(USA Today) Prominent megachurch pastor Eddie Long vowed Sunday to fight accusations that he had sex with four church members. However, he stopped short of denying the allegations, saying he was following his lawyer's advice to avoid commenting directly on the charges. "I want you to know that I am not a perfect man, but this thing I intend to fight," Long declared to a supportive congregation in a televised service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, Georgia. Long pledged in three separate events Sunday to fight the charges--speaking twice in church services and once in a statement to reporters. The first service and his statement were broadcast on television. The second service was shown on the church's website. Long avoided speaking about the charges. "I want this to be dealt with in a court of justice, not by public opinion," he said. He gave no indication whatsoever that he planned to step down and promised to be back in the pulpit next week.
Church members greeted Long with standing ovations Sunday. Many voiced their support after their services. Church member Anne Wilkerson stated, "It was amazing. It just brought chills over my body. He made it clear that this thing is not him." Long is one of the nation's best-known black ministers, heading a 25,000-member church that includes politicians, entertainers, and pro athletes. He led a march against gay marriage in 2004 and his church counsels gay men and lesbians to become heterosexual. This past year, Long opened a new $50 million-cathedral, including a 10,000-seat sanctuary, on a 240-acre campus. On Sunday, Long was preceded to the pulpit by Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was his first public appearance since the four men filed lawsuits last week in state court accusing him of coercing them into sex when they were 17 and 18 years old. The men, now 20 and 23, say Long seduced them with trips, money, cars, and other gifts.
Long doesn't face criminal charges because the men say they were older than 16--which was the age of consent in Georgia--when the sexual acts allegedly occurred. Long is 57 years old and married with four children.
The question that's on my mind and undoubtedbly many other peoples' minds are "Was he guilty of the charges?" I was disturbed over the answer he gave. The issue of him not being a perfect man is preposterous. Is he guilty or not? We're not wondering whether he's a perfect man. Nobody's perfect. It makes me believe that since he fell short of denying the allegations makes me think he's guilty of having sex with them. If that's the case, then he's a sodomite. Is this the state our churches are in today? A so-called preacher like that shouldn't be behind the pulpit preaching. As far as I'm concerned, he's disqualified himself from preaching. I Timothy chapter 3 gives the qualifications of a bishop. One qualification is he must rule his home well (I Timothy 3:5). Messing around with teenage boys isn't ruling his home well. That's perversion! It's ridiculous that his congregation can be supportive of him with those kind of charges. If he wasn't guilty I believe he would've said so. I'm not trying to set myself up as a judge, but he should've answered that question. If he's guilty he should immediately step down from the pulpit. He's permanently disqualified himself from preaching if the allegations are true. The truth of the matter is he isn't concerned about what the Bible says. Instead, he's interested in maintaining his position in the "church".
I can remember back in 1987 when Jim Bakker resigned from PTL in the midst of the revelation of the sexual tryst he had with Jessica Hahn around 1980. I can remember Bakker's supporters such as Richard Dortch and Howard and Vestel Goodman sidestepping the issue and using "forgiveness" as an issue that it's okay for them to eventually return to the ministry. I believe in forgiveness. The Bible says we should forgive fallen preachers. Forgiveness is one issue--restoration is another. Once a preacher has disgraced his testimony by engaging in sexual sin, he's disqualified himself from preaching forever. One of the qualifications of a preacher is that he have a good report from the outside. If he doesn't have a good report from those that are without, he can't preach. Who can have confidence in a preacher if he can't possess his vessel?
I don't care how great of an orator a particular preacher may be. If he's committed sexual sin, he's disqualified regardless of the knowledge he has of the Bible. Just because he can preach a great message doesn't qualify him to retain his position in the ministry. Anyone that has a knowledge of the Bible can put a few points together and preach a message. But that doesn't qualify them to preach. I'm not a preacher nor am I called to preach. However, I could take some points from the Bible and probably preach a sermon myself. The problem is I'm not called to preach. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to mount the pulpit and preach when God hasn't placed that calling on my life. There are certain Biblical qualifications a preacher must abide by if he's going to preach. That's not popular in this hour but it's still the truth. Nothing's going to change that. If a pastor or an evangelist violate the qualifications set aside in I Timothy 3, he is to step down from the pulpit and look for a vocation to make a living.
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