Feb
03
2012
Megachurch Pastor Eddie Long Crowned as "King"
The Story: In a video that has gone viral on the Internet, Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta was crowned a "king" by guest speaker Rabbi Ralph Messer.
"He is a king, God's blessed him. He is a humble man. But in him is kingship. In him is royalty," said Messer during the "ceremony."
The Background: Long, pastor of a 25,000 member megachurch in Georgia, has history of emphasizing "chain of command" between certain superiors and subordinates characterized by "respect, submission and obedience, which makes his "kingship" consistent with his peculiar (and unscriptural) teaching.
In 2006, Long was chosen by the family of Martin Luther King, Jr. to host and officiate the funeral of Coretta Scott King, an event attended by four Presidents (George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter). More recently, Long has been the subject of controversy because of Senate investigations concerning whether he has personally profited from his church's tax exempt status and lawsuits alleging sexual relations with underage male members of his parish. (Long has denied wrong doing through his attorneys and has settled the lawsuits out of court.)
Why It Matters: As The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates notes, "This video basically was made to offend every conceivable stratum of this country--blacks, Jews, Christians, atheists--basically everyone."
But the reason it matters---or at least should matter to evangelicals---is that it creates the impression in the public's mind that this is the sort of bizarre behavior that goes on in our churches (even if coronations are infrequent). On the positive side, the video could provide an opportunity to invite people into our churches to see what really goes on (e.g., we don't wrap our pastors in Hebrew scrolls) and let them know why we have no king but King Jesus.
[Note: If you find a story our community should know about, please send the link to joe.carter *at* thegospelcoalition.org.]