Posted on 09/23/2010 1:28:42 PM PDT by marshmallow
ATLANTA (CBS/AP) New pictures have surfaced of Bishop Eddie Long, prominent pastor of a 25,000-member megachurch outside Atlanta, as a third man has come forward accusing the anti-gay advocate of coercing him into sex.
CBS News' Erica Hill reports the pastor allegedly sent his accusers numerous photos of himself including at least several of him wearing spandex and workout clothes.
It's not known precisely how the photos surfaced.
B.J. Bernstein, an attorney for the three plaintiffs, said Long sent her clients dozens of e-mails, but they weren't "overly sexual," she said.
Long canceled an interview with the Tom Joyner Morning Show Thursday, opting instead to make his first public response to the sex allegations during a service at his Atlanta-area church on Sunday, according to his lawyer, who appeared on the nationally syndicated radio show in Long's absence.
Attorney Craig Gillen told Joyner that Long took young men on trips as part of a mentoring program, but stands by his denial of claims that he had sex with three of them.
In lawsuits filed this week, three men who were members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church claimed Long coerced them into sexual relations with gifts including cars, cash and travel when they were 17 or 18 years old. The sprawling church in Lithonia, Ga., about 18 miles outside of Atlanta, counts politicians, celebrities and the county sheriff among its members and hosted four U.S. presidents during the 2006 funeral of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King.
One of the claims in the lawsuits is that Long had sexual contact with the young men, who were enrolled in New Birth's ministry for teen boys, during trips he took them on in the U.S. and abroad. Gillen said the travel was part of a mentoring program that..........
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I wonder if he ever hooked-up with Ted Haggard?
Baptists have bishops?
Da buff bishop............
Says he’s against homosexual marriage but supported Clinton/Obama? A very confused individual at best.
A couple of those shots are really gay!
If convicted toss him out on the street. If the law is the young men were old enough that it's not against the law, but the proof is there toss him out on the street.
Yeah........but I think some of them are self-appointed....... :-)
Baptist churches are independent. Usually they designate people as Pastors and Elders.
Age of consent in Georgia is 16.
Therefore, these 17 and 18 year olds are simply gay prostitutes.
Age of consent in Georgia is 16.
Therefore, these 17 and 18 year olds are simply gay prostitutes.
A stories about gays with characters named “BJ” and “Long”?
You gotta be kidding me.....
How does one get to be a Baptist Bishop? Serious question.
By personal Consecration?
Who's to say him nay?
Self made bishops are often seen in black churches ..usually they have no training or denominational ordination or OVERSIGHT
Then it's going to be up to the Elders to determine if the accusations are true or not. If true, toss the bum out on the street.
This link has already been posted:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2594647/posts
Marshmellow, and several other Catholic FReepers are on a quest to somehow rehab the Catholic Churches handling of their own priest sex scandal via posting whatever accusations they can find of a Protestant Clergyman engaging in the same behavior.
Sad really, it is what it is.
If you're the Pastor of a church and you want to be called Bishop and the church wants to go along with it you can do it.
Baptist churches are organized in the same way as the Christian churches of the Apostolic Era. Leadership is determined by the congregation. We do not have a hierarchical structure.
What a great opportunity to show the difference in how Born Again Christians respond. I haven't seen any Evangelical Christians hoping on this thread making excuses, or condemning the victims. I don't believe my views are dissimilar from other Evangelical Christians, get to the truth and if he's guilty toss him out on the street.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.