I remember last fall when Bishop Eddie Long stood before thousands of his followers and vowed to fight the allegations that he coerced four teenagers into gay sex.
I guess what Bishop Long meant by “fight” is that he would be a hard-nosed negotiator at the mediation table to keep the settlements to his accusers as low as possible because that is what’s happening. He’s fighting to keep their silence.
But there wasn’t silence at the secret negotiation location, we‘ve come to learn. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, lots of loud thunder rumbled at that meeting as the four accusers reportedly tore into the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The television station described the atmosphere as “heated” with a lot of “emotion and anger,“ and that the young men “cursed the Bishop” as they described in “graphic detail” what he allegedly did to them sexually.
It is interesting to note that the Bishop “never responded,” sources close to the meeting told Fox 5, which Long was probably advised to do by counsel.
The whole scenario, as presented by the TV station, presents a disturbing picture. First, it adds credence to the accusers’ original complaints that Bishop Long leveraged the all-powerful name of God to persuade emotionally-needy young men to engage in ungodly activities — a clear case of sexual exploitation that also rocked the Catholic church to its core. Second, since the young men — who were teenagers at the time of the supposedly unwanted activities — felt compelled to freely unleash profanities and vulgarities at Long at this secret meeting, it means the alleged damaged inflicted upon them is deep, multifaceted and long-lasting.
Add to this the facts that Long admitted that he gave them gifts and cars, traveled with them to various glam locales domestically and internationally, and even slept in the same hotel rooms with them, the circumstantial evidence of a supposed wrongdoing continues to pile up close to or beyond the threshold of guilt, depending on your perspective.
That threshold has been reached for some, which partially explains the sharp decrease in attendance at New Birth. The economic doldrums undoubtedly factor into the Bishop’s announcement of cuts in positions and salaries at the 10,000-seat megachurch. But it makes you wonder. The economy has been stale for three years, but the church’s attendance is just now decreasing since the scandal broke. Then again, the accusers could be outstanding liars — each with an impeccable story that just so happens to corroborate the stories of the others.
Unfortunately, because Bishop Long chose not to fight as he said he would, we will never know what really went down. –terry shropshire
