A new church; a new tv show (maybe)

The former president of the National Association of Evangelicals and one of the Religious Right's liaisons to President Bush's inner sanctum is on the march; he has a new church, media access and possibly an ongoing television reality show.

Although no one really knows where the road is leading for the Haggards, on the evening of January 16, "Ted Haggard: Scandalous" aired on TLC. In the Washington Post's Under God blog, Julia Duin wrote: "Just when you hope that this poor family is going to settle down and lead a happy life and ministry, they come out with another book or TV appearance. Why are they doing this? Is it the money? The need for acceptance? Fame? You tell me."

Haggard's new church is called St. James, named after the apostle who said, "Faith by itself, if it doesn't have works, is dead" (James 2:14-26). The Church has a nicely developed website (http://saintjameschurch.com/) which features a picture of Haggard, with arms in the air making a preaching-point before a group of folks.

Saint James Church's mission is "to fulfill the great commission to make disciples by fulfilling the great commandments to love." It has a "Slogan": "Give SomeONE a Break," and a "Motto": ". . . doing our faith."

On the church website, Haggard's official bio rewrites a bit of his story. It states that Haggard "resigned" - as opposed to being forced to quit - both from his church and the NAE, after "confessing to a personal moral failure," as opposed to being purposefully outed by Mike Jones and having to come clean. The bio goes on to state, "During a two-year period of quiet healing, [not so quiet] Ted and Gayle rebuilt their marriage and emerged a stronger couple and family. After this period, they began to share the story of their trials and restoration with some church audiences around the country, as well as on some national television programs." And boy did they "share" and "share" and "share."

Haggard is blogging at "The Official Blog of Ted Haggard" (http://saintjameschurch.com/pastor-ted-pastor-ted-haggard/blog-of ficial-blog-of-pastor-ted) and he's tweeting (@tedhaggard), where as of February 5, he had 12 followers. A recent tweet promotes comedian Rich Praytor, while another promotes I Do Windows, a local company that cleans windows (nothing to do with scrubbing computers).

Kevin Roose is the author of "The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University" -- Jerry Falwell's Liberty U. During a conference where he was speaking about his book, Haggard's oldest son Marcus approached him and suggested that he "should talk to his dad."

Roose contacted Haggard and wound up "tag[ing] along" on an unexpected camping trip with him and two of his other sons, Elliott and Jonathan. Roose also spoke with Haggard after the camping trip, attended a Haggard-led church service at a Middle School, and interviewed Haggard's outer, Mike Jones, as well.

On the camping trip, in the hours after the kids bedded down in Haggard's Escalade, Haggard "bitterly runs through everything we all have wrong about him," Roose reported in the February issue of GQ.

As summed up by Roose, in his article titled "The Last Temptation of Ted," Haggard said he was "never a right-wing power broker in the vein of Jerry Falwell." His White House contacts were "with low-level" staff. Haggard said that "he was never a homophobe either ... and though he supported a 2006 amendment outlawing gay marriage in Colorado, he was also in favor of a ballot measure that would have extended domestic-partner benefits to same-sex couples."

When asked about Mike Jones, Haggard said, "We never had sex sex. I bought drugs and a massage from him, and he masturbated me at the end if it. That's it."

Roose also visited with Jones at his one-bedroom apartment in Denver. Jones told him that he "wouldn't do it again" - expose Haggard that is - because "It's ruined my life, too."

If you're looking for money quotes from the Roose piece, consider these:

"I bought the drugs to enhance masturbation. Because what crystal meth does - Mike [Jones] taught me this - crystal meth makes it so you don't ejaculate soon. So you can watch porn and masturbate for a long time."

"Here's where I really am on this issue. I think that probably, if I were 21 in this society, I would identify myself as a bisexual."

"I'm 54, with children, with a belief system, and I can have enforced boundaries in my life. Just like you're a heterosexual but you don't have sex with every woman that you're attracted to, so I can be who I am and exclusively have sex with my wife and be perfectly satisfied."

Roose concluded that Haggard "may be telling the truth [about the various charges hurled at him] but his peculiar brand of self-victimization and protestation - in which every 'I messed up' is followed by a 'but...' - makes it hard for people in Colorado Springs to believe that he is actually sorry for what he did. One former New Life member expressed what seems to be the general sentiment surrounding his resurgence: "I think Ted genuinely loves God, and I think he has a sincere interest in helping people, but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth.'"

Early last month, Haggard starred in "Ted Haggard: Scandalous," (a Sneak Peek is available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jue3e1GGwA) which was produced by RelativityReal, and, according to Entertainment Weekly, showed Haggard going "about setting up his new church inside his barn in Colorado Springs."

"My family and I endured the darkest hours imaginable in the public spotlight," Haggard said about the new show, "and have spent the last four years fighting and struggling to rebuild our lives, our faith and our family. Showing the world the new chapter of our lives will hopefully inspire others to find their own path to overcome their struggles and embrace the power of acceptance. The church is open to all, even those who have committed the darkest sins."

It is probably too soon to tell whether Haggard and his family will wind up with a Kardashian-like presence on cable TV. And, while you never know what the future might hold for him, at a minimum, he should be in the running for  Colorado Springs' comeback player of the year.