At New Birth Charlotte, thousands joined church leaders Sunday in a show of support for Bishop Eddie Long.

At the 8:30 a.m. worship service, members of the Huntersville church watched a satellite feed as Long made his first public comments since four men filed lawsuits last week alleging that he coerced them into sexual relationships when they were teens. One of those men, Spencer LeGrande of Matthews, is a member of New Birth Charlotte.

Standing before a nearly packed sanctuary, a minister began the service in Huntersville by saying the congregation stands behind Long and “vehemently denies” the allegations made against him. He called the accusations “attacks by the adversary.”

The congregation then stood, held hands and offered up a “corporate prayer” for Long, a Charlotte native who planted the Huntersville congregation seven years ago as a satellite of his 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga.

Moments later, when Long and his wife were shown on two large screens walking into the Georgia sanctuary, the Huntersville congregation erupted in a standing ovation, some screaming their approval, others lifting their hands in praise.

The applause lasted several minutes as Vanessa Long took her seat and Eddie Long paced the pulpit before beginning his statements, which lasted about 20 minutes.

“I realize that many have been waiting on me to say something,” he said. “My first responsibility was to my family. My next responsibility is to not to address the world before I address my family at New Birth.”

He described the last few days as “an extremely difficult time… probably the most difficult time in my entire life.

Then, speaking from Psalms 34:19 (“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of all of them…”), Long said he wanted to talk with church members about “how to handle painful and difficult situations.”

He did not address the accusations of sexual misconduct until nearly 19 minutes later, and then only vaguely and for less than two minutes.

Long stopped short of denying the allegations but implied that he had been wronged by them.

“I have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man,” he said, “but I am not the man that’s being portrayed on television. That is not me. That is not me.”

Long said that, under the advice of his lawyer, he would not attempt to try the case in the media.

“It will be dealt with in the courts of justice,” he said.

Long compared himself to David in his fight against
the giant, Goliath: “But I got five rocks,” he said, “and I haven't thrown one yet."

Long left the Georgia sanctuary hand-in-hand with his wife.

At the Huntersville Church, the remainder of the 8:30 service was devoted to praise. Before collecting an offering, a second minister gave closing remarks, reiterating the congregation’s support of Long and again denying the allegations made against him

Bishop Terrell Murphy, who pastors New Birth Charlotte, did not preach Sunday. He was at the New Birth church in Georgia, where Long mentioned him by name and thanked him for his support.

Click here to watch a video of Long’s entire message.
 

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