Believing in something as strongly as Ted does, has much merit. Not many people can claim as much dedication in anything in their life. Before watching this I knew little about him, but what I did know led me to believe he was as hypocritical as his church members. Far from it.

I was part of a christian youth group (Young Life) in high school that was run by some 20-something year-old Christians. As long as I was on the straight and narrow, I was accepted and "popular" in the group. Who, at 14 years old, wouldn't want to hang around good looking older "leaders" and go on overnight trips and vacations with peers. The retreats consisted of water slides, power sailing, ropes courses and of course a large dose of scripture. When I was 14 I met an 18 year old guy in the group. He went to my high school. At first we were strictly friends, but when I was about 15 and he was in college, our friendship grew into a relationship. Because he was in a mainstream college- as opposed to a Christian college, the "evils" of drinking and pre-marital sex ran ramped according to the leaders of the group. Without knowing if I was actually having sex with him, or participating in drinking or other sinful activities, the female leader of the group met with me and informed me that if I didn't stop seeing him (keep in mind, he too was a former Young Life member) that she would no longer talk to me. It was at that moment that I found organized religion to be highly hypocritical. If I wanted to be in the group and stay accepted by the leaders, I either had to lie about my relationship with him or never see him again.

I chose neither and decided to disassociate myself from the group and the leaders. That "faith" that I had, turned to resentment and I chose to live my life free of organized religion.

At 17 I went to college and continued to see my boyfriend. At 18, we moved in together (unmarried) and lived together until we got married 2 years ago. Now I am 28 years old and we have been together for over 10 years. We are both ex-members of Young Life, the group that tried to keep us apart, and instead of attending church on Sundays we choose to live our lives by the principles of kindness, compassion, forgiveness and truth. If I make a mistake, as hard as it may be to admit, I do my best to own up to it and make it right. If I hurt someone's feelings- regardless of how unintentional it was, I try doubly hard to make that person feel good about something. No one is perfect.

The "leader" that gave me that ultimatum recently came to town with her husband (now a pastor) and her 3 kids. Out of the blue she asked if I wanted to stop by and see her. I decided, "eh, why not?". With my wedding pictures in hand, we met for an awkward hour or two. We didn't talk about Young Life or really anything having to do with religion. I thought maybe she would now see that the relationship she so disproved of, actually turned out to be the best thing for me. But; no apology came to fruition.

As I was leaving she said, "It was really nice to see you, I've met so many people throughout the years and I only really keep in touch with certain people". I thought that that was a strange comment, but I also thought for a second that maybe she meant it in a way that included me in those "certain people". I emailed her later that week to thank her for the meeting. I haven't heard from her since.

Hang in there Ted and take it one day at a time. Sometimes that's all you can do. And thank you for taking part in this documentary. There is much to take away from this.

Like what Joe said, it wasn't his being gay (which let's face it, he's at least bi) that ruined his life, it was being so devoted to preaching against what he was. It's sad though, because you can tell he truely believes what he preached, therefore he truely believes that who he is is wrong. Until watching this I'd only seen him as a hypocritical religous nut, but now I can see how hard he struggles to be what he thinks is right in god's eyes. It's a shame such a nice guy who cares so much about his family and others can't be happy with who he is.

Everyone is full of possibility and failure. What drives this religious madness is peooples' willingness to give MONEY and VALIDATION to people who say THEY hold YOUR key to salvation. Whether it's Colorador or Nigeria. Please wake up. If you are looking for a relationship with a higher power, find it. Not through Ted Haggard's wallet. Or anyone else's.

I came upon this video through divine providence.

It is times like these when you really find out who truly ARE brothers and sisters in Christ. And... those who shunned this family who are going through a very, very difficult time are not showing much love, understanding, compassion or support.

How sad to claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and then behave like Pharisees!

Thank you brother Ted and family for your courage, love, and transparency. Thank you for your godly example of how to handle a situation where trust has been broken.

BAM!

quick, succinct and wonderfully witty. Great comment!

Y'know... you can say what you like about religion and fundamentalism and all that... but I gotta hand it to Haggard, he seems like a really nice guy.

He just went through this major thing, a fall from grace, he lost his entire life, and here he is talking about being a bus driver and doing it with a smile. You have to respect that.

It is unique watching the interspliced speeches from the past as it causes me to wonder if he was talking about himself during some of his speeches. As someone who works in the helping profession, god knows there are alot of broken people doing this work who seem to do it out of some motivation to help themselves overcome their own personal flaws.

