Ted Haggard Starting New Church in His Living Room

Ted Haggard is back in the church business:

"Haggard will hold his first gathering at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at his house at 1865 Old Ranch Road. He referred to it as a 'prayer meeting,' but said it would also be correct to call it a church. The gathering will include music and an offering to New Life Church. Haggard also will give a talk about the power of prayer. Although Haggard said just recently he had no plans to start a church, he changed his mind two weeks ago after talking to a friend in Florida who was involved in prayer meetings. Haggard anticipates that 10 to 20 people will show up, and said he has no expectations of building his new enterprise into something on the scale of New Life. 'For this prayer meeting, I have no goals,' he said. 'I have no secret hope that more people will come. I am not driven as I was. Before I focused on the Great Commission. Now I focus on helping other people.'”

Flashback...
Evangelical Leader Ted Haggard Steps Down After Gay Escort Claims [tr]
Ted Haggard Voicemails Analyzed; Pastor Admits to Indiscretions [tr]
Mike Jones Fails Lie Detector Test on Ted Haggard [tr]
Ted Haggard: Bought Meth, Didn't Use It; Received Massage, No Sex [tr]
Ted Haggard Letter: "I am Guilty...a Deceiver and a Liar" [tr]

James Dobson Resigns Chairmanship of 'Focus on the Family'

James Dobson, who stepped down as president and CEO of the Colorado Springs-based anti-gay group Focus on the Family six years ago, has resigned as chairman, the AP reports:

"Dobson notified the board of his decision Wednesday, and the 950 employees of the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry were informed Friday morning at a monthly worship service, said Jim Daly, the group's president and chief executive officer. Dobson, 72, will continue to host Focus on the Family's flagship radio program, write a monthly newsletter and speak out on moral issues, Daly said. Dobson's resignation as board chairman 'lessens his administrative burden' and is the latest step in a succession plan, the group said."

Said Dobson: "One of the common errors of founder-presidents is to hold to the reins of leadership too long, thereby preventing the next generation from being prepared for executive authority, though letting go is difficult after three decades of intensive labor, it is the wise thing to do."

GLAAD President Neil Giuliano released a statement in response to the news: "For more than 20 years, James Dobson has used his expansive, well-funded media platform to promote defamatory and false information about the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. As Dobson resigns from his role as chairman, it is important to remember his history of false and defamatory claims about our community. GLAAD urges the media to not allow Dobson to turn today's news into yet another media platform for him to advance his intolerant divisive attacks on gay and lesbian Americans and their families."

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Jury out on Boy George.

Following the announcement yesterday of a forthcoming lawsuit from fired HR administrator Crystal Dixon, University of Toledo president Dr. Lloyd Jacobs reiterates the school's position with regard to sexual orientation in the Toledo Free Press.

Little Britain creator Matt Lucas got a new boytoy for Christmas.

Secret gay party outed in Mongolia: "On November 15, an intentionally hidden and exclusive party was held at Amazon Club, in Bayazurkh Palace. Gay men, lesbian women, bisexual and transgender individuals (LGBT), and friends of these minorities, congregated to socialize with one another and to celebrate their sexual identities. The main festivity was the annual 'Mr. Beauty' contest. With a pool of eleven male-to-female cross-dressers, judges determined who made the most beautiful woman through a sequence of swimsuit, gown, and talent competitions...The party’s secret location (which changes each month and is not released until a few days before the event) and the strict security guards, were not enough to maintain LGBT privacy in the insular capital. One week after ‘Mr. Beauty’, a post on a Mongolian website revealed the existence of the party, and disclosed names of attendees. Few positive, and many negative comments were posted in response."

Twitter turns down $500 million Facebook offer.

Gay City News: Gay men being targeted unfairly in arrest stings as justification to shut down adult-oriented shops in Manhattan.

Conservative Episcopal church leaders announce intention to found rival denomination: "Conservatives alienated from the Episcopal Church announced on Wednesday that they were founding their own rival denomination, the biggest challenge yet to the authority of the Episcopal Church since it ordained an openly gay bishop five years ago. The move threatens the fragile unity of the Anglican Communion, the world’s third-largest Christian body, made up of 38 provinces around the world that trace their roots to the Church of England and its spiritual leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury."

Nominees for the 2009 Grammy Awards announced.

Students at University of Colorado in Colorado Springs hold "safety" rally to battle back against verbal and physical harassment: "The rally was related to a recent rift between student body president David Williams and the campus' gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group, Spectrum. Williams declined to sign off on a Spectrum funding request for a National Coming Out Day observance in October, citing his personal convictions."

Coming soon: RuPaul's Drag Race.

Gay organizations making recession-based staff cuts: "At Lambda Legal, 10 positions were cut last month. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation laid off several staff members Nov. 21. The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force has left open unfilled positions, and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association recently reduced its national staff from seven to two. GLAAD President Neil Giuliano said the cuts at his organization 'touched all departments,' but did not reach 'double digits.'...He said a reduction in donations coupled with the nation’s ongoing financial crisis meant that GLAAD had to make job cuts to stay within budget and prepare for 2009."

Brody Jenner with his first two bromances.

James Franco is so hot he'd like to rip his own shirt off.

Noise pollution in world's oceans hurting wildlife.

