Eddie Long, Pastor of New Birth accused of being on the "down low" (Decatur: lawyers, snake)

[AcidSnake]

The only recourse for the current members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church would be to quit. Ten years after Eddie Long was Pastor, in 1997, somehow the church had changed its articles of incorporation to remove the rights of all the 25,000 members from being able to impeach him. So this whole thing is his baby, and his alone.

Even the mission statement gives the impression that the church is not there to serve the people. Read article from the Dekalb Crossroads link and you will see why.

CrossRoadsNews - No say for New Birth members

Originally Posted by CaliDude1

Excellent post. Long is looking more and more pathetic as this thing drags out. But people can spare me with the "abused victims" talk. These guys were of the legal age of consent. At 17 and 18 you know what you are doing. They were paid very well for it. The gravy train stopped. The attention stopped, and now they feel jilted.

On a side note, it is amazing to me that there is no church governing body that can remove Long from his position. The accusations and (more importantly) Long's response to those accusations make him a distraction and a hindrance to New Birth members. However, since Long is at the top of the food chain in his organization he can remain in position as long as he likes. Hopefully these accusations will bring to light the need for real checks and balances in these huge non-denominational churches. In a vocation that is supposed to be all about serving others no man should be so secure in his position that he can't be checked or removed. Dictatorships rarely do well at serving the needs of the "regular" people. Of course, if New Birth members tolerate it then nothing will change. Seeing Long as a "prophet" and an "anointed man of God" or "under attack" gets in the way of demanding change and true accountability.

[Childfree35]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Bingo. Not to condone the alleged actions of Bishop Long, but for the reason that NYPeach states, I find it hard to work up any sense of righteous indignation for the so-called victims here. The same goes for those tramps that stood there boo-hoo-hooing next to Gloria Allred in front of the cameras because they were 'done so wrong' by Tiger Woods.

Anyone can't see the difference in Long's motives are ignorant.

Long was a mentor and father figure to those boys. When, the priest molest and rape boys, we sit and degrade those men. Now, Long has done the same and we sit and blame the victims. Absolutely shameful!

btw: Long is not on the "DL", he's a predator. He's a child molester.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by Childfree35

Anyone can't see the difference in Long's motives are ignorant.

Long was a mentor and father figure to those boys. When, the priest molest and rape boys, we sit and degrade those men. Now, Long has done the same and we sit and blame the victims. Absolutely shameful!

btw: Long is not on the "DL", he's a predator. He's a child molester.

Who said that I was letting Long off the hook, please!!
An earlier poster referred to the 'victims' as 'kids'...again, please.
Interesting what predators get away with these days when referred to as 'kids', BTW.

94 year old attack victim in critical condition | ATLWEBMAG

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by Childfree35

Anyone can't see the difference in Long's motives are ignorant.

Long was a mentor and father figure to those boys. When, the priest molest and rape boys, we sit and degrade those men. Now, Long has done the same and we sit and blame the victims. Absolutely shameful!

btw: Long is not on the "DL", he's a predator. He's a child molester.

These dudes don't give a **** about the sexual acts they had with long; they just want him to suffer because he kick them to the curb. The boy in Colorado pretty much said that the only reason they came out publicly about it is because he didn't want to be bothered with them anymore.

No one is excusing Long's action, but I'm not going to sit up here and feel sorry for idiots who are just emotionally scarred for letting some douchebag use them for their body and kick their ass to the curb when he got tired of them. These dude ain't suffering from the so called "rape", but they are heartbroken because he left them and now they want to expose him.

[nat_at772]

Originally Posted by NYPeach

I have to agree with you on this. I am in NO way condoning anything but these young men were not, in my opinion, misguided innocents. I believe they knew exactly what they were doing and more important why they were doing what they were doing--to get paid, simple as that.

If someone else had come along with a bigger wallet or car or prestige, they would have been the ones dumping Eddie Long.

If Eddie Long is guilty then yes he did breach a trust, and he has his own issues to deal with but he didn't coerce them. They were old enough to understand what the deal was even if they were naive enough to think no one else would come along and take their place down the line.

And while fingers are pointing at Eddie, I agree with you, where were the parent(s)/adult figures in their lives? No way I could come home with a car or any other expensive gift, or be going on international vacations without my mother raising an eyebrow and 20 questions in rapid succession.

'And the single parent/lack of father figure in their lives' excuse doesn't cut it.Many are raised by single parents including my brother and I and our parents had us in check. There is plenty of blame and fingers to point in this situation-the accused, the accussers, the parent(s)/parental figures, etc. There aren't too many blame-less parties, possibly only varying degrees of blame or shame.

