The pastor of a small South Carolina church plans to call for the resignation of Bishop Eddie L. Long during a planned rally this month at the state Capitol in Atlanta, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Bishop Prophet H. Walker of True Light Pentecost Church in Spartanburg called Long a “bad influence on the Christian church and future generations.”
Long, pastor of the 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, has been accused in civil lawsuits filed by four young men of coercing them into having sex with him.
“He has no right to assume the office of pastor of any Christian church,” Walker said. “A pastor should be above reproach.”
Long has called the allegations false and recently vowed he would not be “pulled into a street fight.”
“When this first came out, I wouldn’t follow it,” Walker said. But as the number of lawsuits grew, he said he decided to speak out.
Walker said his church is against homosexuality. Long has been an outspoken critic of same-sex marriage and homosexuality. In 2004, he led a march supporting a constitutional amendment opposing same-sex marriages.
Walker said the rally will be held to “support the integrity and character of the Christian faith.”
He declined to say how many people are in his congregation or how many he expects at the march.
