COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard says he will continue to hold weekly prayer meetings at his home, three years after he was ousted from the church he founded amid a scandal involving a male prostitute.
Haggard told KUSA-TV he was heartened by the 150 people who showed for last week’s first prayer and he wants to continue the gatherings at his home every Thursday.
Haggard resigned from New Life Church in 2006 after a man revealed that the pastor paid him for sex for more than three years. At the time, the church had 14,000 followers.
Haggard told the Denver television station he still has homosexual thoughts.
“Once in a while I have a thought. But I never have a temptation,” Haggard said. Haggard also said that the love of supporters and family is making him feel “healthy.”
Haggard has said it’s not his intention to build a new church, although he’s not ruling out that possibility.
Haggard was one of the best known evangelicals when the scandal broke. The cash-for-sex allegations also prompted Haggard to resign as head of the National Association of Evangelicals, and the pastor confessed to “sexual immorality.”
This year, Haggard also acknowledged an “inappropriate” relationship a few years ago with a church volunteer who was 22 at the time.
Haggard said during his inaugural prayer meeting last week that the meetings are the beginning of his resurrection.
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Information from: KUSA-TV,
