More Scandal At Haggard's Church

Michelangelo Signorile is helping rip the lid off the seamy goings on at New Life Church. On his Friday show on SiriusXM, Signorile hosted a private investigator who revealed numerous bits of nastiness at the House That Haggard Built. According to the private eye, there are at least ten more cases of sexual misconduct by Pastor Ted, three of which involve minors.

A Colorado Springs bail bondsman and sometime bounty hunter who has been investigating New Life Church and Ted Haggard for several years appeared on my show late on Friday and told me that he now has information on ten more cases of sexual misconduct on the part of Ted Haggard and that three of these involve minors. He also said that New Life Church had suppressed from the media an earlier case of a pastor at the church (which has many pastors under the senior pastor) who was convicted of sexual assault against a child uner the age of 15 and got off easy with help from the church, only to later have his probation revoked. The convicted pastor then illegally left the country, he said, and he speculates that New Life Church may have helped him do so.

Bobby Brown, reading from what he said was a detective’s affidavit, told me that the pastor, Stephen Evans, was convicted in 1999 of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy and admitted to molesting his own 14-year-old son and his own 15-year-old daughter, in a case that Brown says was somehow kept out of the media and has not been reported until now. Brown says that with the help and backing of New Life Church, Evans served no jail time at all, cutting a plea deal in which he’d agree to a “restoration” at the church – yes, just like the one that Ted Haggard went through to supposedly make him straight! – while serving five years on probation. It is likely that Ted Haggard, as senior pastor at the time, oversaw Evans’ restoration.

Go read the rest of Signorile's post. There's lots more to this.

Ted Haggard's Ex Paid $180K By Church To Shut Up And Go Away

Whoa. Watch this interview with the guy paid off by New Life Church.

Mike Jones Is Pissed Off

Mike Jones, the man who first exposed Ted Haggard, just posted this emotional video to condemn the New Life Church and members of the gay community who have ostracized him since the scandal first broke.

Most of my anger is at New Life Church. For over two years, I have suffered being all alone out there, taking all the heat for all that’s going on. For all this time, they knew there were others. And they paid hush money to this man to be quiet, when they could have admitted it, that there were others right at that moment. And that would have helped me out so much, instead of putting me out there to face it all on my own. I am so angry at the church. They stated at that time that Mike Jones was the only man out there that had relations with Ted Haggard. And it’s wrong and it was a lie. And they owe me an apology.

Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin has the complete transcript of the clip.

Mike Jones' Book Found In Car Of Colorado Church Shooter

Colorado Springs police have reported that they recovered a copy of Mike Jones' autobiography from the vehicle of Colorado church shooter Matthew Murray. In December, Murray killed himself with a shot to the head after killing two people at the Youth With A Mission ministry in Arvada, Colorado, then killing two congregants at Denver's New Life Church, once home to disgraced evangelical minister Ted Haggard.

Jones' book, I Had To Say Something, recounts his experience working as a prostitute and crystal meth procurer for Haggard. Jones brought about Haggard's downfall when he revealed their relationship to a Colorado radio station in the fall of 2006. Prior to the shootings, Matthew Murray had expressed anger that New Life had forgiven Ted Haggard for his homosexuality, but had not forgiven him.

In the trunk of Murray's car, which was found in the New Life parking lot, was an AK-47 assault rifle, 28 gun magazines, and over 2000 bullets. Police also found a copy of Serial Murderers and Their Victims, by Eric W. Hicke, and a letter addressed "To God". The contents of the letter were not disclosed.

In 2002, Murray was dismissed from the Youth With A Mission group for what they described as "health reasons." Youth With A Mission has been described as "associated with the ex-gay organization Exodus International, has been criticized by some as a 'cult' and attacked for 'brainwashing' members and promoting anti-gay messages."

Ted Haggard, the New Life Church, and Youth With A Mission are all morally complicit in the murders committed by Matthew Murray. When you ostracize gay youth, when you tell them they are worthless, perverted, diseased sinners bound for eternal damnation, you have to bear some of the responsibility for the creature you have created. If I were the parents of those killed, I'd be suing every fucking one of them.

The Fatal Cost Of The "Ex-Gay" Movement

The young man who last Sunday shot and killed two people at a youth ministry training center, then killed two more and himself at Colorado's New Life Church (Ted Haggard's former home), was a cast out from the youth ministry, probably because he failed their attempts to make him "ex-gay".

As noted by Richard Rothstein, Matthew Murray, 24, posted on his blog that he had written letters to his mother, complaining that the church had forgiven Haggard, but not him.

Last summer, he wrote, "People like us are going to go to hell, according to Christians." He lists several reasons why. Reason number seven is bluntly stated, "I'm bisexual." In other postings, Murray wrote, "... I can never get a female date. I am at least able to get some male action."

And later, he wrote about confronting his mother about his bisexuality.

Murray wrote that he told her, "Using drugs, alcohol and having gay sex, I'm just trying to do what any Christian pastor would do. At least I'm not doing meth like Ted Haggard."

Murray also noted that the Church forgave Haggard.

He posted, "I want to know where was all the love, mercy and compassion for my supposed imperfections?"

In 2002, Murray was dismissed from the Youth With A Mission group for what they described as "health reasons." Youth With A Mission has been described as "associated with the ex-gay organization Exodus International, has been criticized by some as a 'cult' and attacked for 'brainwashing' members and promoting anti-gay messages."

Rothstein concludes his above-linked post with, "At least in Iran, the executions of gay men are swift. In the United States we prefer to slowly drive our gay children insane so that they grow up to be monsters."

Will the Christanist right and the "ex-gay" movement take the deadly example of Matthew Murray and his victims to heart? Or will this horrible incident only strengthen their resolve to continue attempting to pray the gay away? I expect the latter. Look for the Christianists to leverage the Murray shooting into even more ugly vitriol against gays. Bet on it.
.