Prepare for another assault on evangelical Christianity from the fruit loops in Hollywood. It amazes me that filmmakers, who have never had any formal theological training, find themselves to make statments in their films that have severe theological consequences. Check out this link:
http://time-blog.com/middle_east/2007/02/jesus_tales_from_the_crypt.html
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Here is a post from a friend of mine on a message board I belong to regarding money:
Someone wrote: 'I love my country....but sometimes I wonder if I love it *too much*! Would I be willing to give it up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Would I be willing to live under a bad government if that was God's way of shaking up the church and ultimately spreading the Gospel? I fear that many of us don't want to give up these 'American' luxuries!'"
Dear Brother,Thank you for your thoughts. You state something I have wrestled with a lot: the seductive power of material wealth and the numbing power of political security. I began my first course in the theology of wealth back in 1957.When my father's sister died without any children, her estate was divided according to a formula she devised in the nineteen-sixties: one fourth to each of her three brothers, and the last fourth divided among her nine nieces and nephews. How well I remember being at her home back in late 1957. Her husband died on Christmas Eve, and the whole family came to Marlboro County in South Carolina -- it was an odd Christmas holiday. While my aunt was mourning back in her bed room, her three brothers were going through their dead brother-in-law's safe, adding up stock certificates and bonds. They were not secretive about it, and this went on for more than a day. They all loved their older sister deeply -- she was a good deal older than her brothers, ten years older than my father, and was more of a mother than a sister to them. She had just gotten over breast cancer a couple of years before, with a double mastectomy, and she was now sixty-one and not expected to live long. But she lived to see the next Christmas.I learned a lot from what I saw and heard. During that Christmas friends and neighbors brought lots of food: pies and cakes and hams and fried chicken. We ate like kings, and my father and his two brothers sat, ate and counted somebody else's money. As we drove back to Myrtle Beach, my older brother said to my father, "Daddy, you sure look fat.""Rich people are always fat, Son." my father replied. I never forgot it.From that Christmas on, my father's relationship with his sister was different. He still loved her deeply, sometimes I think more than anyone on earth, but her wealth and his quarter of it was never out of his mind. If I heard him say it once, I must have heard him say a thousand times, "When my ship comes in . . . this." "When my ship comes in . . . that." Up until my uncle's death on Christmas Eve 1957, I never remember my father talking about money. I remember him as a relatively happy man who was pretty much content with what he had.Disneyland had opened in California a couple of years before. Some time later I asked: "Daddy, why don't we take a vacation like other people?" "We don't have any money, Robert, but when my ship comes in, we will." It dawned on me early on that my father really always loved his big sister, but he always looked forward to her death, too. Unlike his two brothers and my mother's siblings, Daddy never was a wealthy man, and it bothered him. His love for his sister's money was like a thicket of thorns that grew up and choked his love for his kind and precious big sister. That love never died, but my father's heart was divided and he halted between a desire to be rich and a deep affection for his sister. From Christmas 1957 on, my father's relationship with his only sister was paradoxical. He found no release from it until he embraced another paradox.+One of my mother's sisters was very wealthy, and my father and mother sometimes talked about her. Both Mama and Daddy came from long time Presbyterian stock, and this aunt, a daughter of the manse, had become a Roman Catholic. After I was converted to Christ, I began to feel a burden for people around me, and during my sophomore year in college I wrote a long letter to this aunt in Virginia, pleading with her to come to Christ. She was incensed and mailed my letter to another aunt with a cover note: "Can you believe what that little Robert Vincent wrote to me?" My other aunt shared it with my parents. Years passed and this aunt died. One day my father and mother were visiting with me from South Carolina; Daddy and I were walking around in the back yard of the manse, and Daddy said, "I'd have gotten some of Ann's money if you hadn't written that damned letter." But he never got a penny from my mother's sister. Nor from his -- Daddy's ship never came in because his sister lived to see forty-one more Christmases after 1957! She outlived all three of her brothers and died at one hundred, two and a half in March of 1999. I was with my Daddy when he died. The day before I told him that the doctor said he wasn't going to make it. His response was, "I know, Robert. I can't help it." He died on Saturday night, September 26, 1987. Most of his dreams had died before him. Because of health, my parents had moved to Louisiana in 1983, leaving my father's beloved South Carolina where his people had lived since the sixteen hundreds. My brilliant mother who once taught at Vanderbilt University now suffered from senile dementia. My older brother, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, had died two years before. I had to tell my parents before I flew to Georgia to do my brother's funeral. In part because my brother owed my father some money and things had always been a bit strained between my parents and my brother's wife, Daddy's last words to me as I left him and Mama were: "Check on my damned money." My father died without assets other than his monthly retirement check from the state of South Carolina and Social Security. His home had to be sold to take care of his and my mother's medical problems. And his son whom he used to tell was going to be the next Billy Graham, was the pastor of a small Presbyterian congregation that went through a split before my father's eyes the year before he died -- he was embarrassed about it when he talked to his sister. Yet in his poverty, my father found the treasure hidden in the field. For the last four and a half years of his life, my father sat under Bible exposition that aimed at his conscience rather than under the Rotary Club, fifteen minute, moral pep talks given during Sunday morning worship at the Presbyterian Church where he had served as an elder for decades. Finally, preaching that focused on the person and work of Christ and that went out of its way to stress that we are right with God by God's grace alone, received through faith alone, purged his mind of the moralistic drivel of our somewhat liberal minister. My father, a life-long Presbyterian who had been taught that he was always a Christian, finally abandoned the rags of his own righteousness, repented and put his trust in Christ alone for salvation -- clothed at last in the spotless robes of Christ's own righteousness.The night he died, I read the Bible to him. The last place from which I read as Revelation 21 and 22. As I closed this description of the Holy City, with its gates of pearl and streets of gold, my father spoke his last words: "I see it. I see it." He never spoke again but went fast asleep and died about an hour later.My aunt lived on for over a decade. All three of her brothers pre-deceased her so my father's portion went to my niece and nephew and to me. I inherited enough money to buy a home of my own. Right after I found out from her attorney the amount of money I would inherit, I was in the eighth chapter of Luke in my daily Greek reading. (It's been my custom for many years to read and not move on until I can read the chapter without helps -- a testimony to failing memory because I can't retain it when I get back there several years later.) Well, here I was about to inherit what was for me a huge sum of money -- by many people's standards, not a lot, but it was enough to make a really big down payment so that a house note could be affordable on our budget. (Up to that time, we had always lived in a manse and had never had the means to scrape together enough money to put a down payment on a home of our own.) This knowledge weighed on my mind, and I began to feel conflicted, especially when I read Luke 8:14 days in a row and wasn't able to skim over it the way I could if it were in English, "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature." Also, for the next few months, no matter where I read in Scripture, words about money seemed to be written with neon ink.I wrestled and finally sought the counsel of a rich man whom I knew could handle money -- they are few and far between. I asked him: "____, how do you deal with the seductive power of money?"His response has stuck with me. After a long pause, he said, "There's only one way: you've got to give lots of it away very regularly. Otherwise it gets a hold on you."The following year what my wife and I had prayed for for years, we finally got: a home of our own. On Saturday, July 1st, 2000, our prayers were answered, and we moved into our home http://www.rbvincent.com/Our_Home.htm. We are still paying for it, but Deo volente, when I reach seventy, we'll own it outright. Fearing my paradoxical spiritual legacy, we have tried to possess it loosely, finding some resolution in another paradox.+ After all, the Bible does not teach the private ownership of property; it teaches the private stewardship of God's property. So we let it be known, far and wide, that God had freely given us a house, and we have freely opened our doors to many people since we moved in . . . one of the most interesting of whom was a Korean family displaced from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This family of four lived with us for two months. He was a Baptist minister working on a Ph.D. in New Testament at New Orleans Baptist Seminary, but I later learned that he already had a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and had left directing South Korea's nuclear program to preach. No matter how early I woke up, I always heard him out in the yard, praying or singing in Korean. Even though I had to speak to him through his children, my life was profoundly blessed by his presence. Sometimes I almost felt as if I had to remove my shoes when I walked out in my yard where he had sat and knelt before God. I have never felt afraid sleeping in a house with an open door to strangers; I have felt profoundly secure and enriched. But even with all that, I still find this plant growing up, and I have to weed the garden of my heart regularly lest this weed choke out my love for Jesus and his people. There are times that I've worried because I now have to think about my roof when it springs a leak. Whereas, in the past all I had to do was call the deacon who was the chairman of the Property Committee, now I have to tend to this and figure out how to pay for it. Sometimes I've fretted because I didn't put my property taxes and insurance into the house note, and I didn't know how I was going to make the deadlines -- I always have by God's grace, as he has heard my prayers. But even with all that, I can sometimes hear the quiet creaking in the walls of my house as the tentacles of this noxious plant grow up into the planks, its deep roots and tiny tendrils prying their way into my home and heart. But it isn't just material things that cause this plant's tendrils to grow. Beyond the icy cold soil of things, there are people, even my spouse and children, my position, my country -- these, too, nourish this choking weed. When I think of the grip of this world, I have often thought of Cotton Mather's admonition to love the world with weaned affections.+ Being an American is so very comfortable. I can write critical pieces about the current Administration's foreign policy and not have to fear the boots of the Cheka kicking in my door, at least not tonight. I love my country with its great beauty, variegated people, material abundance and Bill of Rights, but I, too, fear that it is not good soil for growing real Christians. When I think about the Church becoming Wal-Marted and John Maxwell's leadership books replacing Scripture, I wonder if all Christians have built here after almost four hundred years won't prove in the end to be mostly wood, hay and stubble.May God grant it not be true for me, but I live with a keen awareness that that such a building is dazzling from a distance and a real danger to me.
Cordially in Christ,
Bob
Robert Benn Vincent, Sr.
bob@rbvincent.com
http://www.rbvincent.com_____________________________
Someone wrote: 'I love my country....but sometimes I wonder if I love it *too much*! Would I be willing to give it up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Would I be willing to live under a bad government if that was God's way of shaking up the church and ultimately spreading the Gospel? I fear that many of us don't want to give up these 'American' luxuries!'"
