Commentary — 01 August 2011

Mo’Kelly could have filled this editorial with all sorts of scripture, but it would have been a waste. The remaining New Birth members aren’t concerned with scripture, they’re only concerned with blindly following Bishop Eddie Long. So instead, Mo’Kelly will go the condescending and dismissive route.

With the recent revelation of Centino Kemp, we have now five males linked to Bishop Eddie Long. Four through sexual coercion and the fifth in a full-blown, ongoing consensual sexual relationship. For cynical folk like Mo’Kelly, that makes for one “rock” in his pocket for each accuser. The math worked out rather nicely.

Nevertheless, it seemed David got royally spanked by Goliath in this 21st century rematch.

To add further insult and injury to Long; reports out of Atlanta suggest that

Centino Kemp

Kemp figured in the final settlement, yet never filed a lawsuit. Meaning, Kemp didn’t even have to allege wrong-doing and he still went away paid.

Exactly. His mere appearance made Long pull out the checkbook. I didn’t know that could happen to “innocent” or “heterosexual” people.

And nice “Eddie Long” tattoo Kemp has on his arm. No gag order could take that gem away.

Prior to the the four lawsuits and settlement, Mo’Kelly laid all the blame at the feet of Bishop Long and his inner circle. From this moment moving forward, I blame anyone and everyone still sitting in the pews at New Birth.

Let’s see if Mo’Kelly has this straight…no pun intended.

Bishop Eddie Long has offered neither explanation nor exculpatory evidence to refute or debunk ANY of the allegations against him. Instead of going to trial to clear his name, he agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement. He gave a FIFTH man money who never even said jack publicly.

Oh that’s right, Bishop Eddie Long isn’t innocent or heterosexual. That might explain it.

Yes congregation, I blame you.

You don’t worship God, you worship a self-loathing gay man.  Own it New Birth.

All together now…turn to your neighbor and say it with Mo’Kelly.

”He’s gay.”  Let the church say amen.

All Long needs is a rainbow ribbon on his lapel, a subscription to OUT magazine and an invitation to Marcus Bachmann’s upcoming birthday bash to make it any more obvious.

Five different men have come forward with intimate sexual details. Accept it like the sun coming up in the morning. That Brother is gay.

If you, remaining New Birth members don’t know your Bishop is gay…that’s a “you” problem. The rest of us in the real world are clear.

To the heart of the matter…

The issues of concern to the remaining gullible church members should be at least connected to Long’s adultery, lack of repentance and remuneration to keep it all quiet. It’s about the involvement of minors within his congregation in the expression of said homosexuality.

To remain silently under his ministerial leadership is complicity with the behavior.

Four of these five boys we know were under the 18 (age of majority) during the time of the acts. They were minors, children in the eyes of the law; age of consent (16) or not.

Do not confuse “age of consent” with “age of majority.”  They were children.

The remaining members of New Birth clearly aren’t concerned with such minutia. Shame on all of you. You’ve done nothing to challenge Long or ensure the future safety of children within his reach.

What version of the Bible are you reading over there in Lithonia?

There’s been no formal inquiry by the elders of the church. One can’t even be sure if there is a governing body in place to call for such an inquiry. There has been no independent investigation as to whether Long’s behavior was in violation of the church’s charter or the tax status.

Nothing.

And you members continue to sit idly by and allow for the possibility of it happening all over again.

There has been no cooling off period, removing Long from the pulpit to review the totality of these events. How does one pay out an 8-figure settlement and have no subsequent ministerial misconduct review made available to members?

I blame you remaining New Birth members, because you obliged such ridiculous behavior. I blame each and every person still sitting in a pew because you’ve allowed it to come to this point and have made no provisions to prevent it from happening again.  Even if you (wrongly) believe in Long with all your heart, the minimum has not been done to prevent this same chain of events in the future.

You’ve done nothing and can no longer claim ignorance. Acting ignorantly is not the same as being ignorant of the truth. You, New Birth can claim ignorance no more. But your actions now are surely ignorant. You now know the truth and still don’t care.

It does not matter how much you “love” your pastor. It does not matter how many times Long prayed for you or Big Mama while in the hospital. It does not matter he may have baptized all of your children, from Pookie, all the way down to Ray-Ray. None of those aforementioned speaks to the rapport he had with these five men then or the reasons why you’re footing the bill for the settlement now. None of those things diminishes, dismisses or denies what has previously gone on in Bishop Long’s hotel/bedroom.

Mo’Kelly understands why these five men are now silent, the agreement requires as much. You collectively on the other hand…what’s your excuse?

You didn’t get paid FROM the settlement; are paying FOR the settlement and have not enough sense to even demand a worthy explanation in light of either?

Shame on you and blame on you.

I’m still waiting on Art Franklin/New Birth to publicly disallow ministers from sleeping in the same rooms as minors while traveling or imparting lavish and inappropriate gifts. I’m still waiting for Art Franklin/New Birth to release a statement with a message other than something akin to “We’re putting this behind us and moving forward. Stop bringing it up.”

If protecting the children isn’t amongst the priorities of New Birth, then it is unfit and unworthy of keeping its doors open to the public. In the meantime members, do enjoy writing each and every check which goes in support of settling four lawsuits and an unrelated, “alleged” lover.

You have no one to blame but yourselves and I gladly blame you accordingly.

 

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo’Kelly, visit https://mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at [email protected].

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Mo'Kelly

Morris W. O'Kelly (Mo'Kelly) is a columnist, radio and television commentator. Visit https://mrmokelly.com for the latest from Mr. Mo'Kelly. Find him on social media - @mrmokelly

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