Who is Eddie Long?
Eddie L. Long is the spiritual leader of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, a trendy suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. The embattled pastor became the leader of the, then, 300 member church. Over the years, his dynamic sermons and charismatic appeal helped him to build his congregation to over 30,000 members. Pastor Long is among the most ubiquitous, well-known, and respected pastoral leaders in the institution of the Black mega-church. Two men, Maurice Robinson, 20, and Anthony Flagg, 21, both claim in the lawsuit that Bishop Eddie Long used his position of social prominence to force them into having sex with him, repeatedly, according to the Huffington Post. Allegedly, according to court documents, Bishop Eddie L. Long enticed the men who were 15 and 16, respectively, at the time, with money, jewelry, lavish trips, and celebrity introductions. “Defendant Long has a pattern and practice of singling out a select group of young male church members and using his authority as