Dear Brother,Thank you for your thoughts. You state something I have wrestled with a lot: the seductive power of material wealth and the numbing power of political security. I began my first course in the theology of wealth back in 1957.When my father's sister died without any children, her estate was divided according to a formula she devised in the nineteen-sixties: one fourth to each of her three brothers, and the last fourth divided among her nine nieces and nephews. How well I remember being at her home back in late 1957. Her husband died on Christmas Eve, and the whole family came to Marlboro County in South Carolina -- it was an odd Christmas holiday. While my aunt was mourning back in her bed room, her three brothers were going through their dead brother-in-law's safe, adding up stock certificates and bonds. They were not secretive about it, and this went on for more than a day. They all loved their older sister deeply -- she was a good deal older than her brothers, ten years older than my father, and was more of a mother than a sister to them. She had just gotten over breast cancer a couple of years before, with a double mastectomy, and she was now sixty-one and not expected to live long. But she lived to see the next Christmas.I learned a lot from what I saw and heard. During that Christmas friends and neighbors brought lots of food: pies and cakes and hams and fried chicken. We ate like kings, and my father and his two brothers sat, ate and counted somebody else's money. As we drove back to Myrtle Beach, my older brother said to my father, "Daddy, you sure look fat.""Rich people are always fat, Son." my father replied. I never forgot it.From that Christmas on, my father's relationship with his sister was different. He still loved her deeply, sometimes I think more than anyone on earth, but her wealth and his quarter of it was never out of his mind. If I heard him say it once, I must have heard him say a thousand times, "When my ship comes in . . . this." "When my ship comes in . . . that." Up until my uncle's death on Christmas Eve 1957, I never remember my father talking about money. I remember him as a relatively happy man who was pretty much content with what he had.Disneyland had opened in California a couple of years before. Some time later I asked: "Daddy, why don't we take a vacation like other people?" "We don't have any money, Robert, but when my ship comes in, we will." It dawned on me early on that my father really always loved his big sister, but he always looked forward to her death, too. Unlike his two brothers and my mother's siblings, Daddy never was a wealthy man, and it bothered him. His love for his sister's money was like a thicket of thorns that grew up and choked his love for his kind and precious big sister. That love never died, but my father's heart was divided and he halted between a desire to be rich and a deep affection for his sister. From Christmas 1957 on, my father's relationship with his only sister was paradoxical. He found no release from it until he embraced another paradox.+One of my mother's sisters was very wealthy, and my father and mother sometimes talked about her. Both Mama and Daddy came from long time Presbyterian stock, and this aunt, a daughter of the manse, had become a Roman Catholic. After I was converted to Christ, I began to feel a burden for people around me, and during my sophomore year in college I wrote a long letter to this aunt in Virginia, pleading with her to come to Christ. She was incensed and mailed my letter to another aunt with a cover note: "Can you believe what that little Robert Vincent wrote to me?" My other aunt shared it with my parents. Years passed and this aunt died. One day my father and mother were visiting with me from South Carolina; Daddy and I were walking around in the back yard of the manse, and Daddy said, "I'd have gotten some of Ann's money if you hadn't written that damned letter." But he never got a penny from my mother's sister. Nor from his -- Daddy's ship never came in because his sister lived to see forty-one more Christmases after 1957! She outlived all three of her brothers and died at one hundred, two and a half in March of 1999. I was with my Daddy when he died. The day before I told him that the doctor said he wasn't going to make it. His response was, "I know, Robert. I can't help it." He died on Saturday night, September 26, 1987. Most of his dreams had died before him. Because of health, my parents had moved to Louisiana in 1983, leaving my father's beloved South Carolina where his people had lived since the sixteen hundreds. My brilliant mother who once taught at Vanderbilt University now suffered from senile dementia. My older brother, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, had died two years before. I had to tell my parents before I flew to Georgia to do my brother's funeral. In part because my brother owed my father some money and things had always been a bit strained between my parents and my brother's wife, Daddy's last words to me as I left him and Mama were: "Check on my damned money." My father died without assets other than his monthly retirement check from the state of South Carolina and Social Security. His home had to be sold to take care of his and my mother's medical problems. And his son whom he used to tell was going to be the next Billy Graham, was the pastor of a small Presbyterian congregation that went through a split before my father's eyes the year before he died -- he was embarrassed about it when he talked to his sister. Yet in his poverty, my father found the treasure hidden in the field. For the last four and a half years of his life, my father sat under Bible exposition that aimed at his conscience rather than under the Rotary Club, fifteen minute, moral pep talks given during Sunday morning worship at the Presbyterian Church where he had served as an elder for decades. Finally, preaching that focused on the person and work of Christ and that went out of its way to stress that we are right with God by God's grace alone, received through faith alone, purged his mind of the moralistic drivel of our somewhat liberal minister. My father, a life-long Presbyterian who had been taught that he was always a Christian, finally abandoned the rags of his own righteousness, repented and put his trust in Christ alone for salvation -- clothed at last in the spotless robes of Christ's own righteousness.The night he died, I read the Bible to him. The last place from which I read as Revelation 21 and 22. As I closed this description of the Holy City, with its gates of pearl and streets of gold, my father spoke his last words: "I see it. I see it." He never spoke again but went fast asleep and died about an hour later.My aunt lived on for over a decade. All three of her brothers pre-deceased her so my father's portion went to my niece and nephew and to me. I inherited enough money to buy a home of my own. Right after I found out from her attorney the amount of money I would inherit, I was in the eighth chapter of Luke in my daily Greek reading. (It's been my custom for many years to read and not move on until I can read the chapter without helps -- a testimony to failing memory because I can't retain it when I get back there several years later.) Well, here I was about to inherit what was for me a huge sum of money -- by many people's standards, not a lot, but it was enough to make a really big down payment so that a house note could be affordable on our budget. (Up to that time, we had always lived in a manse and had never had the means to scrape together enough money to put a down payment on a home of our own.) This knowledge weighed on my mind, and I began to feel conflicted, especially when I read Luke 8:14 days in a row and wasn't able to skim over it the way I could if it were in English, "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature." Also, for the next few months, no matter where I read in Scripture, words about money seemed to be written with neon ink.I wrestled and finally sought the counsel of a rich man whom I knew could handle money -- they are few and far between. I asked him: "____, how do you deal with the seductive power of money?"His response has stuck with me. After a long pause, he said, "There's only one way: you've got to give lots of it away very regularly. Otherwise it gets a hold on you."The following year what my wife and I had prayed for for years, we finally got: a home of our own. On Saturday, July 1st, 2000, our prayers were answered, and we moved into our home http://www.rbvincent.com/Our_Home.htm. We are still paying for it, but Deo volente, when I reach seventy, we'll own it outright. Fearing my paradoxical spiritual legacy, we have tried to possess it loosely, finding some resolution in another paradox.+ After all, the Bible does not teach the private ownership of property; it teaches the private stewardship of God's property. So we let it be known, far and wide, that God had freely given us a house, and we have freely opened our doors to many people since we moved in . . . one of the most interesting of whom was a Korean family displaced from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This family of four lived with us for two months. He was a Baptist minister working on a Ph.D. in New Testament at New Orleans Baptist Seminary, but I later learned that he already had a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and had left directing South Korea's nuclear program to preach. No matter how early I woke up, I always heard him out in the yard, praying or singing in Korean. Even though I had to speak to him through his children, my life was profoundly blessed by his presence. Sometimes I almost felt as if I had to remove my shoes when I walked out in my yard where he had sat and knelt before God. I have never felt afraid sleeping in a house with an open door to strangers; I have felt profoundly secure and enriched. But even with all that, I still find this plant growing up, and I have to weed the garden of my heart regularly lest this weed choke out my love for Jesus and his people. There are times that I've worried because I now have to think about my roof when it springs a leak. Whereas, in the past all I had to do was call the deacon who was the chairman of the Property Committee, now I have to tend to this and figure out how to pay for it. Sometimes I've fretted because I didn't put my property taxes and insurance into the house note, and I didn't know how I was going to make the deadlines -- I always have by God's grace, as he has heard my prayers. But even with all that, I can sometimes hear the quiet creaking in the walls of my house as the tentacles of this noxious plant grow up into the planks, its deep roots and tiny tendrils prying their way into my home and heart. But it isn't just material things that cause this plant's tendrils to grow. Beyond the icy cold soil of things, there are people, even my spouse and children, my position, my country -- these, too, nourish this choking weed. When I think of the grip of this world, I have often thought of Cotton Mather's admonition to love the world with weaned affections.+ Being an American is so very comfortable. I can write critical pieces about the current Administration's foreign policy and not have to fear the boots of the Cheka kicking in my door, at least not tonight. I love my country with its great beauty, variegated people, material abundance and Bill of Rights, but I, too, fear that it is not good soil for growing real Christians. When I think about the Church becoming Wal-Marted and John Maxwell's leadership books replacing Scripture, I wonder if all Christians have built here after almost four hundred years won't prove in the end to be mostly wood, hay and stubble.May God grant it not be true for me, but I live with a keen awareness that that such a building is dazzling from a distance and a real danger to me.
Cordially in Christ,
Bob
Robert Benn Vincent, Sr.
bob@rbvincent.com
http://www.rbvincent.com_____________________________
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
I have been struggling with the death of Saddam. I see way too many Christians rejoicing over the death of someone. From all evidence, Saddam is most likely in hell. That is not not a judgemental statement. The film that I have seen of him at the gallows (sp?) showed a defiant man. Unless he repented on his way being dropped down, he did not die with Christ as his Savior. What bugs me the most is that Christians are happy that Saddam is dead. That concerns me. Vengence is not ours. And is not Saddam truly went to hell, then why are we happy about it? I, personally, wish hell did not have to exist.
