News New Dirt on New Life?
posted by on August 10 at 12:18 PM
Mike Jones is the male escort—former male escort—who outed Ted Haggard, shortly before the 2006 mid-term elections. A good friend of George W. Bush, Haggard was the founding pastor of New Life Church, a mega-church located in Colorado Springs, and the head of the American Association of Evangelicals.
After a long, drawn-out process (and a brief witch hunt), New Life Church announced the appointment of a new pastor on July 31. Brady Boyd, the associate pastor of some godforsaken mega-church in Texas somewhere, starts manning the pulpit at New Life Church at the end of the month. After the appointment was announced Jones wrote to Boyd and requested a meeting. He wanted to ask Boyd if New Life Church would continue to preach homophobia and engage in anti-gay political activities. After three emails, Jones finally got an answer from Boyd: “No I cannot meet with you please contact my attorney.”
Then a New Life attorney started calling Jones.
“He asked me why I would want to meet with his client,” says Jones. “I told him I would like to discuss some issues privately with the pastor. I told him they need to meet with me, that I wanted to discuss some issues regarding homosexuality and his new church.” No meeting was offered, but there were more follow-up calls from the attorneys. “Boyd can’t read between the lines,” says Jones, “but his attorneys can.”
And just what exactly is going on between the lines?
Jones visited New Life Church in January of 2007, a visit he wrote about in his book, I Had to Say Something. “I have never said this to the press or to anyone,” says Jones, “but I saw a lot more than gay art work in the church. I saw several familiar faces. If they have learned nothing from this last year and continue with the hate and damnation, then I guess I will have to write, I Had to Say Something, Again.”
New Life’s lawyer did offer to respond to questions that Jones submitted in writing. No dice, says Jones, who insists on a face-to-face meeting with New Life’s new pastor. “Who else is in a position to go down there and confront them?” asks Jones. “I am not afraid to do it.
“I do not want any more individuals or families to be ruined,” Jones adds, “but we must have honest discussions.”
Check your quotations.
As for Mike, what can I say? What a humble adventure he's starting. He's working wonders for us gays...
OMG that is SWEET ASS! Jones is a hero in my book. I wish more people had the courage to out these hate-mongering, self-loathing, fuck how I say not how I fuck assholes.
I think it's terrific! Someday soon I hope something like this occurs at Antioch Bible Church or Mars Hill Church. Just walk right in and call them to the carpet on their hypocrisy. Let these people know that they can't even hide in their "churches".
I'm still entirely against what Mike Jones did. He dug his own grave by disclosing information that was (meant) to be private. Now that he has a dirt reputation, has lost almost everything--everything but his crappy book--he appears to be resorting to intimidating churches and outing as many faces as he possibly can.
He wants to sit down and have an honest discussion? My ass. He knew exactly how New Life Church would react, as he also knows how many churches would react. He wants to write that second book. Honest discussions are not going to pay his bills.
I know I'm blowing this out of proportion. I just have this funny feeling Mike Jones is going to eventually end up giving gays a bad name with this 'outing' crap. Several familiar faces, eh? I just don't buy it. He's a fabulist.
Mike Jones HAD his 15 minutes of fame already. It was great what he did but let's face it, his book was at crappy and written at the 7th grade level. He did make a choice and a sacrafice which I appreciate and we all should be thankful for. But now it is starting to look like someone desperate for attention, any sort of attention.
Mr. Poe why are you against what Mike Jones did? I guess look at it this way... If Mike Jones advertised himself as "Hey, for $100 come over and I'll fuck your ass until you cum and then the date is over" that is one thing, but I'm sure he advertised as a "masseur". There was a lack of honesty at the very beginning.
I have to say that Mike Jones is a better man than me, because I very much DO want to see more individuals and families ruined. Schadenfreude. If you can't take it, stop being a hypocrite in church.
Mr. Poe - go fuck a fundamentalist.
Do I approve of outing people? You better bet your cock sucking/butt fucking ass, IF THEY ARE HYPOCRITS TRYING TO TELL ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE. They want to ruin my family by making my partnership illegal? Well, I'm gonna go down kicking and screaming and "ruin" their family. "RUIN" in quotation marks because was Haggy's family ruined? Can he not adopt now? Can he not get married again if he wanted to? Is it illegal for him to fuck his wife in the ass if he wants to?
Ruined? Fuck off.
1) Since Haggard made everyone's sexuality his business, it follows that his sexuality is everyone's business.
