Eddie Long, who was known for his lavish lifestyle, practiced and preached a ‘prosperity gospel’ in which religious people would be rewarded with wealth.
Eddie Long, a flamboyant megachurch pastor whose reputation was
tarnished after former congregants accused him of sexual misconduct, has
died. He was 63.
Long died on Sunday, New Birth Missionary Baptist church in Lithonia, Georgia, said in a statement to multiple media outlets. His death came “after a gallant private fight with an aggressive form of cancer”, the statement said.
Long has been senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist since 1987. The church said it grew from 300 members to more than 25,000 under Long’s leadership and became one of the nation’s largest congregations.
The church operated television and international ministries and built satellite churches in several cities, including Miami, Denver and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Long was an author and a gospel singer and was also known for preaching and practicing a “prosperity gospel” in which the faithful would be rewarded with wealth.
He was known for his flamboyant lifestyle, as he flew around the world on a private jet, drove around metro Atlanta in a $350,000 Bentley and lived in a $1.4m house with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
In 2006, the church hosted then-President George W Bush and former presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush during the funeral of Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
Four years later, scandal erupted when four young men filed lawsuits accusing Long of sexual misconduct, bringing notoriety to his church that reached far beyond its 10,000-seat cathedral in Lithonia, Georgia, just east of Atlanta.
Long’s lavish lifestyle was a focal point in the lawsuits, which accused him of seducing the young men into sexual relationships in exchange for trips, clothes and cars.
Two of the men accused Long of grooming them for sexual relationships through the church’s LongFellows Youth Academy. The other two men, one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, made similar allegations.
Eight months later, Long settled the cases out of court for an undisclosed amount and has never admitted any wrongdoing. After that, some congregation members changed their opinion of him, but many others continued to rally around the charismatic leader.
He is survived by his wife, Vanessa Long, four children and three grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.
Long died on Sunday, New Birth Missionary Baptist church in Lithonia, Georgia, said in a statement to multiple media outlets. His death came “after a gallant private fight with an aggressive form of cancer”, the statement said.
Long has been senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist since 1987. The church said it grew from 300 members to more than 25,000 under Long’s leadership and became one of the nation’s largest congregations.
The church operated television and international ministries and built satellite churches in several cities, including Miami, Denver and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Long was an author and a gospel singer and was also known for preaching and practicing a “prosperity gospel” in which the faithful would be rewarded with wealth.
He was known for his flamboyant lifestyle, as he flew around the world on a private jet, drove around metro Atlanta in a $350,000 Bentley and lived in a $1.4m house with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
In 2006, the church hosted then-President George W Bush and former presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush during the funeral of Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
Four years later, scandal erupted when four young men filed lawsuits accusing Long of sexual misconduct, bringing notoriety to his church that reached far beyond its 10,000-seat cathedral in Lithonia, Georgia, just east of Atlanta.
Long’s lavish lifestyle was a focal point in the lawsuits, which accused him of seducing the young men into sexual relationships in exchange for trips, clothes and cars.
Two of the men accused Long of grooming them for sexual relationships through the church’s LongFellows Youth Academy. The other two men, one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, made similar allegations.
Eight months later, Long settled the cases out of court for an undisclosed amount and has never admitted any wrongdoing. After that, some congregation members changed their opinion of him, but many others continued to rally around the charismatic leader.
He is survived by his wife, Vanessa Long, four children and three grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.
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