Judging Saddam does not make us more Christ-like. As a matter of fact, it makes us less. Judging, however, is probably the most played out word that non-Christians like to use against us. Looking at the evidence that very plainly shows that Saddam most likely did not go to heaven does not make us a judge. God is the judge. God sent him to hell, not me. He was sent to hell for not believing in Christ. To think that God could save a person that has committed as many atrocities as Saddam Hussein is a miracle. But Saddam rejected Christ. Because of that, he is in hell.
Hell exists for the glory of God. Let me write that again so no one misunderstands me. Hell exists for the glory of God. Sin must be punished. God must be glorified. As hard as it is for us to understand, God is glorified when sinners are punished. I am so happy though that it does not have to be that way for everyone! The Bible says in Romans 5: "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Did you catch that? While we were yet weak... Other versions say very plainly while we were yet sinners. God did not die for us because we were beautiful or sinless. He died for us because we were filthy with sin. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, nothing more, nothing less. Sola Fide. Sola Gratia.
So after looking at our filthy, sin-sick souls, realizing that we are not worthy of anything but hell, being saved by God's oh so irresistable and amazing grace by putting faith in what his Son did for us on the cross, why are are we rejoicing that someone is in hell? If it was not for grace, I would be in hell with him right now. How does that lead us to rejoicing?
Judging Saddam does not make us more Christ-like. As a matter of fact, it makes us less. Judging, however, is probably the most played out word that non-Christians like to use against us. Looking at the evidence that very plainly shows that Saddam most likely did not go to heaven does not make us a judge. God is the judge. God sent him to hell, not me. He was sent to hell for not believing in Christ. To think that God could save a person that has committed as many atrocities as Saddam Hussein is a miracle. But Saddam rejected Christ. Because of that, he is in hell.
Hell exists for the glory of God. Let me write that again so no one misunderstands me. Hell exists for the glory of God. Sin must be punished. God must be glorified. As hard as it is for us to understand, God is glorified when sinners are punished. I am so happy though that it does not have to be that way for everyone! The Bible says in Romans 5: "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Did you catch that? While we were yet weak... Other versions say very plainly while we were yet sinners. God did not die for us because we were beautiful or sinless. He died for us because we were filthy with sin. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, nothing more, nothing less. Sola Fide. Sola Gratia.
So after looking at our filthy, sin-sick souls, realizing that we are not worthy of anything but hell, being saved by God's oh so irresistable and amazing grace by putting faith in what his Son did for us on the cross, why are are we rejoicing that someone is in hell? If it was not for grace, I would be in hell with him right now. How does that lead us to rejoicing?
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
How to Calculate Pi by Throwing Frozen Hot Dogs
Throwing a pie in someone's face is good. Throwing food at pi is better. Believe it or not, of all the countless ways to approximate the most prolific irrational number in the universe, there are none quite as interesting or as surprisingly satisfying as throwing perfectly good food around your kitchen. In fewer steps than it takes to circumscribe your house in a circle of baguettes, you, too, can easily add a slice of pi into your dinner menu tonight. The best part is...it really works!
Steps
Select your food item to throw. There are a couple of qualifications. First, it must be long, thin, and straight, like a frozen hot dog, for example. There are lots of other items that fit this criterion including Otter Pops, celery sticks, and churros. (If you simply can't come to grips with throwing perfectly good food, see the Tips section for some additional ideas.) Second, it must be a reasonably stiff item. Third, it should be somewhere between six and eighteen inches long. The experiment can be performed otherwise, but read on, and you will see why this size is optimal.
Select the spot from where you will throw your mathematical cuisine. You will probably need about 6-10 feet in front of you as you will be throwing straight ahead.
Clear the area. The place at which you are throwing should be devoid of objects that your food item could possibly run in to. So, if you are throwing in your kitchen, consider moving the table into another room or at least throwing in such a way that your food won't hit the table during its flight.
Measure the length of your projectile (i.e. your frozen hot dogs). A tape measure should do the trick. Be as accurate as you can, even down to the millimeter, for best results.
Lay down masking tape in parallel strips across the floor as far apart as your projectile is long. The strips should be perpendicular to the direction you will be throwing (see picture below). Do about 6-10 strips if your item is 6-18 inches long; fewer, if longer; more, if shorter.
The throwing set-upGet a piece of paper and across the top make a column for “Tosses” and another column for "Crosses." The "Tosses" column is to keep track of how many times you throw your food item. The "Crosses" column is to keep track of how many times your item, once it lands and stops moving, is laying across one of the lines.
Now, get into position, and THROW YOUR FOOD! Throw just one item at a time. Once it is at rest, observe whether or not it is crossing one of the lines. If it is, put a tick under "Crosses" and a tick under "Tosses." If it isn't, just put a tick under "Tosses." Repeat this as many times as you like. You should start seeing some interesting results by around 100 to 200 throws (it doesn't take as long as it sounds, especially if you use a pack of 10 frozen hot dogs so you're not out retrieving the one hot dog after every throw).
Once you are done throwing your food, multiply the number of tosses by two and divide by the number of crosses. For example, if I threw 500 times, and it crossed 320 times, I would calculate 500 x 2 / 320. And, as if a miracle has occurred, you will have an approximation for pi! Now, don't you feel less stressed?
Tips
For those who are troubled by throwing perfectly good food, consider throwing sticks, dowels, bats, or a very stiff person. In fact, any item will do so long as it is long, thin, straight, and stiff.
If room is a concern, consider just drawing lines on a piece of paper and dropping toothpicks onto the paper from about three feet up. This definitely is not as refreshing as throwing food across the room, but it works.
The more the merrier! If two or three throw food together, you will get a better approximation faster because you will be able to get more throws in a shorter amount of time.
As long as you have your calculator, you could just press the "pi" key.
For the mathematically-inclined, this experiment is actually real! The proof and other details can be found at mathworld.wolfram.com: Buffon Needle Problem
Warnings
Remember that this is an experiment, so the idea is not to TRY and get the food to land on one of the lines. Just throw it randomly towards the lines. It should still land amongst them, but don't jinx the experiment by encouraging your dinner to land onto the tape.
Resist the temptation to use bananas. Not only are they not really straight, but they really won't last more than 50 throws before creating a big mess. Really.
Things You'll Need
Pen and Paper
Masking Tape
Calculator
Long, Thin, Straight, Stiff Food. Preferably a pack of frozen hot dogs
Throwing a pie in someone's face is good. Throwing food at pi is better. Believe it or not, of all the countless ways to approximate the most prolific irrational number in the universe, there are none quite as interesting or as surprisingly satisfying as throwing perfectly good food around your kitchen. In fewer steps than it takes to circumscribe your house in a circle of baguettes, you, too, can easily add a slice of pi into your dinner menu tonight. The best part is...it really works!
Steps
Select your food item to throw. There are a couple of qualifications. First, it must be long, thin, and straight, like a frozen hot dog, for example. There are lots of other items that fit this criterion including Otter Pops, celery sticks, and churros. (If you simply can't come to grips with throwing perfectly good food, see the Tips section for some additional ideas.) Second, it must be a reasonably stiff item. Third, it should be somewhere between six and eighteen inches long. The experiment can be performed otherwise, but read on, and you will see why this size is optimal.
Select the spot from where you will throw your mathematical cuisine. You will probably need about 6-10 feet in front of you as you will be throwing straight ahead.
Clear the area. The place at which you are throwing should be devoid of objects that your food item could possibly run in to. So, if you are throwing in your kitchen, consider moving the table into another room or at least throwing in such a way that your food won't hit the table during its flight.
Measure the length of your projectile (i.e. your frozen hot dogs). A tape measure should do the trick. Be as accurate as you can, even down to the millimeter, for best results.
Lay down masking tape in parallel strips across the floor as far apart as your projectile is long. The strips should be perpendicular to the direction you will be throwing (see picture below). Do about 6-10 strips if your item is 6-18 inches long; fewer, if longer; more, if shorter.
The throwing set-upGet a piece of paper and across the top make a column for “Tosses” and another column for "Crosses." The "Tosses" column is to keep track of how many times you throw your food item. The "Crosses" column is to keep track of how many times your item, once it lands and stops moving, is laying across one of the lines.
Now, get into position, and THROW YOUR FOOD! Throw just one item at a time. Once it is at rest, observe whether or not it is crossing one of the lines. If it is, put a tick under "Crosses" and a tick under "Tosses." If it isn't, just put a tick under "Tosses." Repeat this as many times as you like. You should start seeing some interesting results by around 100 to 200 throws (it doesn't take as long as it sounds, especially if you use a pack of 10 frozen hot dogs so you're not out retrieving the one hot dog after every throw).
Once you are done throwing your food, multiply the number of tosses by two and divide by the number of crosses. For example, if I threw 500 times, and it crossed 320 times, I would calculate 500 x 2 / 320. And, as if a miracle has occurred, you will have an approximation for pi! Now, don't you feel less stressed?
Tips
For those who are troubled by throwing perfectly good food, consider throwing sticks, dowels, bats, or a very stiff person. In fact, any item will do so long as it is long, thin, straight, and stiff.
If room is a concern, consider just drawing lines on a piece of paper and dropping toothpicks onto the paper from about three feet up. This definitely is not as refreshing as throwing food across the room, but it works.
The more the merrier! If two or three throw food together, you will get a better approximation faster because you will be able to get more throws in a shorter amount of time.
As long as you have your calculator, you could just press the "pi" key.
For the mathematically-inclined, this experiment is actually real! The proof and other details can be found at mathworld.wolfram.com: Buffon Needle Problem
Warnings
Remember that this is an experiment, so the idea is not to TRY and get the food to land on one of the lines. Just throw it randomly towards the lines. It should still land amongst them, but don't jinx the experiment by encouraging your dinner to land onto the tape.
Resist the temptation to use bananas. Not only are they not really straight, but they really won't last more than 50 throws before creating a big mess. Really.
