The Bishop E. Long allegations

I agree with you 100%. I want the mega churches to go away too. A church should be small so they can do a better job of supporting their members... know your name, know when you are not there, be there in your times of joy or sorrow. My SIL got married at NB and she didn't contribute enough to use the main sancturary at their old facility. She had to use one of the smaller chapels even though it wasn't enough room for all her guests. The chapel was not small and it still wasn't big enough for all her guests. She had one of the ministers on staff officiate who didn't even know them. DH and I were standing outside prior to the wedding and someone came up to us trying to find another wedding that was being held at the time same. Did they ask about the Smith-Jones wedding? Nope... they asked about the wedding between the dentist and the lawyer. Those folks did not have enough guests to use that building but they did contribute enough money. I feel really bad about the victims in this case. I can't imagine how hard it was for them to come forward. What kind of ridicule will they have to deal with for the next few years or possibly the rest of their life? Will they get the therapy they need? Mental health and counseling services in the AA community is another big issue and deserves its own thread. Too often the church serves in that capacity to disasterous results. Prayer doesn't hurt but sometimes meds or long term counseling is needed. ETA... Sbaglio Yes... he preaches in muscle shirts at certain times... That's his version of casual dressing. He is very proud of his body. LOL!

Oh I missed Jay Anthony Browns' spoof. I can only imagine. LOLEww big time 80s milli vanilla/mc hammer flash back with that outfit. bleh!I am not a fan of mega churches myself, even if started well intentioned. I totally agree on how therapy etc; are dealt with.Here is a follow-up article, one pastor calling for Eddie Long's resignation:[URL="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20018905-504083.html?tag=pop"]Bishop Eddie Long Scandal: S.C. Pastor Calls for Resignation, Plans Rally - Crimesider - CBS News[/URL]another openly bisexual pastor[url=http://www.thegrio.com/news/atlanta-lgbt-pastor-speaks-out-against-eddie-long.php]Atlanta LGBT pastor speaks out against Long[/url]

[URL="https://www.s2smagazine.com/node/3619"]http://www.theroot.com/buzz/don-lemon-gets-transparent-about-sexual-abuse?wpisrc=obnetwork[/URL][URL="https://www.s2smagazine.com/node/3619"][/URL]

That was brave of him to tell his story. Too often the victim gets blamed in situations like this. The latest I've heard on this case is they are in mediation. So in other words... they are paying off all those young men. It would be the end of that church if it ever made it to trial.

That's just a shame, and still hiding. Wonder about the possibility of others coming out with civil suits.

Sleeplvr: did you see Oprah's interview with Tyler Perry; then with men who'd been abused? It's scary and also sad that adults feel the need to hurt kids.

I missed it but I did see some online discussions of Tyler. There is a lot of confusion about men and their orientation if they were abused as a child. A lot of people don't understand how it can impact their perception of their orientation. I'm not saying that abuse will make you something you are not but it can make you do things you might not have normally done if you had not been abused. People were trying to read into what Tyler was saying and figure out if he was gay or straight instead of trying to understand the impact of abuse.

True. then she had a show with about 200 SA survivors who were men!! That was a tearjerker!

Exactly, who cares what Tyler Perry's sexual orientation is, that's his to work out. Gay or straight, the mental aspect of being sexually abused should be the main focus. Being sexually abused as a man is a hard thing to handle, to discuss such is so taboo in many societies. This aspect was mentioned on behalf of the young men who has spoken out about the inner turmoil and confusion of their overall psyche, trust, sexual identity, after their alleged abuse by Bishop Long.

I heard on the radio this morning that the settlement was 15 - 20 million to be divided between the four men. This bothers me... If these were false accusations I would fight it tooth and nail. Yesterday the Bishop was encouraging his members to open up their wallets to help fund their church expansion in Denver and Birmingham.

Actually, those groups weren't investigated by the IRS Senator Charles Grassley held hearings and threatened to subpeona (whether that was a valid use of power is indispute). One of the reasons some of the ministries gave for not being cooperative was that the IRS was the body responsible for investigating such allegations and the IRS didn't investigate, apparently because they didn't have any support for the allegations. Joyce Meyers ministry turned over all requested records another ministry did too, but I can't remember which.

Wow... Here's hoping you've finished your breakfast. I swear it makes me want to puke.[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBtNctI_akw]YouTube - ‪Creflo Dollar ORDERS Eddie Long's Former Church Members to 'GO BACK!'‬‏[/url]

The scary part is that they will rationalize that your FIL making the payments WAS God's way of providing for them. :confused:

My SIL actually told me that going to family for help was a part of their financial plan if everything else didn't pan out. :confused: Fe2002 You are kidding right? Oh well... the mega pastors have to stick together. If one goes down it could start a domino effect and cause people to move away from those type of churches.

Tell me about it, never cared for some of those pastors. While I agree that there should be a business approach (not the pastor, but an assigned committee) I have true ministers in my family who actually gave their all to their congregations and community. The prosperity message approach is nothing but a gimmick to line their won pockets, after all business wise, if ones congregation does well that so much more input in the coffers.