It that sense, all of these people are no different than Ted. At the end of the day, Ted's greatest flaw was his inability to help himself. Hmmm, put others before yourself, deny yourself, give all your belongings away, etc, etc., I wonder where he gleaned those things. The bible needs a giant disclaimer in it, "ideas in here can be very harmful to your well being - please use with extreme caution".

And to those who claim homosexuality is a sin, they need to educate yourselves. The motivation for old testament anti homosexual commentary came from the perspective within the Jewish faith that in order to survive as a people they needed to procreate, and any lost opportunity - whether via anal sex (buggery), or masturbation (onanism) - meant no children. So of course to motivate people to procreate, they did what still comes so easy to humans, to wish harm and ill will to those who did engage in the behavior, as an attempt to motivate them to do the "right" thing. You know what? 2500 years later, this profundly dumb idea still doesn't work.

In Edinburgh in the 18th century, it was illegal to be homeless and any one caught being homeless was killed. As if being threatened with death made it easier on them to find a home; no, they just went into hiding. Hmmmmm....just like some other people.....???? I wonder who ????

The point being humanity is guilty of being incredibly stupid sometimes, like the people who judge and condemn people with same sex attraction. Shame on all Xians who espouse hateful ideas towards those with a same sex attraction, you should be embarrassed of yourself to believe in a God of love while continuing to perpetuate such destructive ideas throughout humanity "because the bible says so". To those people I say stop allowing others to think for you and start thinking for yourself if you can.

And one more thing - his wife. that is one strong woman. he is blessed to have her. You'd think forgiveness would be the most difficult for her of anyone to give but she gave it anyways. That is love.

Leviticus 18:22-You shall not lie with a male as you would with a femal, it is an abomination.
Lev. 20:13-If there is a man who lies with another man as with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; surely they shall be put to death
1 corinthians 6:9-Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral nor... homosexual offenders... will inherit the kingdom of god
Also romans 1:26-27, 1 timothy 1:8-11, Jude 1:6-7 etc.
Yes, the bible does condemn homosexuality. It goes so far as to say homosexuals should be executed. I guess the gays are lucky its a work of poorly written fiction! Too bad the weak and unintelligent haven't gotten that yet.

Tim. you are not wrong, and i understand why you are frustrated, but the only way to get through to people is to command a response. swearing and commanding wont win anyone over, and this is the problem with that fight, there are too many heated camps. the fact is this, up until, and well past christs time there where homosexuals, and it persisted another 2000 years. it was accepted practice. in no place in the bible, or in any other place in its more modern translations does it dictate that it is wrong, or should be met with death, or any other claims by modern christians. you are putting words in your gods mouth. is that not blasphemy? i would suggest some research into your lord savior before you jump on any band wagons. peace is a worthy goal, why are you ignoring jesus and following war?

this is exactly what organized religion has become, it makes a guy like this have to conform to perfection and doesnt let people express their feelings and slowly drives them crazy untill a crazy scandal like this happens, and for all you intolerant so called "christians" there is absolutly nothing wrong with being gay. Get this into your ignorant heads homosexuality is something that happens in nature and that is the only possible answer what the fuck do you people think, that the devil posseses them and makes them gay? JESUS NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT BEING GAY so fuck anyone who thinks homosexuality is a sin

I find it funny and pathetic how the hostile and spiteful gays scream at the top of their lungs about "Tolerance" and "Acceptance" for THEM and THEIRS....but gloat and drool over the downfall of Ted Haggard and his wife and kid's sufferings that we see here in this film. I mean...how lowlife is THAT.

Don't get me wrong...as a NYC Jewish guy....I am NO fan of Evangelical Christianity. I just find it disgusting that you hypocrites who pound your fists and yell "tolerance" have NONE for others....only for your OWN special interest groups.

He just doesn't get that it was religion itself that ruined his life. He won't accept reality. He's doomed.

Many of us wish Ted had.

I dont understand why everyone turned their back on him? Its forgiveness kind of a big thing for christians? I remember watching all this on the new and thinking "what a dirt bag" because the media made him out to be this sex hungry drug addict. This video shows what a true christian is all about, its easy to trust in God when things are going good, but it's when you are at your lowest point that your faith is truely tested.

If I was Ted, I probably would have put a bullet in my head back in '06.