Things You'll Need
Pen and Paper
Masking Tape
Calculator
Long, Thin, Straight, Stiff Food. Preferably a pack of frozen hot dogs
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
So it does appear that Haggard has been ousted by his church as leader. I wonder what will happen as far as his spiritual healing goes? It breaks my heart that another high profile evangelical Christian has fallen, even if I did not fully agree with his theology. It is going to be very interesting to see who the NAE picks as their next leader as well as who New Life Church gets as their next pastor. We so need to keep these things in prayer.
Disgraced pastor fired by church
RAW STORY
Published: Saturday November 4, 2006
Print This Email This
Embattled Evangelical Rev. Ted Haggard, who admitted yesterday to purchasing methamphetamines and soliciting a 'massage' from a gay escort, has been removed from his position at the New Life Church, according to a statement released by the church on Saturday.
While Haggard announced a leave of absence from the New Life Church on Friday, he was officially fired by the church board Saturday afternoon.
Excerpts from the New Life Church statement:
#
"We, the Overseer Board of New Life Church, have concluded our deliberations concerning the moral failings of Pastor Ted Haggard. Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct.
The language of our church bylaws state that as Overseers we must decide in cases where the Senior Pastor has "demonstrated immoral conduct" whether we must "remove the pastor from his position or to discipline him in any way they deem necessary."
In consultation with leading evangelicals and experts familiar with the type of behavior Pastor Haggard has demonstrated, we have decided that the most positive and productive direction for our church is his dismissal and removal.In addition, the Overseers will continue to explore the depth of Pastor Haggard's offense so that a plan of healing and restoration can begin.
Pastor Haggard and his wife have been informed of this decision. They have agreed as well that he should be dismissed and that a new pastor for New Life Church should be selected according to the rules of replacement in the bylaws. That process will begin immediately in hopes that a new pastor can be confirmed by the end of the year 2006. In the interim, Ross Parsley will function as the leader of the church with full support of the Overseers.
A letter of explanation and apology by Pastor Haggard as well as a word of encouragement from Gayle Haggard will be read in the 9:00 and 11:00 service of New Life Church."
RAW STORY
Published: Saturday November 4, 2006
Print This Email This
Embattled Evangelical Rev. Ted Haggard, who admitted yesterday to purchasing methamphetamines and soliciting a 'massage' from a gay escort, has been removed from his position at the New Life Church, according to a statement released by the church on Saturday.
While Haggard announced a leave of absence from the New Life Church on Friday, he was officially fired by the church board Saturday afternoon.
Excerpts from the New Life Church statement:
#
"We, the Overseer Board of New Life Church, have concluded our deliberations concerning the moral failings of Pastor Ted Haggard. Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct.
The language of our church bylaws state that as Overseers we must decide in cases where the Senior Pastor has "demonstrated immoral conduct" whether we must "remove the pastor from his position or to discipline him in any way they deem necessary."
In consultation with leading evangelicals and experts familiar with the type of behavior Pastor Haggard has demonstrated, we have decided that the most positive and productive direction for our church is his dismissal and removal.In addition, the Overseers will continue to explore the depth of Pastor Haggard's offense so that a plan of healing and restoration can begin.
Pastor Haggard and his wife have been informed of this decision. They have agreed as well that he should be dismissed and that a new pastor for New Life Church should be selected according to the rules of replacement in the bylaws. That process will begin immediately in hopes that a new pastor can be confirmed by the end of the year 2006. In the interim, Ross Parsley will function as the leader of the church with full support of the Overseers.
A letter of explanation and apology by Pastor Haggard as well as a word of encouragement from Gayle Haggard will be read in the 9:00 and 11:00 service of New Life Church."
Friday, November 03, 2006
Haggard admits buying meth, says he got massage from accuser
LAST UPDATE: 11/3/2006 3:30:39 PM
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado church leader admits that he bought methamphetamine from a gay prostitute, and that he got a massage from him.
The admission from the Reverend Ted Haggard comes after Mike Jones accused him of paying for sexual encounters with him over the course of three years. As a result of the charges, Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which has 30 million members. He has also stepped down as leader of his 14,000 member New Life Church while the church investigates the charges.
Haggard told reporters that he bought the methamphetamine for himself. He says, "I was tempted, but I never used it." Haggard told reporters he bought the meth because he was curious -- but that he then threw it away.
He also says he never had sex with Jones. He says he received a massage from him after being referred to him by a Denver hotel.
Earlier, members of Haggard's church insisted that the charges were politically motivated -- coming just days before voters in Colorado and seven other states vote on amendments banning gay marriage. Jones admits that he went public with his claims because of the fight over the amendments -- and because Haggard and his church publicly oppose same-sex marriage.
LAST UPDATE: 11/3/2006 3:30:39 PM
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado church leader admits that he bought methamphetamine from a gay prostitute, and that he got a massage from him.
The admission from the Reverend Ted Haggard comes after Mike Jones accused him of paying for sexual encounters with him over the course of three years. As a result of the charges, Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, which has 30 million members. He has also stepped down as leader of his 14,000 member New Life Church while the church investigates the charges.
Haggard told reporters that he bought the methamphetamine for himself. He says, "I was tempted, but I never used it." Haggard told reporters he bought the meth because he was curious -- but that he then threw it away.
He also says he never had sex with Jones. He says he received a massage from him after being referred to him by a Denver hotel.
Earlier, members of Haggard's church insisted that the charges were politically motivated -- coming just days before voters in Colorado and seven other states vote on amendments banning gay marriage. Jones admits that he went public with his claims because of the fight over the amendments -- and because Haggard and his church publicly oppose same-sex marriage.
Finally, a post not about Haggard...
Christian references infuse music, but...
By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 06:34:53 PM MST
As Page France singer Michael Nau sings about burning bushes and Jesus rising through the ground on his band's latest record, "Hello, Dear Wind," it's easy to be presumptuous.
They're a Christian band, right?
Technically, maybe, but perhaps not. As indie rockers from Nau to Sufjan Stevens are proving, that label is slippery - and confusing.
Much of Christian music's integration into the pop culture mainstream comes via the rockers who happen to be Christian - as opposed to the Christian rockers who wear their faiths on their sleeves and crosses around their necks. Each group of musicians is writing about what makes them tick, but one crafts its art with more subtlety, yet its intentions are never fully hidden by metaphor.
But how does a band choose the path of subtlety over outright preaching?
"It's a really big choice for a lot of Christian musicians: Are we a Christian band or are we Christians in a band," said Andrew Beaujon, a journalist and the author of "Body Piercing Saved My Life," an unbiased look at Christian rock. "You have to make the decision of what's the purpose of Christian music."
Is it a conversion tool? Or is it simply art? Indie rockers from Dave Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Jeremy Enigk (The Fire Theft, Sunny Day Real Estate), Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) and Sufjan Stevens have developed secular followings regardless of their faiths - and it's not always an easy road with certain listeners turned off by any mention of a god.
Which is where Page France comes in. The Maryland band's music is soft and sweet, melodic and melancholy, literate and lush - and heavily laced with Christian symbols, ideals and history. When the band plays the Hi-Dive tonight, it will surely play through the delightfully saccharine, xylophone-inflected "Junkyard," a chamber-pop delight that could be interpreted a number of ways, secular or religious.
But it could also take
Page France's music is soft and sweet, melodic and melancholy, literate and lush - and heavily laced with Christian symbols, ideals and history. on other tracks from "Hello, Dear Wind" - such as "Jesus" or "Bush," songs that, while artfully vague, are more pointed references to Nau's spirituality. Nau admits his writing comes in thematic sets, but insists they're straight from the subconscious.
"I didn't write ('Hello, Dear Wind') with a theme in mind or an agenda of any sort," Nau said recently from his home in western Maryland. "It was more of a stream-of-conscious kind of thing. I wrote all the songs in two weeks while we were recording, so I was definitely in the same mindset while writing it all."
Nau is weary of queries about religion's role in his music, something that is made obvious by the way he defends his creative process.
"I didn't intentionally adhere to any theme, and I wasn't trying to stress any point," he said, "but naturally, there's a theme within those songs."
From "Jesus," his lyrics are both sweetly naïve and knowingly staunch: "Jesus will come through the ground, so dirty/With worms in his hair and a hand so sturdy/To call us his magic, we call him worthy/Jesus came up through the ground, so dirty."
As the Pitchfork Media review of the record pointed out, "Nau's Jesus would rather sing and dance than condemn." And that childlike subtlety is perhaps what draws secular fans. David Lewis knows these artists' difficult plights all too well. As director of Riot Act Public Relations and Artist Management, he has worked with Page France and Dave Bazan. He has encountered critical resistance ranging from magazine journalists to his own family.
When Lewis was first working the Page France record, he lent it to his sister Kathryn. "She took it in her car, and she had the prototypical arc where she played it, got past the sweetness, really got into the music and then she heard the lyrics and 'Jesus came up from the ground,' and she immediately turned it off," said Lewis. "She said, 'It's not for me - too overwrought with Christian themes."'
Her reaction is typical, as the blogosphere is abuzz with baffled music fans debating their stance on the Page France "issue." But even with "Jesus," it's obvious Nau isn't out to convert anyone; that lack of proselytizing is what often brings fans over the line. Lewis' sister came to accept the record as great piece of music.
"On some level, those of us who aren't Christian are so bombarded with images and rhetoric that when we hear the word 'Jesus' it has much more to do with a personal motif than it has anything to do with the biblical or Christian right ideology," Lewis said. "When I see 'The 700 Club,' I get really upset because Pat Robertson represents a different side of this. But with indie rock, we can stand to be a little bit more open-minded and listen to things on face value."
Beaujon said he witnessed the spread of new fault lines after the 2004 re-election of President George W. Bush.
"David Bazan from Pedro the Lion won't even say he's a Christian because of what (evangelical Christianity) has come to mean culturally," said Beaujon. "Part of the cost of the political polarization is that Christianity has become a really loaded term, and it's hard for people to reconcile the basic fact that rock 'n' roll came out of the church."
