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Jamal Parris, one of the four accusers in Bishop Eddie Long sex scandal said, “That the Bishop turned his back on them when he had no more need for them.” “This was our father and we loved him.” His presence alone is seduction to a boy without a father.”
When asked why he didn’t say no this is wrong? Parris Says he was “Afraid to loose a father.” “You finally have a father that you’ve always wanted for and always dreamed of,” Parris said. “He would just walk away from you if you don’t give him what he wants. So you end up turning into something you never thought you would be, which is now a slave to a man that you love.”
Recalling the details of nights spent with Bishop Long, Parris said, “I cannot get the sound of his voice out of my head,” “I cannot forget the smell of his cologne. And I cannot forget the way that he made me cry many nights when I drove in his car on the way home, not able to take enough showers to wipe the smell of him off of my body.” Jamal Parris spoke to Atlanta’s Fox 5 and told the station, “that man can not look me in my eye and tell me we did not live this pain,” Parris said. “Why you can sit in front of the church and tell them that you categorically deny it. You can’t say that to our face. And you know this. You are not a man, you are a monster.”
Bishop Eddie Long (left) Poses with Jamal Parris (right)
President Barack Obama in an Albuquerque, NM, backyard. President Obama is trying to reconnect with the American people, and he is using the simple setting of everyday citizens backyard, to do it. In one of the questions a woman threw the president a unscripted question — “Why are you a Christian? she asked. This gave Obama an opportunity to speak on his Christian faith, and once again dispel the rumors that he’s a Muslim. Obama said:
You know, I’m a Christian by choice. My family didn’t — frankly, they weren’t folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn’t raise me in the church.
So I came to my Christian faith later in life and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead — being my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, treating others as they would treat me.
And I think also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings, that we’re sinful and we’re flawed and we make mistakes, and that we achieve salvation through the grace of God. But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace.
And so that’s what I strive to do. That’s what I pray to do every day. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith. And it’s — but the one thing I want to emphasize, having spoken about something that obviously relates to me very personally, as President of the United States, I’m also somebody who deeply believes that the — part of the bedrock strength of this company is that it embraces people of many faiths and of no faith — that this is a country that is still predominantly Christian. But we have Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, and that their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own. And that’s part of what makes this country what it is.
White House aides says ithe backyard discussions are a good way for the president to get out of the “white house bubble,” and hear the needs of everyday people. It’s also a strong point for the president which keeps him in campaign mode. The President is scheduled for future backyard stops in Iowa and Wisconsin.
What do you think? Do you think the President is doing a good job expressing the beliefs of the Christian faith? Is the backyard talks helping his approval rating?
In Black in America’s third year, CNN will focus on the church. Spiritual and gospel music has always been at the heart of the black church. To honor this rich tradition, CNN is inviting choirs around the world of all denominations to sing as one.
How to participate: Gather your choir and sing a very special hymn, “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power” by Andrae Crouch — commonly referred to as “The Blood.” Then upload your video here. CNN will blend all the videos together to create a unique global version.
Tips and guidelines:
– Please sing in the key of F.
– We encourage you to sing a cappella, but minimal instrumentation like percussion is welcome.
– Audio is key, we encourage you to use microphones in order to capture the best possible audio.
– You’re welcome to sing in your place of worship, but we encourage you to sing someplace that best represents your hometown. Someplace significant to your community.
– Don’t have a choir? That’s fine – sing by yourself, or with members of your congregation.
Upload your videos below before Sunday, October 10, 2010. Please be sure to include the name of your church and choir and please keep video files under 600MB. After you’ve uploaded your videos, CNN will put them together to make a global choir of voices.
Baptist televangelist Eddie Long said Sunday he will fight allegations that he coerced young male church members into having sex with him.”I am not the man that has been portrayed on television,” he told his congregation.
This after a fourth lawsuit has been filed against Atlanta-area pastor Eddie Long, alleging he coerced a 17-year-old into a sexual relationship during a 2005 trip the two took to Africa.
The suit — filed, like the others, in DeKalb County, Georgia, State Court — claims Long invited Spencer LeGrande, now 22, on a trip to Kenya.
On the first night in Nairobi, Long asked LeGrande to come to his room, where the youth told the pastor he was having difficulty going to sleep, the suit states. Long provided Ambien, a sleep aid, and they both took the drug, according to the suit.
Long then gave LeGrande a hug, kissed and licked the youth’s lips and rubbed the teen’s chest, according to the lawsuit. They slept in bed together that evening and during the rest of the Kenya trip, the lawsuit states, adding they went on shopping sprees.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Long denied these allegations along with the other three.
