, and forgiving. She has stuck with Ted through a truly horrific experience. She has accepted his remorse and granted him forgiveness. And, as a cherry on top, the Haggard’s eldest son, Marcus, joined them for the last bit on LKL and he was even more composed than Gayle. This is a truly extraordinary family…

…Or, they are positioning themselves for a new career. I’ve been told by one insider that the Haggards, basically broke, are hoping to establish an income by writing and speaking about their trials. Indeed, at the end of LKL, both Gayle and Ted said several times that they want to “communicate their story.” Fishing for a book deal? Speaking gigs? A reality TV show? Very possibly. So, my cynical side has to acknowledge the possibility that Gayle’s (and Ted’s and Marcus’s) grace and composure is actually a patina, covering a family in great distress trying to dig themselves out of a massive financial hole.

The power of redemption strikes at the heart of the real story, according to World Mag.com, in Haggard speaks: But can anyone hear over the roar of scandal? discussing the Haggards’ interview for The Oprah Winfrey taped before the second scandal made news:

To his credit, Haggard did clearly articulate a gospel of grace at numerous times throughout the interview, even admitting he’d never really understood it before: “When I was at my lowest point, when I couldn’t pray, I couldn’t read the Scriptures, I couldn’t seek Him anymore, He came after me and the Scripture came alive to me, Oprah, for the first time in a dramatic way. Jesus came for the unrighteous, not the righteous. And I qualify.”

Tragically, many onlookers may miss that message in the sea of scandal still swirling.

The Christian Broadcasting Network, the multi-media powerhouse run by Pat Robertson, has been relatively mum on the subject. It ran a couple brief news stories this week noting the involvement of New Life parishioner Grant Haas and a “six-figure settlement” by the church. Though those reports were largely taken from Associated Press news accounts. CBN hasn’t offered any commentaries unlike its response to the initial 2006 scandal involving gay male escort, Mike Jones.

I just hope AP religion reporter Eric Gorski got some combat pay for having to report the details of Haggard’s no-hands tryst.

Gorski writes in an article picked up by the Colorado Springs Gazette an incredible story by Grant Haas, a New Life Church volunteer and ex-seminary student, of Haggard masturbating in front of him while on a trip to a popular casino west of town in 2005. It’s not stated if the excursion was church-related or a personal getaway to the craps tables by the two men.

Then 22 years old, Haas admitted to Haggard that he was expelled from the Moody Bible Institute for “struggles with homosexuality.” He further claims that Pastor Ted’s “eyes lit up and his whole attitude towards me changed.” What followed was upwards of 2,000 text messages per month from Haggard chronicling the pastor’s sexual experiences and drug use.

And that’s the tame part.

Gorski’s story, which borrows heavily from an exclusive interview of Haas by reporter Tak Landrock of Colorado Springs ABC-affiliate KRDO-TV, doesn’t provide a time frame in which the apparent non-physical sexual relationship and prolific texting took place.

In the on-air interview with Landrock, Haas tells a much more sordid tale of pornography, methamphetamine use and mutual masturbation. (Note: This video is not safe to view at work, near children or anybody with a lick of common decency.)

After hearing of Denver male escort Mike Jones’ shocking November 2006 assertions of a long-time cash-for-sex relationship with Haggard, Haas went privately to New Life authorities with his own salacious story.

While Haggard was getting canned by both his own church and the National Association of Evangelicals where he served as president of the 45,000-member strong protestant church network, New Life entered into a financial agreement with Haas. Current New Life pastor Brady Boyd vigorously denies the payment was “hush money.”

Accounts vary slightly with each passing news account, but Boyd claims a congregational insurance settlement of $179,000 — “compassionate assistance” — provided college tuition and counseling through 2009 as long as Haas did not speak publicly about the relationship.

But Haas provided documents to KRDO claiming the church broke its word and stopped making the payments.

“Their main focus was, you know, cover it up, don’t say anything,” he said. “You’ll regret it if you come forward.”

