Haggard, at Center of Scandal, Wielded Wide Evangelical Influence

c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The Rev. Ted Haggard, the Colorado megachurch pastor at the center of a swirling scandal involving charges of drug use and gay sex with a Denver escort, has been a powerful force ever since he assumed leadership of the National Association of Evangelicals in 2003. He was on the […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The Rev. Ted Haggard, the Colorado megachurch pastor at the center of a swirling scandal involving charges of drug use and gay sex with a Denver escort, has been a powerful force ever since he assumed leadership of the National Association of Evangelicals in 2003.

He was on the list of evangelical leaders on weekly conference calls with the White House. He helped the 30 million-member umbrella organization broaden its agenda to include such topics as discussions with Muslims and attention to the environment. Last year, he was named by Time magazine as one of the nation’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals.”


Now, the 50-year-old known for his easy smile and casual attire has acknowledged buying methamphetamine, resigned his national post and stepped aside from his 14,000-member megachurch pulpit after the escort told Denver broadcasters Haggard had paid him for sex and drugs over the past three years.

Haggard has denied the sexual claims _ saying he “never had a gay relationship with anybody and I’m steady with my wife” _ but the acting senior pastor at Haggard’s New Life Church in Colorado Springs said Haggard has indicated some of the allegations are true.

“It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true,” wrote the Rev. Ross Parsley, who previously served as the associate senior pastor, in an e-mail to members of the congregation founded by Haggard in 1985.

In a statement issued Thursday (Nov. 2), Haggard resigned his NAE position and declared he could “not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations.” On Friday, he told KUSA-TV in Denver that he had bought, but not used, methamphetamine. Haggard said he removed himself from both positions “because both of those roles are based on trust and right now my trust is questionable.”

As questions swirl about the veracity of the allegations, his influence, especially in recent years, does not seem to be in doubt.

Harper’s magazine _ as Haggard himself noted in an online biography _ declared in 2005: “No pastor in America holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism than does Pastor Ted.”

Amy Sullivan, contributing editor of Washington Monthly magazine, said the sheer size of the NAE gives the role of president more symbolic importance than individual evangelical leaders with more recognizable names, such as Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell.


“That’s an incredibly influential position, even if it is kind of a membership organization,” said Sullivan, an observer of religion and politics. “Other than Rick Warren or James Dobson, he’s the top figure.”

Dobson, the founder of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, issued a statement Friday saying Haggard “has been used mightily to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Colorado Springs and around the world.” Dobson, who joined Haggard in pushing a state ballot amendment against gay marriage, said Haggard “will continue to be my friend, even if the worst allegations prove accurate.”

Haggard, a younger president than some of NAE’s past leaders, put a fresh face on evangelicalism, said Jeffery L. Sheler, author of “Believers: A Journey Into Evangelical America.”

“He really had a positive, attractive demeanor as a leader of a movement that too often has been characterized as dour and negative,” said Sheler, noting that Haggard also broadened the agenda of evangelicals beyond abortion and same-sex marriage to issues such as poverty, war and peace.

“His departure from the leadership really strikes me as a blow to the efforts” for a broader emphasis, he said.

Jeff Sharlet, who wrote the in-depth article in Harper’s about Haggard, said he helped the organization recover from a time of turmoil when two of its previous top leaders each served just two years before resigning.


“The NAE was in trouble when Ted took it over,” said Sharlet, an associate research scholar at New York University’s Center for Religion and Media. “He lifted it up from the ashes.”

Before he was influential on the national scene, Haggard built his church into one of the largest in Colorado. From that state, he also was known for leading prayer initiatives through the World Prayer Center, which he created in Colorado Springs in 1998.

But even as he juggled his national and state activities and efforts to bring together a wide range of evangelicals, the father of five voiced some hesitancy about his ability to handle it all.

“I thought they made the wrong choice choosing me,” he told members of the Religion Newswriters Association at their annual convention in September in Salt Lake City, speaking of the NAE. “I still do. But it fit naturally into my philosophy of the world because I believe that people need to love one another more.”

_ Daniel Burke contributed to this report.

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Editors: To obtain a file photo of Haggard, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

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