FIRST READ: Ted Haggard And Evangelical Hypocrisy
http://www.yesumulungi.com/index.php/apostasy-watch/111-Ted%20Haggard%20And%20Evangelical%20Hypocrisy.html
Paul Crouch and Sodomy Allegations???
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/septemberweb-only/9-13-11.0.html
Uganda’s Evangelicals Shaken By Pedophilia and Sodomy
http://www.yesumulungi.com/index.php/apostasy-watch/239-ugandas-evangelicals-shaken-by-pedophilia-and-sodomy.html
PASTOR ROBERT KAYANJA THE TBN SUPERBOY IN HOMOSEXUAL ALLEGATIONS ?????
http://www.yesumulungi.com/index.php/apostasy-watch/340-lies-sex-and-hypocrisy-in-ugandas-evangelical-churches.html
Men allege sexual coercion by prominent Atlanta pastor, Bishop Ed Long
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-21/justice/georgia.pastor.abuse_1_pastor-sexual-relationship-suit?_s=PM:CRIME
(CNN) -- Two Georgia men have filed a lawsuit claiming that prominent Atlanta, Georgia, pastor Eddie Long coerced them into sex.
The suits, filed Tuesday in DeKalb County, Georgia, allege that Long used his position as a spiritual authority and bishop to coerce young male members and employees of his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church into sex.
"Defendant Long has a pattern and practice of singling out a select group of young male church members and using his authority as Bishop over them to ultimately bring them to a point of engaging in a sexual relationship," the suits allege.
Long is considered one of the nation's top black preachers. His church has more 25,000 members, according to the suit, and was the site of Coretta Scott King's 2006 funeral, attended by then-President George W. Bush and three previous presidents. King was the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The pastor took one plaintiff, Anthony Flagg, 21, on overnight trips to a half-dozen American cities in recent years, Flagg's suit alleges.
"Long shared a bedroom and engaged in intimate sexual contact with plaintiff Flagg including kissing, massaging, masturbating of plaintiff Flagg by defendant Long and oral sexual contact," the suit says.
Long took the other plaintiff, Maurice Murray Robinson, 20, to Auckland, New Zealand, in October 2008 for his 18th birthday and engaged in oral sex with him, Robinson's suit alleges.
"Following the New Zealand Trip, Defendant Long regularly engaged in sexual touching, and other sexual acts with Plaintiff Robinson," Robinson's suit alleges.
Long spokesman Art Franklin said Tuesday that "we categorically deny the allegations."
"It is very unfortunate that someone has taken this course of action," he said. "Our law firm will be able to respond once attorneys have had an opportunity to review the lawsuit."
Long frequently denounces homosexual behavior. A 2007 article in the Southern Poverty Law Center's magazine called him "one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement."
"Everybody knows that a bishop or church pastor ... cannot have any sort of sexual relations or sexual relationship with one of your parishioners," the lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, said at a news conference Tuesday evening. "And even worse to have it with two young men who trusted him and got to know him at a very young age."
Bernstein said she has alerted federal authorities about the allegations.
In June, Robinson was arrested and charged with burglary in connection with a break-in to Long's office. An iPhone, iPad and other items -- more than $1,300 worth -- were taken from the office, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
On Tuesday, Bernstein said the theft was Robinson's attempt to retaliate against the pastor. She said that once Robinson began telling others about his experience with Long, "he realized he wasn't the only one."
"It made [Robinson] angry," she said.
Both plaintiffs said the pastor, his church and church employees gave them cash and lavish gifts that ranged from cars to college tuition.
The suits also said that Long framed the sexual relationships as religious in nature.
The suits allege that Long chose the plaintiffs to be his "Spiritual Sons," a program that allegedly includes other young men from the church.
Flagg moved into a home owned by another New Birth pastor when he was a high school junior, according to the suit, where Long would sometimes share a bed with him. Flagg was eventually put on the church's payroll, his suit alleges, with Long personally delivering his checks.
Flagg's suit says that Long presided over a spiritual "covenant" ceremony between the two of them.
"It was essentially a marriage ceremony, with candles, exchange of jewelry, and biblical quotes," Bernstein said Tuesday. "The bishop [told] him I will always have your back and you will always have mine."
Robinson's suit alleges that "Defendant Long would use Holy Scripture to discuss and justify the intimate relationship between himself and Plaintiff Robinson."
