When a public figure faces accusations of impropriety it is striking how quickly they produce a fallback position which itself seems morally dubious. Ted Haggard, and isn’t his name perfect, offered the latest such example claiming that the meth and the male prostitute were only objects of observation, not consumption. On reflection it occurs to me that this case beautifully illustrates a peculiar kind of American success story, intertwined with one of the oddities of freewheeling American evangelical religion dating from the early 19th century.

Within twenty-four hours Haggard’s fallback position fell apart as he admited the transgressions and asked for forgiveness from his flock. The Reverend Haggard’s congregation at the New Life Church reacted to Haggard’s case in a variety of ways from sorrow to anger to forgiveness. More interesting however is the story of how this congregation began in the basement of Mr. Haggard’s home with a mere handful of people in attendance.

Ted Haggard’s story is yet another great American success story. Some guy comes off the street and begins to preach the word, has a bit of charisma that attracts the walking wounded of broken American dreams, and soon he is doing the work of God at a local mall. Before you can say “Pat Robertson” he has become “Pastor Ted” in a big time Mega-church in Colorado Springs. He then creates something called the Association of Life Giving Churches and his next career advancement he is chosen leader of the National Association of Evangelicals.

What a country! What a story!

Haggard was born again in his mid-teens when he was moved by a sermon of the evangelist Bill Bright in Dallas, Texas. Where else? Haggard went on to Oral Roberts University where the motto is “Expect a Miracle.” He later joined the ministry at a Louisiana Mega-church and then at the urging of a friend moved off to Colorado Springs to found a ministry of his own.

Haggard’s career move was successful by any measure of modern religion. The big New Life Church, 14,000 members, sits in the shadow of the snow-topped Rockies in affluent Colorado Springs. There “Pastor Ted” created a full range of religious entertainment and family services. His industry reached out via all the new forms of communication including podcasting. The New Life Church claimed to be the world’s largest internet prayer service, offering a full range of CD’s and t-shirts at the on-line bookstore, including the books on Pastor Ted’s recommended reading list.

It is a mind numbing empire of spiritual materialism worthy of the upwardly mobile movers and shakers who have a quote for every tragedy, and are as media savvy as anyone practicing the occult arts of American advertising.

And of course Pastor Ted moved in the power circles of Conservative Evangelical Christianity, rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful of Colorado and the nation. He instructed those corrupted by liberalism and the permissive culture, and tried to help them find their way home, even as he was having serious navigation problems of his own.

“Pastor Ted’s” gay bashing pictured in the documentary “Jesus Camp” (now available on U Tube) sent members of his young audience into delirium. As with so many of the moral saviors of our world he railed against that which he secretly practiced, leaving the gullible who followed him spinning in the pews at the beautifully appointed New Life Church and the World Prayer Center. In another life Ted Haggard might have been quite successful as a carnival barker or peddling life insurance, but in modern America he followed a career path of the many who discovered the magic in the latest forms of what Jonathan Edwards once called, “smiling Christianity.”

Whether Ted Haggard will be born again, yet one more time, remains to be seen. What we do know is that there are many out there waiting to fill the void left by yet another stained savior of our world. It is a most American of stories replicating itself over and over again.