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 Bishop Eddie Long is the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Church in Lithonia, Georgia.
May 26th, 2011
05:37 PM ET
Bishop Eddie Long settles with accusersBy John Blake, CNN Atlanta (CNN) - Bishop Eddie Long, the Atlanta-based megachurch leader, has reached an out-of-court settlement with four young men who accused him of sexual coercion, representatives for both sides said Thursday. B.J. Bernstein, the attorney representing the men, said in a statement that the lawsuits against Long and his church have “been resolved.” Bernstein's two-paragraph statement said that neither she nor the accusers would talk about the lawsuits “now or in the future.” Art Franklin, a Long spokesman, said Thursday that the pastor settled because it “is the most reasonable road for everyone to travel.” “This decision was made to bring closure to this matter and to allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry,” Franklin said in a statement. Long is an internationally known televangelist who crusaded against gay marriage, and the lawsuits against him drew national attention. The settlement comes eight months after Long, the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Church in Lithonia, Georgia, said from the pulpit of his 25,000 member megachurch that he vowed to fight the accusations against him, with the congregation cheering in response. Long entered into mediation talks in February. According to news reports, the sessions between Long and his four accusers - Anthony Flagg, Maurice Robinson, Jamal Parris and Spencer LeGrande - were tense. The suits accused Long of using his position to coerce the men into having sexual relationships with him while they were teenage members of his congregation. The lawsuits say Long engaged in intimate sexual acts with the young men, such as massages, masturbation and oral sex. Long took the young men on trips including to Kenya, according to the suits. He allegedly enticed the young men with gifts including cars, clothes, jewelry and electronic items. Long's attorneys deny those allegations and maintain that the pastor was attempting to be a father figure to the youths by providing them with financial assistance and encouragement. Though no trial will now take place, Long may face the judgment of his congregation and fans worldwide. Shayne Lee, a sociology professor at Tulane University in Louisiana and an authority on televangelists, said Long’s out of court settlement may erode some of his support. “When you settle outside of court, it implies that there’s some guilt involved,” said Lee, author of "Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace." “To the average congregation in the black church, those are some very serious charges,” Lee said, referring to the men’s charges against Long. “You can’t settle outside of court. You have to fight and roll up your sleeves, be defiant and fight it.” Since the scandal had erupted, attendance at Long’s church had fallen, and New Birth officials have announced plans to lay off staff and cut Long’s salary. But Lee said it would be premature to think that Long will retreat from the pulpit. “He can say ‘I still have my anointing and I still have my ministry,’ ’’ Lee said. “He can say that God is working out the weeds so that the tree has a stronger foundation.” The four men’s accusations stunned many of Long’s followers. A married man, Long had often preached about the sanctity of marriage. He once led a march against gay marriage. Long had also cultivated a public image that was built on his machismo. He wore tight muscle shirts in the pulpit. He wrote books that compared Christian men to spiritual gladiators. He told people he had a special calling to reach men. One Atlanta pastor predicted Long will survive the scandal because his core audience will forgive him. “Black folks have very short memories,” said the Rev. Tim McDonald, senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta. “We are the most forgiving people on the planet." McDonald, who said he has talked privately with Long since the scandal erupted, said Long “went into a shell” after the accusations against him went public. Before the scandal erupted, Long would often publicly criticize other black pastors, and once said they “major in storefront buildings,” suggesting that they lacked the business acumen to build a megachurch like he had. But Long had shown a different public face lately, McDonald said. His entourage wasn’t as big; he was more visible in the community. “I found him opening up,” McDonald said. “If he can pick that back up and humble himself and stop saying things like, ‘I ain’t just another chicken-eating preacher,’ he’ll survive.” Lee, the Tulane sociologist, said Long will remain in the pulpit for another reason. “This is what he knows,” Lee said. “He’s not going to be able to sell insurance or cars. He’s cocky. He’s confident. He believes in redemption.” Videos from 2010: Bishop Long's sex case mediation
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I agree with you totally Charles Builter.
Whoever is without sin; cast the first stone! If he is guilty{which I don't believe he is} then God will deal with him. But does this decreases the anointing on his life? Are we not to follow the words{from God} that he speaks, and not him. God calls us and uses us as we are{dirt and all}. All have sinned. Moses was a murderer, but God still chose and used him. Saul, who later became apostle Paul, persecuted christians, but God still chose him and used him to write over two-thirds of the New Testament. Don't make man God, and don't make God man!
