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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....

...Haggard started New Life Church in 1985 with 25 people meeting in his basement. He soon became a rising star in evangelical circles. In 1996, Christianity Today magazine named him one of 50 up-and-coming evangelical leaders younger than 40. He later became head of the National Association of Evangelicals, as his church grew to a membership of 14,000.

But that ended when a male prostitute in Denver broke the news that Haggard had been one of his clients and used methamphetamine. Haggard denied the story, then acknowledged it was true.

He resigned from New Life on Nov. 5, 2006, and was given a 13-month severance package with conditions that included not starting a church near Colorado Springs and meeting with overseers in a restoration program.

Haggard has tried to support himself and his family as an insurance salesman, but for the past year, he has been giving talks on weekends with his wife, Gayle, at evangelical churches across the nation. The church talks have become the Haggards’ primary income.

Several people who have worked with Haggard said it’s premature for him to be leading a church. C. Peter Wagner, who co-founded New Life’s World Prayer Center with Haggard, said the former pastor should first seek approval from the overseers before leading people in prayer and worship. Haggard quit the five-year restoration program in February 2008....