Mike Jones Fired from Christian Living Communities

Mike Jones is the former male escort who exposed Ted Haggard‘s hypocrisy. I interviewed him a couple years ago when his book came out.

It turns out his past is still coming back to haunt him.

After the whole Haggard debacle died down, Mike tried to get his life back on track. He went back to school and became certified as a Nursing Assistant.

Two weeks ago, he got a job with Christian Living Communities. That came to an end quickly…

Mike writes in an email to me:

… The residents loved me and several staff members commented on what a wonderful job I was doing.

Well today I got fired. The pulled me into the office with tons of stuff they pulled off the internet about me and a copy of my book. They said they could not have a person like me working for them. I asked them: Is it not Christian that people can turn their life around and given a second chance? They would not respond to that and told me they had no use for my type.

His “type”? Do they mean gay?

I’m not sure how Jones’ past has any bearing on his ability to do the work for which he’s getting paid. Neither does his sexuality.

Updates to follow; hopefully, good ones.

hoverfrog

His “type” might be published authors?

With a name like Jones how many hits must they have got from a google search of him? Something doesn’t quite add up. I eagerly await further details.
James

Surely Jesus would have done the same thing.
Paul Lundgren

Didn’t these people do any background checking on him when they hired him? Or is John McCain not the only conservative in this country who doesn’t know how the vetting process works?

(note, I’m not saying he should have been fired, but let’s be honest…it’s a lot easier to quietly discriminate in the hiring process if you don’t hire them in the first place).

NOW they have a PR FUBAR on their hands.
Geoff

Do you have any kind of advertising code relating to business names in the US? They call themselves ‘Christian Living Communities’ but have just proved they are certainly not Christian.
Keith

Sorry to hear that happened … I’m a pastor, and I’ve contacted Christian Living Communities to try to gain further understanding of what all went into this decision and to possibly challenge the organization to reconsider. I have no clout, but I’ll give it my best shot. We’ll see … I’ll keep you posted. And Hemant, thanks again for the invite to the atheist meet-up in St. Louis … it’s already led to some good friendships. Thanks!
Greta Christina

And this is why we need ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act). Call your Congressbeing today!
Craig

Geoff said:

They call themselves ‘Christian Living Communities’ but have just proved they are certainly not Christian.

How are they not “Christian”? Hypocrisy seems to be a very Christian trait.
Alex

Why is it that you can usually expect the least forgiveness and tolerance from those who preach about how forgiving and tolerant they are?
Keith (the pastor)

Update … spoke with the President and CEO of Christian Living Communities. According to him, Mike was fired for not being forthcoming about past illegal activity during the application process, and thus the issue is one of trust and not specifically about Mike’s past. If a way was found to rebuild that trust, CLC would have some interest in bringing Mike back. I am currently chasing down opportunities to mediate this situation … while the chances are slim, they still exist. I’ll keep you posted.
Keith (the pastor)

Talked with Mike quite a bit this evening … I’ll be surprised if there’s an effort made to get the job back. It’s a shame that this happened, and my heart goes out to a guy who pays a hefty price when he’s forthcoming and pays a hefty price when he’s subtle. Wish I could do more to help the situation, and I’m wide open to suggestions. Thanks Hemant, for coordinating things.

One way or the other, I hope that Mike is able to continue using his gifts as a caretaker. I can’t imagine what it was like for Mike to walk in and be confronted with all of this stuff that seems so irrelevant to his ability to do his job. And I can’t imagine what it’s like for CLC to find out from someone other than Mike what Mike’s past was.

One other thing, when Ted Haggard went through his fall … he had a support system around him even though Mike was the one who was forthcoming. What I want to see (and want to lead) is a church where the victims of pastoral abuse and misconduct are supported as neighbors to be loved with at least the same passion and commitment as the pastors are. This hasn’t happened in Colorado and Mike deserves better as a human being. Jesus’ followers should have been there for him. Mike you deserve better, and I’m sorry.
Hemant Mehta

Keith — Thank you for all you tried to do on Mike’s behalf. I hope more atheists (and Christians, for that matter) hear your perspective on these issues 🙂
Cantabridgian David

Keith (the pastor): “One way or the other, I hope that Mike is able to continue using his gifts as a caretaker.”

Thanks Keith!! Maybe this is where we can help — a lot of HHA and CNA jobs (especially the private-duty ones) are filled by word-of-mouth. Perhaps if we wrack our brains, explore our contacts, we will hear of need for those skills in the Denver area.