Church Fires top pastor for 'sexually immoral conduct'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sunday November 5, 10:18 AM
*Church Fires top pastor for 'sexually immoral conduct'*
A powerful US religious leader at the centre of gay sex and drugs
allegations has been dismissed from his church after an internal
investigation found he was guilty of sexual misconduct.
A statement released by the New Life Church following an inquiry into
the lurid accusations surrounding Pastor Ted Haggard said it had been
"proven without a doubt" the churchman had "committed sexually immoral
conduct."
Haggard, who had stepped down from his post at the church and as leader
of the powerful National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) earlier this
week, on Friday admitted to buying drugs and having a massage from a
male prostitute.
But the 50-year-old married father of five has steadfastly denied he had
ever had sex with his accuser, Mike Jones, who claimed the religious
leader had regularly paid for sex with him over a three-year period.
The New Life Church's overseer board said in a statement it was
satisfied Haggard -- a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage who has close
links to the White House -- was guilty of sexual misconduct.
"In consultation with leading evangelicals and experts familiar with the
type of behaviour Pastor Haggard has demonstrated, we have decided that
the most positive and productive direction for our church is his
dismissal and removal," the statement said.
Haggard and his wife had been informed of the dismissal and were in
agreement with the decision, the statement added.
A letter of explanation and apology from Haggard, who founded the
14,000-member mega-church in the basement of his home in 1984, would be
read out at Sunday services, the statement said.
As head of the 30 million-strong NAE, Haggard was one of the most
powerful religious leaders in the United States before the scandal erupted.
Time magazine voted him one of the top 25 most influential evangelicals
in America in 2005, and he is often credited with rallying votes for
President George W. Bush during the 2004 election campaign.
His accuser Jones has said he decided to go public with his claims in
protest at Haggard's vigorous campaigning against laws legalising
same-sex marriage.
Haggard had initially dismissed Jones's allegations but stepped down
from his posts on Thursday in order to allow church investigations to
proceed.
On Friday however he admitted meeting Jones for a massage and buying
methamphetamine from him, which he said he threw away immediately.
"I called him to buy some meth but I threw it away," said Haggard. "I
was tempted, I bought it, but I never used it. I knew it was wrong."
Jones meanwhile stood by his claims in a radio interview, suggesting he
could have fabricated more explosive allegations if he was lying.
"I have said everything that has happened is the truth," Jones said.
"Again, if I wanted to make up some additional story, I could embellish
many more things. I could talk about kinky sex or something."