To me this is more about scorned lovers seeking revenge against their ex .
If the charges for that theft against the initial plaintiffs were dropped, would this sexual suit had been filed at all?

No matter how this is analyzed, bottom linem, it isn't pretty.

I agree with everything you said here. Especially about the parents. Part of me is wondering if they weren't somehow benefiting from this "mentorship" as well and that's why they never investigated the gifts, money and other tokens of appreciation the Bishop showered on the sons.

[elvez]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Who said that I was letting Long off the hook, please!!
An earlier poster referred to the 'victims' as 'kids'...again, please.
Interesting what predators get away with these days when referred to as 'kids', BTW.

94 year old attack victim in critical condition | ATLWEBMAG

You are comparing these kids who are victims of a sexual predator to a couple of thuglets? Wow. I can't believe the blame the victim mentality displayed here.

[NYPeach]

Originally Posted by elvez

You are comparing these kids who are victims of a sexual predator to a couple of thuglets? Wow. I can't believe the blame the victim mentality displayed here. Black culture has failed even more than I thought.

Culture period, whether it be black culture, white culture or whatever culture is failing. Some people allow alot of excuses for things and when our young adults whine and cry and act out etc, we wonder why. We are suppose to be training our children to be responsible adults.

I was taught by a strong African Caribbean-American culture to take pride in myself, to think about the CONSEQUENCES of my actions before I do anything. This does not make me perfect for I have had my share of faults, stumbles.

And like these young men, at a young age I had a situation where an older gentlemen tried to woo me and I let him know in no uncertain terms, "home-girl don't play with married men"- no matter what car you drive, money in your wallet, etc; all the things a young girl of 18 would love to have, but what would I have lost if I gave into him. I got me a single guy I loved and in no ways rich, but he was mine and no issues.

And for the record I told my mom about it and we discussed our options.

My point, the married man was older than me and a mentor figure, not a father figure, but still in a position of "power" and tried to use that to get over. If I slept with him I might have gotten an A+ instead of an A (which I deserved), but I got an A+ where it mattered- Self Respect.

So black culture isn't failing, maybe some of us remember what our mamas and grandmas and aunties, and uncles and daddies and all our elders from back in the day taught us. "Respect yourself." And you can learn that regardless of whether you are from a single parent or double parent household.

I don't condone Eddie if he did what he is accused of, but I believe this is being brought to light now, not because these men find what they did repulsive, they are angry, they feel scorn and they are seeking revenge.

"Seeking Justice" would have been saying something years ago when this started, not after you've partaken of all the goodies and then been kicked to the curb and replaced.

Again I am not excusing Eddie Long but at 16 and 17 years old, you know certain things, they were not complete innocents.

[Sweet Atlanta Peach]

Wow, this thread gets more and more interesting as the days go by! If I do feel sorry for anyone in this horrible situation, it is not Eddie Long nor those boys, but for his wife and children. What were his children feeling like while he was mentoring and being a father figure to these boys? I am sure with the trips taken, the "sessions" at these very places these boys claim to have had with him and everything else, HIS children probably felt like they had an absent father.

Wow...just...wow!

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by elvez

You are comparing these kids who are victims of a sexual predator to a couple of thuglets? Wow. I can't believe the blame the victim mentality displayed here.

No, I was not comparing them. The 'thuglets' are hiding behind their age once caught, but were perfectly capable of committing the act of a full-blown sociopath prior.
Again, am I suggesting that Long is the wronged party here? OF COURSE NOT. But do I see these 'victims' as angelic-faced altar boys? Again, of course not. This was an 'arrangement', quid pro quo. And as has been implied in posts previous, 'Hell Hath No Fury...'.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by Sweet Atlanta Peach

Wow, this thread gets more and more interesting as the days go by! If I do feel sorry for anyone in this horrible situation, it is not Eddie Long nor those boys, but for his wife and children. What were his children feeling like while he was mentoring and being a father figure to these boys? I am sure with the trips taken, the "sessions" at these very places these boys claim to have had with him and everything else, HIS children probably felt like they had an absent father.

Wow...just...wow!

Most pastor's children have have a strong disdain for them for that very reason. I know, my pastor has spoken strongly numerous times about cutting back in the past and rebuilding his relationship with his oldest child who has a strong dislike for him because he spent so much time with the church and member issues that he felt forgotten. It's a reason why folks say pastors children are the worst..