Megachurch Pastor Denies Abuse Allegations
11.02.2010
(Atlanta) The megachurch pastor accused of luring young men (and boys*) into sexual relationships categorically denied the allegations for the first time in a court filing Monday, saying he was only a mentor to the men who filed civil lawsuits against him.
Bishop Eddie Long has for weeks vowed he would fight the lawsuits in court, and promised in church sermons he would not let the legal troubles prevent him from doing its work. While his attorney has denied the allegations on his behalf, Long had not refuted them publicly until he filed his legal response. He said in the filing that each of the “claims of sexual misconduct are not true.”
The (boys and young men*), who were 17 and 18 at the time, say Long abused his spiritual authority to lure them into trysts with cars, jewelry and cash. Their attorney B.J. Bernstein said she doesn’t have much physical evidence backing up the complaints, but that she plans to subpoena records from Long that will show he traveled with the young men to New Zealand and elsewhere.
Bernstein declined to comment because she had not yet received the response.
Long, though, said in the four separate documents that he often encouraged his New Birth Missionary Church members to call him “daddy” and that some even called him “grandaddy,” but that the term was a sign of respect.
The bishop also said in the documents that he has long shared rooms with some of his church members, and that his parishioners often hug him. And while he admitted to giving the plaintiffs gifts, he said he often provided many members of his church with financial assistance.
Long became one of the nation’s most powerful church leaders over the past two decades, transforming a suburban Atlanta congregation of 150 into a powerhouse of 25,000 members that includes high-profile athletes, entertainers and politicians.
The bishop is a father of four who has been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage and his church has counseled gay members to become straight. But the TV preacher’s empire was threatened in September when the four men filed the lawsuits.
Two of the young men say he targeted them after they enrolled in the church’s LongFellows Youth Academy, a program that taught teens about sexual, physical and financial discipline. The other two – one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, N.C. – have made similar claims.
Local and state authorities have declined to investigate because Georgia’s age of consent is 16. And Long, for his part, has promised in church sermons that he would not let his legal troubles prevent him or his church from doing its work.
“I feel like David against Goliath,” he said in a sermon in September. “But I got five rocks, and I haven’t thrown one yet.”
*This article was edited to reflect that Bishop Long's victims were not all adults although apparently all were over the state's statutory age of consent for sexual relations.
11.02.2010
(Atlanta) The megachurch pastor accused of luring young men (and boys*) into sexual relationships categorically denied the allegations for the first time in a court filing Monday, saying he was only a mentor to the men who filed civil lawsuits against him.
Bishop Eddie Long has for weeks vowed he would fight the lawsuits in court, and promised in church sermons he would not let the legal troubles prevent him from doing its work. While his attorney has denied the allegations on his behalf, Long had not refuted them publicly until he filed his legal response. He said in the filing that each of the “claims of sexual misconduct are not true.”
The (boys and young men*), who were 17 and 18 at the time, say Long abused his spiritual authority to lure them into trysts with cars, jewelry and cash. Their attorney B.J. Bernstein said she doesn’t have much physical evidence backing up the complaints, but that she plans to subpoena records from Long that will show he traveled with the young men to New Zealand and elsewhere.
Bernstein declined to comment because she had not yet received the response.
Long, though, said in the four separate documents that he often encouraged his New Birth Missionary Church members to call him “daddy” and that some even called him “grandaddy,” but that the term was a sign of respect.
The bishop also said in the documents that he has long shared rooms with some of his church members, and that his parishioners often hug him. And while he admitted to giving the plaintiffs gifts, he said he often provided many members of his church with financial assistance.
Long became one of the nation’s most powerful church leaders over the past two decades, transforming a suburban Atlanta congregation of 150 into a powerhouse of 25,000 members that includes high-profile athletes, entertainers and politicians.
The bishop is a father of four who has been an outspoken opponent of gay marriage and his church has counseled gay members to become straight. But the TV preacher’s empire was threatened in September when the four men filed the lawsuits.
Two of the young men say he targeted them after they enrolled in the church’s LongFellows Youth Academy, a program that taught teens about sexual, physical and financial discipline. The other two – one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, N.C. – have made similar claims.
Local and state authorities have declined to investigate because Georgia’s age of consent is 16. And Long, for his part, has promised in church sermons that he would not let his legal troubles prevent him or his church from doing its work.
“I feel like David against Goliath,” he said in a sermon in September. “But I got five rocks, and I haven’t thrown one yet.”
*This article was edited to reflect that Bishop Long's victims were not all adults although apparently all were over the state's statutory age of consent for sexual relations.
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Of course Bishop Long and his church preached against homosexuality... But as we've seen time and time again, the most strident homophobes are always gay themselves. And of course he taught the failed belief that you can pray yourself to normative heterosexuality, after all, he did it... he's married with four children.
But then again, many gay men, including myself can tell you that being able to marry a woman and even father children with her while creating for the world a grand illusion of the perfect heterosexual life has little or nothing to do with the immutable feelings that lie deep within the human heart and soul which prescribe a different path and a different desire to bond with someone of the same-sex.
Only truth can free you from the destructive chains of self-imposed delusion. Sometimes you accept and face truth yourself, or as we are about to see in the case of Bishop Eddie Long, it has to be forced upon you even in the face of your most contrite denials.
"Fear Eats the Soul"
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