Ted Crystal Meth Oral Sex Haggard Formally Opens St. James Church In Colorado Springs

Ted Haggard Formally Opens St. James Church In Colorado Springs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/12/ted-haggard-formally-open_n_573672.html

Ted Haggard and his wife Gayle formally incorporated their new church, the St. James, in Colorado Springs on Tuesday.

The opening of the new church represents the latest step in a revival of sorts for the controversial former leader of New Life Church, a conservative megachurch with 14,000 parishioners.

In November, 2006, Haggard was forced out of his position at New Life Church after a very public scandal in which he admitted to soliciting oral sex and buying crystal meth from a male prostitute.

Haggard recently started hosting informal prayer groups at his home in Colorado Springs.

According to the Colorado Springs Gazette the new chuch was incorporated primarily "to keep the accounting in order" for money the Haggards received speaking at evangelical churches across the country. The St. James provides a tax structure for the Haggards to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses they incur while speaking at other churches.

Haggard, however, left open the possibility that the St. James will someday become a complete ministry.

In an interview with Denver's 7News in 2009, Haggard indicated his desire to return to religion. Referring to the scandal at New Life, Haggard said, "I went through a horrible time in my life and now we've walked through that we've recovered from it. I know some people that will hold a grudge for 30 or 40 years, that's a fact of life, and I know those are people that will never be in my life again and I regret that."