New Life begins pastor hunt

Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 22, 2006 at midnight

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With brisk efficiency, New Life Church in Colorado Springs has taken the first step toward finding a successor to disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard.

In about an hour, between 2,000 and 3,000 members voted Monday night for six lay people to become part of a search committee looking for a new leader of the influential mega-church.

As stipulated in the church bylaws, those selected were the top three male vote-getters and the top three female vote-getters. The panel also includes three senior church staff members.

Haggard, who founded the church in 1985, was shorn of his position as pastor and resigned as head of the National Association of Evangelicals after admitting to drug purchases and "sexual immorality" involving a Denver gay male escort.

The nine-member panel hasn't set a timetable for finding a new pastor, said the Rev. Rob Brendle, an associate pastor. Using the bylaws originally formed by Haggard, the panel will find a candidate to present to the four-member board of overseers, a group of pastors from other churches who serve in an advisory role.

Once approved by the overseers, the candidate will be asked to preach at New Life three times. Then he or she must receive two-thirds of the votes of the membership to become senior pastor.

If the candidate falls short of the necessary votes, the process begins again, Brendle said.

New Life Church was led for 21 years by Haggard, largely without incident, save for ambitious, ever-expanding building campaigns.

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