layoffs at New Life Church

New Life Church of Colorado Springs, a 14,000-member mega-church, is cutting its paid positions in the wake of the fall of former pastor Ted Haggard.

Beset by scandal and a subsequent decline in giving, New Life Church in Colorado Springs has laid off 44 people - or about 12 percent of its workforce - a church official said today.

The nondenominational megachurch had experienced attendance and financial growth in each of its 22 previous years, said Rob Brendle, an associate pastor.

That came to end in early November, when its charismatic founding pastor, the Rev. Ted Haggard, was fired amid allegations he used methamphetamine and paid a male prostitute for sex.

Brendle estimated church income has been down 10 percent since then, orcing the layoffs. The layoffs range from pastoral staff to support staff and nursery workers. Brendle said the cuts took place last week and were announced today during Sunday services.

"We recognize a church is an institution of trust, and that trust has been bruised," Brendle said. "So we're committed to serving people faithfully and earning it back in any cases where it might have diminished." (Denver Post)

When the pastor of a church is forced to step down, his family isn't the only one to be hurt. This can be especially true in mega-churches, where there are more people in the congregation - and more staff members on the payroll - to be affected by it.

I wish I could get HBO

Then I'd be able to see Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi.

Yes, the name Pelosi is familiar - Alexandra is the daughter of the new Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Her film focuses on Ted Haggard, who was president of the National Association of Evangelicals before a gay sex scandal forced his resignation.

“I believe in the culture war,” she said. “And you know what? If I have to take a side in the culture war I’ll take their side,” meaning the Christian conservatives. “Because if you give me the choice of Paris Hilton or Jesus, I’ll take Jesus.”

Ms. Pelosi wrote, directed and produced “Friends of God,” which took her through 16 states and the District of Columbia with a small, hand-held camera. It is offered as a series of snapshots, she said, with a focus on conservative evangelicals, including the ministers Jerry Falwell and Joel Osteen. In the film Mr. Haggard explains the allure of evangelical Christianity and extols the primacy of sex among evangelicals. (NYTimes)

Pelosi also directed Journeys with George and Diary of a Political Tourist.

what does a mega-church do when she's lost her nationally-known pastor?

The Denver Post has an article on the biggest fall-out from Ted Haggard's sins: a flock has lost its shepherd. What happens to a church when the senior pastor is forced to resign? When that same pastor is a nationally-known figure who sometimes speaks with the President of the United States, who will be next?

Just as the country braces for societal changes with the aging of the baby-boom generation, the American success story that is the evangelical megachurch also sits at a crossroads, facing a future without the leaders responsible for its success.

"This will be an increasingly important question," said U.S. News & World Report contributing editor Jeffery Sheler, author of "Believers: A Journey into Evangelical America." "We are approaching a period in the next 10 or 20 years where, for reasons other than scandal, pulpits will be opening up. What will this bode for the ongoing vitality of these strong, growing churches? Will they survive?"

The short answer is ... it depends.

Because the megachurch is a relatively new phenomenon, no empirical study exists on what happens when a founder leaves.

But evidence suggests megachurches that have experienced regime change are less likely to grow and more susceptible to conflict, said Scott Thumma, a megachurch specialist and sociology professor at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

Interesting... regime change. I didn't know that a church leadership could actually be considered a regime.

UPDATE: Some people looking to pastor a church stop by here - if they're savvy with the internets, that is.