Scandal tainted megachurch pastor

Eddie Long drew huge following, faced sex lawsuits.

LITHONIA, GA. — Eddie Long, the flamboyant megachurch pastor whose reputation was tarnished after former congregants accused him of sexual misconduct, has died. He was 63.

Long died Sunday after battling cancer, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, said in a statement.

His death came “after a gallant private fight with an aggressive form of cancer,” the statement said.

Senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist since 1987, Long oversaw the church’s explosive growth with membership swelling from a modest 300 to 25,000.

The church operated television and international mini stries, and built satellite churches in several cities, including Miami, Denver, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

L o n g w a s a C h r i s t i a n author, a gospel singer and was also known for preaching and practicing a “prosperity gospel” in which the faithful would be rewarded with wealth.

Long was also known for his flamboyant lifestyle, as he flew around the world on a private jet, drove around metro Atlanta in a $350,000 Bentley and lived in a $1.4 million house with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

In 2006, the church hosted then-President George W. Bush and former presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush during the funeral of Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

But four years later, scandal erupted when four young men filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduc t , bri ngi ng notor i et y to his church that reached far beyond its 10,000-seat cathedral at its home base in Lithonia, Georgia, just east of Atlanta.

Long’s lavish lifestyle was a focal point in the lawsuits, which accused him of seducing the young men into sexual relationships in exchange for trips, clothes and cars.

Long settled the cases out of court and never admitted wrongdoing.

He’s survived by his wife, Vanessa Long, four children and three grandchildren.