Ted Haggard "over-repented" quote taking on a life of its own

Back on July 24, Ted Haggard, as part of his continuing rehabilitation campaign built around the launch of his new church, told the Wall Street Journal that he "over-repented" when apologizing for his extra-marital shenanigans with male escort Mike Jones. A week-plus later, the quote's hardly fading away...

By Michael Roberts

August 3, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Back on July 24, Ted Haggard, as part of his continuing rehabilitation campaign built around the launch of his new church, told the Wall Street Journal that he "over-repented" when apologizing for his extra-marital shenanigans with male escort Mike Jones. A week-plus later, the quote's hardly fading away.

A search for Haggard's name and "over-repented" scored nearly 10,000 hits, with one blog after another making sport of this astonishingly ballsy assertion, not to mention a name-dropping passage in which Haggard attempted to justify his return to the pulpit:

"Tiger Woods needs to golf. Michael Vick needs to be playing football," Mr. Haggard said as his new congregation joined him and Gayle in their backyard for a post-worship picnic. Little kids, shrieking with joy, splashed in the pool. Men grilled burgers. Women set out chicken salad.

"Ted Haggard," Mr. Haggard said, "needs to be leading a church."

Do these lines have the staying power of famous evangelical moments like Jimmy Swaggert's tearful declaration, "I have sinned against you, My Lord," or Oral Roberts's stories about talking to a 900 foot Jesus? Only time will tell. But Haggard's off to a good -- or, from his perspective, bad -- start.

Look below to see an MSNBC clip about over-repentance:

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

Follow:

Facebook: 111180895657427

Twitter: @mikerobertscolo