I am so sorry to hear about what you have gone through - your only sin was being human. To me, you appear to be the only true Christian from the congregation. They were lucky to have you. I pray for your continued healing (and I don't mean from homosexual tendancies) and the health of your family. God bless and hang in there! Your story is valuable to us all. At least it is to me.

Thats the Christian way! Turn the other CHEEK!

Dear Bro. Ted,

I thank God for your broken spirit and contrite heart. I have experienced what you are going through. Not as a Pastor but, just as a man of God with faults and failures like any human being. It's hard when you find out that your friends and church will not restore you but blame you. You as a Pastor have probly restored many and covered many of their sins. So why as sheep when the Pastor falls we can't restore him. I just want to let you know that I am proud to call you my brother in Christ Jesus. You can not save what God has ripped apart. He reveal to you your true friends family. Every man wants a wife as honourable as yours. She is Proverbs 31:10-31 without a doubt. Please, God is still using you through all this right now. The meg-a-church is not a building anymore. It is located at the drug corners, jails, bars, mentally ill hospitals, homeless shelter. Please start your own church and ministry helping the old meg-a-church that never left us...LOST SOULS IN NEED OF HELP FROM JESUS OUR GOD.

I learned this lesson out my failures. That if you tell on yourself, the Devil can never tell on you. But use wisdom who you tell and confide in. Even when I preach I tell on myself. Just so the lost soul out there will know that I can related to their issues. You can relate to the OLD MEG-A-Church.

Please the fire of God is still in you. Do not church goverment or business stop you from preaching the true Word Of God. We need you now as member of the Body of Christ more then before.

I love you brother and your family. And if no one in the body of Christ has asked this of you I will.

PLEASE FORGIVE US BRO. TED...WE FORGIVE YOU!!!

With true love in Cgrist Jesus
Bro. Warren Rudd
HUIOS (Son) of the Living God
Issues of/ or/ and addictions
Ministry for men and women.

I stumbled on this documentary today and it took me a to a place of sadness, but gratitude. I have gratitude for forgiveness and for those that really believe in forgiveness. I have sadness that so many would fall short of the ability to face their own secrets. I work with women in prison and I sit in a room with the most courageous human beings, living out loud their ways of falling short of the human beings they want to be. Sin means, "missing the mark," and not very many people, if any, hit that mark. I would hate to know that I was banished because of my missing the mark, especially when I have, "OUT LOUD," owned it and seek to live in a healthier way, each day. I applaud Mr. & Mrs. Haggard and their children, for allowing their lives to be invaded, even further. And I applaud the amazing people, who created this documentary, for the beautiful way that it gave a message of TRUTH. Thank you!

Please don't yell... or then, please turn off your "CAPS LOCK" in case you don't know that writing in caps is considered as "yelling" throughout the Net.

BTW, lying repeatedly causes distrust, and maintaining in place a person who is not trustworthy can only brings on more distrust in their organization, or faith group.

The bottom line is : you can't spread "faith" if you ain't trustworthy, or ain't "believed to be" trustworthy.

Trust me ;^)

IT'S AMAZING TO ME THE TREATMENT THAT HE GOT FROM HIS CHURCH. WHAT WILL OTHER MEMBER THINK OR FEEL WHEN THEY MAKE A MISTAKE? THAT WHEN YOUMAKE A MISTAKE YOUR KICKED OUT OF THE CHURCH. wHAT HAPPEN TO THE LOVE AND COMPASSION THAT THEY PREACH ABOUT? wHERE IS THE SUPPORT AFTER ALL THE SERVICE HE GAVE THE CHURCH. HE WASN'T REBELLING, HE WANTED HELP, DIRECTION, AND FREINDSHIP. IT WAS A PERFECT TIME TO LIVE WHAT THEY PREACED. THEY SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HIM UNDER THIER WING AND HELPED HIM UNDERSTAND THAT BESIDES HIS CONFUSION,THERE WAS ONE FACT. THAT HE WAS A CHILD OF GOT WORTHY OF THE ATOMENT OF JESUS CHRIST.THE GOD LOVED HIM, DESPITE HE SIN.THAT HE COULD BE REDEEMED FOR HIS FALLEN STATE. THAT GOD WOULD HELP HIM OVERCOME HIS WEAKNESSES. HE SOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF TO DO WHEN YOU FALL AND HOW TO GET BACK. SO THAT OTHERS MAY TAKE COURAGE IN THEIR WEAKNESSES. I BELIEVE THERE IS A LOVING AND KIND HEAVENLY FATHER WHO LOVES US. THAT WHEN WE FALL HE IS THERE CRYING WITH US. THAT HE ENCOURAGES US TO OVERCOME.NO MATTER WHAT. HE IS OUR FRIEND AND OUR FATHER. I KNOW THIS IN MY HEART AND IN MY SOUL.IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST,AMEN.