Consider the upbringings of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and other early rockers: Gospel music and the Christian church - often a Pentecostal version of it - were seminal influences.
"If this is the environment you come from, and if your faith is important to you," Beaujon said, "you're gonna write about it."
But writing about it puts a musician in a precarious position. Many bands, including The Fray, who hail from Denver and are enjoying nationwide popularity, purposefully avoid religious issues in their music regardless of their devout faith. Other musicians' message is a baseball bat to the head. Then there are those in the middle - Page France, Stevens, Bazan & Co. - whose moderate approach leaves them scrutinized from both sides.
"Dave Bazan has been pigeonholed, and I worry about Page France in the same sense," said Lewis. "Here's a band that makes beautiful music. They're just being sincere, but when you go into a public sphere, you have to be ready to deal with that."
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Christian references infuse music, but...
By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
Article Last Updated:11/02/2006 06:34:53 PM MST
As Page France singer Michael Nau sings about burning bushes and Jesus rising through the ground on his band's latest record, "Hello, Dear Wind," it's easy to be presumptuous.
They're a Christian band, right?
Technically, maybe, but perhaps not. As indie rockers from Nau to Sufjan Stevens are proving, that label is slippery - and confusing.
Much of Christian music's integration into the pop culture mainstream comes via the rockers who happen to be Christian - as opposed to the Christian rockers who wear their faiths on their sleeves and crosses around their necks. Each group of musicians is writing about what makes them tick, but one crafts its art with more subtlety, yet its intentions are never fully hidden by metaphor.
But how does a band choose the path of subtlety over outright preaching?
"It's a really big choice for a lot of Christian musicians: Are we a Christian band or are we Christians in a band," said Andrew Beaujon, a journalist and the author of "Body Piercing Saved My Life," an unbiased look at Christian rock. "You have to make the decision of what's the purpose of Christian music."
Is it a conversion tool? Or is it simply art? Indie rockers from Dave Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Jeremy Enigk (The Fire Theft, Sunny Day Real Estate), Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) and Sufjan Stevens have developed secular followings regardless of their faiths - and it's not always an easy road with certain listeners turned off by any mention of a god.
Which is where Page France comes in. The Maryland band's music is soft and sweet, melodic and melancholy, literate and lush - and heavily laced with Christian symbols, ideals and history. When the band plays the Hi-Dive tonight, it will surely play through the delightfully saccharine, xylophone-inflected "Junkyard," a chamber-pop delight that could be interpreted a number of ways, secular or religious.
But it could also take
Page France's music is soft and sweet, melodic and melancholy, literate and lush - and heavily laced with Christian symbols, ideals and history. on other tracks from "Hello, Dear Wind" - such as "Jesus" or "Bush," songs that, while artfully vague, are more pointed references to Nau's spirituality. Nau admits his writing comes in thematic sets, but insists they're straight from the subconscious.
"I didn't write ('Hello, Dear Wind') with a theme in mind or an agenda of any sort," Nau said recently from his home in western Maryland. "It was more of a stream-of-conscious kind of thing. I wrote all the songs in two weeks while we were recording, so I was definitely in the same mindset while writing it all."
Nau is weary of queries about religion's role in his music, something that is made obvious by the way he defends his creative process.
"I didn't intentionally adhere to any theme, and I wasn't trying to stress any point," he said, "but naturally, there's a theme within those songs."
From "Jesus," his lyrics are both sweetly naïve and knowingly staunch: "Jesus will come through the ground, so dirty/With worms in his hair and a hand so sturdy/To call us his magic, we call him worthy/Jesus came up through the ground, so dirty."
As the Pitchfork Media review of the record pointed out, "Nau's Jesus would rather sing and dance than condemn." And that childlike subtlety is perhaps what draws secular fans. David Lewis knows these artists' difficult plights all too well. As director of Riot Act Public Relations and Artist Management, he has worked with Page France and Dave Bazan. He has encountered critical resistance ranging from magazine journalists to his own family.
When Lewis was first working the Page France record, he lent it to his sister Kathryn. "She took it in her car, and she had the prototypical arc where she played it, got past the sweetness, really got into the music and then she heard the lyrics and 'Jesus came up from the ground,' and she immediately turned it off," said Lewis. "She said, 'It's not for me - too overwrought with Christian themes."'
Her reaction is typical, as the blogosphere is abuzz with baffled music fans debating their stance on the Page France "issue." But even with "Jesus," it's obvious Nau isn't out to convert anyone; that lack of proselytizing is what often brings fans over the line. Lewis' sister came to accept the record as great piece of music.
"On some level, those of us who aren't Christian are so bombarded with images and rhetoric that when we hear the word 'Jesus' it has much more to do with a personal motif than it has anything to do with the biblical or Christian right ideology," Lewis said. "When I see 'The 700 Club,' I get really upset because Pat Robertson represents a different side of this. But with indie rock, we can stand to be a little bit more open-minded and listen to things on face value."
Beaujon said he witnessed the spread of new fault lines after the 2004 re-election of President George W. Bush.
"David Bazan from Pedro the Lion won't even say he's a Christian because of what (evangelical Christianity) has come to mean culturally," said Beaujon. "Part of the cost of the political polarization is that Christianity has become a really loaded term, and it's hard for people to reconcile the basic fact that rock 'n' roll came out of the church."
Consider the upbringings of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and other early rockers: Gospel music and the Christian church - often a Pentecostal version of it - were seminal influences.
"If this is the environment you come from, and if your faith is important to you," Beaujon said, "you're gonna write about it."
But writing about it puts a musician in a precarious position. Many bands, including The Fray, who hail from Denver and are enjoying nationwide popularity, purposefully avoid religious issues in their music regardless of their devout faith. Other musicians' message is a baseball bat to the head. Then there are those in the middle - Page France, Stevens, Bazan & Co. - whose moderate approach leaves them scrutinized from both sides.
"Dave Bazan has been pigeonholed, and I worry about Page France in the same sense," said Lewis. "Here's a band that makes beautiful music. They're just being sincere, but when you go into a public sphere, you have to be ready to deal with that."
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Haggard's accuser fails lie detector
By Mike McPhee
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/03/2006 08:31:24 AM MST
Ted Haggard's accuser failed a polygraph test early this morning about the truthfulness of his accusations that he had had a three-year homosexual affair with the influential Colorado Springs minister.
The test was given to Michael Jones, 49, an admitted male prostitute, who made the allegations on the Peter Boyles Show on radio station KHOW Thursday morning.
The shocking allegations were denied by Haggard, who told KUSA-9News he never took part in a homosexual affair and had always been faithful to his wife, with whom he has 5 children.
So Boyles invited Jones to take a polygraph test at 5 a.m. this morning.
The test administrator, John Kresnik, said Jones' score indicated "deceptions" in his answers. However, Kresnik said he doubted the accuracy of the test he administered because of the recent stress on Jones and his inability to eat or sleep, according to KHOW producer Greg Hollenback.
Kresnik suggested that Jones be re-tested early next week after he was rested.
By Mike McPhee
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/03/2006 08:31:24 AM MST
Ted Haggard's accuser failed a polygraph test early this morning about the truthfulness of his accusations that he had had a three-year homosexual affair with the influential Colorado Springs minister.
The test was given to Michael Jones, 49, an admitted male prostitute, who made the allegations on the Peter Boyles Show on radio station KHOW Thursday morning.
The shocking allegations were denied by Haggard, who told KUSA-9News he never took part in a homosexual affair and had always been faithful to his wife, with whom he has 5 children.
So Boyles invited Jones to take a polygraph test at 5 a.m. this morning.
The test administrator, John Kresnik, said Jones' score indicated "deceptions" in his answers. However, Kresnik said he doubted the accuracy of the test he administered because of the recent stress on Jones and his inability to eat or sleep, according to KHOW producer Greg Hollenback.
Kresnik suggested that Jones be re-tested early next week after he was rested.
A Mega-Scandal for a Mega-Church
One of America's most powerful evangelicals is accused of paying for a male prostitute even as his state approaches a referendum on gay marriage
By RITA HEALY/DENVER
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR
Posted Friday, Nov. 03, 2006
"I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver," Ted Haggard said with a calm specificity during an interview with a Denver TV reporter on Wednesday night as controversy broke around him. " I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife." Nevertheless, the pastor of one of the most prominent mega-churches in the country — and one of President George W. Bush's advisors on evangelical issues — has taken a leave of absence from his own 14,000-member New Life Church and temporarily resigned as president of the 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 evangelical churches across the U.S., after Mike Jones, a gay massage therapist — and self described professional male escort in Denver — told local radio and TV stations that he sold Haggard gay sex for three years. Jones also said that Haggard used drugs with him. Haggard was one of Time's 25 Most Important Evangelicals in 2005. Last night, New Life Church's acting senior pastor Ross Parsley told Denver's KTTV News that Haggard had confessed to some of the alleged indiscretions. In a statement released Thursday, Haggard said, "I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
In an interview with Time, Jones described the alleged relationship as "strictly sex" and "no emotions." He says the encounters occurred "about once a month." Jones says that Haggard "never brought up anything about what he did for a living. He always went by the name Art. The only thing he brought up about his personal life was that he was married. He never talked about the church, nothing. He said he was from Kansas City." Jones says he did not discover who "Art" was for "about two and a half years." Then, he says, "one time I was watching the History Channel and they were doing a show on the antichrist, and lo and behold his face popped up as an expert. I went, omigod it's Art, that's the guy I'm seeing." Jones says he decided to expose Haggard because of the alleged hypocrisy. "Here's a guy who put himself on a really high pedestal for millions and millions of followers, and he let them down. And his family." He adds, "I could have blackmailed him. God, I could use the money. I could have blackmailed him; that would have been really easy to do. But I didn't. So no, there's no backing behind me at all. I came out on my own." The Rocky Mountain News says that Jones appeared in bankruptcy court last year and told the judge he's an unemployed fitness consultant. Haggard claims not to know who Jones is. "What did you say his name is again?" he asked a reporter at one point
For now, four senior pastors who do not belong to the New Life Church will be investigating the allegations by Jones. Haggard says they have the authority to discipline him, fire him or exonerate him of the charges. An attorney for the New Life Church says that Haggard's stepping aside is purely pro-forma and not an admission of wrongdoing until the investigation is concluded. The pastor has intimated that the allegations may be an electioneering ploy. He supports Amendment 43 on the Colorado state ballot on Nov. 7, which would add a new section to the state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Another question on the ballot> — Referendum I — would allow gays and lesbians to form legally protected domestic partnerships. While Haggard is not seen as a firebreather on the issue, and insists he supports the civil rights of all groups, he has expressed no interest in supporting Referendum I. At this point, one poll shows that Amendment 43 has 53% support; while Referendum I has 47%.
