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发帖数: 4957 | 1 http://abcnews.go.com/Business/ted-haggard-rebuilds-family-star
new, one-hour documentary, "Ted Haggard: Scandalous," tells the story of the
evangelical pastor who admitted to an affair with a male prostitute in 2006
.
Watch: 2011 Predictions: Faith in America"Ted Haggard: Scandalous," which
airs Jan. 16 on TLC, follows Haggard, his wife, Gayle, and their five
children as they launch a new church in Colorado Springs, Colo., where
Haggard had been a pastor of mega New Life Church and president of the
National Association of Evangelicals. The family left Colorado Springs in
2006, after allegations that Haggard had paid a male prostitute for sex for
three years and purchased crystal methamphetamine from him.
Initiated by executive producers Ellen Rakieten, formerly an executive
producer for "Oprah," and Tom Forman, creator of ABC's "Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition," the documentary quickly recaps the scandal that forced
Haggard to resign from New Life and drove him and his family out of town. It
ends with the first Sunday service in his new church, St. James, held in
the Haggards' barn.
"When one of the most controversial figures in religion says he is starting
a church in his house, a news lightbulb goes off that someone should be
documenting that," Forman, a former news producer, told ABCNews.com. "Ted is
not the same guy he was when he preached to thousands of people or headed a
conservative Christian group. The experience of the last few years have
reshaped him."
Haggard said he and his family went through a painful healing ordeal but
together decided to pastor a church again. Initially shunned by many
Christians, Haggard said he felt called upon to start a church that would
welcome everyone.
"I believe everybody is a sinner, and everybody needs redemption," Haggard
told ABCNews.com. "And in the church nobody has the right to judge another,
because we're all judged by God equally. The church is the ultimate place of
encouragement and acceptance and strength."
After the scandal broke, Haggard signed a contract with the New Life Church
that ordered him to leave the church and the state of Colorado "in
perpetuity." Haggard and his wife underwent counseling and moved to Arizona
with their dependent children. New Life changed the contract terms in
January 2008, and the family returned to Colorado Springs six months later.
HBO made a 45 minute documentary in January 2009 about Haggard's years in
Arizona, but unike ed Haggard: Scandalous," it focused on his downfall, not
his rebirth.
"The HBO documentary documented my time of despair in the Arizona desert.
This documents my resurrection," said Haggard.
The TLC film shows the family nervously preparing for the first service at
St. James, uncertain if anyone would show up besides the camera crews. But
160 people made it to the barn.
"I don't know if you heard about it, but I had a tough time three years ago,
" Haggard told the congregation, who laughed at the understatement. "When we
went through what we went through, it was people loving us in a tangible
way that got us through."
'God Grew Closer in 'Midst of My Shame
Despite his sex and drug scandal, Haggard said he hoped to find Christ's
love in the community of St. James, which now has about 300 members and
meets at a local middle school.
"God was 100 percent faithful to me, and he grew closer to me in the midst
of my shame," said Haggard. "The church did not."
Haggard said he had not spoken to his former church or the National
Association of Evangelicals about St. James.
"They wish us well, and they want us to do well," Haggard said. "They
believe in forgiveness and redemption, and they just want things to work out
."
"He and I look at the world a little differently, but I sit and admire where
he is right now," said Forman. "He's trying to do something positive. Some
people will hate it because they'll always hate him.
"Initially, his family was not 100 percent supportive of him starting
another church," Forman continued. "There was initial tension in the Haggard
family [as to whether] this was a good idea. They were thinking, 'It's Dad'
s calling, but we've been in the news a lot so maybe you should stay quiet.'
And they're very honest with him."
To answer the mystery as to why Haggard and his family gave the filmmakers
such unfettered access to their lives, Forman and Rakieten said it certainly
wasn't for money -- Haggard and his family received only a small stipend of
a "few thousand dollars at most" to participate in the film.
"Whatever number you think, it's much smaller than that," said Rakieten, "
They had zero financial incentive to do this."
What's more, Haggard and his family never required that they be shown only
in a positive light, and played no part in the editing of the film.
"He didn't hire a PR firm to go do a pro-Ted infomercial," said Forman.
The former powerhouse superstar of the evangelical world who once drew drew
a church salary of more than $200,000 a year, said he receives no income
from St. James but gets reimbursed for some ministry expenses through its
weekly offering. Haggard said his family now lives off fees from speaking
engagements, the equity from the house they sold when they left Colorado
Springs and his wife's book, "Why I Stayed: The Choices I Made in My Darkest
Hour."
Haggard said he hopes his story gives hope to others. "We have some very
positive resurrection stories in our culture," he said. "Now we need some
good resurrection stories in the church." | g******s
发帖数: 3056 | 2 I agree with him that everyone is sinful and deserves love and healing. But
as a pastor who condemned homosexuality publicly, he should not criticize
that churches are too homophobic now. He was a church leader. If there had
been no scandal, he would not criticize churches now. |
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