I suppose GOD has already forgiven him – right? Oh, wait, there is nothing to forgive, no sins were comitted. I suppose the 4 men lied about the abuse. Boy, thats the kind of spritiual leader I want where I worship. His congregation should get a clue and read the bible, without him! Would you want such a man to take your son under his wing to help him grow and develop? I know I would. He's doing GOD's work, right?
Once again, why is this guy still preaching? Bad enough he violated four young boys but then compounds his sins by continuing to preach the errors of Christianity!!!! Give us a break!!!!
A new beginning:
The Apostles' Creed 2011: (updated by yours truly based on the studies of NT historians and theologians during the past 200 years)
I might believe in a god whose existence cannot be proven
and said god if he/she/it exists resides in an unproven,
human-created, spirit state of bliss called heaven.
I believe there was a 1st century CE, Jewish, simple,
preacher-man who was conceived by a Jewish carpenter
named Joseph living in Nazareth and born of a young Jewish
girl named Mary. (Some say he was a mamzer.)
Jesus was summarily crucified for being a temple rabble-rouser by
the Roman troops in Jerusalem serving under Pontius Pilate,
He was buried in an unmarked grave and still lies
a-mouldering in the ground somewhere outside of
Jerusalem.
Said Jesus' story was embellished and "mythicized" by
many semi-fiction writers. A bodily resurrection and
ascension stories were promulgated to compete with the
Caesar myths. Said stories were so popular that they
grew into a religion known today as Catholicism/Christianity
and featuring dark-age, daily wine to blood and bread to body rituals
called the eucharistic sacrifice of the non-atoning Jesus.
Amen
First of all sounds like you are mocking the word of God, Mr reality. Secondly you should get your statement of facts straight, Jesus was not born of Joseph, he was conceived of the spirit, through Mary, a virgin. Joseph knew her not until after Jesus was born. It is obvious you do not thoroghly read Gods word, or you would know what you are yalking about. Jesus was entombed after his crusifiction, not buried, and on the third day he rose in the end of the sabbath. Whethet you believe that or not, don't misquote what the bible says. There is a curse on blastpheming against the 'Holy Ghost', so I would be careful if I were you. I sincerely hope the you, Mr. Reality, receives the revelation through the "Holy Ghost."
Manfish,
More updating for your perusal:
1. origin: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482
New Torah For Modern Minds
"Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, probably never existed. Nor did Moses. The entire Exodus story as recounted in the Bible probably never occurred. The same is true of the tumbling of the walls of Jericho. And David, far from being the fearless king who built Jerusalem into a mighty capital, was more likely a provincial leader whose reputation was later magnified to provide a rallying point for a fledgling nation.
Such startling propositions – the product of findings by archaeologists digging in Israel and its environs over the last 25 years – have gained wide acceptance among non-Orthodox rabbis. But there has been no attempt to disseminate these ideas or to discuss them with the laity – until now.
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which represents the 1.5 million Conservative Jews in the United States, has just issued a new Torah and commentary, the first for Conservatives in more than 60 years. Called "Etz Hayim" ("Tree of Life" in Hebrew), it offers an interpretation that incorporates the latest findings from archaeology, philology, anthropology and the study of ancient cultures. To the editors who worked on the book, it represents one of the boldest efforts ever to introduce into the religious mainstream a view of the Bible as a human rather than divine docu-ment.
2. Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations (or “mythicizing” from P, M, M, L and J) and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a ma-mzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). An-alyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, ) via the NT and related doc-uments have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.
The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hitt-ites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics.
earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
For added "pizzazz", Catholic theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".
Current RCC problems:
Pedophiliac priests, an all-male, mostly white hierarchy, atonement theology and original sin!!!!
3. Luther, Calvin, Joe Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley, Roger Williams, the Great “Babs” et al, founders of Christian-based religions or combination religions also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingie thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immacu-late co-nceptions).
Current problems:
Adulterous preachers, ped-ophiliac clerics, "propheteering/ profiteering" evangelicals and atonement theology
Well, once again we see that no matter what color you are money often can cover your sins. This man needs to step down in fact should have been run out of the pulpit months ago. Folks need to wake up and stop supporting these lying, false prohets. You have a Bible pick it up and read it, this isn't new it's been going on from the begining of time. God warns against following these fools. So wake up and stop this nonesense. Read and understand the word for yourself and stop following the first person that utters a word that you think is the truth.
