Ted Haggard: I Have Over-Repented

Ted Haggard now claims that he has "over-repented" for his encounters with rentboy Mike Jones, that he has no same-sex attraction, and that what occurred between he and Jones was merely "a massage gone awry."

"Ted Haggard," Mr. Haggard said, "needs to be leading a church." He acknowledged grave lapses of judgment in the episode he refers to as "my crisis." But Mr. Haggard also said that in his sorrow and shame, he accepted too much guilt after the scandal broke. "I over-repented," he said. In February 2008, Mr. Haggard asked to be released from supervision by other clergy. His former church, New Life, consented, though officials there put out a pointed statement calling Mr. Haggard's recovery incomplete.

The four pastors who supervised Mr. Haggard wouldn't comment on his new church. New Life pointed to an earlier statement, released in November 2008, that said, "we cannot endorse his return to vocational ministry." Mr. Haggard said that is ridiculous. He portrays his encounter with the prostitute as a massage that went awry and said he doesn't have same-sex attractions. He dismisses as a "witch hunt" the findings of his former church that he engaged in a pattern of misconduct, including sordid talk and inappropriate relationships.

Haggard's new church in Denver has been drawing a large enough crowd that they will soon move into a bigger facility.

(Tipped by JMG reader Hersch)