TRAILER: The Waiting Game

A Christian abstinence film with a cameo by Ted Haggard.

Ted Haggard: I'm Bisexual And I Totally Used That Crystal Meth I Bought

In a profile published by GQ Magazine, disgraced televangelist Ted Haggard announces that he's bisexual. And that he and escort Mike Jones didn't have sex, Jones just jerked him off. Which somehow isn't sex in Haggard's world. But about that crystal meth that Haggard famously claimed he bought to "throw away"? Yeah, he totally snorted it.

"I think that probably, if I were 21 in this society, I would identify myself as a bisexual." But, he told GQ's Kevin Roose: "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." About former meth dealer and escort Mike Jones, Haggard says: "We never had sex sex. I bought drugs and a massage from him, and he masturbated me at the end of it. That's it." [snip]

He admitted to buying drugs "five or six times" from Jones, but adds: "Sometimes I'd throw it away. Other times, I'd go someplace and masturbate and use it. But it was for masturbation. And that's one of the reasons why I haven't been real clear. I don't want to stand up publicly and say, 'Hey, I'm a masturbation guy!" "You know, that's really the core issue here," he added. "I bought the drugs to enhance masturbation. Because what crystal meth does--Mike taught me this--crystal meth makes it so you don't ejaculate soon. So you can watch porn and masturbate for a long time."

And now he's said what everybody in the world has always known. Oh, bravo.

Ted Haggard Gets A Reality Show

Disgraced pastor, rentboy patron, and accused meth-head Ted Haggard has landed a reality show.

Ted Haggard is coming to TLC. The controversial Christian evangelical is getting his own reality project on the cable network. Ted Haggard: Scandalous will air as a one-hour special on the network. The special, produced by RelativityReal and debuting Jan. 16, follows Haggard as he announces his new ministry in Colorado Springs, Colo. — the same town he left after the scandal. Naturally, if the special performs well, TLC might expand the concept into a full series.

Remember, Ted Haggard is completely heterosexual.

Ted Haggard Goes On CNN To Defend Fellow Hypocrite Bishop Eddie Long

Openly gay Pastor Troy Sanders responds to Haggard: "It didn't take a scandal for me to come out and walk in truth!"

Totally Not Gay Ted Haggard Offers Words Of Support To Totally Not Gay Eddie Long

Yesterday disgraced televangelist Ted Haggard issued a statement of support for Atlanta's Bishop Eddie Long, the anti-gay marriage activist now being sued by several young men for coercing them into sex.

Ted Haggard cautioned today that no one should rush to judge the leader of an Atlanta megachurch accused of coercing three young men into sex. "Nobody's guilty until the court says he's guilty," Haggard, the former head of a 14,000-member congregation in Colorado, told AOL News today in a phone interview. Three young men from Bishop Eddie Long's church filed lawsuits this week claiming he exploited his position and used cash, cars and expensive trips to pressure them into sexual relationships. Long's attorney says the pastor "categorically denies" the allegations. Haggard said that Long deserves a fair hearing and that if the accusations are false, he will survive the ordeal. "The bishop is surrounded by people that will counsel him well," he said.

Also yesterday photos surfaced of Bishop Long striking an "Guys With iPhones" pose while wearing a "muscle tee." One of the young men suing Long says that the opposite-married Long emailed him the photos. Several years ago Long led an anti-marriage equality march to the gravesite of Martin Luther King.

Tweet Of The Day - Lizz Winstead

I met the hilarious Lizz Winstead (co-creator of the Daily Show) at Netroots Nation. She reads JMG!

RELATED: Listen to a great interview Lizz did with Michelangelo Signorile at Netroots. (Mike interviewed me too, that goes up later this week.)

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)

Quote Of The Day - Ted Haggard

"I believe we are at the end of what church historians will, in the future, call the Billy Graham era. I believe we are also nearing the end of the ‘Religious Right’ representing Evangelicalism. My prayer is that over the next 10 years, there will be a Love Reformation and the Gospel will retake the Bible-believing church." - Reformed rentboy patron Ted Haggard.

(Tipped by JMG reader Craig)

Ted Haggard: I'm A Different Man

Ted Haggard says he's a different and better man since he was outed as a rentboy patron. He says that gays will be welcome in his new church, and that while he still opposes same-sex marriage, he now feels that gays should have "every civil right."

Ted Haggard Launches New "Inclusive" Church (But No Gay Weddings, Evah!)

Yesterday disgraced evangelist and rentboy patron Ted Haggard issued a press release teasing that he would make a "groundbreaking statement" today. Yeah, not all that groundbreaking.

During his press conference at his Colorado Springs home, surrounded by his family, Haggard said his new church's theme would be to "help other people go through the difficult times in their lives." Everyone will be welcome: Democrat, Republican, gay, straight, addicts, tall, short, etc. This career move comes three and a half years after Haggard, once the head of the National Association of Evangelicals and a spiritual advisor to President George W. Bush, was outed by a male prostitute for soliciting gay sex and buying crystal meth. The pastor credits counseling, prayer and the support of his family for helping him become heterosexual again, though "with issues." (For more on these struggles, check out HBO's The Trials of Ted Haggard, or Gayle Haggard's book, Why I Stayed.) Haggard said that he doesn't expect St. James to become another megachurch, but "helping one is better than helping none." The church's name comes from the Bible's book of James, which emphasizes good works along with faith; Haggard said it stems from the "tangible form" of love and help that his family received after his fall from grace.

Wonkroom tweets: "Haggard clarified that he will not perform gay weddings in his new church." Haggard also hinted that there may a reality show in the works about his latest endeavor.

UPDATE: Here's video of the press conference.

Quote Of The Day - Ted Haggard

"I know exactly what it feels like to have both sides hating you bitterly. Some Christians will throw him away. Some gays will crusade against him. If there is any truth to the accusations, this may be his opportunity to find a safe environment where he can process the embarrassing, internal battle that conflicts with his Christian ideals. He may need to work through that with someone who won’t judge or tear him apart." - Ted Haggard, speaking to the Advocate about Dr. George Rekers.

Ted Haggard Incorporates New Church

The world's second-most famous rentboy patron (for the moment) has incorporated a new church in his hometown of Denver.

Ted Haggard, the deposed founder of the New Life megachurch, told the Gazette newspaper on Tuesday that the incorporation of a new church on April 29 was done for accounting purposes — tracking reimbursement of travel costs as they speak at churches and other venues around the country. Haggard predicted to the Gazette that he would return to some form of ministry someday, and he wouldn't rule out that St. James — whose name is derived from a verse in the Bible's Book of James that states "faith without works is dead" — might one day be a real church.

In January, Haggard and his wife Gayle appeared on Oprah to announce that he'd been cured of the gay (and to promote Gayle's book.)

(Tipped by JMG reader Alan)