For his part, Haggard says that he apologized to Haas following steamy news accounts of the 2006 sex scandal. Not to be forgotten, Jones released his own YouTube video Monday decrying New Life’s cash payment to Haas and reminding the church community that there are more victims of Haggard’s bawdy advances.

Boyd blames the forthcoming HBO bio-pic, “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” which early reviews lambaste as a self-pitying account of the fallen pastor’s post-scandal life, as motivating Haas to go public.

To add to the growing media circus, Haggard and his wife, Gayle, will appear on “Oprah” in a taped interview Wednesday and on “Larry King Live” Thursday evening immediately following the premiere of the Haggard tell-all movie.

Cue up your TIVO and then smash it.

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Here’s a work-safe transcript:

[Jones, in a black t-shirt, stands against a plain, undecorated light beige / white background and speaks facing directly into the camera for the entire video. There are no other props except a brief cut-away near the beginning, to the cover of Jones' book I Had To Say Something: The Art of Ted Haggard’s Fall]

My name is Mike Jones, I am the man that exposed pastor Ted Haggard. [cut to the cover of a copy of Jones' book] And I – I wrote a book that was titled “I Had To Say Something, The Art of Ted Haggard’s Fall” [cut back to Jones] Now if you think I just came up with that title ‘cause it was catchy … that’s not why I did it. I had to say something. And I wanted people to understand what brought me to that point in my life, and that decision.

I knew that there were others, others that I could not publicly out, they had to do it themselves but they were scared. Some of their parents knew … about what was going on at the church and some of the parents just wanted to turn a blind eye to it. [heavy sigh] I also realize … that … it was gonna be just probably me out there alone – uh – facing the press, facing the criticism. Now, when, Brady Boyd took over as pastor of New Life church, I contacted him. I wanted to talk to him about these other young men that were coming to me – with their stories. This was serious. And you know, pastor Boyd refused to meet with me.

With all the recent news that comin’ out right now, I hope people understand why I had to say something, because if I hadn’t said something – this would still be going on at the church – and would probably be even worse.

I’ve always been a bit disappointed in the gay community and some gay groups. [heavy sigh] I have been ostracized by the gay community. I contacted groups like the … Human Rights Campaign when my world was coming apart, for help. They refused to even return my phone call.

In Denver I have been spit on, I’ve been yelled at — I’ve been called just … a whore. And I .. would be lying if I didn’t say that hurt.

But I am sick of people also making decisions based on headlines. D’ya know just the other day the new – um – the L.A. Times printed something about the upcoming documentary coming out and stated that Ted Haggard and Mike Jones did drugs together. I never did drugs with Ted Haggard. Never.

Ted Haggard has said it’s a good thing Mike Jones spoke up, otherwise .. he would probably be a drug addict and he would probably continue his deceitful path. The reason I am saying this is because no one else will! So if you wanna continue with your nastiness towards me, and your jokes, I’m gonna ask you to look in the mirror and ask yourself “What’ve I done to make a difference in this world.”

I risked everything … and I paid for it. I lost my privacy, I suffered financially, I lost my home, I lost friends, I lost family over this. I cannot speak for others, but I know what my intentions were and my motive. I wanted to expose the injustice … and the hypocrisy. That’s why I did it, I didn’t do it for fame and fortune.

But I will tell you right now most of my anger is at New Life Church. For over two years I have suffered being alone (?) out there, taking all the heat for all that’s going on, when all this time they knew there was others … and they paid hush money to this man to be quiet when they coulda admitted it there was others right at that moment and that woulda helped me out so much instead of putting me out there to face it all on my own.

I am so angry at the church. They stated at the time that Mike Jones was the only man out there that had … relations with Ted Haggard … and it’s wrong and it was a lie … and they owe me an apology.

New Life Church has hurt me deeply — and I guess, because they think I was just escorting, that I’m just a useless piece of meat out there and it has hurt .. me deeply. Thank you for listening.