The suits are seeking unspecified amounts of punitive damages from Long on various counts, ranging from negligence to breach of fiduciary duty.
Atlanta Megachurch Pastor Accused of Sexual Coercion
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/22/atlanta-megachurch-pastor-accused-of-sexual-coersion/
Madison Gray
It's a megachurch bombshell scandal reminiscent of the one that brought down Colorado evangelist Ted Haggard.
The much-celebrated preacher, Bishop Eddie Long, leader of the 25,000 member New Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, has found himself caught up in accusations that he coerced two young men into sexual relations on two different occasions when they were 17 and 18 years old.
A spokesperson for Long said the two men, who are now 20 and 21, were trying to "shakedown" Long and had "some serious credibility issues."
The suit, filed in DeKalb County Court, says alleges that Long engaged in "intimate sexual contact" with the first plaintiff during trips they took together, and had oral sex with a second plaintiff on a trip to New Zealand.
Craig Gillen, Long's attorney told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the pastor "categorically denies" the accusations. "We find it unfortunate that these two young men would take this course of action," adding the Long had not been served with copies of the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs say Long lavished gifts ranging from access to celebrities to college tuition in an effort to win their allegiance. Their lawyer, B.J. Bernstein said that although the alleged affairs started past the legal age of consent, which is 16 in Georgia, Long abused his influence with them.
"Defendant Long has utilized his spiritual authority to coerce certain young male members ... into engaging in sexual acts and relationships for his own personal sexual gratification," according to the lawsuits.
Late Wednesday, a new lawsuit was filed on behalf of a third male plaintiff, alleging the same coercion by Long and also names his youth organization Longfellows Youth Academy Inc., according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ironically, like Haggard, Long had a lengthy record of blasting homosexuality before the allegations came up. The Southern Poverty Law Center in particular criticized him for his anti-gay rhetoric and actions: "Long is one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement," a 2007 article on the organization's website reads.
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/22/atlanta-megachurch-pastor-accused-of-sexual-coersion/#ixzz10U2XNBaZ
Atlanta pastor says he will answer allegations Sunday
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/23/georgia.pastor.allegations/index.html?hpt=T2
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- In a statement read on a syndicated radio show Thursday, Atlanta-based megachurch pastor Eddie Long denied he had coerced young male church members into sex, as alleged in three lawsuits filed against him.
"I have been through storms and my faith has always sustained me," Long, pastor of the 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church said in the statement, read by attorney Craig Gillen on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show." "I am anxious to respond directly to these false allegations, and I will do so. However, my lawyers counseled patience at this time."
"Let me be clear: The charges against me and New Birth are false," the statement said. "I have devoted my life to helping others and these false allegations hurt me deeply, but my faith is strong and the truth will emerge."
Long asked for patience "as we continue to categorically deny each and every one of these ugly charges" and requested prayers for himself, his family and the church. He said he will respond to his congregation from the pulpit on Sunday.
Later Thursday, Long posted a message on Twitter reading, "Thanks for all your prayers and support! Love you all."
"These false allegations are an attack on Bishop Long personally," Gillen said. "They are an attack on New Birth, the entire church and all of its 25,000 good people who attend that church, and it's an attack on the mentoring program that has helped thousands of young men. It is deeply, deeply unfortunate that these allegations have been made. They will be met."
Gillen was interviewed by Roland Martin, a syndicated columnist and CNN political analyst, during Martin's segment on the Joyner show. Gillen said he is to blame for Long's failure to appear on the radio show as scheduled. Asked about a Thursday press conference that was also canceled, Gillen said he thought the matter was a misunderstanding, as he had never committed to a press conference.
•"That's my call," he told Martin regarding the interview and press conferences being canceled. "In assessing the situation, no lawyer likes to have his client in a situation where ... charges are made and the lawyer doesn't have control."
Attorney B.J. Bernstein, who represents the three men named in the lawsuits, said Long sent two photos of himself wearing tight shirts to a fourth man not named in the litigation. She said it was an example of inappropriate conduct.
Gillen defended the photos during an interview with an Atlanta radio station Thursday.
"The photos don't corroborate these charges," Gillen said on V-103's "Frank and Wanda Morning Show." "[Long] is a health advocate, he's a weight-lifter. He's a fellow who's gonna go to work and he's gonna have on a muscle shirt. And you know he may show up in church in a muscle shirt. There's nothing really in those photographs that seems to me corroborative of these allegations."