Speaking publicly about the accusations for the first time, Long did not address the specific allegations contained in four lawsuits filed against him earlier this week.
“I’ve been accused, I’m under attack,” he said, lowering his head and softening his voice behind the pulpit at the New Birth Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta.
“I want you to know, as I said earlier, that I am not a perfect man. But this thing, I’m going to fight,” he said. “I feel like David against Goliath, but I’ve got five rocks and I haven’t thrown one yet.”
With that, the 57-year-old pastor put down his microphone and walked off stage, receiving deafening applause from the thousands who had come to hear him.
The lawsuits accuse Long of using his power and influence within the 25,000-member church to lure young male church members into sexual relationships. The suits allege that the relationships, which began when the men were in their teens, lasted over many months.
Long took the young men — all of them teens at the time — on trips, including to Kenya, according to the suits. Long allegedly paid for their hotel rooms, and gave the young men gifts, including a car, cash and jewelry — all in exchange for sexual favors such as massaging, masturbation and oral sex.
The accusations were particularly controversial because Long, who is married, has preached passionately against homosexuality over the years.
In 2004, he led a march to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s grave in Atlanta in support of defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. He once declared that his church had created a ministry that “delivered” people from homosexuality. He has a national presence, has been invited to the White House, runs a popular television ministry, and oversees a worship campus that includes a school.
In the parking lot after the services Sunday, church member Juan Davis told CNN affiliate WXIA that he was “very satisfied with what I heard.”
“It’s a very difficult moment for the church, for the pastor, but I know for sure they’re going to overcome it — overcome it in a big way,” Davis said.
Gabrielle Richards, 21, who has attended New Birth for nearly eight years, told CNN that after hearing Long’s sermon, “nothing has changed.”
“My love for the ministry, my love for [the] bishop and his family has not changed,” she said.
Richards also said she was proud of Long for “the way he came out with his head up. … He showed the strength that I’m accustomed to.”
On Saturday, New Birth members also voiced support. “I stand behind the bishop because of the leader that he is. He is a true leader. The word that he gives is so rich, it is so life-changing,” church member Gary Foster Jr. told CNN.
A former New Birth employee, Kevin Bond, said he hopes the allegations are not true. “The evidence … all of that is very troubling to many of us in the gospel community, the Christian community,” said Bond.
Long gave 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. sermons on Sunday. They were essentially the same. Eliciting chuckles from the audience, Long began both by joking, “I gotta talk to my family” of worshippers before addressing what other “folk” — meaning media — were there to hear.
Both sermons focused on “understanding painful situations.”
He quoted Isaiah: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Long encouraged congregants to think about natural disasters — tornadoes and floods. He specifically named Hurricane Katrina and other “painful situations.”
“Bishop Eddie Long will have painful situations,” he said.
Shouts of affirmation came from the audience.
“We will walk through this painful situation,” he continued.
Then, the bishop quoted the 23rd Psalm.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death …”
Worshippers were on their feet.
He urged them to stay committed to being “prayerful,” then briefly reminded them that it’s nearly election time in Georgia, that it was important to vote and be involved.
He then went back to speaking about himself. “Some people think I’m lost,” he said. It is those people, he said, who “will have an opportunity to come down to the altar.”
New Birth will continue to worship and thrive, he said.
“We ain’t gonna stop it,” he said.
More cheers. The camera panned to the pastor’s wife Vanessa Long. She smiled.
Each sermon ran approximately 20 minutes.
Between sermons, Long spoke briefly to reporters. “I want this to be dealt in the court of justice and not by public opinion,” he said. “I will say that I am going to fight, fight very vigorously against these charges.”
Bishop Eddie Long scandal photos (pictures below), on a cellphone, in his bathroom, were released by plaintiff’s attorney. Bishop Eddie Long’s scandal pictures don’t depict much, showing the Bishop fully clothed, and not validating any of the claims of the plaintiffs.
Plaintiff’s attorney released the two pictures in which the Bishop is dressing in a muscle shirt holding his phone up in the bathroom. One bathroom, while not verified by the attorney, appears to be a hotel bathroom. The attorney representing the plaintiffs is referred to by local news as a “prominent Atlanta” attorney, B.J. Bernstein. In releasing the pictures, Bernstein said the pictures were taken by Long and sent to young teen males who attended Longfellows Youth Academy. She would not specify who specifically received the photos or where the photos were taken.