Jones too says that the elections may have played a part in their relationship. However, he believes that Haggard stopped seeing him after August of this year because the vote on marriage was approaching and the clergyman did not want to risk being caught in a compromising position. "My gut feeling is that the elections were coming up and we have the two amendments and he decided to lie low. And the whole [Congressman Mark] Foley thing was coming out. The last three times I saw him, I knew who he was. I never said anything. We really didn't talk."
Haggard had also been receiving attention for his appearance in the documentary Jesus Camp, a film about the religious training of children in Pentecostal seminars. Haggard put out the word to evangelical groups to avoid the film. In it, he is seen telling a crowd, "We don't have to have a debate about what we think about homosexual activity. It's written in the Bible." Shortly after that, Haggard looks mockingly into the camera to say, "I think I know what you did last night. If you send me a thousand dollars, I won't tell your wife." The crowd responds with peals of laughter. Then he says with a wide smile, "If you use any of this, I'll sue you."
Kent Lemburg, a gay massage therapist, says he knows Jones. "He'd always advertise himself in the back of Out Front," a local publication that is a directory and guide to the local gay scene. "He's a body builder. He definitely is an escort."
In an ad in Out Front's website, there is a photograph with a bare-chested man called Mike who purports to have appeared in Men's Health, Playgirl and a number of gay skin magazines. It also says, "Performers from Broadway shows call upon my services when on tour. If you would like an incredible massage by a handsome, athletic, masculine man, please call me. Hey, I'm also a nice guy."
One of America's most powerful evangelicals is accused of paying for a male prostitute even as his state approaches a referendum on gay marriage
By RITA HEALY/DENVER
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR
Posted Friday, Nov. 03, 2006
"I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver," Ted Haggard said with a calm specificity during an interview with a Denver TV reporter on Wednesday night as controversy broke around him. " I am steady with my wife. I'm faithful to my wife." Nevertheless, the pastor of one of the most prominent mega-churches in the country — and one of President George W. Bush's advisors on evangelical issues — has taken a leave of absence from his own 14,000-member New Life Church and temporarily resigned as president of the 30-million-member National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 evangelical churches across the U.S., after Mike Jones, a gay massage therapist — and self described professional male escort in Denver — told local radio and TV stations that he sold Haggard gay sex for three years. Jones also said that Haggard used drugs with him. Haggard was one of Time's 25 Most Important Evangelicals in 2005. Last night, New Life Church's acting senior pastor Ross Parsley told Denver's KTTV News that Haggard had confessed to some of the alleged indiscretions. In a statement released Thursday, Haggard said, "I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
In an interview with Time, Jones described the alleged relationship as "strictly sex" and "no emotions." He says the encounters occurred "about once a month." Jones says that Haggard "never brought up anything about what he did for a living. He always went by the name Art. The only thing he brought up about his personal life was that he was married. He never talked about the church, nothing. He said he was from Kansas City." Jones says he did not discover who "Art" was for "about two and a half years." Then, he says, "one time I was watching the History Channel and they were doing a show on the antichrist, and lo and behold his face popped up as an expert. I went, omigod it's Art, that's the guy I'm seeing." Jones says he decided to expose Haggard because of the alleged hypocrisy. "Here's a guy who put himself on a really high pedestal for millions and millions of followers, and he let them down. And his family." He adds, "I could have blackmailed him. God, I could use the money. I could have blackmailed him; that would have been really easy to do. But I didn't. So no, there's no backing behind me at all. I came out on my own." The Rocky Mountain News says that Jones appeared in bankruptcy court last year and told the judge he's an unemployed fitness consultant. Haggard claims not to know who Jones is. "What did you say his name is again?" he asked a reporter at one point
For now, four senior pastors who do not belong to the New Life Church will be investigating the allegations by Jones. Haggard says they have the authority to discipline him, fire him or exonerate him of the charges. An attorney for the New Life Church says that Haggard's stepping aside is purely pro-forma and not an admission of wrongdoing until the investigation is concluded. The pastor has intimated that the allegations may be an electioneering ploy. He supports Amendment 43 on the Colorado state ballot on Nov. 7, which would add a new section to the state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Another question on the ballot> — Referendum I — would allow gays and lesbians to form legally protected domestic partnerships. While Haggard is not seen as a firebreather on the issue, and insists he supports the civil rights of all groups, he has expressed no interest in supporting Referendum I. At this point, one poll shows that Amendment 43 has 53% support; while Referendum I has 47%.
Jones too says that the elections may have played a part in their relationship. However, he believes that Haggard stopped seeing him after August of this year because the vote on marriage was approaching and the clergyman did not want to risk being caught in a compromising position. "My gut feeling is that the elections were coming up and we have the two amendments and he decided to lie low. And the whole [Congressman Mark] Foley thing was coming out. The last three times I saw him, I knew who he was. I never said anything. We really didn't talk."
Haggard had also been receiving attention for his appearance in the documentary Jesus Camp, a film about the religious training of children in Pentecostal seminars. Haggard put out the word to evangelical groups to avoid the film. In it, he is seen telling a crowd, "We don't have to have a debate about what we think about homosexual activity. It's written in the Bible." Shortly after that, Haggard looks mockingly into the camera to say, "I think I know what you did last night. If you send me a thousand dollars, I won't tell your wife." The crowd responds with peals of laughter. Then he says with a wide smile, "If you use any of this, I'll sue you."
Kent Lemburg, a gay massage therapist, says he knows Jones. "He'd always advertise himself in the back of Out Front," a local publication that is a directory and guide to the local gay scene. "He's a body builder. He definitely is an escort."
In an ad in Out Front's website, there is a photograph with a bare-chested man called Mike who purports to have appeared in Men's Health, Playgirl and a number of gay skin magazines. It also says, "Performers from Broadway shows call upon my services when on tour. If you would like an incredible massage by a handsome, athletic, masculine man, please call me. Hey, I'm also a nice guy."
Yeah Yeah I know. Lots of stories here on Ted Haggard. I'm following this story pretty close because I know how high the stakes are. I am posting stories that reveal any new info as I find them. I'll try not to post stories that simply repeat what has already been said.
The reason the stakes are so high here is that Haggard is the new poster boy for Evangelicals. I'm not a real big fan; I'm thinking we could have a much better person in there, but nevertheless, que sera sera. Keep tuning in.
The reason the stakes are so high here is that Haggard is the new poster boy for Evangelicals. I'm not a real big fan; I'm thinking we could have a much better person in there, but nevertheless, que sera sera. Keep tuning in.
Report: Voice Expert ID's Ted Haggard's Voice
By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Fri Nov 03, 2006 at 03:45:00 AM EST
Update: Church says Haggard confessed to some, but not all, of the allegations against him. My speculation: He confessed to buying meth from Jones.
**********
Denver's 9 News tonight reports a voice expert has analyzed paid escort Mike Jones' voicemail evidence against Ted Haggard and concluded the voice is Haggard's.
Jones turned over two voicemails to the station which had them analyzed by Richard Sanders, who it says is an expert voice analyst.
The first voice message, left on August 4 at 2:18 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that's probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I'll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye."
The second voice message, left on August 4 at 5:10 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art, I am here in Denver and sorry that I missed you. But as I said, if you want to go ahead and get the stuff, then that would be great. And I'll get it sometime next week or the week after or whenever. I will call though you early next week to see what's most convenient for you. Okay? Thanks a lot, bye."
Here's the video of the newscast. Jones claims Art is referring to methamphetamine in the messages. The station reports that Haggert's middle name is Arthur.
Here's the video of Haggard's 10 minute interview with the station in which he denies the allegations. He seems downright friendly about it and quite willing for the Church's investigation to take over.
He also says that while he supports the gay marriage amendment, he has not opposed the civil union referendum on the Colorado ballot, believing that's a societal matter. He says he has always supported civil rights. He does believe, however, that G-d's preferred plan for men and women is heterosexuality.
By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Fri Nov 03, 2006 at 03:45:00 AM EST
Update: Church says Haggard confessed to some, but not all, of the allegations against him. My speculation: He confessed to buying meth from Jones.
**********
Denver's 9 News tonight reports a voice expert has analyzed paid escort Mike Jones' voicemail evidence against Ted Haggard and concluded the voice is Haggard's.
Jones turned over two voicemails to the station which had them analyzed by Richard Sanders, who it says is an expert voice analyst.
The first voice message, left on August 4 at 2:18 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that's probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I'll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye."
The second voice message, left on August 4 at 5:10 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art, I am here in Denver and sorry that I missed you. But as I said, if you want to go ahead and get the stuff, then that would be great. And I'll get it sometime next week or the week after or whenever. I will call though you early next week to see what's most convenient for you. Okay? Thanks a lot, bye."
Here's the video of the newscast. Jones claims Art is referring to methamphetamine in the messages. The station reports that Haggert's middle name is Arthur.
Here's the video of Haggard's 10 minute interview with the station in which he denies the allegations. He seems downright friendly about it and quite willing for the Church's investigation to take over.
