Haggard made national headlines in November when a male prostitute and masseur , Mike Jones, alleged that Haggard, who had spoken against the legalization of same-sex marriage, had paid him for sex for three years and had bought and used crystal methamphetamine. Haggard resigned his post at New Life Church and his other leadership roles shortly after the allegations became public. Later, Haggard admitted to drug use, some sexual activity with Jones, and an inappropriate relationship with a young man who attended New Life Church.
Haggard was born in Indiana. Haggard, a practicing veterinarian in Yorktown, Indiana , founded an international charismatic ministry, which was featured in a PBS Middletown documentary series. In , at age 16, Haggard became a born-again Christian after hearing a sermon from evangelist Bill Bright in Dallas , Texas, and becoming acquainted with the Christian apologetics of C. These articles scandalized his small town and embroiled him in a free-press lawsuit. Haggard describes feeling the call of God on his life after his first year in college while he was in the kitchen at home.
He had been a telecommunications major with a minor in journalism, but after this experience he believed he had been called to be a pastor. After 22 years, New Life Church operated from a campus in northern Colorado Springs and had a congregation of 14, My only problems are with me β not with the enemy, not with circumstances, not with people. It has been listed as a denomination by the U.
National Association of Evangelicals. In November , a male prostitute and masseur, Mike Jones, publicly alleged that Haggard had paid him for sex over a three-year period and had bought and used crystal methamphetamine. He is in the position of influence of millions of followers, and he's preaching against gay marriage. But behind everybody's back [he's] doing what he's preached against. Haggard's immediate response was denial. He told a Denver television station, "I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver I am steady with my wife.
I'm faithful to my wife. Not even in high school. I didn't smoke pot. I didn't do anything like that.
