The Reverend Ted Haggard, who lost his pastorate at New Life Church in a scandal over his involvement with a male prostitute, is starting a new church at his home in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The conservative minister's new church will hold its first service, which Haggard refers to as a prayer meeting, November 12, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports. It hearkens back to the beginnings of New Life, which started in Haggard's basement and grew into a megachurch,
Haggard was forced out as New Life's pastor in 2006 after revelations of his relationship with Denver escort Mike Jones. Haggard also resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Later came the news that Haggard had had a sexual relationship with a young man who volunteered at the church.
Haggard, who is married to a woman, has admitted to "sexual immorality." Earlier this year, in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he characterized his same-sex attractions as "dark and repulsive" and a "compulsion" of which he had been cured.
After leaving New Life, Haggard tried selling insurance but made his living primarily by speaking at churches around the nation. Some of Haggard's church colleagues question if he is ready to lead another congregation, noting among other things that he prematurely quit a so-called restoration program that was one of the conditions of his New Life severance package, TheGazette reports.
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