Long's supporters stressed he has been a mentor and guiding force for young men.
A YouTube video shot at New Birth shows Long talking with a man who gives a testimonial about turning away from a life of crime. The unidentified man points to Long and said he "has always been my dad when I didn't have a dad."
Long spokesman Art Franklin said the video shows the kind of spiritual impact Long has had on young men.
The third lawsuit joined two that were filed on Tuesday, all of them in DeKalb County, Georgia. It was brought on behalf of Jamal Parris, now 23, who like the others was a teenager when he joined Long's church.
The suit, which claims Long encouraged Parris to call him "Daddy," also names the church and Long's LongFellows Youth Academy as defendants.
The new lawsuit gives intimate details about Parris and his alleged relationship with Long.
Parris joined New Birth in 2001, when he was 14. Long counseled Parris when the latter talked about his strained relationship with his father and got him a job as a summer camp counselor at the church, the suit states.
The suit claims Long engaged in sexual acts with Parris. The young man eventually became a church employee and served as personal assistant to Long and traveled with him, the suit says. The pastor continued to engage in sexual activity with Parris and gave him money, trips and gifts, the suit says.
It says Parris left the church in late 2009, "disillusioned, confused and angry about his relationship with Defendant Long." The bishop manipulated and deceived Parris into thinking that the acts were a "healthy component of his spiritual life," the suit states.
The allegations are similar to those contained in the Tuesday suits, filed on behalf of Anthony Flagg, now 21, and Maurice Murray Robinson, now 20. All three contend the LongFellows Youth Academy and New Birth knew or should have known of Long's behavior and that they failed to warn the young men. The lawsuits describe LongFellows as an offshoot of New Birth.
Bernstein has alleged Long had a pattern of using his position as a spiritual authority and bishop to coerce young male members and employees of the church into sex. CNN was the first to report on the lawsuits.
But "this church and this bishop have been devoted to giving to the community and giving back to young men," Gillen said Thursday.
Long is considered one of the nation's top African-American preachers. His church was the site of Coretta Scott King's 2006 funeral, attended by then-President George W. Bush and three former presidents. King was the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The three men claim Long took them on overnight trips to various locations within the United States and beyond, sharing a room and engaging in sexual contact with them, including massaging, masturbation and oral sex.
Bernstein, who represents Parris, Flagg and Robinson, said Wednesday that the youths' accounts are "really strong."
She said she has worked with sexual abuse victims and finds the two believable because of "the emotion. The intensity. The very strong description of what sexual acts occurred. ... This is not just someone giving a vague thing, 'Oh, yeah, one time he did this,' or a couple of times."
Gillen noted that Robinson was charged in connection with a June burglary of Long's office, and said he is attempting to get tapes that have been turned over to the district attorney's office.
Bernstein said Wednesday that about $100,000 worth of items were taken, including black diamonds. She said the theft stemmed from Robinson's anger at Long and was an attempt to retaliate against him.
Asked the motive for the suits, Gillen said, "Let me put it this way. What is the motive of someone putting a ski mask over their face and breaking into your office to steal things? Money."
He said the suits, "without a single piece of corroborating evidence, (have) ignited a firestorm against this good man."
Long spokesman Franklin told CNN Wednesday the church employs many young people, and numerous people travel with Long. Gillen said the young men are taken on such trips to expose them to cultures and diversity they might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.
Asked how she can prove that sexual contact took place, Bernstein said Wednesday, "I am ready to put them under oath. Bishop Long can spend money on the best attorneys in this world, and they can question those young men, and then I'll get to question the bishop, and then we'll really see what's going on."
Long frequently denounces homosexual behavior. A 2007 article in the Southern Poverty Law Center's magazine called him "one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement."
The suits allege that Long chose the plaintiffs to be his "Spiritual Sons," a program that allegedly includes other young men from the church.
"Spiritual Sons are taken on public and private jets to U.S. and international destinations, housed in luxury hotels and given access to numerous celebrities including entertainment stars and politicians," the suit alleges.
Flagg's suit says that Long presided over a spiritual "covenant" ceremony between the two of them. Bernstein described it as "essentially a marriage ceremony, with candles, exchange of jewelry and biblical quotes."
The lawsuits are seeking unspecified amounts of punitive damages from Long on various counts, ranging from negligence to breach of fiduciary duty.
CNN's John Murgatroyd and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.
