Bishop Paul Morton recently spoke out against Long, calling him to
apologize and repent.
Long, pastor of Atlanta’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, in
May quietly settled
the sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against him, after he vowed to
his congregation he would fight.
Four men—all former members of Long’s church now in their early
20s—claim the pastor used gifts, trips and money to coerce them
into engaging in sex acts with him beginning when they were 17 or 18.
Because the men were over the age of consent in Georgia, which is 16,
no criminal charges were filed.
In a message posted online on Tuesday, Morton publicly called out
Long and said he should apologize to the men who sued him. “If the
settlement has already been made they can’t sue you again, but you
can apologize,” he said. “Some people will stay with you, some
people gonna leave you, but you’ve got to leave that up to God. Those
are the consequences for the sins that we do.”
Long initially denied the allegations and promised he would fight
the suit, telling his congregation of 25,000: “I want you to know,
I am not a perfect man, but this thing I’m gonna fight.”
While he has not publicly spoken about the settlement, Long’s
church released a statement: “After a series of discussions, all
parties involved have decided to resolve the civil cases out of
court. This decision was made to bring closure to this matter and to
allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry.”
Morton went on to talk about Luke 17:3-4: “If your brother sins
against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him” (v. 3).
“I’m rebuking him today,” Morton proclaimed. “That’s what the
Bible told me to do. … I’ve got the power to do that. Here’s what
the Bible says: If he
repent, forgive him. I can’t forgive somebody that does not repent.”
Morton explained the importance of repenting and said Long should
not worry about what people will think of him. “God can turn your
situation around and give you a second chance; just repent! … Just
let the body of Christ know. Don’t just ignore the situation.”
“All I’m waiting for is for you to repent. I’ll talk to people
on your behalf to say this man has repented. We’ve got to forgive him
of his sin and let the church roll on,” he said. “That’s what the
body of Christ has to do.”
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