2) In Haggard's view, admitting you are a homosexual is the first step towards recovery. Jones was simply helping Haggard make that first step.
Jones did right by us and Haggard.
@6
He was not advertised as a 'masseur' alone. Mike Jones has made the entire three years pretty obvious. He was an escort. Haggard knew it. Duh. They were fucking for three years, and Ted was paying for three years. There was no lack of honesty on either side in any room that which they were fucking.
@8
Ted was a hypocrite. Yeah. We know. Duh. Thanks for reminding us. Do I need to remind you that Ted was for civil unions? Also, you're an idiot.
I'm not defending Ted. I'm not saying Mike Jones is a bad person. I'm saying I personally do not agree with how he handled that situation. If it were me, I would have simply stopped seeing Ted. Let him go fuck someone else. I might have even exchanged a few choice words/opinions with him. But I would not have outed [sic] him.
If Dan was sleeping around behind his husbands back with a female escort--who doesn't personally agree with the fact that he's gay, stands for gay rights, and makes a note of almost every heterosexual family dilemma he can--and she decided to 'out' his adultery and hypocrisy. I find it hard to believe many of us gays would defend her, buy her book, and drool over the idea of her disclosing any other information she possibly can. (On anyone, for that matter.)
we should build a monument for mike... he is a gay hero...
Gore Vidal is a Gay Hero...
Rosie Odonell is a Gay Hero
Barney Frank is a Gay Hero
Mike Jones is an opportunistic hooker with NO job possibilities. Kinda like Dan Savage.
I'm an idiot? How would The Honorable Mr. Savage sleeping with a woman be hypocritical? He's never said that he would never ever EVER sleep with a woman and that heterosexuals are all going to hell. Please educate me smarty pants.
Oh, and I love these choice bits:
"Now that he has a dirt reputation"
Ummmm, he was a prostitute. I don't think his reputation was golden in the first place. Except maybe as a prostitute.
"I might have even exchanged a few choice words/opinions with him"
Fuck lot of good that would do, but quite prissy and uptight.
@10 So you would have been totally ok with letting Haggard continue on with his hate spewing at the "church"? That's such a pussy "I only care about me" attitude. As long as it doesn't personally have any direct bearing on your life you don't care, but you have personally been involved with the person and know exactly what they are doing on both sides of the fence? That's just weak. "Gee, I was sleeping with Hitler and knew what he was doing, but since it didn't affect anyone in my family I just didn't feel like I needed to say anything."
Also, I doubt Dan would go to a female whore, but instead would dress up as a frustrated housewife and go to a male hustler for some good loving.
Say it like it is GRRrrrrrrrrl.
@13
"How would The Honorable Mr. Savage sleeping with a woman be hypocritical?"
I said: "If Dan was sleeping around behind his husbands back with a female escort..."
Not that I should even point that out...seeing how everything you said @ #13 was utterly empty and stupid.
@14
Actually, it would bother me. A lot. As for the outing; of course I would think about what it would do to me. I'd also think about what it would do to my...um...coworkers. Peers in the industry. Whatever. Let's show a good chunk of our business that we can and will tell the whole world that you're sleeping with us. Great idea. Gay escorts now have the proud label (further enforcing the stereotype) of being deceitful, untrustworthy, drug-dealing whores.
Also, your comparison to this situation with Hitler is ridiculous. For reasons that are obvious.
So...what do you think Mike Jones really accomplished? The way I see it, all he did was give us gays something to talk about. Ted's sheeple at the New Life Church will believe that he is cured, which will promote the idea that homosexuality can be cured. The parents will explain to their children the horror of homosexuality, and how Ted was tormented by demons, while mentioning the rampant sex, the meth, and how it destroyed Ted's life.
Or do you actually think that the eyes at the New Life Church have been opened? To what?
Yeah Mr. Poe I gotta side against you on this one. Not with that Hitler dumbfuck, with #13. The issue is the hypocrisy. Dan cheating on his guy might make him an asshole but it's in no way comparable to Haggard's sexapalooza. While Haggard is on record as saying gay sex=eternal damnation, Dan is on record as saying cheating is sometimes okay. Anytime you stridently and self-righteously proclaim something in a public forum you open yourself up to scrutiny for any contradiction. Just look at Dan v. the trolls re: the war in Iraq.
Yeah, well you're "utterly empty and stupid" too!!! Meany. - sniff -
I'm trying to point out your inconsistent and thoughtless logic and all you can do is insult me.
