Now, I, like many, am left in the dark, asking so many questions about this predicament. Bishop Long has stated, personally and through his attourney, that he will not allow this to be judged in the court of public opinion... I'll start right there. Bishop (I'm pretending that he is a loyal reader of my blog, here...), as a minister of the faith, I understand why you feel that way, but, I don't agree with it. Let's face facts, you're the leader of a globally reknowned church, with both political, spiritual, and entertainment ties to the public at large. You are a charming and charismatic figure, who, though known in circles as a humble servant, has not escaped the slings and barbs of public critcism based on the flaunting of wealth, as well as your penchant as minister of the "prosperity movement." Bishop... (prayerfully he's still reading), this went to the public jury two hours after CNN broke the story. Damage control needs to be in order, though, I must admit, you and your staff are handling this with the utmost class and tact. I know, I know you made statements to the New Birth body... that was appropriate. They are the ones who will be affectedly directly by the outcome/resoltuion of this, but, for those outside of Lithonia, GA... those of us who feel ministered to via internet, radio, and televison, we need a statement. We need a wod of consolation, a simple word, "I'm fighting this; this is untrue..." Something not read from an IPad or dictated to a paralegal. Sincere words that will help us keep confidence in your innocence. You don't wanna talk to Don Lemon or Anderson Cooper, definitely not Bill O'Reiley, fine. Mo'Nique is probably salivating to get you on her couch... toss the fluffy female Arsenio a bone (she reminds us of why we loved Oprah at first)... Tom Joyner has called... for our Caucasian friends, Larry King or Barbara Walters are pretty tame these days! But, please, get out and say SOMETHING!
As a great segue, Brother Jamal... (I'll pretend that he's reading, too) I'll share this simply with you: Listen to your legal counsel. She's trying hard to win you a lot of money (be it fairly or unfairly), and if you and your co-plantiffs lose, based on you getting caught outside a Walmart and basically giving statements about Bishop Long, to a news crew, instead of saying "no comment" and walking away, then you will a.) Get destroyed in the aftermath by the public outcry, and b.) jeopardize the safety of others in the position you claim to have once been in. I'm not a lawyer nor journalist by trade or schooling, but, I saw so many holes in your comments that this guy (see below) could relocate the lake of fire inside it. In other words, brother, your
story by itself, is pure hell. It has no grounds to stand on, aside from some questionable photos, which were almost immediately shot down by members (both the prominient and the not so influential) of New Birth, both curren and former. And, since I'm already here, why not speak of the why we WOULD believe in a group of guys concocting a story of molestation against a famous preacher? To be transparent, many (both in and out of the body) have a very low tolerance for preachers, imams, priests, rabbis, yogis, and anyone else who claims to have some authority (especially in a religion) because of the sins of the past. Whenever claims of this nature are raised, we immediately deem the accused party guilty, based on the fact that the last one got away! So, (given the info available) a young man is arrested and prosecuted for breaking and entering into Bishop Long's home and stealing jewlery, gadgets and gizmos, totaling somewhere around the 100k range... THEN all of a sudden, he and his friend were molested by the bishop when they were teenagers... and later in the week, one of their friends, and one other member of the church who claims to have no prior knowledge of any of the suspected victims, come out of the woodwork claiming the EXACT same story. "But, we're boys! Why would boys make up a story as traumatizing, as humiliating as this for moetary gain?" Good question brother... Quick poll... anyone remember how much the 13 year-old little boy who initially claimed to have been molested by Michael Jackson settled for? $20 MILLION dollars. That's not a typo. Now, Eddie Long (personally) has nowhere NEAR the money that ol' MJ had, but that must be the reason the church is named in the suit, right? The suit, that's not about money, names Long's ministry and and New Birth MBC as co-defendants... Things that make you go, hmmm... Back to you, Bishop... (you're still with me, right?) Now, I left you with damage control, which leads me to the infamous photos... *Sigh* Bishop, I remember the old photos and video clips. We know that you were "healthy" (translation: chubby) back in the day, the S-Curl was even thinning out a bit... But then, I see these cellphone pics of this YOKED bishop that drastically resembles th
e Bishop Long I use to see. And these pics come out as a part of this scandal with these boys and I think, as a minister: C'mon Son!!! >>>>>>>>>>>
e Bishop Long I use to see. And these pics come out as a part of this scandal with these boys and I think, as a minister: C'mon Son!!! >>>>>>>>>>>Now, granted I'm still a babe in the preaching aspect of the ministry, but I knew when I was yet an ACTUAL babe, that men (and women) of the cloth are held to a standard, and that they should not forget to remain above reproach. Is there anything implied by the photos? No. Are they, even vaguely, sexually subjective or any sexual overtones implied? No... (thankfully). So what's the big deal? They're just a bad character reference at this point. Unless you can CONVINCINGLY argue that you thought you were sending those to the folks at P90X, and mixed up the addresses and or cell phone numbers, then it just makes you seem a little creepy and just as conceited as some assume you are. I mean, I like to work out. I need to do it more, definitely, but I would never send pics of myself posing in a bathroom mirror, in Under Armor... glistening about the arms and thighs, to another dude. Not even family. Not a workout buddy, not a fitness guru. Definitely not to a member of my congregation who looked to me as a "father-figure", and could possibly use them as weak evidence of sexual misconduct. Bishop: bad move.
All in all, folks, what does all this mean? As a Christian, I am duty bound by God the Father, and by Jesus Christ to be forgiving. Murder a family member, I MUST forgive. It's not an option, it's a prerequisite! I don't get to pick and choose whom I forgive, I forgive ALL! As much as it pains my flesh at times, I still do it. You probably wondered as you read through this blog post why the title was "Who Are We?" and the anwer is here. I spoke with a fellow (but greatly seasoned) minister this past Sunday about this whole scandal nonsense, and he spoke something that I have yet to see take place: When do we, as a body of believers, come together, pray, stop gossipping and forgive him? Guilty or innocent, when do we say, "As charged by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, brother, we accept your humble and sincere apology, and embrace and forgive you for your transgression." We spend so much time tearing down, get so involved in finding fault in other human beings, that we forget that we are just that! Many like using the excuse that we as ministers and evangelists, preachers and pastors, apostles, bishops, prophets and the like, are "supposed" to be the living representations of Christ on earth, that we forget that ALL Christians are called under that same definition! So if we stand in line to cast stones, we must expect to receive the same punishment and judgement when we have shortcomings and suffer with sin. I don't personally know nor have a relationship with Bishop Eddie Long, I've stated this numerous times, but what I do have is a spiritual kinship with him, as when I accepted Christ as my Savior, I was accepted as a spiritual son of God and made joint heir in an eternal inheiritance with my spiritual brother, Jesus Christ. I will support him, not because I feel I have something to gain behind it, but simply because I am held to a standard, charged by Christ Jesus to do so. So, I simply finish by asking a simple question: Who are you? Are you a Christian, in the spiritual sense of what you are expected to be, or are you a christian in the religious word only?
Peace+Love
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