In a statement read on a syndicated radio show earlier Thursday morning, 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.
“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.”
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.
“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.”
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, which like the others was filed by Atlanta attorney B.J. Bernstein, 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 Art 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.
Bridgeport, CT – – The legendary Bishop Kenneth H. Moales, Sr., Presiding Prelate of the Pentecostal Churches of Jesus Christ and founding Pastor of The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit | Prayer Tabernacle Church of Love passed away on Monday, September 20, 2010, after suffering a fatal heart attack in Bridgeport, CT. Bishop Moales, known as the Elijah of Gospel Music,recently celebrated his 65th birthday with his family and a host of close friends. Bishop Moales is a documented hero in the hallmark of preaching, music and leadership. There are few gentlemen that will live such a consecrated life of service for God and His people.
Bishop Moales presided over the states of Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. His dioceses also includes the Kunjalo Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa under the leadership of Bishop Hezekiah X. Walker. He also served as President of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, Inc. which recently celebrated 77 years of Gospel music ministry. He was inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum for his many years of committed work in Gospel music.
A native of Bridgeport, Bishop Moales was most noted for his contribution to gospel music and dedication to choirs. He served as pastor of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit for 42 years and was named President Prelate of the Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ in 1995. Bishop Moales is also the author of the book Strategies for Spiritual Warfare: A Collection of Sermons.
Bishop Kenneth Moales, Sr. is survived by his wife of 43 years, Lady Peggy Ann Moales, three children, twelve grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Bishop Kenneth H. Moales, Sr., D.D.
September 21, 1945 – September 20, 2010
Service Information:
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Community & Civic Service – 12noon – 6:00PM Prayer Tabernacle Church of Love 1243 Stratford Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06607
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Morning Worship – 10:00AM
Bishop Moales will lie in state from 3:00PM – 9:00PM
Celebration Of Life Musical – 5:00PM – 9:00PM
Cathedral of the Holy Spirit 729 Union Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06607
Monday, September 27, 2010
Celebration of Life Homegoing Service – 10:00AM
Bishop Moales will lie in state at 8:00AM The Arena at Harbor Yard 600 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06601
Archbishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr., Eulogist Presiding Prelate, Mt. Calvary Holy Church of America, Inc. Best friend for 50 years
Nashville, TN (September 20, 2010) — It’s been almost a year since some of the top names in the Gospel Music Industry have come together to relax, reflex and revitalize ideas among one another in a setting just for them, but that’s about to change.
Dr. Bobby Jones, visionary, will be hosting the Bobby Jones Gospel Artist Retreat and New Artist Showcase in his NEW state of the art “Visions” Production Studio in Nashville, TN on October 15 – 16, 2010. This follows several years of the event being hosted in Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas, NV.
“Visions” Production Studio is designed to produce television shows with several or different subjects and formats. It’s designed to also provide space for organizations to have meeting space for special events, to create and develop technical skills, administrative skills, artistry developmental skills and to provide an atmosphere for wholesome and religious values.
Dr. Bobby Jones says, “Television has become one of the main sources of providing immediate entertainment and information for consumers around the world. Gospel Music is becoming one of the most listened to forms of music for the music lovers. This observation leads us to the desire to develop and make available more television productions suited for this need and desire. The approach to selecting an atmosphere conducive to quality mastery of the music genre is a masterful effort. Therefore, proceeding with this task at hand is a worthwhile endeavor.”
Additionally, the weekend will offer new and established artists national and international exposure during the taped for television segments that will appear on the “Word Network.”
A special Champagne V.I.P. Toast will also be held on Thursday evening, October 14th on the Patio Grande’ of Ambassador Bobby Jones of “Visions.”
Saturday morning “Round Table Discussions,” hosted by The Belle” a.k.a. Sheilah Belle, will address topics affecting the Music Industry and will include some of the top names from Music Labels to Production houses.
Simply said, THIS IS THEE EVENT, you’ve been waiting for and it returns in “4” weeks, so mark your calendars now.
For more information and participation on the “Round Table Discussion” e-mail thebellereport@hotmail.com
A huge blow to the public perception of Mega churches unfolded today. Two DeKalb County men filed lawsuits Tuesday alleging Bishop Eddie Long coerced them to having sex with him in exchange for lavish trips, cars and cash from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
The men’s attorney called Long a “sexual predator” and said she is now talking to other potential victims.
“It’s not just these two. There are young men around him at all times,” the men’s attorney B.J. Bernstein said. “There are kids at risk now.”
