Prominent anti-gay evangelical Pastor Ted Haggard, the head of a "megachurch" with ties to the White House, stepped down today as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after gay escort Mike Jones claimed he had a three-year "sexual business" relationship with Haggard.

Jones also told a radio show host that he has recorded voicemails and a letter from the pastor, and claims that the Haggard used methamphetamine in his presence on several occasions.

Haggard is the founder of the 14,000-member New Life Church based in Colorado Springs. He is married with five children.

Think Progress notes:

"Haggard is president of the National Association of Evangelicals, representing more than 30 million conservative Christians.

"Time Magazine ranked him as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals and Harper’s contributing editor Jeff Sharlet noted, 'No pastor in America holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism than does Pastor Ted.'"

Haggard also has ties to the White House and claims he has "direct access" to George Bush, and can get the President to return his phone calls within 24 hours.

Here's a video of Haggard preaching against homosexuality from the recent documentary Jesus Camp:

"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.

He has 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."

Rita Healy/Time

tags: christian  evangelical  gay  sex  hypocrisy  homophobia  

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