Rev. Larry Stockstill, senior pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker, La, read out Haggard's confession to the church's congregation, which has 14,000 members. Stockstill is also a member of the board that fired Haggard.

"I am a deceiver and a liar," Haggard said in the letter. "There is part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it all my adult life."

He apologized for causing shame and embarrassment for his congregation, and admitted he had given inconsistent denials to the media.

"The accusations made against me are not all true but enough of them are that I was appropriately removed from his church leadership position," Haggard said. He didn't specify which ones were true.

He had originally protested that he was faithful to his wife, and didn't know his accuser, Mike Jones.

The former male prostitute claimed Haggard had bought drugs and had a homosexual relationship with him. In response, Haggard resigned last week as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, a post he'd held since 2003.

Rev. Leith Anderson, senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minn., was named as the interim president of the NEA, which represents 30 million evangelicals.

Haggard also put himself on administrative leave from the new Life Church. The church's Overseer Board fired him on Saturday. The preacher had founded New Life in the mid-1980s.

Jones, who is gay, said he was prompted to come forward when he discovered that New Life Church was lobbying against same-sex marriage.

After Jones produced taped phone calls from the prominent pastor, Haggard admitted on Friday he'd met Jones at a Denver hotel -- for a massage, not for sex.

He also admitted he'd bought methamphetamine from Jones, but said he'd tossed it away without using it. 

The scandal has wounded Republicans counting on the support of Christian conservatives in the U.S. mid-term elections. Republicans had already disappointed Christian Conservatives by failing to make changes on social issues.

On the heels of the titillating email scandal involving a congressional page and former Rep. Mark Foley, Haggard's revelation has further alienated the Christian right.

Haggard has taken part in conference calls with White House staffers and actively lobbied for Supreme Court nominees.

With files from The Associated Press

Man...this has got to sting the neo-cons down there, eh?