Ted Haggard

==Early life and education==
[[File:New Life Church in Colorado Springs 2.jpg|thumb|The main entrance of New Life Church in Colorado Springs]]
Haggard was born in [[Indiana]].<ref>Sharlett, p. 42.</ref> His father, J. M. Haggard, a practicing veterinarian in [[Yorktown, Indiana]], founded an international [[Charismatic movement|charismatic]] ministry, which was featured in a [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] [[Middletown studies|Middletown]] documentary series.<ref name="Castro">{{cite news | title=Sex, drugs and election fallout | newspaper=[[Journal Gazette|The Journal Gazette]] | last=Castro | first=Anthony | date=2006-11-05 }}</ref> Haggard has stated that he was molested when he was seven years old.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/the-resurrection-of-pastor-ted/Content?oid=1450688|title=The resurrection of Pastor Ted|work=CSIndy.com|last=Forman|first=Bill|date=October 1, 2009|access-date=September 12, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/12/Ted-Haggard-says-he-was-molested-as-child/67431226525867/ |title=Ted Haggard says he was molested as child|date= March 19, 2009|website=upi.com}}</ref>

In 1972, at age 16, Haggard became a [[born-again Christian]] after hearing a sermon from evangelist [[Bill Bright]] in [[Dallas]], Texas, and becoming acquainted with the [[Christian apologetics]] of [[C. S. Lewis]].<ref name="Castro" /> As a co-editor of his high-school newspaper in 1974, Haggard published frank articles that described services that were available to prevent and deal with increasingly prevalent pregnancies and [[sexually transmitted disease|STD]]s. These articles scandalized his small town and embroiled him in a free-press lawsuit.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Haggard describes feeling the call of God on his life after his first year in college while he was in the kitchen at home. He had been a telecommunications major with a minor in journalism, but after this experience he believed he had been called to be a pastor.<ref>Haggard, Ted: "The Life-Giving Church", p. 27. Regal Books, 2001.</ref> Haggard subsequently attended [[Oral Roberts University]], a Christian university in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], graduating in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |title= Two ORU Alumni Recognized in Time Piece |work= ORU Excellence Magazine |publisher= ORU Alumni Foundation |date= Spring 2005 |url= http://alumniweb.oru.edu/excell/spring05/pages/department/lifelonglinks9.asp |access-date= 2011-02-22 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070829082338/http://alumniweb.oru.edu/excell/spring05/pages/department/lifelonglinks9.asp |archive-date= 2007-08-29 }}</ref> He became a minister in the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] for a few months.