Eddie Long, the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church passed away. He was long accused of being gay even though he preached anti-gay sermons. |
The controversial Atlanta pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church had passed away on Sunday. Eddie Long passed away from an aggressive form of cancer. Or it could have been a latent stage of HIV, who knows?
He died at the age of 63. He was married to Vanessa Griffin-Long and was the father of four children.
"Bishop Long, Senior Pastor of New Birth, transitioned from this life early Sunday morning after a gallant private flight with an aggressive form of cancer," the statement read. "As a man of God with unyielding faith, Bishop Long maintained his commitment to our Heavenly Father as he proclaimed that cancer would not kill his faith nor his spirit."
His wife added, "Eddie is now resting in a better place. Although, his transition leaves a void for those of us who loved him dearly, we can celebrate and be happy for him, knowing he's at peace."
He grew up in North Carolina before settling in Atlanta.
The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is a megachurch in DeKalb County. Long joined the church in 1987 managed to grow the church to 25,000 members.
Long in 2016. |
Long was long accused of being gay. He was caught up in numerous scandals involving young men who were groomed by him for sex.
Kim Burrell, a gospel singer and pastor of a Houston church was blackballed after a video surfaced of her bashing gays. |
He would settle with the accusers for an undisclosed sum. He would not speak on the issue when he does public interviews.
Earlier this year, Kim Burrell, a famed gospel singer and pastor got shade from the Black LGBT community after she was caught on tape bashing gay men. Pharrell Williams, an A-list producer who appears on The Voice severed ties from her. Williams who is straight supports of the LGBT community and found her comments were inappropriate.
Kim Burrell radio show was pulled off the air after she defended her rant. Burrell is banned from many events because she brings too much controversy.