Better or worse?

After Ted Haggard's past became national news, some were hopeful that it could move some evangelicals toward acceptance, or at least acknowledgment that being gay isn't just a decision you make one afternoon. More pessimistic observers argued that it would make anti-gay sentiment more virulent than ever.

So what happens now? Another evangelical pastor, also from Colorado, has resigned his post in the church after it was revealed that he, too, had had homosexual affairs.

On Sunday, Paul Barnes, founding pastor of the 2,100-member Grace Chapel in this Denver suburb, told his evangelical congregation in a videotaped message he had had sexual relations with other men and was stepping down.

Dave Palmer, associate pastor of Grace Chapel, told The Denver Post that Barnes confessed to him after the church received a call last week.

The church board of elders accepted Barnes' resignation on Thursday.

On the videotape, which The Post was allowed to view, Barnes told church members: "I have struggled with homosexuality since I was a 5-year-old boy. ... I can't tell you the number of nights I have cried myself to sleep, begging God to take this away."

Barnes, 54, led Grace Chapel for 28 years. He and his wife have two adult children.