The settlement does not look "good" in the eyes of the public since it implictly associates guilt. However, we will never know the full story. If true, I pray Bishop Long ask for forgiveness to God given he is slow to anger, merciful and forgiving Lord. I respect but find interesting the comments about how the black church is a joke and other words that hinder on the line of ignorance and racism. I am African American and attend a black megachurch in Chicago. We are, like the entire human race, non-monolithic in our opinions or views of the actions of others. I speak for only one but I do forgive as Christ has forgiven the world of its sins and falling short of his glory. Bishop Long and none of us are perfect, only he is. Let's keep that in mind as we cast stones and judgment upon the situation.
I think it's obvious that the settlement was done to protect his reputation. And on the accusers side, to guarantee them a semi-favorable result. I think a trial would have hurt him more than a settlement because it would keep this matter in the public for his congregation who simply would not have been able to ignore it. And as we all know, the longer you hear something the more believable it becomes. Of course now we can't know the facts. And that would make anyone suspi-cious. Especially knowing how he vowed to fight the accusations, and well this isn't fighting but coming to a compromise.
Anyway, while I'm hesitant to convict or excuse him on these charges, I pretty much have a negative opinion of Bishop Long. His anti-gay stance is simply one that is prejudiced, outdated and unwelcomed in society. On those charges I am very willing to convict him.
Well said. I hesitate to declare him innocent or guilty based solely on a settlement. There are many good reasons for both sides to settle no matter the truth of the situation.
And yes, Long is not a man I would care to spend time with or look up to. Even if he wasn't so anti-gay. His arrogance is offputting.
These men disgust me that abuse their leadership roles and hide behind the shroud of religion and GOD and Jesus to seduce weak-minded individuals. I saw it first-hand growing up in a church not too far from Mr. Long's church. Power corrupts. Always question authority people...check the facts...do not accept them for face value just because they are in leadership. Do not be seduced by these men....and....yes forgive one another as you would want to be. However, putting them back in the power -position is like adding fire to the pile of dynamite....it will explode!
I think i'm gonna puke.
I love Bishop Eddie Long he is a Great Man and a great Preacher. Keep God First Bishop. May god bless you through the reach of the year and keep you in the Church. From TX
Lemming
Your false diety will not bless an admitted boy toucher. Pry yourself away from your TV and get an education please. Humanity will appreciate it.
Have you lost you mind..... He is not GREAT........ He committed every ACT, those young men accused him of....
Whether guilty of the accusations or not, Long has created a 'cult of personality' around himself. His church is not about any god it is about himself. Want evidence? Find out how much he spends on clothes, or cars, or houses, and don't forget to look at fringe benefits from the church, his personal income may be small, but like many CEOs, he may be getting benefits that outweigh his salary.
@Normon: He even looks a little like Corey Glover.
Its unfortunate that this happened, but it is possible that the man settled to protect his family and to keep the media from blowing this up in the news. No one can prove anything because we weren't there. Whatever happend to innocent til proven guilty? The settlement is just that, a settlement! Even innocent people convicted. Its appears that's a chance he didn't want to take with a case purely based on individual accussations.
And what is Lee talking about? Has she had to endure something on this level, no. Noone knows what they would do when put into a situation like this. But i do know that you will do your best to protect your family and the church from any long-term harm or scandal. Innocent or guilty, this needed to be resolved and brought to closure.
"Birds of a feather, flock together"
A settlement is the same as an admission. If he were truly innocent, he would have fought it with his millions of dollars, just like he said he was going to in the beginning. This is just another false prophet. A boy touching version of Howard Camping. These two should share a cell.
"The settlement comes eight months after Long, the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Church in Lithonia, Georgia, said from the pulpit of his 25,000 member megachurch that he vowed to fight the accusations against him, with the congregation cheering in response."
Any true Christian left at that Church ought to walk out the door and never go back. He said he 'would fight the accusations against him'. He obviously now is proven once again to be a liar and a manipulator. How do you get 'fight' from the word 'settle'. ???? It is going to cost millions of the church members money and they are putting other gullible , young people at risk. And or what? To protect the name and dignity of their Pastor? Their church? It is much too late for that! Much too late!
P.S. I wish the Christian haters would stop trying to pile on all Christians because of the acts of some people who demonstrate by their behavior that they are not actually Christians at all! Long is an 'evil and vile person'. There are some evil and vile non Christian people too! So give that a rest ok?
@ Colin
WarrenMa, I don't "hate Christians" I just think they tend to be gullible and to believe some pretty silly, supernatural things. My 8 year old niece believes in some pretty silly supernatural things too, but I don't hate her.
