If it’s not bad enough that Bishop Long is anti-gay and coerced young men, the article also says that he:
“Chose the plaintiffs to be his “Spiritual Sons,” a program that allegedly includes other young men from the church. Flagg (one of the young men) moved into a home owned by another New Birth pastor when he was a high school junior, according to the suit, where Long would sometimes share a bed with him. Flagg was eventually put on the church’s payroll, his suit alleges, with Long personally delivering his checks.
Flagg’s suit says that Long presided over a spiritual “covenant” ceremony between the two of them. “It was essentially a marriage ceremony, with candles, exchange of jewelry, and biblical quotes,” Bernstein said Tuesday. “The bishop [told] him I will always have your back and you will always have mine.” Robinson’s suit alleges that “Defendant Long would use Holy Scripture to discuss and justify the intimate relationship between himself and Plaintiff Robinson.”
Um, what? This is NEXT LEVEL. Using the scripture to coerce innocent boys into a “covenant relationship”? I’m sure these young men looked up to him as a role model, and he uses it to get them in bed? ugh. So DONE on this one…I . just . CAN’T.