Right Whale causes shutdown of Cape Cod Canal: "Authorities said the 45-foot whale swam into the Sagamore end of the canal at about 12:30 p.m. today. The Army Corps of Engineers — which operates the canal — ordered it closed to avoid a collision between the animal and a ship. The waterway was reopened at about 3 p.m. after the whale swam into Buzzards Bay."

South African writer to face Equality Court for homophobic Sunday Sun article: "The article equated homosexuality with bestiality, praised Robert Mugabe's oppression of gays and lesbians and encouraged the removal of the sexual-orientation protection clause from the constitution. In July, the Press Ombudsman ordered the Sunday Sun to apologise for the article but fell short of declaring the piece hate speech and refused to recommend any sanctions against Qwelane himself."

Charlie and Marcus from Survivor won't be pairing up on The Amazing Race till they're household names, apparently. Casting director: "With Rob and Amber, they met on the reality show, they were engaged. They were not at a crossroads, but they were getting married and they had a lot of issues to work out. And also they were household names. Let’s see, if Charlie and Marcus become household names, maybe. I think that’s the difference, too."

Ted Haggard 'Restored' to Colorado Springs

Though various reports have been published on the whereabouts of deposed megachurch pastor Ted Haggard — that he had moved to Arizona and that he had "quit" a "spiritual restoration program" he had agreed to undergo last February — current New Life pastor Brandon Boyd said Haggard had moved back to Colorado Springs where he was in "private business."

Haggard was forced from his position as the head of the megachurch following his admission of "sexually immorality" after escort Mike Jones came forward saying the pastor paid him for sex over a period of three years. Jones also said Haggard bought methamphetamine, which Haggard admitted he bought but didn't use.

Said Boyd: "They have moved back and they live in the original house that they lived in for many years."

The Gazette of Colorado Springs attempted to contact him personally:

"'I can't talk to you. I am forbidden from talking to the media,' Haggard said Saturday evening after answering the doorbell at his home on Old Ranch Road in north Colorado Springs. He declined to elaborate. Haggard and his wife, Gayle, are still listed as the owners of the five-bedroom, three-bath home, whose market value was assessed at $715,000 earlier this year, according to the El Paso County Assessor's Office. It sits behind a gated entrance on 5.1 acres two miles from the 14,000-member megachurch Haggard founded in his basement...Haggard's gate stood open at the time of the visit, about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Water was burbling from an electric fountain in the front yard, and five vehicles sat near a multi-car garage, including two motorcycles and a cream Cadillac Escalade."

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Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. wins bid for Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal: "Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. sealed a $5 billion agreement to purchase the publisher of The Wall Street Journal after three months of drama in the controlling family and public debate about journalistic values. One of the oldest and best-known franchises in the newspaper industry, beset in recent years by business pressures, now enters a new era as part of a world-wide media conglomerate. The 76-year-old Mr. Murdoch, whose properties range from the Fox television network to the Times of London, negotiated hard to win the paper he long coveted. He has promised to invest more in Dow Jones journalism."

Sean Hayes to play Bill Gates in "Nerds" musical? "From the writers of the Off-Broadway smash hit The Bomb-itty of Errors and the hot animated TV series 'Robot Chicken' comes a funny and irreverent musical take on the parallel stories of computer pioneers Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as they blaze a path from garage inventors to warring titans of the computer revolution. With its rollicking tunes and brilliantly off-beat humor, Nerds://A Musical Software Satire celebrates the inner nerd within us all!"

Whoopi Goldberg confirmed as new co-host on The View.

Cheney still unwilling to answer which branch of the government he works for.

Some of New York City's cabs of the future are here today...

Gay Pride festival launched by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in Derry, Northern Ireland: "No-one should be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation in the same way that it should not happen because of their age, race or indeed any other characteristic of their being."

Hamptons toga bash brings out Reichen, Ryan, and baby.

Hillary Clinton position on federal funding for needle exchange programs is illustrative of how she, as a candidate, is "informed and bound by her husband's administration."

Man who murdered wife with sledgehammer in 1986 after she threatened to tell his mother he was gay and received 16 years to life in prison for second-degree murder, may be released from prison next month.

Gawker: Why do straight men think they're gay men?

Rocks thrown through window of Colorado Springs Gay and Lesbian Fund building: It was a targeted crime. It was a hateful crime."

Montreal gay couple receives $10,000 after harassment by youths in their neighborhood: "Theo Wouters and Roger Thibault said four youths targeted them because of their sexual orientation. The Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission says the parents of one of the youths must pay the two men $10,000. Three other adolescents who were mentioned in the case now live in Calgary and are not targeted by the ruling of the human rights group. Wouters and Thibault have lived together for more than 30 years and got married a few years ago."

New Life Church Holds 'Day of Hope' for Ted Haggard

Ted Haggard's New Life Church held what they billed a 'Day of Hope' yesterday for the disgraced pastor.

At the Sunday service, Pastor Larry Stockstill, part of the church's board of overseers, told the 14,000-member congregation: "Concerning Ted and his family, we have done extensive fact-finding into his lifelong battle with a 'dark side' which he said in his confession letter has been a struggle for years. We have verified the reality of that struggle through numerous individuals who reported to us firsthand knowledge of everything from sordid conversation to overt suggestions to improper activities to improper relationships. These findings established a pattern of behavior that culminated in the final relationship in which Ted was, as a matter of grace, caught."

Or as a matter of humiliation, depending on how you look at it.