Bishop Eddie Long: Another Black Church Leader Exposed!

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Just when corporate news was killing us with Lindsay Lohan, now comes Bishop Eddie Long to spice it up.  By now we've all heard the allegations about the possible sexual exploits with young male members of his church. But, this is only a small portion of what ails Black America.  Eddie Long is far from being alone in his alleged nastiness, just check out the list on Eco.Soul.Intellectual's place.  Yet, this is really the symptom of another deep set disease of the mind as I see it. 

Eddie Long and other ministers of his "genre" are in love with the "getting" of money.  Eddie Long has previously allowed himself to be used (for money of course) by George Bush and the Republican camp to assist Dubya's re-election to office.  The "prosperity" ministers have long shown their love for the material over the spiritual, thus there should be no surprise about Bishop Long's alleged carnal exploits with young males since his ministerial focus has been on the physical.  But, this is not the disease. 

Self aggrandizement, selfishness and the teaching of such is the disease.  Huey P. Newton once wrote a book entitled To Die For The People based on the idea of self sacrifice for the uplift of the masses of Black people.  Yet, since COINTELPRO did such a great job in destructing Black leadership, self sacrifice became a pariah.  The ministry and society seemed to move towards a social construct of "getting" money will cure your ills and "prosperity" ministries began to flourish without conscientiousness, without a care for the uplift of the people (congregation.)  A grand sort of selfishness has come over Black ministers. 

All the while these ministers are teaching that if "you do what God says"  you will be blessed (with a whole lot of money) like me.  The ministers became the bright and morning star the congregation should look to. They put themselves up as the example of what God can do in your life.  Revolutionary Suicide was now dead, the ministers grew in wealth and the congregations financially languish. Obviously, because they are not doing "what God teaches."  The sacrafice of commiting Revolutionary Suicide or dying for the people is dead.  Symbolic or even real regicide (In the case of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King or El Hajj Malik El Shabazz) is no more.

Anna Reneean Afrospear guest writer and host of Anna Renee Is Still Talking presents several ministries that are working for the good of the people, mainly (at least the ministries she presents) assit in the education of the spread of HIV/AIDS.  However, this is far from our deepest issues(diabetes and high blood pressure affect more Black people than HIV/AIDS.)  Black people are in need of education, real financial and health education.  The response to statics put out by the CDC (who show no love for Black people) is far from enough.  This however, does not excuse any so called "prosperity" messages they may have presented over the last decade (if they are doing so.)  Prosperity messages as they are taught, are not uplifting the people.  These messages are filled with the false pos hoc logic, If you do what God says Then you will be blessed with money.  Merely attaining fiat currency is not enough.  If it were we would never see a broke lottery grand prize winner.  True economic education would result in true prosperity.  Prosperity for the congregation and for the surrounding community.  Not only for the pastor.

We are at time of great change.  Not the change that candidate Obama promised.  The change is in the economics of the United States.  We are at a time when there is an economic recovery without jobs, we are at a time of economic change in which we will probably see a rise in entrepreneurs making only the amount of money they may have made at a minimum wage job.  If these "prosperity" ministers such as Eddie Long were really committing Revolutionary Suicide there would be money changing hands in the church and surrounding community at least 10 times before those monies left the community.  There would be no need for college students that are members of the church to get loans from the government, they would get them in house from the church.  If prosperity were really the goal for the people and not for the bright and morning star of the church, the congregation would be engaged economically on every level and putting people to work in the community with stores, restaurants, gas stations and other business ventures.  But no, preachers like Bishop Eddie Long are the bright and morning star and not (Yeshua) Jesus who committed Revolutionary Suicide.  Black ministers had a history of dying for the people.   What happned?   The love of money?  A Chinese proverb says "Kill the chicken to scare the monkey."  In this case COINTELPRO killed the chicken and made chickens of the Black ministers!