At Ted Haggard's press conference last week, he announced he'd formed Saint James Church. He also invited everyone to his home for a "launch party," which would be held on Sunday. Ted said (02-Jun-10, Prepared Press Conference Statement, online at tedhaggard.com/SaintJamesChurch.htm):

So this Sunday, June 6th, we welcome anyone who would like to join us at 10:00 AM for the launch party of Saint James Church here at our house. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day, so come dressed casually, park in one of the fields here in front of the house, we’ll meet together for an hour or so and talk, then we’ll have a BBQ and eat while the kids swim. So bring enough food for yourselves and a few others, and bring some soft drinks and bottled water. Those who want to play badminton or jump on the trampoline may, while others, like me, will want to sit around in the shade of a tree and talk. It will be great to see some of our old friend, and certainly we welcome anyone who would like to come who we’ve not yet met.

Colorado Springs is only a two hour drive from Fort Collins, so we decided to attend the party... The three of us: My daughter, her mother and myself. It was our first outing as a family since November, 1998.

What we heard and saw

1. When we drove into the Haggard driveway, we saw two signs announcing that Long Pond Media would film the launch party and that, by entering, we agreed to be part of the production (see the photo below and click to enlarge).

2. We parked in a field west of the Haggard home. We walked down the driveway; dropped off the potato salad we had brought; and moved back onto the driveway – where we were immediately approached by a film crew who wanted to interview us. We declined.

3. The church service was held in a barn, which hadn't housed any horses in a long time. The service started shortly after 10 am.

4. Ted Haggard announced that the launch party was his "resurrection day."

5. Gayle Haggard spoke about how happy she was to be part of a church community again.

6. A guitarist and his violin accompanist led the congregation in a short set of songs, which concluded with three verses of Amazing Grace.

7. Ted spoke briefly on why Saint James Church was named in honor of James and how Ted and "others" would preach on scripture at the services, starting with a study of Hebrews.

8. Ted offered a prayer.

9. Ted explained in detail how members of the church would present offerings of money to each other during each service. Ted also explained that, at future services, a tithe would be collected, followed by the direct disbursement of collected money. (This was the first time I'd ever heard of an offering and a tithe being separate opportunities for giving during the same service.) Ted described how Saint James Church intended to help one person at a time. He asked Gayle to hand him the paper bag she'd brought, and from it, he removed a stack of decals printed with the word "ONE." Ted invited everyone to pick up a decal after the service and to put it on their car. (I put mine on this post, as you can see above.)

10. Ted announced that the offerings would now be given, and someone gave my ex $40. (She accepted the money, but the exchange made her feel uncomfortable. Later at lunch over the serving table, she saw the woman who had given her the money, and they spoke briefly. Later on the way home, we stopped at a Farmers Market, where she bought fresh rolls and some new potatoes to give to her own mother – purchases, she said, that she wouldn't have made if she hadn't had the extra cash – which, she said, did not mean that she liked where the extra cash had come from.)

11. Ted gave a sermon on love, which included an emphasis on the non-judgmental component of love. He also described a worthwhile spiritual exercise, although he didn’t call it that. Ted suggested that we could rate our homes on a love scale (perhaps deciding that our home rated a 4 out of 10). Then Ted asked what we could do to increase our home's rating (so it became a 7 out 10, for example).

12. Ted requested testimonies from those present on what Saint James Church meant to them.

13. Testimony 1: Man offered kudos to Ted.

14. Testimony 2: Man offered kudos to Ted.

15. Testimony 3: Woman who had traveled from New Mexico offered kudos to Ted.

16. Testimony 4: Man who ran a junk yard offered kudos to Ted. (Actually, the man's testimony was the most affecting of all, and if Ted wants Saint James Church to succeed as a going proposition, he should make sure that that man gets whatever it is he needs from Saint James Church.)

17. Testimony 5: Woman presented Ted with a framed picture illustrating the Biblical lesson, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

18. Testimony 6: Woman described how Ted had recently saved her from committing suicide.

19. Testimony 7: Man obliquely described his problematic life and how he therefore appreciated Ted.

20. Testimony 8: Gay man offered kudos to Ted and mentioned their counseling relationship. (On Monday, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported [Mark Barna (07-Jun-10), Ted Haggard's new church starts early, online at www.gazette.com] that the gay man had answered a Craigslist ad to receive counseling. Long Pond Media had placed the ad anonymously and had flown the man from his home in San Antonio, Texas to Colorado Springs, so he could attend the launch party on Sunday. Likewise, the Gazette reported that the woman who experienced suicide ideation lived in Colorado Springs and had also answered an anonymous ad for counseling placed by Long Pond Media.)

21. Ted offered a closing prayer.

22. Testimony 9: Woman described how she had stopped using heroin eight days ago, thanks to Ted.

23. The service concluded before 11:30 am.

24. Everyone went to the backyard and had lunch.

25. We stopped at New Life Church on the way home, since the church turns out to be only a short drive down the road from the Haggards. Ted basically lives on top of New Life Church. He founded it, of course, and built it into the megachurch it is today. Even by the supersized standards of megachurches, the New Life campus is huge, as you can somewhat see in the photo below.

What it looked like