I am not amazed by his actions but by the surprise of the parishioners and media. The leaders of the evangelical church historically have been lairs, cheaters, and hypocrites. From Aimee Semple McPherson in the 1930's to Ted Haggard, Tony Alamo, Jim Bakker, Jimmie Swaggart, John Paulk, the list goes on and on and on the Christians have been deceived. The evangelical church goers are sheep led by wolves. To think this power of closed minded, bigoted hatred is all in the name of god and led by some of the most pathetic men and women of our time.

Ask the question next time they ask for money, is my pastor living like Jesus? has he shed is earthly possessions? has he taken a vow of poverty? or is he driving his Cadillac to a giant mega church to ask for more money in the name of Jesus. Or better yet ask yourself why am I being asked to pay for gods love.

i think ted needs to change his way of thinking. become open to pastoring to gay people and ask them to forgive him.

man i actually feel bad for the guy now,

my parents loved this guy. Denver natives. This is just crazy.

I find my strength of believing in God comes from the many other people that have been indoctrinated the same as I have , , , by asking them if they to believe as I do, They confirm to me that they do. By using Logic this means our belief must be true, We cant all be wrong! – Its sad to think about all the People out their that follow this reasoning. The truth is > Teaching Religion = Traumatizing your child for life. Destroying their self-esteem. Teaching simple human nature is sinful and will surly end you up in a Fiery Lake for all time. Matthew 5:28/5:29 - Teaching Faith Retards the Brain. To except something as truth with out evidence or reason, sets your child up to be easy Prey to swindlers, conmen, and unscrupulous opportunist of all sorts.

I am a pastor and an evangelical. THis documentary made me realize that the church does not always reflect it's mission to feed the hungry and visit the prisons and clothe the naked. Most importantly,if we believe in restoration, it involves walking through the valley of the shadows with our brothers. Tonight, I pray for Ted and Gayle that God would bless them. Every christian should watch this and learn from the path of the outcasts.

IT IS NOT A CRIME TO BE GAY!!!!

If he is gay he should come out and be proud of who he is. It is sad that now he feels like a second rate citizen. The religion he preaches says that being gay is evil. This way of thinking is disgusting and should not be tolerated in a modern westernised country like the US. It is like saying being black or being Jewish is evil, millions of people in history have died to stop this kind of thinking.

Ted Haggart you should stand up for who you are and be proud of who you are. The only question you should ask yourself is why you still believe in the religion you preach.

WOW-! Strange... There was always something about him I never really trusted. When all this came out though, I told some friends-"See, I told you so..." I believe in Christ, in Jesus, and I know others don't and thats ok. My belief, for me works and that is all I can say about that. I do know, however, my negative feelings toward him were right, but now I love him in the Lord, and I want to help him. I will pray for him and maybe all people: straight, gay, religious, non-religious, tall people, short people etc. will show they will forgive a man they either hated or loved and reach out to him and his family because simply, they need it.
In my Christian narrative it is all about forgiveness-"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God..." That Church should be ashamed of itself. The sin that Haggard did was in his own name; the sin the Church 'fathers' did was in the name of God... what a shame-!! I want to help my brother in Christ.... (even if he is GAY-! So what! Let Christ work in all of us-!

I DONT BELIEVE WHAT TED HAGGARD DID WAS RIGHT ,BUT HE IS HUMAN AND WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE HIM.THE REACTION OF THE CHURCH I FEEL WAS TOO EXTREME AND IM SO GLAD THAT GOD IS NOT LIKE MAN. THE CHILDREN AND THE WIFE DID NOTHING WRONG BUT THE CHURCH DIDNT TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. IT IS NOT LOVE TO FORCE A MAN AND INNOCENT CHILDREN OUT OF A CITY! WHERE IS THE LOVE? I DONT AGREE WITH WHAT HE DID ,BUT HE REPENTED! ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE HIM BUT CAUSING HIS WIFE AND KIDS TO BE HOMELESS IS IN MY OPINION WRONG!HE THAT IS SPIRITUAL SHOULD RESTORE.

