The "Masculine Journey" of Bishop Eddie Long
By Guy Mount
In an effort to establish his “potency” via the Word of God, Bishop Eddie Long once told his congregation that it was “the job of the preacher to bring fresh sperm.” For many observers this came as no surprise, as the bishop is widely known for asserting his masculinity through these kinds of sexually-charged analogies. In the same sermon the bishop denigrated lesser preachers calling them impotent “dead sperm” disseminators and glorified a God that begets “widespread [spiritual] pregnancies.” He has subsequently made blanket statements referring to homosexuality as a form of “spiritual abortion.”
While the merging of the sacred and the profane is a centuries-old practice among African Americans, these statements have taken on an entirely new meaning in light of the current allegations made by four male church members against the bishop. The four men, in their civil lawsuits, claim that the Bishop Eddie Long induced them with lavish gifts and romantic trips in return for sexual favors and manly fellowship. The complaints essentially describe an all-male harem operating within the Bishop’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Promising a “Longfellows Masculine Journey,” this now suspiciously titled “Longfellows Academy” was a youth ministry program that found the bishop allegedly ‘initiating’ young boys like a Greek aristocrat while performing elaborate cult-like marriage ceremonies between himself and his “Spiritual Sons.”
Inadvertently, the bishop may have in fact introduced some “fresh sperm” into a decades-old process that has been quietly reshaping black religious life in America. Although this particular germination was clearly not what the bishop had in mind, his case has dramatically brought issues of gender and sexuality to the center of the discussion taking place around black religious reform and spiritual leadership. While the final impact of the bishop’s plight is still unknown, it seems clear that his case will mark a significant turning point in African American religious history, especially as it relates to black sexuality and masculinity. It may also open up a much wider discussion about black religious belief in general and its intersection with contemporary cultural politics. As Syracuse University Professor Boyce Watkins wrote in a recent article for Black Voices, these allegations have the potential to “change the black church forever.”
The Performance of Religious Manhood
In the bishop’s defense, he really did do everything in his power to keep the lie alive. The extreme effort that the bishop exerted in order to demonstrate that he might single-handedly hold the cipher of black manhood was remarkable to the point of comical. His dogmatic performances continue to this day, as unlike other preachers whose private sex lives have been exposed, the bishop has decided to take the most unheard of (and masculine) of all positions; he’s fighting the charges. The elaborate pageantry was on full display in the bishop’s first public address regarding the allegations and was held on Sunday morning after the allegations broke in front of his New Birth “family.”
Beaming with charm and confidence the bishop started off by bending the truth. He told his congregation that he had waited to address the world until this moment because “[m]y first responsibility was to my family. Then my next responsibility is not to address the world before I address my family at New Birth.” This met with great applause from his congregation despite the fact that earlier in the week the bishop’s attorney appeared on the Tom Joyner show in the bishop’s steed, saying that that the bishop’s true desire was to address the world and the media first but that he, as his attorney, had to talk the bishop out of it. Where the bishop’s true desire really lies we may never know. What we do know is that the bishop vowed to fight the charges while pitting himself as David against Goliath. Continuing the analogy the bishop threatened all those who might doubt him, saying “I’ve got five rocks and I haven’t thrown one yet.” The bishop did however throw down his mic, snatched his wife, and left the stage leaving us all to wonder what he has in store for the world. Throughout the sermon Long admitted that he was not “a perfect man” and refused to deny that he had sex with other imperfect men. Although he said: “this thing, I’m gonna fight” we don’t yet know if “this thing” is a sexual orientation that he will later admit to and attempt to exorcise.
Not surprisingly, the performance met with overwhelming approval from the majority of Long’s supporters. Gabrielle A. Richards, a New Birth church member, told CNN that she “was so proud of him the way that he came out with his head high up and with his fabulous wife and he showed the strength that I’m accustomed to. And this is the Bishop Long that I know.” The bishop’s confidence and “fabulous” yet silent wife meant for Ms. Richards that their might still be hope that the nuclear black family rooted in heterosexual patriarchy might weather the storm. Ultimately it was the notion that nothing had changed which proved so comforting to her as “Bishop Long did a great job assuring us that he’s still Bishop Long.” Of course the implication was that Bishop Long could not be Bishop Long if he turns out to be the gay Bishop Long.
Others had a different assessment. The Reverend Carlton Pearson, Senior Pastor of Christ Universal Temple which openly welcomes and accepts LGBT members, commented on CNN regarding the same sermon saying that “the people rejoiced Sunday because he didn’t admit to anything. They didn’t want him to.” Apparently Bishop Long is a man who knows what his flock can handle and what they want to hear. Rev. Person, who is one of the leading advocates of the Gospel of Inclusion, told the nation prophetically that “Bishop Eddie Long is just the tip of the iceberg.” Gospel music and the black church are overflowing with LGBT members, according to Rev. Person, and without them “we wouldn’t have a church.”
Read the Full Essay @ History News Network
***
Gary Mount is a teaching assistant at San Diego State University and a HNN intern.
