Pastor vows to fight accusations of sexual misconduct
Lawsuits allege Georgia bishop lured young men
LITHONIA, Ga. — Bishop Eddie Long said he is determined to hold on to the religious empire he built just outside Atlanta and would fight four lawsuits alleging he used his position to coerce young male members of his flock into sex acts.
Long took to the pulpit of his sprawling church yesterday and addressed his 25,000-member congregation defiantly and confidently.
“I’m under attack. I want you to know that I am not a perfect man, but this thing I’m going to fight,’’ Long said. “I feel like David against Goliath but I’ve got five rocks and I haven’t thrown one yet.’’
When he finished, the sanctuary roared with applause as Long dropped the microphone, took his wife’s hand, and left the stage.
Support for the bishop, one of the most influential religious leaders in the nation’s black community, was thick in the church, with people lining up at the doors of New Birth Missionary Baptist two hours before the start of service. Some wore T-shirts with one of the mottos of the church, “Love like him. Live like him. Lead like him.’’ Others stood in prayer circles, clutching Bibles and singing the hymn, “Wash Me White as Snow.’’
Long did not address the accusations directly against him on the counsel of his lawyers. But he did say: “I have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man but I am not the man that is being portrayed on the television. That’s not me.’’
Some people in the church cried even before Long took the stage and gave his statement and a brief sermon on facing painful situations.
Long, a married man with four children, told the crowd that his lawyers had advised him not to “try this case in the media.’’ While the remarks were short on details of the legal case, Bishop spoke at length about enduring painful situations.
CNN had cameras inside the church capturing the exuberant worship service, which is also broadcast to dozens of countries via Christian broadcast networks. After the sermon, Long declined to take questions from a few dozen journalists.
Members closed ranks around Long.
“The devil always tries to attack the Kingdom, but we know that victory is ahead,’’ said Ian Waite, a six-year church member.
“If it ends up being true, we have to be there on his behalf. He’s just human. In life we have failure and downfalls but God will see you through.’’
Long, 57, has been a national figure in African-American church circles since the mid-1990s. He came to national prominence in 2006 when his church hosted four US presidents for the funeral of Coretta Scott King. The church sits on a 240-acre campus, has satellite churches in other cities, and is one of the largest venues in Georgia.
According to the lawsuits filed in DeKalb County court, Long used jewelry, cars, trips, and access to celebrities to entice the young men into homosexual acts. B.J. Bernstein, the attorney for the four plaintiffs, declined to comment on the case or whether more young men would come forward with similar allegations.
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