Thursday, February 12, 2009 � In late autumn of 2006, Brandon Mead (fr) lost his hero. Mead attended New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. for seven years under the leadership of Pastor Ted Haggard. In Nov. 2006, Haggard was accused of allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a male escort and purchasing methamphetamines.
Mead refused to believe it. �[He was an] unbelievable man of God � one of [my] heroes,� said Mead. Mead said that he and the rest of his church believed the word of their pastor, who at first denied the claims, over the word of the male escort, Mike Jones. A few days after Jones came forward, Haggard admitted the accusations were true.
According to his Web site, Haggard was terminated from his church position and forfeited his leadership in the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE).
Church member and former New Life intern, Jason Eastman (fr), stated that between 1,500 and 2,500 members left the church after the story made the news. However, the scandal affected the student population as much as the adult congregation, according to Eastman.
�It definitely made a huge impact on The Mill [New Life�s college ministry],� said Eastman. �A lot of these students looked up to [Haggard] and thought he was the best example of living a godly life.� Eastman said that after the scandal was publicized the ministry pushed for accountability within the group.
Indiana Wesleyan University has several students, like Eastman, who attend New Life Church in Colorado Springs and have known Haggard personally. Dr. Roberta Henson, a professor of English at IWU, said she often reads essays by students who have been hurt by church leadership, similar to the situation with Haggard.
�Part of what I do as a professor is help bring healing to these students and help them to see that people are people � and they�re going to fail,� said Henson. �But that doesn�t mean that God will ever fail them.� New Life�s former pastor has reemerged in the media in �The Trials of Ted Haggard,� a documentary that chronicles Haggard�s life after his 2006 scandal. The documentary aired Jan. 29 on the Home Box Office.
�The Trials of Ted Haggard� recounts Haggard and his family�s new life in Phoenix, Ariz. and Haggard�s job search. According to the documentary, Haggard now sells life insurance. Haggard made an agreement with New Life to leave Colorado and to not speak publicly of the scandal, according to the Associated Press.
Haggard is no longer under any legal obligation, as of late 2007. He recently spoke openly about the incident and the documentary, on programs such as The Oprah Winfrey show, Larry King Live and Good Morning America.
To Mead, this documentary will give the general public a chance to forgive Haggard for his mistakes. But as for his former congregation, Mead is not sure if the documentary will completely erase the scandal.
�I think the damage is done,� said Mead. �I think when you teach God�s word to 15,000 people every Sunday you�re judged more harshly than everyone else.