New Life Church takes on new allegations

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - New Life Church will recover from new allegations in the two-year-old sex scandal that brought down founder Ted Haggard, its pastor said yesterday.

Brady Boyd encouraged his Colorado Springs congregation and reminded them of their "holy tenacity," two days after revelations that a male church volunteer reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard. It's the second such claim against Haggard. In late 2006, a male prostitute in Denver said he had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with the former New Life pastor.

"I'm sorry that this wound has been reopened for many of you," Boyd told the congregation. "One day we may have a little scar tissue, but the wounds will not define us."

Haggard had confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" after the earlier allegations, but has declined to comment on the new claim.

New Life members and leaders said the latest public disclosures were no surprise.

"I don't think the people in the church are surprised," said Wanda Moore, who works in pastoral care for women at New Life. "They're disappointed and they're hurt."

ASSOCIATED PRESS