Last Sunday, Bishop Eddie Long, leader of the Atlanta megachurch New Birth Missionary Baptist, likened himself to David in the biblical story of David and Goliath.
The married pastor of the 25,000-member church stands accused of luring young men into sexual relationships. Four men filed lawsuits against Long last week, alleging he groomed them for sexual relationships when they were 17 and 18 and plied them with international trips, cars, jewelry and cash.
Long, who has been pastor of New Birth since 1987, built church membership from 150 to its current size, along with building a $50-million cathedral that seats 10,000 — a veritable empire.
If anyone should be likening themselves to David — the youth who killed the giant Goliath with a slingshot — it should be the young men, not the leader of a church with 25,000 followers.
In sermons, Long has denounced gay marriage and his church has counseled gays to become straight.
In his Sunday sermon — available on the Internet for $3.99 — he never denied the allegations brought against him, though he said he wasn’t perfect.
He continued, “We are all subject to face distasteful and painful situations. Bishop Long, Eddie Long — you can put your name in that blank — will have some bad situations.”
The “distasteful situation” Long finds himself in is only complicated by the homophobic tendencies of many African-American churches (and more than a few white churches).
In Long’s case, not only has he been accused of adultery, but of homosexuality (worse, in his eyes), abusing his position of power and coercing teens into sex.
But Long is not the first pastor to be accused of hypocrisy when it comes to openly condemning gays and lesbians and having secret sexual relations with men (Ted Haggard is the first that comes to mind).
For a millionaire preacher who claims to be anointed by God, it makes it all the more difficult to believe the antigay rhetoric he spewed.
Whether one believes the Bible or not, there are far more references to the behavior of rich men than to gays.
Old and New Testament alike condemn those who pursue wealth, from Proverbs 23:4-5: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” To Matthew 19:24: “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Perhaps the bishop should remove the log from his own eye before attempting to remove a splinter from anyone else’s eye.
As long as religion is used as a tool to vilify sexual minorities, gays and lesbians will be denied equal rights, LGBT youth suicide rates will remain higher than their heterosexual counterparts and gay youth — and adults — will overwhelmingly struggle to accept themselves.
As a community, we cannot afford to lose our youth to suicide any longer. In just the month of September, four LGBT teens have committed suicide.