Remember Ted Haggard? Founder and pastor of Colorado Springs “New Life Church” and president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Ted got caught with a male prostitute in an amphetamine-fueled sexual adventure which cost him his leadership position and six-figure salary. After spending a whole three weeks undergoing “restorative therapy” from which Haggard emerged and declared himself “completely heterosexual”, Teddy high-tailed it out of Colorado for sunny Phoenix, Arizona (too close to home). He and his family came to roost at the Phoenix First Assembly Pentecostal church (PFA) in the north central valley. Coincidentally, the Pastor of PFA, Tommy Barnett was among the counselors during Haggard’s three week hiatus in the Phoenix area at a secular treatment center.
After undergoing rehab (of sorts), Haggard supposedly repudiated his homosexual inclinations, but apparently kept his predatory financial tendencies, for he emailed former parishioners back in Colorado Springs, seeking money to support his new found enterprise in the desert. Claiming an inability to sell a $700k home in Colorado — due to a home market bust — and a desire to minister to sinners at a Phoenix half-way house, while enrolling in college full-time, Ted pleaded for “people who can give a one-time gift or make a commitment to help support us for two years.” (Lots of brass this Teddy has). See a transcript of Haggard’s email message, <<here>>.
Leaders at Phoenix First Assembly took no time denying Haggard’s claim that he would minister to and live with his family at the Phoenix Dream Center halfway house, noting the obvious problem of hiring someone who would fit more comfortably on the other side of the counseling table. Administrators at New Life chastised Haggard’s appeal to its members, in the following statement:
“‘Mr. Haggard’s solicitation for personal support was inappropriate,’ the overseers said in their statement. ‘It was never the intention of the Dream Center that Mr. Haggard would provide any counsel or other ministry. Mr. Haggard will not be moving in or working with the Dream Center. He will not be doing any ministry. He will be seeking secular employment to support himself and his family,’ the statement said.”
So was Haggard delusional when he solicited funds, or was he attempting to defraud his former friends and associates as he begged for financial support?
Strange as this may seem, it gets even more bizarre. Though Haggard gave his family’s Scottsdale, AZ address as one destination for donations, another preferred mail drop, was to an organization called: “Families with a Mission“. Funds sent earmarked for the Haggard family would be fully tax-deductible. However, Families with a Mission (FWAM) filed “Articles of Dissolution” voluntarily on February 23, 2007 according to records by the Colorado Secretary of State. Just type in “Families with a Mission” for the particulars in the Colorado government site link, referenced above.
It should be noted that FWAM has apparently re-relocated back to Hawaii, where they are a legal 501(c)(3) corporate entity in good standing since 2000, according to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) in Hawaii. <<See here.>> FWAM had moved their corporate office to Colorado in 2003 from Hawaii, until they moved back again to Pahoa, Hawaii early in 2007 — (a few months after the Haggard scandal rocked New Life).
The registered agent in Colorado Springs with FWAM while it was solvent, was someone named Paul Huberty , a twice convicted and registered sex offender in Colorado from Hawaii. (See Family Watchdog online). Also note Huberty is listed as an agent for FWAM in the Hawaiian incorporation. <<Again, see here>>.
So maybe Ted did not really find a miracle cure for what ails him after all? We wonder — will former parishioners be duped into throwing money at this con artist? A potential fox is in the hen house in Phoenix, and it will require close monitoring. Tommy Barnett and the PFA bring a notorious penitent under their tutelage, with the prestige associated with celebrity visitors, (much like the boost Barnett got for his support of Jim Bakker upon Bakker’s release from Federal prison, for defrauding his ministry supporters of hundreds of millions of dollars) — but so far the Haggard publicity has been all bad for Barnett and Phoenix First Assembly.
Tags: rabid-right, religious beliefs