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Two pastors, Reuben Armstrong and Prophet H. Walker, have teamed up to plan a rally against Bishop Eddie Long. Both pastors are asking that Long resign from his church, and Armstrong has even gone as far as asking that Bishop Eddie Long take an HIV test.
Armstrong is a radio show host and Walker is the pastor of the True Light Pentecostal Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The two plan to rally this weekend in Atlanta. The event is set to take place on October 31st at the state capitol.
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Armstrong is the author of the book, "Snakes in the Pulpit," where he discusses fictional pastors who sleep with men. He now claims publicly that members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church came to him years ago to discuss Bishop Eddie Long's sexual behavior. According to Armstrong, they claimed that Long was sleeping with young men in the church. I am not sure why he's publicly requesting that Eddie Long undergo an HIV test. Anyone can catch HIV, not just pastors accused of sleeping with other men.
I've seen e-mails from Reuben Armstrong on a few occasions. He appears to be working very hard to get the message out about Bishop Eddie Long. I am hopeful that this hard work is driven by a genuine desire to help young people and is not a personal vendetta against Long or a simple quest for publicity. Armstrong has a book and radio show to promote, and someone is working awfully hard to put Armstrong's name in the public eye at the expense of Bishop Eddie Long.
I'd be the first to admit that if it is true that Eddie Long truly has been sleeping with the young men in his church, then the issue must be investigated. At the same time, I have yet to truly understand why other pastors with small churches and radio shows are working so hard to make this into a publicity stunt. There's just something about all this that seems unGodly.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (155)
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By: ADMR on 10/31/2010 2:17PM
FRANKly Speaking...Wink!
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By: marva Lightbourne on 10/29/2010 2:52PM
..this is just awful!!..what a lie to live, deceiting so many if this is all true of Bishop Long..Mr.Armstrong may know more than we might care to hear at this point:since he KNEW about this, wrote the book "SNAKES IN THE PULPIT", and the young men being affected by this, it's a possibility that yes, one of them is HIV and my concerned is about bishop Long's wife, and putting her health in jeopardy..and to me, bishop Long may not consider himself "GAY".. but if this is true, he is a "pedophile"..and for that reason,he be punished like any other pedophile, he is not above man's law ( remember michael Jackson's case)..and definetly not >> ABOVE G-d law...very serious charges,& only between him and G-d for Redemption and Repentance!!!!....
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By: madmax on 10/29/2010 4:34PM
I doubt if jealousy is a motivation for this public denouncement of Long, and if it is, it is likely to backfire, as there is nothing "Christian" about what they are doing...but then there is nothing "Christian" about these so-called churches. I doubt if Long's lawyers or PR team will advise him to submit to an HIV or DNA test, because neither will prove anything inconclusively. What the church elders have to decide, is if Long's conduct, whatever it may have been, was improper, and reflect bad credit on him and the church, and what power they and the church have, to remove the goose that is laying the golden eggs.
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By: claudia on 10/29/2010 3:35PM
No doubt sex sin has ruined many highly esteemed ministers in the past. I do believe that some wrong was done here concerning Bishop Eddie. Sometimes when a Pastor continue to speak and fight hard against a subject behind the pulpit it usually because these are areas that really hunt them and the demons that they fight against witnin themselves. But for Eddie to take a HIV test what point will that make. People dont have to be gay in order to catch HIV. Drug users do too.
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By: Sir Sime on 10/31/2010 6:36PM
You are absolutely right in your mistrust about the motives of some of the smaller churches. Eddie Long has not only been preaching against the ills of homosexuality but where he hit home(with me anyway) is his discussion on "traditionalism" of the black church. Basically the churches have been taking tithes and various offerings and have not returned anything to the community. They preach "fire and brimestone" and condemnation but don't do anything to make the situation better.
For all of you who are jumping on the "Eddie is a child molestor" bandwagon, here is some food for thought. These "boys" have been with E. Long for over 2 years why did they come out now? Do'nt you think that it is strange that they wanted to make a big scene right before arguebly the biggest mid-term election in the past couple of years? For those of you who do not know, Eddie Long is considered to be a "kingmaker" in the Atlanta area. Any boy at 15 years old (mine was that age when he was in the Longfellow program) should know right from wrong and would know to tell someone in authority what was happening the day that it started. The one boy broke into bishop Long's office and stole money, jewery and oddly enough his phone and I-Pad. Now why would anyone who was constantly given gifts by someone have to steal from them? Hmmm, an I-pad and telephone (information). Oh and one more thing, has anyone thought it odd that NO criminal charges were filed against him? I mean if that was done to me I would want that person to spent eternity in hell/jail cell, instead they went straight to civil court with their hands out trying to get paid
Now my take on "Prophet" is'nt he a pastor? Is he exempt from accusation until proven guilty or perhaps he is a REAL HATER with a small congregation trying to make a name for himself? If he really is a man of GOD he would have shut his mouth and just prayed that the truth comes out in court.
Mr "Snakes in the pulpit" Armstrong, this man is obviously out to make money and really can care less about anything else. He claimed to have visited Atlanta to meet with some boys who made the same accusations before but they refused. Now people if you accuse someone of something and you were called on it but could not prove it or is willing to testify does that still make it true? Come on now this is a pastor not the king of the Crips or some government agency cover up. come to think of it, is'nt his book based upon those very same stories.
Now I'm not defending what he did or did not do, I'm just looking at this as being kind of odd. This is true especially with the timing and all. I also had an opportunity to visit New Birth and I was amazed with all of the programs that it provided for the people here in the Atlanta area. Notice that I did not just say the congregation. there are programs for wealth building, GED classes, transitional housing, nutrition classes and many other programs for anyone that wants or needs them.
Oh, one more thing before some of you start crying that "I'm drinking the kool aide" I'm NOT a New Birth member. I'm just one of those people that wants to know what the hell that I'm talking about before I say it.
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By: jemimah on 10/31/2010 9:08PM
seems like you been sniffing EL's jock straps. most of your post is not worthy of rebuttal. but i will say that whether a 15-16 year old child knows right from wrong is not the issue under these circumstances. It is for certain that EL, at whatever adult age he was, knew right from wrong. In my gut, I believe EL is likely a victim of childhood sexual abuse himself.
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By: Rene on 11/01/2010 1:15AM
No you sound like Eddie Long's publicist!
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By: Larry on 10/29/2010 5:59PM
When either Swaggart or Bakker had their downfall, Rev. Ernest Angely and Rev. Rex Humbard of Akron OH stepped up clearly wanting to add more to their snake oil empires
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By: Rodger Green on 10/29/2010 6:40PM
If these pastors had any advanced info regarding this incident, then I can only put them in the same pugh as the 25,000 members of this church. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT NO ONE PEEPED THIS THING.
The request for the HIV test may cloud the issue somewhat but then again, "WHAT IF" ya know. Sounds like someone may be working on a future sermon which deflects from the very real probability that people knew this was going on yet chose to hide behind a perverted interpretation of biblical thought and the bling that it manifested.
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By: Cathy Morgan on 10/29/2010 6:44PM
What?
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