get your purge on

Just keep saying "Merry Christmas" at the Wal Mart, and everything's going to be all right...everything's going to be...all right...

Right-wing evangelical hub New Life is beginning to resemble the Donner Party:

The church of disgraced pastor Ted Haggard is encouraging its members to blow the whistle on others in the mega church who have committed 'sexual indiscretions' or other misdeeds.

And it didn't take long for a name to surface.

Christopher Beard, who headed a ministry the New Life Church that trained young adults in leadership skills, has stepped down after admitting to an incident of sexual misconduct several years ago and a series of decisions displaying poor judgment.

Church elders declined to disclose what the sexual misconduct involved, except to say it did not involve minors.

[snip]

Fearing another potential scandal that could destroy the 14,000 member church elders asked parishioners for information about the "spiritual character" of other church staff and leaders.

Members are urged to fill out a form on the church's Web site that goes to a panel of four pastors from other churches that have agreed to help New Life weed out problem people.

Associate pastor Rob Brendle denies it is a witch hunt but says "we want to give people who feel they have relevant information access to people in authority."