Haggard Has Friends Over, Calls It A Church

Good old Ted Haggard is in the news again: Haggard starting new church at his Springs home.

Ted Haggard, who started New Life Church in his Colorado Springs basement and built it into a megachurch with thousands of worshippers, said Wednesday that he is starting a church at his home.

"We wanted to do something in our house to connect with friends," said Haggard, whose ties to New Life ended in scandal three years ago with the revelation that he'd been involved with a male prostitute in Denver.

Haggard will hold his first gathering, open to the public, 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.

Some people are just born to be church leaders. They like those tax benefits.

Although Haggard recently indicated he had no plans to start a church, he said he changed his mind two weeks ago after talking to a friend in Florida who was involved in prayer meetings.

Note to Banjo Brad and wormpicker: From now on, our Wednesday night music sessions at my house will be known as "church service." You no longer need to tell your wives that you are going to a poker game.