He also says that while he supports the gay marriage amendment, he has not opposed the civil union referendum on the Colorado ballot, believing that's a societal matter. He says he has always supported civil rights. He does believe, however, that G-d's preferred plan for men and women is heterosexuality.
Report: Voice Expert ID's Ted Haggard's Voice
By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Fri Nov 03, 2006 at 03:45:00 AM EST
Update: Church says Haggard confessed to some, but not all, of the allegations against him. My speculation: He confessed to buying meth from Jones.
**********
Denver's 9 News tonight reports a voice expert has analyzed paid escort Mike Jones' voicemail evidence against Ted Haggard and concluded the voice is Haggard's.
Jones turned over two voicemails to the station which had them analyzed by Richard Sanders, who it says is an expert voice analyst.
The first voice message, left on August 4 at 2:18 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that's probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I'll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye."
The second voice message, left on August 4 at 5:10 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art, I am here in Denver and sorry that I missed you. But as I said, if you want to go ahead and get the stuff, then that would be great. And I'll get it sometime next week or the week after or whenever. I will call though you early next week to see what's most convenient for you. Okay? Thanks a lot, bye."
Here's the video of the newscast. Jones claims Art is referring to methamphetamine in the messages. The station reports that Haggert's middle name is Arthur.
Here's the video of Haggard's 10 minute interview with the station in which he denies the allegations. He seems downright friendly about it and quite willing for the Church's investigation to take over.
He also says that while he supports the gay marriage amendment, he has not opposed the civil union referendum on the Colorado ballot, believing that's a societal matter. He says he has always supported civil rights. He does believe, however, that G-d's preferred plan for men and women is heterosexuality.
By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Fri Nov 03, 2006 at 03:45:00 AM EST
Update: Church says Haggard confessed to some, but not all, of the allegations against him. My speculation: He confessed to buying meth from Jones.
**********
Denver's 9 News tonight reports a voice expert has analyzed paid escort Mike Jones' voicemail evidence against Ted Haggard and concluded the voice is Haggard's.
Jones turned over two voicemails to the station which had them analyzed by Richard Sanders, who it says is an expert voice analyst.
The first voice message, left on August 4 at 2:18 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art. Hey, I was just calling to see if we could get any more. Either $100 or $200 supply. And I could pick it up really anytime I could get it tomorrow or we could wait till next week sometime and so I also wanted to get your address. I could send you some money for inventory but that's probably not working, so if you have it then go ahead and get what you can and I may buzz up there later today, but I doubt your schedule would allow that unless you have some in the house. Okay, I'll check in with you later. Thanks a lot, bye."
The second voice message, left on August 4 at 5:10 p.m., says:
"Hi Mike, this is Art, I am here in Denver and sorry that I missed you. But as I said, if you want to go ahead and get the stuff, then that would be great. And I'll get it sometime next week or the week after or whenever. I will call though you early next week to see what's most convenient for you. Okay? Thanks a lot, bye."
Here's the video of the newscast. Jones claims Art is referring to methamphetamine in the messages. The station reports that Haggert's middle name is Arthur.
Here's the video of Haggard's 10 minute interview with the station in which he denies the allegations. He seems downright friendly about it and quite willing for the Church's investigation to take over.
He also says that while he supports the gay marriage amendment, he has not opposed the civil union referendum on the Colorado ballot, believing that's a societal matter. He says he has always supported civil rights. He does believe, however, that G-d's preferred plan for men and women is heterosexuality.
Pastor Ted Haggard...Out of the Closet? (8 comments )
READ MORE: 2006, Rick Santorum, James Dobson, Supreme Court
There's really only one story here in Colorado at the moment....
The president of The National Association of Evangelicals and founding pastor of the 14,000 member New Life Church, Ted Haggard, has been accused of having a relationship with a 49 year-old gay male escort for the last three years.
Given the timing, it sure does smell like a smear especially with a gay marriage amendment on the ballot here in Colorado. But.... Pastor Ted has "temporarily" resigned from his posts both at the NAE and at New Life Church. While this is not a guilty plea, it doesn't look good.
New Life Church also cancelled a rally in support of Pastor Ted organized by another Colorado Springs pastor slated for this afternoon. That doesn't look good either.
The escort in question, a Mr. Mike Jones, claims he has recorded voicemail messages from Haggard and a letter from him containing $200.00 in cash. The evidence hasn't been released yet.
Here's the thing about Haggard: while he does support the anti-gay marriage amendment he's not as strident in his rhetoric about gays as so many other figures on the Christian right. For example, Haggard was in support of the 2003 Supreme Court decision to overturn the sodomy laws. He's also said that he wouldn't advocate positions that would make it harder for people to get health insurance or visit their partners in the hospital.
Based on the scant evidence that's been released, my thinking is this: If you're perpetrating a fictional smear, why not go after a fervently anti-gay figure? There's no shortage to choose from in this state. Why choose a Pastor who, however well known, isn't really as bad as Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Rick Santorum, etc... I mean, if you're going to lie you've got your choice of targets. Why this one?
I know some might think that if you're supporting an anti-gay marriage amendment that you're 100 percent bigoted and that's probably true to a limited degree, but check out an earlier post I wrote on this as well as a few more quotes from the man himself:
Here's Haggard in the Colorado Springs Independent:
"If the state wants to provide people who are in a different type of relationship the same benefits as marriage, that's up to the community," he says. "As a Christian, I would be hesitant to do anything that would deny people medical insurance or the ability to visit their partner in a hospital."
Another:
"We believe within the church that sexuality should be only between a married man and a woman," Haggard says. "But there are many things that I teach in the church that I would never want integrated into civil law."
Like I said, the news is still breaking and while the escort of the moment has agreed to take a lie detector test, the voicemail messages and the letter are still under wraps.
If this is true, this is a. big. deal. Pastor Ted has become one of the go to guys for national media looking to take the pulse of the almighty evangelical voting block. Pastor Ted's church has been the subject of a Harper's piece, a Tom Brokaw segment and numerous other stories.
Stay tuned as this thing will either explode nationally or disintegrate in the next 24 hours...
(Hat tip to Colorado Confidential.)
READ MORE: 2006, Rick Santorum, James Dobson, Supreme Court
There's really only one story here in Colorado at the moment....
The president of The National Association of Evangelicals and founding pastor of the 14,000 member New Life Church, Ted Haggard, has been accused of having a relationship with a 49 year-old gay male escort for the last three years.
Given the timing, it sure does smell like a smear especially with a gay marriage amendment on the ballot here in Colorado. But.... Pastor Ted has "temporarily" resigned from his posts both at the NAE and at New Life Church. While this is not a guilty plea, it doesn't look good.
New Life Church also cancelled a rally in support of Pastor Ted organized by another Colorado Springs pastor slated for this afternoon. That doesn't look good either.
The escort in question, a Mr. Mike Jones, claims he has recorded voicemail messages from Haggard and a letter from him containing $200.00 in cash. The evidence hasn't been released yet.
Here's the thing about Haggard: while he does support the anti-gay marriage amendment he's not as strident in his rhetoric about gays as so many other figures on the Christian right. For example, Haggard was in support of the 2003 Supreme Court decision to overturn the sodomy laws. He's also said that he wouldn't advocate positions that would make it harder for people to get health insurance or visit their partners in the hospital.
Based on the scant evidence that's been released, my thinking is this: If you're perpetrating a fictional smear, why not go after a fervently anti-gay figure? There's no shortage to choose from in this state. Why choose a Pastor who, however well known, isn't really as bad as Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Rick Santorum, etc... I mean, if you're going to lie you've got your choice of targets. Why this one?
I know some might think that if you're supporting an anti-gay marriage amendment that you're 100 percent bigoted and that's probably true to a limited degree, but check out an earlier post I wrote on this as well as a few more quotes from the man himself:
Here's Haggard in the Colorado Springs Independent:
"If the state wants to provide people who are in a different type of relationship the same benefits as marriage, that's up to the community," he says. "As a Christian, I would be hesitant to do anything that would deny people medical insurance or the ability to visit their partner in a hospital."
Another:
"We believe within the church that sexuality should be only between a married man and a woman," Haggard says. "But there are many things that I teach in the church that I would never want integrated into civil law."
Like I said, the news is still breaking and while the escort of the moment has agreed to take a lie detector test, the voicemail messages and the letter are still under wraps.
If this is true, this is a. big. deal. Pastor Ted has become one of the go to guys for national media looking to take the pulse of the almighty evangelical voting block. Pastor Ted's church has been the subject of a Harper's piece, a Tom Brokaw segment and numerous other stories.
Stay tuned as this thing will either explode nationally or disintegrate in the next 24 hours...
(Hat tip to Colorado Confidential.)
Church Leader Says Haggard Admits To Some Indiscretions
Interim Senior Pastor Says Haggard Admits Indiscretions -- Raw Interview
Ted Haggard Accused
Colorado Springs
Updated: 12:26 AM Nov 3, 2006
11 News
A sudden about-face in the scandal facing New Life Church's pastor.
After Pastor Ted Haggard went public Wednesday night denying allegations of a homosexual affair, senior church officials told KKTV 11News Thursday evening, Pastor Ted Haggard has admitted to some of the claims made by a former male escort. The church's Acting Senior Pastor, Ross Parsley, tells KKTV 11 News that Pastor Haggard has admitted to some of the indiscretions claimed by Mike Jones, but not all of them.
Thursday morning, Jones went on a Denver radio talk show and said Pastor Haggard paid him for sex over the past 3 years. Jones also claims Haggard used drugs with him.
Right now, the situation is under investigation by an independent panel of leaders from four outside churches. The leaders are from Colorado Springs, Larkspur, Westminster and Louisiana. The panel's role is to decide if Haggard will be exonerated, released from his duties or restored to his pastorship.
Earlier Thursday, Haggard resigned as President of the National Association of Evangelicals, and placed himself on administrative leave as head of New Life Church. New Life Church has an estimated 14,000 members, while the NAE claims roughly 30 million members.
