Pastor Ted, in trouble again, on HBO again
FREE Catholic Classes
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - The premise for the first one was strange enough: Alexandra Pelosi, filmmaker, daughter of the Speaker of the House, not much of a believer by her own admission, palling around with fundagelicals while making a HBO documentary about them called "Friends of God."
Highlights
Her secret weapon in making that film _ and its sequel, airing this week on HBO _ was the Rev. Ted Haggard, a hugely successful pastor in Colorado and president of the National Association of Evangelicals. While another film, "Jesus Camp," depicted Haggard as a kinda creepy fire-and-brimstone type, Pelosi found him to be helpful, accommodating and, well, fun.
"If 'Friends of God' is able to overcome the doubters and become a useful document of today's Bible Belt, much of the credit must go to Haggard," I wrote in 2007. "Pelosi said he took her into his family and on trips through the evangelical world; opened doors to Jerry Falwell, who allowed her to film inside his Thomas Road Baptist Church; and turned her on to subculture phenomena like Christian wrestling, which looks just like the blood-and-guts version on cable TV, except there's an altar call at the end."
But just as she was putting the finishing touches on that film, a scandal brought down Pastor Ted. He admitted to having sex with a male escort (and church volunteer) and purchasing crystal meth from him. One of those will get you kicked out of your pulpit. The other, apparently, gets you kicked out of Colorado.
"The Trials of Ted Haggard," Pelosi's new documentary airing at 8 p.m. EST Thursday on HBO, offers glimpses into the ex-pastor's new life since leaving New Life, the megachurch he built. At about 40 minutes running time, "Trials" cannot offer a comprehensive overview of Haggard's nearly two years of exile since losing his pastorate.
Pelosi's film is long on sympathy and short on insight. We learn that Haggard agreed to leave the state, along with his wife Gayle and two teenage sons, even though it would require them to shuffle from one supporter's spare bedroom to the next. We learn that the gay escort, Mike Jones, is milking his fame for what it's worth.
Word of the impending documentary's telecast, however, seems to be the impetus for a second man to come forward alleging that Haggard, while still pastor of New Life, had an inappropriate relationship with him. The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports that the victim, who received a generous cash payout from the church (which is calling it "compassionate assistance"), plans to hold a news conference next Monday. Meanwhile, an HBO spokesman tells me that there will be a graphic tacked onto the end of "The Trials of Ted Haggard" explaining "that since the completion of the film, additional allegations have surfaced about Ted Haggard's inapproproriate sexual behavior."
Pelosi's film is notable for what it doesn't tell us, either: that Haggard received cash and parting gifts worth nearly $1 million, if you count the house he left behind but still owns. (In the real world, an asset you can't enjoy for a few years is known as "retirement.") And only at the very end of the documentary are we told that the Haggards were cleared to reoccupy their house, if not their old church home.
On the other hand, it was clearly degrading for Ex-Pastor Ted to be carting around his worldly effects in the back of a minivan and interview for menial jobs. And I'm sure the humiliations of being dragged through the news cycle a few times _ not to mention explaining to one's children why their comfortable lives have suddenly turned into the movie "Running on Empty" _ are genuine.
But none of that is really what this film is about. "The Trials of Ted Haggard," at its core, is about denial. Strip away all the particulars of his subculture and Haggard's response to his ordeal is a very American one. It's a bump in the road, a speck in his eye, a New Testament thorn in his Old Testament side. He's not letting it get him down, even as he calls himself a "loser" and berates himself for not developing a just-in-case second career along the way. He's still in a great marriage; he's not underqualified, he's overqualified; and as for this health insurance he's selling door-to-door _ well, it just might be the best policy he's ever seen.
Haggard is not letting his struggles shake his faith in God, nor is Gayle the least regretful about her decision to marry Ted. I find this wholly admirable. Less admirable is the worldview they cling to, one that sees homosexuality as something to be avoided at all costs.
Though it's clear that his much-publicized attempt to "pray the gay away" was less than a resounding success for Haggard, and he now considers his sexuality to be a complex matter, nothing he says to Pelosi challenges the conservative evangelical credo of hetero today, hetero tomorrow, hetero forever.
___
Aaron Barnhart is online at tvbarn.com.
___
© 2009, The Kansas City Star.
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Come Holy Spirit! The Whole Church Needs Pentecost
-
Our Lady of Fatima asks the same thing of us today
-
Embracing the Light of Our Lady of Fatima on Her Feast Day
-
Mother's Day and the Gift of Mary as Mother
-
How Molecular Biology Sheds Light on The Catholic Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and ...
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Wednesday, May 15, 2024
- St. Dymphna: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, May 15, 2024
- Prayer to St. Gabriel, for Others: Prayer of the Day for Friday, May 10, 2024
- Daily Readings for Tuesday, May 14, 2024
- St. Matthias: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, May 14, 2024
- Prayer for Travelers: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, May 09, 2024
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.