Poo on Poe.
Right on Chi!
i'm with poe on this one. though it's a close call. do you use slimey tactics to deal with slimey people? well, if you do, then you are may be in danger of being slimey.
when you pay an escort, you pay for discretion.
@17
"The issue is the hypocrisy."
Yeah. I know.
"Dan cheating on his guy might make him an asshole but it's in no way comparable to Haggard's sexapalooza."
Right. Dan sleeping behind his husbands back with a woman, given all he has said and stood for, makes him an asshole. So, Ted sleeping behind his wifes back with a man, given all he has said and stood for, makes him what?
The only time I've ever read Dan saying cheating is okay was in a situation where the wife simply said 'no' to anymore sex. So I'll give you that. However, Haggard may be on record saying gay sex = eternal damnation, but he did stand for civil unions, so I could really care less. He's not the first person to say gay sex = eternal damnation, and he's obviously not the last. He's following what he believes. Well, sort of.
Look, your points are clear and they do make sense. I don't believe we're going to find any common ground here. I simply do not agree or approve of what Mike Jones did. That's my opinion. I'm not expecting to change anybody's mind here. I'm simply defending how I feel about it. How I feel happens to be different from almost everybody else (Or so it seems).
Escorts are required for one thing: private sex. Ted didn't go to a gay bar and pick Mike up for sex. Did he go to gay bars? Yes. Looking for sex? I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe he was trying to slowly identify with himself. Who knows, and who fucking cares? If you're an escort, outing one of your clients because of their hypocrisy is just ridiculous to me. Can you imagine what that will honestly do to the escort industry (at large)?
Just the other week on Control Tower, some allegedly important fellow called the Mistress regarding this very same thing. So it is causing a little silent stir in the way things are working in the escort industry. Now picture this, if Jones starts galloping this outing shit all over the country, or even at New Life Church (his only semi-believable location for walking in and seeing similar faces), some escorts with private clients might start turning up dead. Don't be so neglectful of how powerful Mike's actions may be.
So like I've said: I really do not see how Mike's actions were great, important, heroic, whatever. It's good news for us. It's news Conservatives will ignore. It's news Christians will use. (Homosexuality is evil, homosexuality ruined Ted's life, his family, the 'sexual immorality' eventually led him to drugs, homosexuality can be cured, homosexuality should be cured, blablabla.)
It's Friday. I hate being in any kind of serious mood on Friday's. In fact, I hate being in a serious mood almost all of the time. I have spoken. It is done. Agree or disagree. I love cock.
I am used to the hate speach against me. I just happen to the the guts to be honest. Let us not forget all the lives Haggard, Dobson, Falwell, Robertson ruined and perhaps caused suicides preaching shame and guilt. Who else is speaking up? Mike Jones
"when you pay an escort, you pay for discretion"
ahhh yes!!
the descretion premium, that is what some do pay;
as opposed to the cheaper methed out low rent-boys I pay to toss my salad like the swedish chef weilding two salad shooters admist cartonfuls of bibb-lettuce and frisee....
I don't give a shit about Mike Jones. I just want to see more Ted Haggards exposed and humiliated. If Mike Jones can do that, godspeed. It doesn't mean I think he's a hero.
addendum to #22:
all the while, as msrs. poe & fnarf http://static.flickr.com/18/24172962_451f34da6e.jpg look on from the balcony with mixtures of awe, revulsion, respectful glee and cringe-worthy concern, at our public display of debauch...
As a het female, with a family, I think Mike has honor and style. I hope he brings down tons of those lying bastards. If he were my son, I'd be damn proud of him.
Wow, I hadn't realized that hookers were like priests and counselors.. an automatic presumption of confidentiality. Go figure.
If you pay a guy for sex, I figure that he could also be paid to give up his client list.
I would like to see Mike Jones hook up will all of these cocksucking hypocrites and out them one by one. Besides generating a steady stream of media titillation, that might--just might--teach them not preach about other people's private business up on a pulpit and scumbag their wives through the back door. BTW, my comment is not in any way intended to disparage cocksuckers.
"Mr Poe"'s probably one of Mike's customers at the New Life church, and he sounds so pissy because he's trying to remember how much homophobic hate speech he preached.
If these Christian preachers are going to keep preaching hate:
Go get 'em, Mike.
Some pastors should read their Bibles more carefully. Jesus met with prostitutes, did not comdemn them, and did not hide behind a lawyer.
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