By Guy Mount
In an effort to establish his “potency” via the Word of God, Bishop Eddie Long once told his congregation that it was “the job of the preacher to bring fresh sperm.” For many observers this came as no surprise, as the bishop is widely known for asserting his masculinity through these kinds of sexually-charged analogies. In the same sermon the bishop denigrated lesser preachers calling them impotent “dead sperm” disseminators and glorified a God that begets “widespread [spiritual] pregnancies.” He has subsequently made blanket statements referring to homosexuality as a form of “spiritual abortion.”
While the merging of the sacred and the profane is a centuries-old practice among African Americans, these statements have taken on an entirely new meaning in light of the current allegations made by four male church members against the bishop. The four men, in their civil lawsuits, claim that the Bishop Eddie Long induced them with lavish gifts and romantic trips in return for sexual favors and manly fellowship. The complaints essentially describe an all-male harem operating within the Bishop’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Promising a “Longfellows Masculine Journey,” this now suspiciously titled “Longfellows Academy” was a youth ministry program that found the bishop allegedly ‘initiating’ young boys like a Greek aristocrat while performing elaborate cult-like marriage ceremonies between himself and his “Spiritual Sons.”
Inadvertently, the bishop may have in fact introduced some “fresh sperm” into a decades-old process that has been quietly reshaping black religious life in America. Although this particular germination was clearly not what the bishop had in mind, his case has dramatically brought issues of gender and sexuality to the center of the discussion taking place around black religious reform and spiritual leadership. While the final impact of the bishop’s plight is still unknown, it seems clear that his case will mark a significant turning point in African American religious history, especially as it relates to black sexuality and masculinity. It may also open up a much wider discussion about black religious belief in general and its intersection with contemporary cultural politics. As Syracuse University Professor Boyce Watkins wrote in a recent article for Black Voices, these allegations have the potential to “change the black church forever.”
The Performance of Religious Manhood
In the bishop’s defense, he really did do everything in his power to keep the lie alive. The extreme effort that the bishop exerted in order to demonstrate that he might single-handedly hold the cipher of black manhood was remarkable to the point of comical. His dogmatic performances continue to this day, as unlike other preachers whose private sex lives have been exposed, the bishop has decided to take the most unheard of (and masculine) of all positions; he’s fighting the charges. The elaborate pageantry was on full display in the bishop’s first public address regarding the allegations and was held on Sunday morning after the allegations broke in front of his New Birth “family.”
Beaming with charm and confidence the bishop started off by bending the truth. He told his congregation that he had waited to address the world until this moment because “[m]y first responsibility was to my family. Then my next responsibility is not to address the world before I address my family at New Birth.” This met with great applause from his congregation despite the fact that earlier in the week the bishop’s attorney appeared on the Tom Joyner show in the bishop’s steed, saying that that the bishop’s true desire was to address the world and the media first but that he, as his attorney, had to talk the bishop out of it. Where the bishop’s true desire really lies we may never know. What we do know is that the bishop vowed to fight the charges while pitting himself as David against Goliath. Continuing the analogy the bishop threatened all those who might doubt him, saying “I’ve got five rocks and I haven’t thrown one yet.” The bishop did however throw down his mic, snatched his wife, and left the stage leaving us all to wonder what he has in store for the world. Throughout the sermon Long admitted that he was not “a perfect man” and refused to deny that he had sex with other imperfect men. Although he said: “this thing, I’m gonna fight” we don’t yet know if “this thing” is a sexual orientation that he will later admit to and attempt to exorcise.
Not surprisingly, the performance met with overwhelming approval from the majority of Long’s supporters. Gabrielle A. Richards, a New Birth church member, told CNN that she “was so proud of him the way that he came out with his head high up and with his fabulous wife and he showed the strength that I’m accustomed to. And this is the Bishop Long that I know.” The bishop’s confidence and “fabulous” yet silent wife meant for Ms. Richards that their might still be hope that the nuclear black family rooted in heterosexual patriarchy might weather the storm. Ultimately it was the notion that nothing had changed which proved so comforting to her as “Bishop Long did a great job assuring us that he’s still Bishop Long.” Of course the implication was that Bishop Long could not be Bishop Long if he turns out to be the gay Bishop Long.
Others had a different assessment. The Reverend Carlton Pearson, Senior Pastor of Christ Universal Temple which openly welcomes and accepts LGBT members, commented on CNN regarding the same sermon saying that “the people rejoiced Sunday because he didn’t admit to anything. They didn’t want him to.” Apparently Bishop Long is a man who knows what his flock can handle and what they want to hear. Rev. Person, who is one of the leading advocates of the Gospel of Inclusion, told the nation prophetically that “Bishop Eddie Long is just the tip of the iceberg.” Gospel music and the black church are overflowing with LGBT members, according to Rev. Person, and without them “we wouldn’t have a church.”
Read the Full Essay @ History News Network
***
Gary Mount is a teaching assistant at San Diego State University and a HNN intern.
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