Ted Haggard is the pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He is currently the head of the National Association of Evangelicals. He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University. He is married to Gayle and they have five children.

Early life and conversion

Haggard became a Born-again Christian in 1972 after hearing evangelist Bill Bright in Dallas.

Relationship with President George W. Bush

Haggard is a firm supporter of President George W. Bush, and is often credited with rallying evangelicals behind Bush during the 2004 election. [1]

Haggard's Theology

Haggard considers himself a part of the Third Wave of the Holy Spirit and accepts the Five-fold ministry. There is also evidence that he holds to Open Theism - the belief that the Christian God cannot know the future.

As a result of these theological leanings, a significant minority of evangelicals seriously question Haggard's Christian faith. Some even consider him a "false prophet". Evangelicals who do not accept Charismatic experiences and belief are valid are more likely to come to this conclusion than mainstream evangelicals, though.

In 2002, Haggard claimed that Saddam Hussein would leave Iraq peacefully if at least 1 million Christians prayed that this would happen. [2] [3] The language he used when interviewed about this on the 700 Club (a Christian Television show) seems to indicate fairly clearly that he saw this as a direct word from God (The quote is below). The fact that the show itself had an audience of over 1 million during that interview, and the fact that Haggard then prayed on behalf of all those viewers, lends itself to the theory that the required number of people did pray for Hussein's removal. The fact that Saddam Hussein remained is an argument that many of Haggard's opponents have used to portray him as a false prophet.

Quotes

• For many people, the stereotypical image of an evangelical is a very serious old man with an expensive suit who is against whatever is happening that day. [4]

• The spirit of the Lord woke me in the middle of the night and powerfully spoke to me. He told me that if we could mobilize 1,000,000 intercessors to pray for Saddam Hussein, he would leave Iraq, thus avoiding the need for a war. (December 2002) [5]

• (George W. Bush) will be known as the man who stood up to Islamic fundamentalism being used to tyrannize their own people, so that in another hundred years, in the Islamic world, he'll be viewed as a great liberator. [6]

Related Topics

• Charismatic
• C. Peter Wagner (Influential Christian leader and teacher who attends Haggard's church)
• World Prayer Center is part of the same church building complex as New Life Church. Haggard is the Center's president.

External Links

• Official Website
• Biography
• Interview with Christianity Today
• A very critical look at Haggard's faith and theology