(RNS) Former evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who left the ministry after being caught in a sex and drug scandal, said Thursday (Nov. 12) that the start of a prayer meeting in his Colorado home is a sign of his “resurrection” but not necessarily of a new church.
“For the people who come tonight, that means they believe in the resurrection in me,” Haggard told reporters before the start of the meeting in Colorado Springs, the Associated Press reported. “Because I died. I was buried.”
Haggard was dismissed from Colorado Spring’s New Life Church in 2006 for “sexually immoral conduct” after a male escort said he had given him massages and sold him methamphetamine. The former pastor also resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Haggard expected fewer than 20 people for the meeting but more than 100 showed up, The Denver Post reported. While he intends to hold regular prayer meetings, Haggard said he doesn’t plan to start a new congregation.
“I don’t have that hope,” Haggard said. “I was a 28-year-old boy when I started (New Life).”
But he also said that at age 53, he realizes things can occur unpredictably.
Pastor Brady Boyd of New Life Church commented briefly on Haggard’s activities in a statement released on the eve of the prayer meeting, the AP reported.
“New Life Church will always be grateful for the many years of dedicated leadership from Ted Haggard and we wish him and his family only the best,” Boyd said.
By Adelle M. Banks
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.