The problem is, from the outside looking in, when one Christian tries to differentiate between "true" Christians and not, it looks an awful lot like what is really being said is "he's not really one of us, he just says he is to make us look bad"...and while it's a perfectly human reaction to want to distance yourself from someone who does evil things, it seems, at best, a little less than genuine.
Which, is not to say that ALL Christians are any one thing or another.
But, when a Christian who is in a position of authority as a minister, priest, bishop, or what have you, abuses that authority, it does cast a shadow over anyone with the label, when the issue is not the faith itself, but the position of authority and it's abuse. People of all faiths and no faiths have abused their authority.
Hey, if OJ could be released on 2 murders by a jury of his peers: The Jury By Race: 9 Blacks(women), 1 Hispanics, 2 Whites
then Long will be forgiven also by most Blacks.
What makes you think all blacks have a united brain? I think he is a perv and that he will burn in hell and i am black. Oh ya and OJ did it period, neither are forgiven by me.
Guilty! I said it over and over again, He is going to buy his way out, and,HE DID! Let's see if his WIFE stay. She needs to leave, move on, go to the doctor, and hang his butt! It's time he settle with her. His CHURCH MEMBERS, RUN! LEAVE, or VOTE his butt OUT! He is sleeping with boys and preaching against GAYS! A GAY PERSON will tell the truth. Kick his butt out and wife, runnnnnnnnnnnnn or stay because you are dumb as hell. RUNNNNNNNNNNNN
She won't leave him. Money is too powerful.Besides that, the joke is on the congregation. When he said " I told ya'll im not perfect...", what that meant is " I'm capable of doing all kinds of stuff." Guilty as far as I'm concerned.
If he did this to those boys, and there is a hell. I'm sure the devil has reserved a spot for his. Religion seem to be a nice cover for the sick and twisted, hmm, think about it.
Setteling outside of court indicates to me, and to the court, that he is guilty. Not that any of this will limit his access to children, or stop hom from being a pedophile. This is yet another reason why religion needs to go away.
And what ever happened to "i'm going to fight this" and "I am innocent of these charges!" Yeah, that heald up. Boy toucher.
I have been victimized in my childhood by members of the catholic clergy, thanks to The God of my undersatnding and the miracle call Alcoholics Anonymous I am now 19 yrs free of resentments,shame,guilt which led me to a very destructive life thru alcohol and drugs. I won't judge religions, however I choose to keep a very healthy and safe distance from organized religion and I have a personal relationship with the God of my understanding whom I call Jesus. I hope people excercise caution in the way they deal with religion. Shame on pastor long.
Nor should you be ashamed El.
Religion will not go away, atheism will not go away and pedophiles will, unfortunately, not go away either. If these young men were abused for sure, we will never know, and the contract they signed will make sure they don't talk about it for a long time. One thing for sure, Mr. Long gave up the fight, but so did these 4 young men. If they were really after justice, then why did they give up? if they were after money then they have gotten what they deserve and everyone else is left to wonder. I think a person that was really abused would not settle out of court, he would want justice. Now, they have some money in their pocket and Mr. Long gets to go on about his business. Having a short memory is not always a positive trait, if Mr. Long did what they accused him of, then these four guys must have forgotten how bad it was and they are responsible for setting a criminal free. We should not "settle" with pedophiles, you cut off their "mr. long" and send them on a tour of Antarctica.
I'm right there with you Jackdaw: I REMEMBER HIM SAYING HE WOULD FIGHT THESE NONTRUE ALLEGATIONS. Fight fight fight.... ya, right. NEVER ONCE did Eddie say: these young men are LYING. He couldnt say that. These men must have gotten MILLIONS EACH to have settled. There is no way I would have dropped any charges for less than $5 mil myself. no way.
The Black church is, unfortunately, a total joke! Accepting of: false prophets, crooks, thieves, no true message on morality, unwed mothers, violence in the community, illiteracy, a lack of education, etc., etc., etc. But, the good thing is that many fools will show up to Bishop's Long's church on Sunday with cash in hand!!!
Exactly!!!!!
"Zombies In The Church"
http://www.pimppreacher.com
http://www.corruptpreachers.com
All churches thrive in illiteracy.
