Radio host and columnist Armstrong Williams. (Image courtesy of New Chapter Publisher)
At least some of the faithful of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta had to feign a sense of surprise when sexual abuse accusations against Bishop Eddie Long first surfaced in 2011. But even those parishioners were shocked when details of the church’s secret settlement with over a dozen young men allegedly victimized by Mr. Long leaked, resulting in a reported payout of over $25 million.
To add to the tawdry affair, Mr. Long apparently sought damages against several of the broken young victims who, despite the confidentiality terms of the settlement, told their stories publicly.
Today Mr. Long continues to tend to the flock at New Birth, the congregation healed of its wounds apparently. And as recently as April 2014 he could be spotted around town in Atlanta sitting patiently at a local salon while waiting for a young man in his company to receive a manicure.
Some parishioners were too embarrassed and tried to abandon the congregation, seeking refuge in the similarly sized megachurch in Atlanta headed by pastor Creflo Dollar. But Mr. Dollar would have none of it, banishing New Birth’s fleeing worshippers from his congregation. “He had a wreck,” Mr. Dollar proclaimed, “but he had insurance and if you from that church and you trying to join here, I don’t want to join here. You need to go and join where you supposed to be.”
Another prominent megachurch pastor, T.D. Jakes, was also curiously quick to forgive Mr. Long. “His sins will be washed in the blood,” was all Mr. Jakes could muster in the form of disapproval.
To anyone but the misled, this is a travesty. By keeping Mr. Long in the pulpit, the church has expressed its tacit approval of this behavior. Long gone are the days of Jim and Tammy Bakker, when a moral scandal could derail a pastor’s career. Now the flock is supposed to forgive the shepherd for harming its members and welcome him back with open arms.
But the problem extends beyond Mr. Long and the handful of other televangelists who’ve been caught with their pants down. The $25 million settlement which left him still at the helm with no public apology or admission of wrongdoing says it all.
These megachurches are now a business, and letting the mere moral transgressions of a pastor get in the way of the money machine is the new heresy. They are essentially corporations spurred on by the same growth imperative that drives corporate America — which is not growth in terms of the spread of the teachings of Christ.
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SOURCE: The Washington Times
Armstrong Williams
