A new voice lifted at New Life

Colorado Springs mega-church auditions new head pastor after tumult of Ted Haggard's sex-and-drugs scandal

Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 13, 2007 at midnight

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Scandal-battered New Life Church got its first look Sunday at the man who hopes to rescue the Colorado Springs mega-flock from its Haggard past.

"I want to be your pastor," the Rev. Brady Boyd, the church's top candidate for the post, told a packed auditorium at the first of three Sunday services. "I want to know what's happening in your family, in your life."

Boyd, 40, who is being given a tryout by church leaders to succeed the disgraced Ted Haggard, repeatedly referred to "non-negotiable values" from which he would not stray, such as "protecting and leading my family."

Acting more like a successor than a job candidate - the congregation will vote Aug. 27 whether to hire him - the Dallas-based associate pastor promised that during his tenure as pastor, the New Life staff would work hard all day, "but when it's time to go home - we're going to go home to our families."

Applause broke out at the line, a clear dig at Haggard, who resigned last November after admitting to a secret life of drug buys and a sexual relationship with a male escort.

Haggard's wife, Gayle, publicly forgave him. The couple now live in Phoenix, and Haggard is taking college courses. It's leagues away from his life as head of the National Association of Evangelicals and as an informal adviser to the Bush administration.

Haggard's plunge from glory left his 14,000-member church reeling. Attendance has dropped 20 percent, and 44 staff members were laid off. Behind the scenes, however, church leaders began a search for a new pastor using a constitution that Haggard, the founding pastor, drew up years ago. The search committee's choice of Boyd was OK'd unanimously by the governing board.

To win the job, Boyd needs approval from two-thirds of New Life's membership. There is no "second candidate" waiting, and if the vote fails, the search begins all over again.

Boyd will speak for the next three weeks and take part in church activities. At his first appearance Sunday, his breezy style seemed less like an audition than an opening night, complete with good reviews.

"He's so natural, and he speaks simple, straight from the Bible," said Ilda Barker, who runs New Life's prison ministry with her husband, Ed.

"I got goose bumps," said Jodi Sprague, who's in the mortgage industry.

"And we are so ready for this," added Patsy Snell, an X-ray technician.

Many in the audience said later that they had hoped the pastor's job would go to Ross Parsley, the youthful associate pastor who acted as interim pastor. On Sunday, church leaders acknowledged the painful decision to bypass Parsley, and the 9 a.m. crowd gave him a standing ovation.

A beaming Parsley led the church's signature opening - 30 minutes of throbbing gospel music - cupping his hand around the microphone like a youthful Mick Jagger. Boyd spoke of Parsley's help during the interview process and added, "Hang with me for the next 25 years, will you?"

Boyd has been an associate pastor at the 10,000-member Gateway mega-church in suburban Dallas. In a news conference later Sunday, he said he was ready to be a senior pastor. But he also considered downsides to the New Life offer, namely "a reputation that needs to be rebuilt."

However, he added, "We're here to serve the city. And we're going to win them over."

He said he's never met Haggard. He looks forward to meeting James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. He said he won't touch "hot-button political issues" but instead "let the Bible stand for itself."

Sunday marked his 18th wedding anniversary to his wife, Pam, 39, whom he met when both were teenagers at a small Louisiana church. She sat with their children, Abram, 8 and Callie, 6.

Boyd stressed that the "enemy" - Satan - is always trying to negotiate people away from what they believe:

"He makes me offers all the time - sometimes big offers," he said.

Boyd said later that he didn't mean Satan held out any Haggard-sized offers, however.

"I don't have any moral failures in my past, no bones in my closet," he said, adding that he wasn't perfect. As a youth, he smoked marijuana and abused alcohol. He said he's worked hard to control a bad temper.

"I have sinned, but I am not a failure."

He also nearly lost his wife during their first years of marriage, he told the crowd, because he neglected family for ministry. Begging her to give him one more chance, Boyd left the ministry to work at a radio station, "and six months later I was running (it)."

Boyd's go-getter spirit, a quality he shares with Haggard, seemed to delight the crowd.

"This will breathe new life into us," said Ed Barker. "What a concept - new life for New Life."

torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5055

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