Let the Healing Begin

The controversy over the Eddie Long case is not going away just because of a reported multi-million dollar settlement with four young men who accused him of using his religious authority to obtain sexual favors from them. While the lawsuit from the four men was pretty specific, the settlement is even more frustrating for those who sought the truth and hoped to find it in court. Three days after the settlement was announced, one of the Church elders, Rev. Bernice King, announced that she was leaving Long’s Mega- Church New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr did not say her departure is because of the lawsuit and the settlement. But she spoke with her feet and the timing speaks for itself.

There are those who continue to support Pastor Long and say that it’s time to move on. Others outside of his flock are laughing and mocking him because he didn’t step up and try to prove his innocence. Part of that attitude on both sides comes from what Long said in the very beginning, “I’ve got five smooth stones”, he said as he walked away from the pulpit in dramatic fashion, “And I haven’t thrown one of them yet!” That reference is to the Biblical story of David and Goliath and how the tiny young David, used a sling to defeat the mountain of a man called Goliath. As we know now, Pastor Long chose not to throw any of those stones, perhaps because of one ironic fact: If anyone was Goliath in this battle, it was Eddie Long.

Long is the leader of a 25,000 member congregation and is wildly loved and admired by his throng. His four accusers are former church members, who claim that Long used his position as their trusted minister to have his way with them. They were powerless and alone before they found a respected attorney to represent them and craft a lawsuit. Perhaps the most damming evidence against the Pastor, are those strange and provocative pictures of him in his underwear that he allegedly emailed or sent by phone to at least one of the young men. He could say the accusers were all lying to make him look bad and to get money from him. But nothing made him look worse than those images of him, standing in front of a mirror in his undies, and showing off his physique while holding a cell phone camera. What kind of a heterosexual man would send pictures like that to another man; especially someone who has led at least one anti march and spoken out against gay marriage? What kind of “Spiritual Leader”, who send those kinds of images to anyone, male or female. Those pictures remain the lingering images from this case and they may haunt Eddie Long for the rest of his life, because they will live on the internet forever.

After the settlement, when Long appeared in the pulpit this past Sunday he made no mention of the settlement, deciding instead to focus on the future and moving forward. The only real statement came from the church in a press release released last week.

"This decision was made to bring closure to this matter and to allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry," the statement read.

That is the tone that many of his supporters on Facebook have continued to press. They say he did not admit to any guilt; that he merely decided to settle to keep the nightmare case out of the media headlines. They press on that if you’re truly a Christian, you believe in forgiveness and redemption. Now they say, is not the time for mocking, but for healing and rebuilding a powerful ministry.

Those are powerful arguments, if you believe that the case shouldn’t be discussed any further. Personally I don’t care about the sordid details of the allegations, nor did I want to see this dirty laundry become front page news every day in an ongoing media circus that would have embarrassed the entire church community. But there’s a teaching moment here that makes continuing the discussion worthwhile for the congregations of all churches. A powerful preacher can deliver a strong message that makes all of us feel better about ourselves and make us want to work harder to be part of God’s plan. But too often church congregations seem to credit that message to their local messenger, the preacher.

The congregation channels their love of God through their preacher in an unhealthy way that resembles worship. But why should any Pastor be given the means to live in huge mansions, wear expensive tailored suits, drive expensive cars and travel the world in his own private jet? What preacher needs this kind of materialistic and lavish lifestyle to be an effective “Spiritual Leader”?

The Bible shows us that Jesus the Christ walked in sandals and lived among the people that he ministered to. Jesus abhorred materialism and was angered when he saw the Synagogues of his time being abused by the heretics and money changers who used the religion to get rich. But somehow that lesson isn’t preached today by many ministers who see the church as a source for their personal wealth. But it wasn’t Eddie Long who placed himself on this pedestal of prosperity. His congregation did this; because they wanted him to live large and somehow believed that they would follow him to this promised land on earth. Even to this day, he has followers who will tell you, “The Bishop needs his own jet, because he has a very tight schedule and needs to be able to come and go at a moment’s notice”! When I first heard that logic from a friend of mine, I could only look in her eyes and shake my head. Those are not the words of a Christian; those are the words of a member of a cult. No man or woman NEEDS that kind of power, no matter how big the church. There’s an old saying that applies here for New Birth Church and all others who think bigger is better or worship. Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely! If you place a fallible and mistaken prone human being in that kind of position, with no checks and balances, bad things will happen.

Yes I am willing to forgive because as a sinner, I am in constant need of forgiveness. But like most of us, I have never sent pictures of myself in my underwear to anyone, male or female, let alone to people that I am supervising, mentoring or advising. Those are not the actions of a responsible adult—PERIOD!

If Eddie Long truly wants to move forward, he needs to begin by apologizing to his congregation and the entire faith based community, because of the horrible distractions that were caused by this case. He needs to show his humility for once, instead of acting like he can just get on his jet and fly away from the problem. Forgiveness and redemption are there for the asking, but he needs to ask! Now the members of his congregation and other similar churches have a choice to make. Will you hold your pastors accountable for their actions, and treat them as mere human beings, or will you continue to worship them and allow this kind of behavior to continue? If your answer is no, as it should be, then LET THE HEALING BEGIN!