Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

ALSO WITHIN SIGHT of the air force academy stood another evangelical stronghold, New Life Church. One of the nation’s most influential megachurches, New Life was founded in 1984 by Ted Haggard, one of “the nation’s most politically influential” clergy. His father had established an international charismatic ministry, but Haggard was “born again” at the age of sixteen after hearing Bill Bright preach at Explo ’72. After attending Oral Roberts University, Haggard came under the mentorship of Jack Hayford, founding pastor of a Pentecostal megachurch in Van Nuys, California—the church that essentially launched the megachurch model for suburban evangelicalism. Dobson had greater name recognition, but Haggard rivaled his friend and neighbor when it came to influence. He oversaw his own association of around 300 churches, and in 2003 he became president of the National Association of Evangelicals. By that time the organization represented 45,000 churches and 30 million Christians and was the country’s most powerful religious lobby.7