Another one bites the dust..
Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:22 pm
When will people stop falling for this right-wing, hate ridden, rubbish, dressed up as religion?AT THE height of his power, Bishop Eddie L. Long would pack tens of thousands of people into his mega-church in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.
With his well-cut suits, liking for Bentleys and dynamic, accessible preaching, he quickly climbed the list of the nation's most powerful religious leaders.
He built his ministry, which stretches to Kenya and other countries, on a strong message of conservative Christianity that included promises of prosperity and attacks on homosexuality.
But life inside Bishop Long's home had long been crumbling. And on Sunday, members of his dwindling congregation heard the news they had braced for.
Their charismatic bishop, who in May settled with five young men who accused him of sexual coercion and who has fought a series of other legal battles, said he was temporarily stepping away from the pulpit to try to save his marriage.
The announcement came after his wife, Vanessa Long, 53, issued a series of conflicting statements on Friday, first announcing that she was going to divorce him, then recanting after ''prayerful reflection'' and, finally, saying she did intend to end their marriage of 21 years. They have four children.
''Vanessa and I are working together in seeking God's will in our current circumstances,'' Bishop Long, 58, said in a statement issued by the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
During Sunday services, he told congregants he was still their senior pastor and would continue to provide direction but he needed time to take care of ''some family business''.
Members attending services pledged support and said they would stay until his return.
''He needs to be with his family,'' said Marilyn Arnold, a business manager. ''When he comes back, we'll be here.''
But not everyone remains a believer. Valencia Miller, a property manager, said she left the church after the young men who accused the bishop of sexual impropriety came forward.
''A lot of us left. I mean, a lot,'' she said in an interview.
Like others, she hopes Bishop Long turns this temporary break into a permanent one.
''The church needs a cleansing,'' she said. ''I'm real disappointed. He was a man we all looked up to.''
Bishop Long took over the congregation in 1987 when it had only a few hundred members. He built a following of 25,000, according to the church's website, and reached millions more on television.
Just after Easter, he settled a lawsuit in which young men claimed that the pastor offered gifts, trips and emotional and spiritual guidance that eventually led to sexual relations. One of the young men, Maurice Robinson, said in court records that his relationship with Bishop Long began when he was 15 and that on a trip to New Zealand the two engaged in sexual acts.
Bishop Long initially vowed to fight the charges, proclaiming his innocence and comparing himself to David who fought Goliath in the biblical story.
''I have five rocks and I haven't thrown one yet,'' he said when the charges were revealed.
But there have been other legal battles. Ten former members who attended church investment seminars are suing him, claiming he coerced them into investment deals that cost them their retirement savings. He recently reached a settlement in a lawsuit over a $US2 million ($1.95 million) bank loan, much of which went unpaid after a real estate deal that went bad.
In 2007, Bishop Long was one of six ministers whose tax-exempt status was investigated.
Support for the bishop continues to shrink. Just before the sex coercion settlement was announced, the Reverend Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King jnr, left the church.
On Sunday, a small group of anti-gay religious protesters stood outside the church urging Bishop Long to step down permanently. They planned to return every month until he left.
''He has a serious moral character flaw,'' said Isaac Richmond, 73, the minister at the Church of Human Development in Memphis.
''It's a moral question and he's a religious figure.''
The Reverend Timothy McDonald, a Baptist minister in Atlanta and chairman of African-American Ministers in Action, said attendance at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church had dropped to 4000 from about 8000 at one stage this year
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/bishop-step ... z1fh3sWCFA
You arse!!