Mike Jones Talks About His New Book

On a sunny Sunday morning in Denver's Cheesman Park, Mike Jones thumbs through a freshly-printed copy of his book, "I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted Haggard's Fall." He picks out an excerpt, one of many detailing his alleged relationship with former New Life Church pastor, Ted Haggard-- and reads it out loud.
"I figured out that he (Haggard) lived in Colorado Springs, and that he worked for a church there," read Jones. "I knew he really liked sex toys and methamphetamine. Other than that, he was a mystery."
Jones closes the book and squints into the sunlight, thoughtful about Haggard, the man he says he knew simply as "Art," until he saw him on a religious television show. He says for nearly 3 years, Haggard had been a regular client of his massage business. In 256 pages, Jones details the monthly hour-long sessions he says Haggard paid him for, sessions that he says included sex, drugs and denial.
"After we would finish, he (Haggard) would always have an expression on his face, almost like guilt," said Jones. "He acted like what he was doing was wrong, probably because he had a wife, a family, and worked for the church."
Before deciding to write the book, Jones says he agonized for months over whether or not to go public with his story at all. He says he felt bad for Haggard's family, but ultimately worse for people in his own family: the gay community.
"The book is about more than Ted Haggard," said Jones. "It's about the Evangelical Church, and how they deal with homosexual issues. The problem is, they don't deal with them because they don't want to talk about it."
Jones says Haggard's public condemnation of the homosexual lifestyle is not what drove him to write his book, but rather, what Haggard didn't say in public.
"If he would have come out with the truth right away, he could have worked with the gay community, maybe even kept his job at his church, but that didn't happen," said Jones. "Instead, he twisted it around and brought everything on himself."
Haggard was fired from New Life Church in November. Co-pastor Rob Brendle says the congregation-- which has dwindled about 25 percent since then-- is moving on.
"We've made quite a bit of progress as a family," said Brendle. "Obviously, some of us are in different places along the healing path."
Some New Life members see Jones' book as an unwelcome round 2 of the scandal that rocked their church. Jones sees things differently.
"You know what, I'm going on round 50. Be a gay man and hear all the stuff I've had to listen to all my life. It's more than just round 2 for me."
from KKTV