Head of the National Association of Evangelicals has resigned amidst allegations of a homosexual relationship:
The Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after being accused of paying a man for sex in monthly trysts over the past three years.
Haggard — an outspoken opponent of the drive for gay marriage — also stepped down as senior pastor at his 14,000-member New Life Church pending an investigation by a church panel, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."
"I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity," Haggard said in a written statement. "I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: "Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife."
Bad business, and the timing at least is politically motivated:
Mike Jones, 49, of Denver told the AP he decided to go public with his allegations because of the political fight.
"I just want people to step back and take a look and say, 'Look, we're all sinners, we all have faults, but if two people want to get married, just let them, and let them have a happy life,"' said Jones, who added that he isn't actively working for any political group.
Jones, who said he is gay, said he was also upset when he discovered Haggard and the New Life Church had publicly opposed same-sex marriage.
I would think if anything this would hurt the cause of homosexual 'marriage' rather than help it.
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The denial is already starting to weaken. From the Rocky Mountain News:
"But KKTV in Colorado Springs reported that New Life Associate Senior Pastor Ross Parsley told a meeting of church elders Thursday night that Haggard had met with the church's overseers earlier in the day and "had admitted to some indiscretions."
"Parsley told the elders that Haggard had said some of the allegations were true, but not all of them."
This is tragic for a lot of reasons, but most of all for the damage to the witness of and to so many individuals and institutions that considered Mr. Haggard a faithful servant of the Lord.
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