18 Facts About Eddie Long

Eddie Lee Long was an American pastor who served as the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, from 1987 until his death in 2017.

When Long started as pastor for New Birth Church, there were 300 church members, which grew to 25,000.

Eddie Long denied wrongdoing through his attorneys, and privately settled the lawsuits out of court for undisclosed amounts.

Eddie Long attended North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, where he received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1977.

Eddie Long then worked as a factory sales representative for the Ford Motor Corporation.

Eddie Long was fired after he submitted expense reports that included personal telephone calls.

Eddie Long claimed to hold a doctorate in "Pastoral Ministry" from the unaccredited International College of Excellence, which is not recognized by either the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or United States Department of Education, the two institutions responsible for recognizing educational accrediting institutions in the United States.

In 1994, Eddie Long was given the title "bishop" in the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, a group of black Baptist churches that embraced charismatic practices.

Eddie Long saw the first link in the chain as being a man choosing to be respectful, submissive and obedient to God.

Eddie Long was considered a preacher of the prosperity gospel who taught that his followers would be blessed with material wealth.

In 2006, Eddie Long was chosen by the family of Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 31,2012, a video was released depicting a ceremony at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church wherein Messianic Jewish preacher Ralph Messer presented a Torah scroll to Eddie Long, wrapped him in it, and symbolically elevated him to a position of spiritual kingship before a cheering congregation.

In 2008, Eddie Long donated $1 million to his alma mater, North Carolina Central University, to establish a professorship in his name, saying "I am making from my own personal income," which comes from various real estate ventures and royalties from his books.

Eddie Long vigorously denied the allegations and in 1985 Houston was awarded custody of the then 2-year-old son.

In 2007 a three-year investigation by the United States Senate Committee on Finance into the tax-exempt status of six ministries, including Eddie Long's, concluded that there were no definitive findings of wrongdoing.

In 2004, Eddie Long led a march with Bernice King to the grave of her father, Martin Luther King, Jr.

The plaintiffs state that Eddie Long placed the men on the church's payroll, bought them cars and other gifts, including overseas trips.

In September 2016, Eddie Long issued a statement saying he was "recovering" from an unspecified illness and that the illness was "unrelated" to his diet.