[Fade to black, with trailer stating Jones can be contacted at the given AOL email address]

h/t Street Prophets.com

An Associated Press report claims that Haggard was involved in an “inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship” that “went on for a long period of time … it wasn’t a one-time act,” according to Brady Boyd, the pastor who succeeded the embattled former leader of the 10,000 member New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

Boyd told the wire service that a young man in his early 20s approached church leaders about the relationship after Haggard stepped down from his post following news of a gay sex-drug scandal involving Denver male escort Mike Jones.

Unlike Jones, however, AP reports “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.”

“It wasn’t at all a settlement to make him be quiet or not tell his story,” Boyd said. “Our desire was to help him. Here was a young man who wanted to get on with his life. We considered it more compassionate assistance – certainly not hush money. I know what’s what everyone will want to say because that’s the most salacious thing to say, but that’s not at all what it was.”

Boyd believes the unnamed man is now talking to the press ahead of an HBO documentary on Haggard that is set to air Jan. 29.

“I think what caused this young man to be a bit aggravated was Ted being seen as a victim, when he himself had experienced a great deal of hurt,” Boyd said. “I seriously doubt this man would have come forward if the documentary had not been made.”

Boyd posted a message this evening to parishioners on his New Life blog:

Haggard is in full-on publicity mode for next week’s broadcast of a bio-pic directed by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

This latest scandal follows a kerfluffle last week after Haggard claimed Speaker Pelosi offered him words of comfort during the tribulations of his failed heterosexual restoration process — a recollection pointedly denied by both mother and daughter Pelosi.

In Nov., Haggard made news when he confessed to having been sexually abused as a child during a guest sermon at a small congregation in rural Illinois.

That revelation was preceded by a bizarre Aug. 2007 cash-for-heaven plea in which Haggard sent friends a letter asking for money, and offering in exchange a tacit promise that contributors would go to heaven. He didn’t mention he also still owns his home, in Colorado Springs, worth more than a half million dollars. Amid howls of public outrage, he abandoned his scheme.

And now, after falling fast and furious, Haggard, who preached over the weekend to a small congregation in Illinois, is back, claiming he was sexually abused when he was 7 years old.

In the sermon, which is posted at tedhaggard.com, the former pastor of Colorado’s largest megachurch and former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, says that after his sin was exposed and he was fired from the church he founded, he despaired to the point of becoming suicidal.

But now, he said, “I’m a stronger Christian than I’ve ever been in my life.” And, “I have a stronger marriage than I’ve had in my life.”

Haggard, who returned to Colorado Springs earlier this year after living in the Phoenix area, took a swipe at the Christian evangelical community, which he said missed an opportunity to help out a fellow Christian in need. Every couple of years, Haggard preached, God provides the opportunity to communicate through the secular media.

“And we blow it!” Haggard said. When a congressman gets himself in trouble, “that’s the time!” to help, he said. When a preacher gets himself in awful trouble, “that’s the time!” he said.

Haggard delivered his remarks to a small congregation at the Open Bible Fellowship in Morrison, Ill. During the sermon, he said that he was abused by one of his father’s workers when he was 7 years old. Or, as he put it, “one of those workers had a sexual experience with me.”

“I am so sorry I did that to my family,” Haggard said of his own scandal.

The sermon is the latest in the two-year-old public saga involving Haggard. A year ago, the Colorado Independent — which has been following the scandal since it broke — published a comprehensive summary of the events surrounding his downfall, including Haggard’s bizarre cash-for-heaven plea for donations.

Earlier this year, Haggard’s replacement, Pastor Brady Boyd, announced that Haggard was quitting a “restoration” team designed to strip away all vestiges of homosexuality.

“New Life Church recognizes the process of restoring Ted Haggard is incomplete and maintains its original stance that he should not return to vocational ministry,” according to a statement issued in February by Boyd. “However, we wish him and his family only success in the future.”

Gay sex worker Mike Jones supports the troops

“Isn’t it funny that if you are gay you are not supposed to be patriotic?” said Jones. “I am gay, but I am an American first because I value our freedom.”