Bishop Eddie Long, accused by three men of using his position in his Atlanta megachuch to coerce sexual favors, did not appear, as promised, on the Tom Joyner Morning Show Thursday.

Instead, his attorney, Craig Gillen, fielded questions from journalist Roland Martin.

It was the first public interview by Long's attorneys since three lawsuits were filed against Long and his 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

"These false allegations are an attack on Bishop Long personally. They are an attack on New Birth and all of the 25,000 good people who attend that church, and it's an attack on the mentoring program that has helped thousands of young men," Gillen said.

Gillen read a statement from Long in which the pastor said he's eager to respond to the allegations but was advised by his lawyer not to do so at this time.

"Let me be clear. The charges against me and New Birth are false," Long's statement said.

On Wednesday, Jamal Parris, 23, became the third man in two days to file lawsuits against Long accusing him of sexual coercion. Parris, a former member of Long's church, said he was made to call the preacher “daddy.”

His allegations are similar to claims made by Anthony Flagg, 21, and Maurice Robinson, 20, who filed suits Tuesday.

Robinson and Flagg say Long began having inappropriate relations with them when they were 16. They are seeking a trial by jury and unspecified damages.

Parris, a former summer camp counselor, joined the church, along with his mother, at age 14.

Within weeks, he said, Long gave him his personal cell phone number.

Parris said their relationship intensified during the 2004-05 school year, when Long frequently invited Parris to his guesthouse on Snapfinger Road.

"Initially, Long engaged in sexual touching during their encounters and then escalated the activity to oral sodomy and other acts of sexual gratification," the suit reads. "Long would discuss the Holy Scripture to justify and support the sexual activity."

Parris said he left the church in 2009, "disillusioned, confused and angry."

Long, a married father of four, has adamantly denied the allegations and had scheduled a press conference for Thursday.

“It is unfortunate that these young men have chosen to take this course of action,” Long's attorney, Craig Gillen, was quoted as saying on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s website.

Long's 25,000-member church in 2003 planted New Birth Charlotte in Huntersville.

• Download a copy of Parris' lawsuit

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