I happened to catch the last 15 mintues of a segment on Haggard on the Oprah Show last night. He was pretty forthright. They showed footage of he and his family moving several times because they made an agreement with their former church New Life Church of Colorado Springs, that they would not live in that community for a year after the scandal that erupted around his involvement with a male prostitute. 

Apparently, Haggard was also interviewed on Nightline last night.

He is to be a guest on Larry King Live on CNN tonight for those who didn’t catch the previous interviews or who can’t watch “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” the HBO documentary airing tonight.

It will be interesting to see how the public treats Haggard after the documentary and this latest round of publicity.

He has said he seeks forgiveness and understanding.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor 

“The Trials of Ted Haggard,” a HBO documentary about disgraced evangelist Ted Haggard, has caused a firestorm of sorts for Haggard’s former congregation, New Life Church of Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Religion News Service — and a host of other news media outlets — is reporting that there is a new sex scandal involving Haggard and the church.

New Life Pastor Brady Boyd, according to the RNS, reportedly told the New Life congregation that the church’s insurance company arranged a settlement with a young man who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Haggard, who was forced to resign in 2006 after a male escort came forward with charges of gay sex and drug use.

Boyd told worshippers that none of their weekly offerings had been used to pay the settlement, and admitted that church leaders had long known about the allegations.

“For the last two years, we carried the burden, the weight, of this information to protect you,” Boyd said. “We’ve been diligent, faithful, pastoral, honest … every step of the way.”

Boyd, according to the RNS, said church leaders were forced to keep quiet because of the settlement’s terms, and also because “I have to use discretion, our staff has to use discretion, and sometimes we have to use confidentiality … especially when it concerns people we’re trying to help heal. There’s nothing being held secret here.”

“There’s no secret. I’ve known every single bit of information for 18 months as your pastor. I’ve held it. I know how to handle it. I’ve walked it out.”

The RNS reported that Boyd, who took over after Haggard resigned in disgrace, apologized for the new round of allegations against Haggard.

“It’s been my hope as your pastor for the 18 months I’ve been here that this wound would heal and we wouldn’t have to revisit the unpleasant parts of our past, but unfortunately this week we’ve had to do that,” he said, adding later, “The wound will not always be with us, the wound will not always define us.”

“The Trials of Ted Haggard” documentary is scheduled to air on Thursday 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

The documentary, “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” is to air on HBO on Jan. 29.

The evangelical faith community was rocked when a former male prostitute came forth in 2006 to say that the pastor had paid him to have sex with him and to acquire methamphetamine.

Haggard subsequently confessed to ”sin” and he and his church, New Life Church in Colorado Springs, parted ways.

Haggard, apparently still is married to his wife. He is reportedly promoting the new documentary. It reportedly gives a glimpse of Haggard’s life and  reexamines the scandal.

(AP PHOTO: Ted Haggard is shown in a 2005 photo.) 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor