Haggards Buddy

[slacker]

Irregular News for 12.20.06

 

Colorado Springs, CO -- A pastor who worked with young adults at New Life Church has resigned after admitting sexual misconduct and other mistakes just weeks after former church leader Ted Haggard stepped down over sexual immorality, church officials said.

 

Christopher Beard, who headed the TwentyFourSeven ministry that taught leadership skills to young adults, resigned Friday after admitting sexual misconduct and other mistakes, said Rob Brendle, an associate pastor at the 14,000-member church.

 

Brendle said Beard told church officials about "a series of decisions displaying poor judgment, including one incident of sexual misconduct several years ago." The church said in a statement that the misconduct was with another unmarried adult several years ago. Beard, who worked with the church for nine years, has since married.

 

The resignation was reported Monday by The Denver Post and The Gazette in Colorado Springs. Brendle did not immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press, and a residential phone number listed in Beard's name was disconnected.

 

According to the Church Web site, Beard has a business degree from Oral Roberts University and a Masters in Christian Counseling. Beard also worked at one of the nation's leading mental institutions as a psychotherapist before coming to New Life Church and TwentyFourSeven. Beard was also the Missions Pastor of New Life Church, and has led mission trips to 53 countries.

 

His photo and bio were removed from the Web site by Monday.

 

Church leadership asked its outside Board of Overseers to examine the "spiritual character" of the 200 staff members after Haggard resigned last month from the church and as president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

 

Haggard acknowledged he paid Mike Jones, of Denver, for a massage and for methamphetamine, but he said he did not have sex with him and did not use the drug. Jones has said Haggard paid him regularly for sex. Haggard and his wife, Gayle Haggard, are undergoing three weeks of counseling at an undisclosed center in Arizona.

 

Brendle said Beard discussed his misconduct during a meeting with the Board of Overseers, which is made up of four pastors from other congregations.

 

"We recognize there will be increased scrutiny of our church in the wake of the scandal," Brendle said. "We welcome that process in order to reinforce the high standard of personal integrity and morality that has characterized New Life's employees for 22 years."

 

The Rev. Ross Parsley, New Life's acting senior pastor, told congregants on Sunday that there would be changes in the coming weeks as a result of the overseers' investigation to restore integrity.

 

"The community deserves it and God demands it," Parsley said.

 

Beard was reprimanded by the church in 2002, when police came to break up a TwentyFourSeven training exercise he led in the church's parking lot involving fake assault rifles.

 

source

[AR Husker Fan]

 

I must confess - I do love to see these pompous, self-rightous bastards suffering for the very "sins" for which they condem others.

 

I guess they forgot the quote, "Cast no stone lest ye be without sin"...

 

[Chef K]

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

According to the Church Web site, Beard has a business degree from Oral Roberts University

Not Surprised........

 

Haggard acknowledged he paid Mike Jones, of Denver, for a massage and for methamphetamine, but he said he did not have sex with him and did not use the drug.

 

Then why?