Bishop Eddie Long, the beloved pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, has been one of the strongest crusaders against same sex marriage and homosexuality.  In 2009 Long discussed the role of sexuality with CNN’s Don Lemon, who in recent days confessed to a watching world that he was molested when he was young.   At the end of this clip, Long states:  “I don’t believe in the gay lifestyle, and I believe it’s not God’s way.” 

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post wrote an editorial entitled “Eddie Long isn’t practicing what he preaches” . “Watcher”, one of our astute readers, alerted us with the link yesterday, and today our local newspaper featured Robinson’s editorial under this headline:  “Bishop Long and a whiff of hypocrisy”.  Perhaps other newspapers around the country have followed suit.

The following statement by Robinson really stood out:  “…And the biggest irony of all is that his very public travails may force the African-American church to finally confront its long history of homophobic hypocrisy.”  (Dee, did you catch the split infinitive?)

Robinson is quick to point out the following event involving Long:

“In 2004, Long led a march to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s gravesite in support of a Georgia constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.  The black church in America has long mixed political activism with a deep social conservation.  But while polls show that the nation has become much more understanding and tolerant of homosexuality, the black church has been painfully show to change.”

Based on my findings, it certainly appears that Bishop Long views the sin of homosexuality as far worse than other sins. Why,because he has emphasized this sin in his school and church. Yet he is facing serious accusations of having indulged in said sin himself.

In a healthy, well-balanced church there should be, and often is, expositional  teaching on a panoply of sins.  What greatly concerns us is a pastor who decides to single out a particular sin over an extended period of time.   When this happens, we, as Christians, must ask “WHY?”  Is there some kind of self-loathing going on here? Is he trying to get caught? Long should be well aware of the Scriptural admonitions on this sin. Is he perhaps, preaching to himself and pretending he is preaching to his congregation?

Another issue must be raised if these accusations are proven conclusively. Could the Bishop himself be a victim of pedophilia? One of the saddest aspects of pedophilia is that the victim often goes on to molest the next generation. We often read of generational sin. Some, we believe, incorrectly to interpret this to mean that some demon has cursed an individual and this curse is passed down to subsequent generations. Most theologians would concur that this is simply talking about the long term effect of sin. It is well know that many children of alcoholics go on to abuse alcohol themselves. So is the case with pedophilia. You can find these sad statistics in our articles on pedophilia.

Long's friends should ask  him about the possibility of a pattern of abuse in his life which may have begun in childhood. Interestingly, most victims of pedophilia go on to molest kids in the same age range of the timing of their own abuse. So, if Long abuses kids that are 16, it might mean he was also abused at this age. Sadly, the boys he may have molested may go on to be the next generation of abusers. This magnifies the sin. Long, if he has hidden his activity, is now complicit in other victims of abuse in the future, even if he has never laid a hand on them.

Why is the gay lifestyle worse than stealing, lying, or adultery, for example?  Let me be clear – I believe that practice of homosexual acts is a sin.  Some of our commenters have admitted that they struggle with same sex attraction.  Perhaps you have read their testimonies.  As we explained in our response to them, we are all tempted to sin in various ways. Although Christians are involved in the process of sanctification, we need to be painfully honest. We overcome one sin, with the Lord's help. and often get hit in the face with sin that we hardly knew existed.As one pastor has said, "Our Christian life often looks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, slightly trending upward but having both radical ups and downs." We will inevitably fall and so we must confess our sin and strive to emulate Jesus Christ. 

Pete Briscoe once addressed the issue of chronic sin. Someone had asked if the chronic sinner is really saved. His illustration has stuck with Dee for a long time. He said that all sinners are saved only by grace. As Paul, they must keep their eyes fixed firmly ahead on the Savior who is constantly calling and encouraging . When one falls, one must get up, brush away the dust and continue on. This process will be repeated over and over. The true Christian is the one who wants to not sin, inevitably does, and then is willing to confess it and go on, no matter how long and how hard the road is. He said, that if the "want to" is in the life of such a person, then said person is truly a believer and following God. Here is what is said in Phillippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus

The last place we should be shocked about a sinful fall is in the church.  In fact, we should be shocked if sin is not apparent. However, the church in America is often perceived by those outside of the faith as a hypocritical entity, pointing fingers away from themselves and pointing to the "sinners" in the world. They shake their heads at our hypocrisy.

Has the church made a critical error? I think in some instances that the church is not modeling the grace of the Christian life. We do an awful lot of condemning of outsiders and seem to want to overlook that we are just as sinful as they. Look at the number of divorces in the church.How different are we?

What are our perceptions of pastors?  Some theologians would have us believe that they are specially anointed and somehow get a pass on the issue of sin. This could not be further from the truth. Pastors are as prone to sin as any person in church. Period. If indeed, the accusations are proven to be true, Long has disqualifiend himself as a pastor.

Do we believe they are perfect?  Bishop Long has openly confessed that he is not a “perfect man”.  It’s not the fall that hurts Christendom — it’s our inability to admit that we are terribly fallen.  We have observed that many members of churches will not accept that their pastor has sinned. It is astonishing to watch the denial of many Christians when a leader has screwed up. They attempt to cover up and justify the actions of the pastor with the same zeal some have for Christian apologetics. Have they put their faith in someone other than Jesus? Here is a piece of advice. Leave the apologetics for defending faith in Christ. He was perfect. Your pastor is NOT! Follow Jesus, not man. 

We leave you to ponder Robinson's concluding remarks:

"Then who is Eddie Long? The upstanding father of four who came to the pulpit hand-in-hand with his wife and denounced — but did not deny — the allegations against him? Or the manipulative sexual con artist who, according to his four accusers, does not remotely practice what he preaches?

The four men, in their civil lawsuits, tell remarkably similar stories. They say that Long took a special interest in some of the young men who attended his church in Atlantaand a satellite church in Charlotte. They say he took them separately on trips to such destinations as Kenya, South Africa and New Zealand when they were teenagers — but above the age of consent in Georgia, which is 16.

The men say that Long bought them lavish gifts, including cars and jewelry, and led them gradually into sexual activity, citing biblical passages as justification. One of the men says that Long performed a religious "covenant" ceremony with him that sounds strikingly like an exchange of marriage vows.

I'm guessing that maybe Long has some questions of identity to grapple with. He might choose to seek and confront the answers, or he might not. But meanwhile, African American preachers and worshipers across the nation are watching — and, one hopes, learning.

"That is not me," Long said. But what if it is?

Nothing he learns about himself can negate all the good works he has done in his ministry — all the people whose lives he has changed with a message of faith and hope. Maybe he could forgive himself. Then maybe he could forgive all the gays and lesbians he so coldly condemns."

Lydia's Corner:  

Genesis 8:1-10:32   Matthew 4:12-25    Psalm 4:1-8   Proverbs 1:20-23