Court documents filed earlier today allege that Bishop Long engaged in sexual massages, oral sodomy, and other inappropriate contact with boys from the church. The investigations were reportedly investigated for a year, when attorneys felt that the evidence was irrefutable. One of the boys said that Bishop Long even tried to block his relationships with girls by increased calling and presence in the young man’s life.
Court documents also state that the young men were told by Long that, “Engaging in a sexual relationship is a healthy component of a spiritual life.” Reportedly telling the boys, “I will be your spiritual father.”
The men, Anthony Flagg, 21, and Maurice Robinson, 20, began having inappropriate relations with Long at the age of 16, which is the legal age of consent in Georgia, Bernstein said. Bernstein said she has not contacted DeKalb law enforcement because of Long’s ties to so many DeKalb officials.
Both men filed lawsuits Tuesday against Long and the church, alleging the bishop breached his pastoral duty.
Atlanta attorney Craig Gillen, who represents Long, said his client “adamantly denies the allegations in these two lawsuits and it is unfortunate that these two young men have chosen to take this course of action.”
While Long likely cannot be charged with a crime in Georgia because the men consented, he could face charges in other states, Bernstein said. The sex acts occurred while the men were between the ages of 16 and 20, the suit alleges.
The attorney said she has asked the FBI to investigate allegations that Long had sex with the men in hotels in New York, Dallas, Tennessee, New Zealand and other areas.
Long took Flagg to New Zealand for his 18th birthday, Bernstein said.
In separate trips, Bernstein said, the men flew on Long’s personal jet and shared a bed with him at the hotels. Long used the alias “Dick Tracy” when he checked into the hotel, the suit alleges.
However, the bulk of the relations occurred on the mega church’s property, including inside Long’s “guest house” on Snapfinger Road in south DeKalb, Bernstein said.
Flagg and Robinson’s parents both moved to DeKalb specifically to attend Newbirth. The two men met while enrolled in the church’s Longfellow Academy, which is for teenage boys age 14-17.
While at the academy, Flagg and Robinson developed relationships with Long, Bernstein said. They began spending more time with him and were placed on the church’s payroll, the suit alleges.
By the time they turned 16, Long began taking them on separate trips and inviting them to his home, Bernstein said. At one point, Flagg and Long held a private “marriage-like” ceremony where they exchanged vows, Bernstein said.
In exchange for Flagg’s love, Long bought the teenager a Ford Mustang, the suit alleges.
Robinson received other gifts, including introductions to T.I. Chris Tucker, Tyler Perry and other celebrities who met with Long, Bernstein said. The bishop also let Robinson drive his Bentley.
Bernstein said she has emails, text messages and photographs between the men and Long.
“The bishop used biblical verses to coerce them. He out front being homophobic and making all these remarks when at the same time, he is leading a double life,” Bernstein said. “They [the plaintiffs] aren’t gay. They just wanted to be loved and cared for by a powerful man.”
In June, Robinson was charged with breaking into Long’s home, stealing jewelry, an iPad and other items.
Robinson committed the burglary in retaliation after learning that Long was involved with other men, including Flagg, Bernstein said.
“He lashed out,” Bernstein said. “But if it weren’t for that act, we wouldn’t know about this. He talked to his friends and learned Long had other ‘spiritual sons.’”
Bernstein said the church is named in the suit because several other members were aware of the allegations and “protected” Long.
In June, DeKalb County police arrested two men, Anthony Boyd, 19, of Decatur, and Maurice Robinson, 20, and charged them with burglary, according to the police report obtained by the AJC.
A security camera at the church on Woodrow Road in Lithonia caught most of it on videotape.
Two men wearing dark hooded shirts, dark pants and white gloves were recorded using a key to enter the church during the night between June 13 and 14.
The men’s attorney B.J. Bernstein, said Robinson committed the burglary in retaliation after learning that Long was involved with other men, including Flagg, Bernstein said.
“He lashed out,” Bernstein said. “But if it weren’t for that act, we wouldn’t know about this. He talked to his friends and learned Long had other ‘spiritual sons.’”
Long was named 21 years ago as pastor of the then 300-member church that would become New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
It has expanded beyond its Lithonia home and has satellite churches in other cities. The 240-acre Lithonia campus is like a small town; the church claims 25,000 members and promotes a myriad of ministries, such as the annual Hosea Feed the Hungry and help for the homeless and addicted.
Bishop Eddie Long (left) Poses with Jamal Parris (right)
