Sex Scandal Threatens a Georgia Pastor’s Empire

[YankeeFan]

Charges haven't been proven yet, but his "Youth Academy" sounds pretty creepy.

Surprised this hasn't been discussed here yet. Why do I think it would be a bigger scandal if it was a Catholic Bishop?

But Bishop Long’s reputation and sprawling enterprises now stand threatened by a sex scandal.

Four former members of a youth group he runs have accused him of repeatedly coercing them into homosexual sex acts, and of abusing his considerable moral authority over them while plying them with cash, new cars, lodging and lavish trips.

...

The accusations center on the LongFellows Youth Academy, an exclusive group of teenage boys handpicked by Bishop Long for spiritual mentoring.

The boys went through a bonding ritual, known as a “covenant ceremony,” in which Bishop Long gave them jewelry and exchanged vows with them while quoting from Scripture as ceremonial candles burned, according to court complaints filed against the pastor. Reciting Bible verses, the pastor promised to protect them from harm and called them “spiritual sons.”

But four former members of the group now say the real purpose of the academy was to provide Bishop Long with young men whom he could lure into sex. The men say they were past the legal age of consent when Bishop Long initiated the relationships. Still, the charges have shaken Atlanta’s church-going society, spurring painful conversations from kitchen tables to talk radio.

Bishop Long cuts a flashy figure in Lithonia, the Atlanta suburb where he lives and has built his church. He is often seen in a Bentley attended by bodyguards. He tends to wear clothes that show off his muscular physique. He favors Gucci sunglasses, gold necklaces, diamond bracelets and Rolex watches. He lives in a 5,000-square-foot house with five bedrooms, which he bought for $1.1 million in 2005.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/us/26pastor.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

 

[RickStain]

Definitely a case where waiting for all the facts to come out seems like a good idea.

 

[mb]

I, for one, know I want my pastor to be driving a Bentley.

 

[dixiehack]

The name LongFellows Youth Academy is doing him no PR favors right now.

 

[YankeeFan]

I, for one, know I want my pastor to be driving a Bentley.

Looks like money's always been his motivator:

He studied business at North Carolina Central University, then went to work as a sales representative for the Ford Motor Company, but was fired over inaccuracies in his expense accounts. He moved to Atlanta to study theology and became the pastor of a small church in Jonesboro, Ga.

It's a lot easier to enrich yourself when you get to approve your own expense accounts.

 

[wicked]

Re: Sex Scandal Threatens a Georgia Pastor’s Empire

Yes, what a man of God, spending millions on items for himself, instead of helping the people in his congregation who need the money.

 

[imjustagirl]

This has been DOMINATING the urban radio morning shows (the only times I listen to the radio) here in town. The top-rated (I think) station actually replayed in entirety an interview they had with the lawyer for the first two guys to come forward, then the statement from Long's lawyer. This could be a long, drawn-out process, but it's not going to end well for anyone, I don't think.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Charges haven't been proven yet, but his "Youth Academy" sounds pretty creepy.

Surprised this hasn't been discussed here yet. Why do I think it would be a bigger scandal if it was a Catholic Bishop?

[/quote]


Oh, it's going to be plenty, plenty big. Story has all the ingredients.
Greed and moral turpitude . . . get the tar and feathers ready.

 

[Boomer7]

Charges haven't been proven yet, but his "Youth Academy" sounds pretty creepy.

Surprised this hasn't been discussed here yet. Why do I think it would be a bigger scandal if it was a Catholic Bishop?

Because there's been a massive cover-up by the Catholic Church hierarchy of the countless priests who've committed such acts in multiple countries, maybe? That would be my guess.

 

[hondo]

Charges haven't been proven yet, but his "Youth Academy" sounds pretty creepy.

Surprised this hasn't been discussed here yet. Why do I think it would be a bigger scandal if it was a Catholic Bishop?

Because there's been a massive cover-up by the Catholic Church hierarchy of the countless priests who've committed such acts in multiple countries, maybe? That would be my guess.

Granted. But does that mean anyone who gets himself involved in similar scandals who is of another denomination gets a pass from the same level of criticism?

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Excepting the sex charges, lotta parallels to the old Rev. Ike story . . .

 

[Bob Cook]

Eddie Long is on the front page of the NYT and lead the national radio news roundup this morning.

 

[YankeeFan]

Eddie Long is on the front page of the NYT and lead the national radio news roundup this morning.

I should have been more clear.

It's getting covered. In fact, the mainstream press is giving it the attention it deserves.

It's that it's not reverberating around the blogosphere, or receiving the focus of Olbermann or Maddow that is telling.

There were no threads about it on SportsJournalists.com & Starman hadn't weighed in with condemnation.

Long is very anti-gay. He's not only against gay marriage, but is one of the people who tries to "cure" gay people.

I'm waiting for him to be called a hypocrite and for this story to generate the "buzz" it would if the subject were a Republican Congressman from Florida or a Republican Senator from Idaho.

Maybe it will. It's still early and more info will come out.

 

[Stoney]

It's that it's not reverberating around the blogosphere, or receiving the focus of Olbermann or Maddow that is telling.

Umm, did it occur to you that perhaps that's because the story broke right before a weekend and Olbermann and Maddow only do their show on weeknights? Do you think MSNBC should have radically altered its programming with very special weekend Olberman/Maddow hours just because of this story?

I'm not sure what kind of coverage you were expecting. It's gotten plenty from what I've seen. The story's only a few days old and it broke right before a weekend, I'm quite certain Rachel, Keith and the rest will get to it this week.

 

[Bob Cook]

If you care to do comparables to get your knickers in a twist over what media is being unfair to whom, Ted Haggard is a much more applicable example.

 

[YankeeFan]

It's that it's not reverberating around the blogosphere, or receiving the focus of Olbermann or Maddow that is telling.

Umm, did it occur to you that perhaps that's because the story broke right before a weekend and Olbermann and Maddow only do their show on weeknights? Do you think MSNBC should have radically altered its programming with very special weekend Olberman/Maddow hours just because of this story?

I'm not sure what kind of coverage you were expecting. It's gotten plenty from what I've seen. The story's only a few days old and it broke right before a weekend, I'm quite certain Rachel, Keith and the rest will get to it this week.

False.

The lawsuits were filed on Tuesday & Wednesday:

Lawsuits filed Tuesday and Wednesday say the young men were 17 or 18 years old at the time, enrolled in New Birth Missionary Baptist Church's ministry for teen boys.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092201196.html

The AP story in the Post went online Wednesday night. Not sure if there was anything posted earlier.

This story didn't explode. It's taken a few days to get going.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

Bill Maher talked about this the other night.
I'm paraphrasing, but what he did was point out how so many of these pastors who are so outspoken against homosexuality turn out to be gay. He said that if a pastor's answer to the question about what he thinks about homosexuality is anything other than "I don't give a ****," he's probably gay.

 

[bydesign77]

I was just thinking, this broke on WSB early in the week. I remember hearing about it around atlanta and georgia all week.

 

[wicked]

The story didn't seem to go national until Thursday or Friday. I seem to recall the first couple lawsuits were reported on minimally, and once everyone started suing and Long started blowing off interviews, it picked up steam.

 

[YankeeFan]

ABC World News Sunday covering it now.

Long did not deny the charges today.

He said, "he's not a perfect man" and that he'd "fight this," but he didn't say the charges weren't true.

I feel bad for his congregation. They're obviously very invested in Long and very loyal to him. This will not be easy on them.