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The pastors have challenged Long publicly after he was accused of coercing four young men into having a sexual relationship with him. He was mentoring the men at the time, and they've filed suits against Long in civil court.
Walker argued that the members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, where Long is the pastor, should demand that the pastor step down from the pulpit. "They have to understand that this is their church, not Bishop Long's," Walker told the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
The rally had a turnout of about 75 people, with many of them being members of Walker's church. In addition to accusing Bishop Long of hypocrisy, Armstrong says he has a problem with Long's message of prosperity.
"It's a shame that the church is becoming a corporate entity with the pastor acting as CEO, but the people are the shareholders," Armstrong said.
The Bishop Eddie Long sex scandal has been shocking, sad and intriguing. Obviously, Long was the last person most of us would expect to be involved in this kind of behavior. But while we are surprised at the allegations, we should continue to wait for all of the evidence. I am also intrigued by the resiliency with which some members of his church have defended him. Standing up for your pastor is ok, as long as you are sure you're standing up for the truth. While I have my reasons to disagree with other pastors going out of their way to attack a fellow preacher in public, I also have problems with those in the pews who are supporting their pastor for no reason. This kind of unconditional, unquestioned support is no different from those who continued to buy R. Kelly records even after video surfaced strongly suggesting that he might be sleeping with young girls. By ignoring children in favor of our adult heroes, we're engaging in sad and ignorant behavior.
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: (41)
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By: ADMR on 11/01/2010 7:01PM
Get Em...
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By: AngeeMangeePangee on 11/08/2010 11:35PM
Stats show that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused. What message are Eddie Long supporters sending to those HUNDREDS of people in his congregation who have been victimized in their life? They are confirming what sex offenders brainwash their victims to believe--if you tell, no one is going to believe you!! My sister is a psycologist who works with sex offenders and victims and one of her patients use to target church folks because they are so forgiving and quick to look the other way. He had worked his way into being over the children's choir!! Then his po found out. He admitted that he had already picked out a few kids that he had started "working on" and was planning to molest.... so church folk, please stop being so dayum gullible and let's protect our kids!!!
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By: Antonio on 11/12/2010 9:32AM
These pastor's standing against Eddie L. Long are ignorant. They have obviously been americanized thinking that the church is meant to be a democracy. Church is NOT a democracy, which simply means man- ruled, but church is a theocracy....God- ruled. The body cannot vote a pastor in or out, and the church members are not "shareholders". The members pay tithes and offerings because it is being obedient to God's Word. You don't buy shares into a church. Only God can make the decision to remove Bishop Long from his position, through conviction. The church must learn to understand church government and the due order in which the church was established.
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By: awrealtor1 on 11/01/2010 9:18PM
While the allegations against Bishop Long are disturbing, he is innocent until proven guilty. I applaud his members to stand with him until it's proven that he is guilty. I would question the motives of these Pastors who have decided to come out against him. Could it be jeolousy? Could they be trying to benefit on his misfortune to lure his members to their church? These ministers are not a part of Bishop Long's church and have no right to question why his congregation is standing with him. I think they have other motives and should not stand in judgement of Bishop Long.
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By: Ms.Brooklyn on 11/01/2010 8:35PM
I agree with you!
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By: altha cutright on 11/03/2010 7:20PM
It is so much jealousy in this world today among blacks. Why? we have two black pastors trying to take downn another black pastor because one has more than the others.
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By: dede on 11/06/2010 11:52AM
girl they do not want long's members, these pastors do not live in ga. and i agree with them. step down till its all over repent and go on and live his live with the Lord.
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By: tanzyp on 11/01/2010 8:44PM
Well I don't agree with awrealtor 1 or Ms. Brooklyn. The testimonies of the young men violated by Long are very believable. I noticed that you expressed no compassion for the victims or for their families. Long doesn't need your sympathy, these young, and innocent kids do! They have to live with the knowledge that their beloved pastor introduced them to sex! They will question their manhood and their judgment. The parents of these kids have to live with their decision to trust a man who needed mental health treatment! They pemitted him (Long) to lavish them with gifts and to take their kids on trips (Without his wife)...I can only imagine the shame, and guilt, and feelings of betrayal that the victims and their family are feeling. I can also imagine the hurt that those in the congregation might be feeling today because they have been betrayed too! So please spare us this misplaced trust for Long. Ask yourself why you continue to support a sexual predator. This is no different than R. Kelly and the support he received as well as others in similar situations. Just because his has brown skin doesn't mean that he automatically gets a pass! We need to stop this type of race holding!
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By: awrealtor1 on 11/02/2010 8:30AM
@tanzyp, I didn't mention the victims because the article wasn't about the victims. It is about these two pastors who have come out to persecute Bishop Long before the allegations have been substantiated. I don't know if Bishop Long is guilty or not. I just wander what the motive is for these minister to publicly persecute Bishop Long before they know the whole story. If I was a member of his church, I would stand with him until I know the entire story. You don't just stand with your pastor in good times, you also stand with him through difficult times if he is your spiritual leader. There are too many unanswered questions and as a christian, you don't persecute a person prematurely. These young men brought these accusations up against Bishop Long and I do pray for them also, but until their story proves to be true, I will not join in persecuting the Bishop nor will I join in persecuting them. I'm just standing neutral until I know the whole story.
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By: joyce on 11/01/2010 11:23PM
This is why God tells us parents to bring up a child in the way that he/she shall go...the Bible tells us to teach our children the truth,so that they will know right from wrong, his commandment is truth:Exodus 20:16;Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.A parent put their children in harms way when they don't education their children about these things.I often hear parents say my child/children is to young too be talking to them about sex and whats not.My question is how old do a child suppose to be in order for them to know when someone or somebody is touching and abusing their bodies? If the parents are not schooling them,then when something happen the child is to scared to tell their parents,then the parent wonder why a child is acting a certain way.Parents shall pay more attention to their child and stop trusting everybody with them.
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