Bishop Eddie Long Statement to Congregation to Stream Live, The Examiner, September 25, 2010

Bishop Eddie Long Statement to Congregation to Stream Live

The Examiner
September 25, 2010

http://www.examiner.com/gospel-music-in-houston/bishop-eddie-long-statement-to-congregration-to-stream-live

Bishop Eddie Long

Per CNN only a portion of the service will be streamed. Halfway through the 8:00 service the live feed will stop and cameras will have to leave. Apparently Bishop Long wants to address the congregation without interfence of media.

Immediately after the 8:00 ET service there is going to be a live press conference that will be broadcast live. Bishop Long, his wife and attorneys will be in attendance at the press conference.**

Bishop Eddie Long is scheduled to address his congregation on Sunday, September 26th at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. regarding the claims of sexual coercion against him by four young men. The statements will be streamed live by local media such as CNN, www.myfoxatlanta.com, www.wsbtv.com and www.11alive.com.

There have been conflicting reports about whether or not he would step down from his position. CNN political analyst Roland S. Martin has stated that he should step down from his positon for the sake of the church, his family and himself.

The details outlined in three lawsuits -- a fourth man stepped forward on Friday -- have rocked the Christian community. Bishop Long isn't just a preacher with a storefront church. He oversees a massive 240-acre complex in Lithonia, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, a congregation of 25,000 members, schools, and an international ministry that is seen on TBN, Daystar, The Word Network and online. He is widely respected as a strong man of God who ministers annually to fellow pastors, men, youth and a mega women's conference.

His influence is tremendous and far reaching, even in the areas of education and politics in Georgia.

With all that said, and I fully understand that he has vigorously denied the allegations, there is no doubt in my mind that for the sake of the church, Long and his family, he needs to remove himself from the pulpit as the leader of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in order for the issue to be resolved to its conclusion.

Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of Atlanta mega-church, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, has been accused of sexual coercion by Maurice Robinson, 20, Anthony Flagg, 21, and Jamal Parris, 23. Counts in the civil suit range from negligence to breach of fiduciary duty. Unspecified amounts of punitive damages are being sought.