The Black church? Really. How about this:
David Koresh
Jim Jones
Heaven's Gate
Hale Bop
"rev" Moon
Camping
Miller
What do all of these have in common? None are/were black! Cultists and false prophets come from society and just like society they come in all flavors, colors, nationalities, and genders. There are NOT limited to a "black" church, "white" church, "green" church, or "polka dotted" church
It's not a black thing & you had white ones sleeping with their organists, Jim Bakker, you name it...corruption & evil does not have a color!
Really? What's so great about the "white" church? Does Ted Haggard come to mind? How about Jimmy Swaggart? Benny Hinn? Pedofile priest from the Catholic Church? David Koresh? Give me a break idoit!
Steve (the real one) says that David Koresh, Jim Jones; Heaven's Gate, Hale Bop, "rev" Moon, Camping, Miller, etc. were "cultists and false prophets"... and Moses, Jesus, Paul, Peter, Luke, etc. weren't? I see little difference except for better P.R.
Chuck
Really? What's so great about the "white" church? Does Ted Haggard come to mind? How about Jimmy Swaggart? Benny Hinn? Pedofile priest from the Catholic Church? David Koresh? Give me a break idoit!
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Chuck, The point is there is no such thing as a black church or white church. There is only The church! There are however, congregations that are predominately of a race or another. Ignorance has no color, evil has no color. Christ established ONE church and ex-teapartyr is speaking out of ignorance. My previous response was to attempt to explain that. Don't let all this noise get you down. Keep your peace and joy!
He didnt say that " only the Black Church", so he has a point. We need to stop scapegoating and look at the problem in our own back yard- and YES, that means the Black Church. We are not exempt. Therein lies most of the problem. In the Black Church, I've seen women willing to empty out their pocket books to a preacher before they give their own son or daughter a nickel or dime. I've seen them spend their money and time to make sure the pastor has something to eat before they will bake for their own family. Ive seen them set up shop selling hats and cakes out of their trunks after service, only to turn around and give every dollar back to their pastor. IT IS A PROBLEM. Yet you go into our black churches and you rarely see whole families sitting together. Single parents, unwed mothers, pastors calling the women " babydoll", etc. Charity starts at home, and alot of families in the black church are suffering because we have forgotten this teaching.
PraiseTheLard
Steve (the real one) says that David Koresh, Jim Jones; Heaven's Gate, Hale Bop, "rev" Moon, Camping, Miller, etc. were "cultists and false prophets"... and Moses, Jesus, Paul, Peter, Luke, etc. weren't? I see little difference except for better P.R.
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Hey Lard!
" and Moses, Jesus, Paul, Peter, Luke, etc. weren't? I see little difference except for better P.R".
No they were not and PR has nothing to do with it. No offense but it is fully understandable why you cannot see the difference. This is all spiritually understood and you are still spiritually asleep.
So this guy settled out of court, no doubt making use of the money his gullible congregation dropped into collection plates. They must be happy about that. No doubt they won't even make the connection, and they'll be right there dropping more cash into the pot.
The Christian sheep get fleeced again.
Fresh off of their huge disappointment that their sky-fairy did not "beam them up" during the recent Judgment Day rapture, the Christians face another day of soulful reflection as yet another minister (this one, a "bishop" no less) is revealed to be living a double-life.
Not to worry, though, their gullibility is unshakeable and he will no doubt be forgiven after a few sermons in which he “finds redemption with the lord Jesus” and the collection plates will be full again.
Ah, my Bible-cuddling friends, if only there was something we could do to protect you from yourselves. Unfortunately, you just can’t fix stupid.
Colin –
Please stop confusing the doomsday cultists with regular Christians. Those people are not Christians – they are extremist aberrations led by a tool who is taking advantage of people monetarily, similar to the "megachurches" of the Charismatic, Baptist, and Penecostal faiths, like this "Bishop".
Hey Snoop, I though the only difference between Camping and mainstream Christians was that he set a date certain, no?
The 'shepherd / sheep' imagery only works for people ignorant of the actual relationship. Shepherds don't keep sheep as pets, or to protect them beyond their value to provide revenue for the shepherd. So, yes, the shepherd is only interested in the sheep as things to provide him with his comforts. So, he fleeces them regularly and, after they've outlived this value, he butchers them for whatever worth their carcass can bring.
Maybe Christians are subconsciously aware of this when they refer to their leaders as shepherds and themselves as the sheep? It is, after all, really quite appropriate.
Another lying pedophile who gets away with it. I understand why the victims didn't want to go through a trial, and why the lawyers would settle.... but it grinds my teeth to leave this hypocritical pervert free to get richer and continue groping.
Apparently Jesus loves him anyway.