Interim Senior Pastor Says Haggard Admits Indiscretions -- Raw Interview
Ted Haggard Accused
Colorado Springs
Updated: 12:26 AM Nov 3, 2006
11 News
A sudden about-face in the scandal facing New Life Church's pastor.
After Pastor Ted Haggard went public Wednesday night denying allegations of a homosexual affair, senior church officials told KKTV 11News Thursday evening, Pastor Ted Haggard has admitted to some of the claims made by a former male escort. The church's Acting Senior Pastor, Ross Parsley, tells KKTV 11 News that Pastor Haggard has admitted to some of the indiscretions claimed by Mike Jones, but not all of them.
Thursday morning, Jones went on a Denver radio talk show and said Pastor Haggard paid him for sex over the past 3 years. Jones also claims Haggard used drugs with him.
Right now, the situation is under investigation by an independent panel of leaders from four outside churches. The leaders are from Colorado Springs, Larkspur, Westminster and Louisiana. The panel's role is to decide if Haggard will be exonerated, released from his duties or restored to his pastorship.
Earlier Thursday, Haggard resigned as President of the National Association of Evangelicals, and placed himself on administrative leave as head of New Life Church. New Life Church has an estimated 14,000 members, while the NAE claims roughly 30 million members.
Dobson Criticizes Media For Reporting Haggard Allegation
Focus Chairman Calls Coverage of Unsubstantiated Rumor 'Unconscionable'
11/2/2006 1:40:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: State Desk
Contact: Gary Schneeberger of Focus on the Family, 719-548-5853, or culturalissues@family.org
COLORADO SPRINGS. Nov. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Focus on the Family founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today addressing an allegation by a male prostitute in Denver that Ted Haggard was one of his clients:
"It is unconscionable that the legitimate news media would report a rumor like this based on nothing but one man's accusation. Ted Haggard is a friend of mine and it appears someone is trying to damage his reputation as a way of influencing the outcome of Tuesday's election -- especially the vote on Colorado's marriage-protection amendment -- which Ted strongly supports.
"He has shown a great deal of grace under these unfortunate circumstances, quickly turning this matter over to his church for an independent investigation. That is a testament to the character I have seen him exhibit over and over again through the years."
http://www.usnewswire.com/
Focus Chairman Calls Coverage of Unsubstantiated Rumor 'Unconscionable'
11/2/2006 1:40:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: State Desk
Contact: Gary Schneeberger of Focus on the Family, 719-548-5853, or culturalissues@family.org
COLORADO SPRINGS. Nov. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Focus on the Family founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today addressing an allegation by a male prostitute in Denver that Ted Haggard was one of his clients:
"It is unconscionable that the legitimate news media would report a rumor like this based on nothing but one man's accusation. Ted Haggard is a friend of mine and it appears someone is trying to damage his reputation as a way of influencing the outcome of Tuesday's election -- especially the vote on Colorado's marriage-protection amendment -- which Ted strongly supports.
"He has shown a great deal of grace under these unfortunate circumstances, quickly turning this matter over to his church for an independent investigation. That is a testament to the character I have seen him exhibit over and over again through the years."
http://www.usnewswire.com/
Thursday, November 02, 2006
November 2, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From New Life Church
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Ted Haggard, Senior Pastor of New Life Church, stated today that he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning." He, therefore, placed himself on administrative leave, pending investigation, spiritual counsel, and a decision by the church's board of overseers. Pastor Haggard said, "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
Under the governing structure of New Life Church, there is a board of overseers consisting of four senior pastors of other congregations. Those overseers have authority to conduct an inquiry, to discipline the senior pastor, to remove him from his position, or to restore him to ministry. The overseers of New Life Church are: Rev. Larry Stockstill, Senior Pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center, in Baker, Louisiana; Rev. Mark Cowart, Senior Pastor of Church For All Nations in Colorado Springs; Rev. Tim Ralph, Senior Pastor of New Covenant Fellowship in Larkspur, Colorado; and Rev. Michael Ware, Senior Pastor of Victory Church in Westminister, Colorado.
In the interim, New Life Church Associate Senior Pastor, Rev. Ross Parsley, will serve as Acting Senior Pastor of the church. Rev. Parsley has served in senior ministry positions at New Life Church for fifteen years. Rev. Parsley requested the community's compassion and prayers for the person who came forward with accusations, for the Haggard family, and for the New Life Church community. He also said, "New Life Church long ago adopted an overseer model of governance for situations just like this. People need to be patient and allow this process to unfold as it was designed to do."
Pastor Haggard also resigned today as President of the National Association of Evangelicals.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From New Life Church
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rev. Ted Haggard, Senior Pastor of New Life Church, stated today that he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations made on Denver talk radio this morning." He, therefore, placed himself on administrative leave, pending investigation, spiritual counsel, and a decision by the church's board of overseers. Pastor Haggard said, "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
Under the governing structure of New Life Church, there is a board of overseers consisting of four senior pastors of other congregations. Those overseers have authority to conduct an inquiry, to discipline the senior pastor, to remove him from his position, or to restore him to ministry. The overseers of New Life Church are: Rev. Larry Stockstill, Senior Pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center, in Baker, Louisiana; Rev. Mark Cowart, Senior Pastor of Church For All Nations in Colorado Springs; Rev. Tim Ralph, Senior Pastor of New Covenant Fellowship in Larkspur, Colorado; and Rev. Michael Ware, Senior Pastor of Victory Church in Westminister, Colorado.
In the interim, New Life Church Associate Senior Pastor, Rev. Ross Parsley, will serve as Acting Senior Pastor of the church. Rev. Parsley has served in senior ministry positions at New Life Church for fifteen years. Rev. Parsley requested the community's compassion and prayers for the person who came forward with accusations, for the Haggard family, and for the New Life Church community. He also said, "New Life Church long ago adopted an overseer model of governance for situations just like this. People need to be patient and allow this process to unfold as it was designed to do."
Pastor Haggard also resigned today as President of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Evangelical leader hit with sex claims
By CATHERINE TSAI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The leader of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man in monthly trysts over the past three years.
The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."
The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.
Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: "Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife."
In a written statement, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
Haggard, a 1978 graduate of Oral Roberts University, was appointed president of the association in March 2003 and has been called one of the most influential evangelical Christians in the nation.
He has participated in conservative Christian leaders' conference calls with White House staffers and lobbied members of Congress last year on U.S. Supreme Court appointees after Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement.
The allegations come as voters in Colorado and seven other states get ready to decide Tuesday on amendments banning gay marriage. Besides the proposed ban on the Colorado ballot, a separate measure would establish the legality of domestic partnerships providing same-sex couples with many of the rights of married couples.
Mike Jones, 49, of Denver told The Associated Press he decided to go public with his allegations because of the political fight. Jones, who said he is gay, said he was upset when he discovered Haggard and the New Life Church had publicly opposed same-sex marriage.
"It made me angry that here's someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex," said Jones, who added that he isn't working for any political group.
Jones, whose allegations were first aired on KHOW-AM radio in Denver, claimed Haggard paid him to have sex nearly every month over three years.
Jones said that he had advertised himself as an escort on the Internet and that a man who called himself Art contacted him. Jones said he later saw the man on television identified as Haggard.
He said that he last had sex with Haggard in August and that he did not warn him before making his allegations this week.
Jones said he has voice mail messages from Haggard, as well as an envelope he said Haggard used to mail him cash, though he declined to make any of it available to the AP.
"There's some stuff on there (the voice mails) that's pretty damning," he said.
Carolyn Haggard, spokeswoman for the New Life Church and the pastor's niece, said a four-member church panel will investigate the allegations. The board has the authority to discipline Haggard, including removing him from ministry work.
"This is really routine when any sort of situation like this arises, so we're prepared," Carolyn Haggard said. "The church is going to continue to serve and be welcoming to our community. That's a priority."
Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs for the evangelicals association, expressed shock.
"Is this something I can imagine of Ted Haggard? No," he said.
By CATHERINE TSAI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The leader of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man in monthly trysts over the past three years.
The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."
The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.
Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: "Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife."
In a written statement, Haggard said: "I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance."
Haggard, a 1978 graduate of Oral Roberts University, was appointed president of the association in March 2003 and has been called one of the most influential evangelical Christians in the nation.
He has participated in conservative Christian leaders' conference calls with White House staffers and lobbied members of Congress last year on U.S. Supreme Court appointees after Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement.
The allegations come as voters in Colorado and seven other states get ready to decide Tuesday on amendments banning gay marriage. Besides the proposed ban on the Colorado ballot, a separate measure would establish the legality of domestic partnerships providing same-sex couples with many of the rights of married couples.
Mike Jones, 49, of Denver told The Associated Press he decided to go public with his allegations because of the political fight. Jones, who said he is gay, said he was upset when he discovered Haggard and the New Life Church had publicly opposed same-sex marriage.
"It made me angry that here's someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex," said Jones, who added that he isn't working for any political group.
Jones, whose allegations were first aired on KHOW-AM radio in Denver, claimed Haggard paid him to have sex nearly every month over three years.
Jones said that he had advertised himself as an escort on the Internet and that a man who called himself Art contacted him. Jones said he later saw the man on television identified as Haggard.
He said that he last had sex with Haggard in August and that he did not warn him before making his allegations this week.
Jones said he has voice mail messages from Haggard, as well as an envelope he said Haggard used to mail him cash, though he declined to make any of it available to the AP.
"There's some stuff on there (the voice mails) that's pretty damning," he said.
Carolyn Haggard, spokeswoman for the New Life Church and the pastor's niece, said a four-member church panel will investigate the allegations. The board has the authority to discipline Haggard, including removing him from ministry work.
"This is really routine when any sort of situation like this arises, so we're prepared," Carolyn Haggard said. "The church is going to continue to serve and be welcoming to our community. That's a priority."
Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs for the evangelicals association, expressed shock.
"Is this something I can imagine of Ted Haggard? No," he said.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