The Fag prostitute that sodomized Haggard did this whole thing for money and fame. He is as bad as Haggard was in hypocrisy. The fag call boy takes it up the ass for money and sells Meth....and he has a book deal with Barnes and Noble?

Sad...

All religions are successful sects and there's nothing to be proud of being part of a sectarian organization... Indoctrination is a self inflicted (sometimes initiated by surrounding adults when you're young) brain cancer propagated by sects and religions... It's a crime against humanity to let them teach all their ridiculous unproven beliefs like it's the absolute truth... Gullible people destroy their life and the life of those surrounding them because we (the skeptics) don't want to diminish personal freedom... The thing is that freedom should end when responsibility begins...

I am afraid that Born Again Christianity is a very big fraud. Born Again people go to church every Sunday in T-Shirts, Flip Flops and Blue Jeans. They sit and get entertained by Pseudo Religious "Praise" Music....listen to a 30 min sermon...and then rush like HELL to get to Cracker Barrel first. They have NO spiritual depth at all.

As a Muslim I am SHOCKED by the Biblical ignorance of so many "born again" Christians. They find American Idol FAR more interesting than the Gospel.

What a Joke!

It is no wonder that so many Born Again Christian Leaders are falling into the pit year after year.

Sad FAKE religion......

Maybe in fairytale land, but in reality this is religion at its core. Politics, greed, and nothing else.

You guys are really wondering why his church exiled, excommunicated him? Like Ted said himself from being at the top with first hand experience, it's a business. Ted was the product they were selling. He proved to be their most profitable product before the scandal, Once at all hit the fan, they knew there would be no more buyers, and to ensure they kept the image of their other products in tact, they booted him.

It ultimately has nothing to do with forgiveness, reconciliation, or even the message of Christ. It's all about the money.

I am a christian... and i think is wrong what they did to him.. is not christian like, even tho what he did, but people that called themselves christian are going over the top, over what real christianity is about.

You dont throw a family out on the streets just because of his mistake, and church is not a bussiness.. everyone makes mistakes and nobody is perfect.

People are being cruel, and does people are not even worthy to call themselves christian, because if your are real christian you forgive and try to understand!

Frankly, I am no fan of evangelical preachers though I am a conservative Christian. However, I must commend both Mr. Haggard and Ms. Pelosi for such an unusual collaboration.

I ended up with a begrudging admiration for Mr. Haggard and I thought that, especially in light of the current doings with Gov. Sanford in South Carolina, he handled his self-inflicted humiliation with real dignity. No fake mea culpas. No excuses. No self pity.

And there must be something about Alexandra Pelosi that evokes trust from her subjects and she certainly didn't betray that trust by trying to further humiliate her subject.

The bottom line is that I am glad I watched this.

If this guy would renounce his RELIGION instead of his sexual ORIENTATION, I'd hire him in a heartbeat.

He does seem like a good guy, but I can only feel badly for him so much, as he is now experiencing what many gay men and women suffer even now...justified by religion that teaches judgement, discrimination, hate...I've always wondered why religion seems to have pick homosexuality as the "ultimate" sin...I mean with so many other transgressions admonsished, why this one? I do believe things are changing, slowly...it wasn't very long ago the Church preach racial discrimination in the South prior to the mid-sixties and gender discriminatin against women at the turn of the last century...we seem to be making some progress

Only in america ..

Isn't religion about forgiveness, reconciliation, and not passing judgment? Its hard to believe that a place that boasts such morality and godliness would turn its back on someone who needed them the most at the time he needed them most.

Ok, so he is gay. Who cares? A religion that not only says it's wrong to be who you are, but that attempts to supress who you are, is truly evil.
He lied, we all do, or we all have at some point. I understand it's complicated due to the fact that he was such a big public figure, but let's get real, being human means messing up, acknowledgeing it, and taking the necessary steps to move on and forgive yourself.

i came here wanting to laugh at a fallen "holy man" to prop up my own beliefs about a tired superstition.
instead it was a story of a genuinely likeable man scorned by his peers for something that seems completely natural to my mind... well, maybe the crystal meth, not so much.
he just wanted some dude on dude friction. no harm, no foul.
burned by the church, at least it wasn't literal.

My heart go out to him. He is a good man. Its just that there are many "American" religious extremist out there. Like they said. The higher you go; the harder you fall.