New Birth Missionary Cuts Salaries, Eliminates Two Jobs As Membership Drops in Aftermath of Sexual Coercion Accusations Against Bishop Eddie Long

Is New Birth Missionary Baptist Church losing members after a gay sex scandal rocked the megachurch? Seems that there's more going on financially than we realized. It is also interesting that Bishop Eddie L. Long has managed to collect more than $1 million in love offerings last year.  No wonder he had money to throw around. I can't say I am surprised about the latest revelation. We knew this was coming and some church members would leave in the wake of the gay sex scandal that engulfed the church after Spencer LeGrande, Maurice Robinson, Anthony Flagg and Jamal Parris accused Long of sexual coercion.

I love how they are twisting the predicament they are in with colorful descriptors such as adopting a "pilot program" that calls for a four day work week instead of five. According to the AJC, spokesman Art Franklin said the church "responded with fiscal prudence and common sense" to the economic downturn. Wait, that didn't just start this year and if they were hurting that bad, why in the world would Bishop Long have helped himself to a love offering totaling more than $1 million. They also attribute the drop in membership to a "shift in worship patterns" in which more people are logging on to their computers to watch the service. Yeah, right.

The Fox 5 I-Team first reported the cuts Wednesday. Fox 5 said it obtained internal records that showed the church collected nearly $20 million last year, with more than $1 million designated for Long as a love offering. The love offerings are added to the church's general operating fund, the church said. It did not confirm or deny the amounts.

In recent weeks, church members and New Birth watchers say attendance has declined. Some placed the blame on the recent legal scandal involving Long. The popular Long, who is married with children, has been sued by four men who accuse him of coercing them into sexual relations.

New Birth said it is experiencing "a shift in the worship pattern," but said it's because there has been a "marked increase" in the number of people watching services online. Source

The two jobs that they cut won't make up for the financial shortfall New Birth faces. If they wanted to make a statement that many could take serious, why didn't Bishop Eddie L. Long request a pay cut or better yet, since he has multiple revenue streams, go without an income from the church for a year. You see, he can't do that because he's all about lining his pockets. I hope he took note of the hot mess that followed his idol Bishop Earl Paulk to the grave. He lost everything and we saw him for the fraud that he really was. Take heed Bishop. Karma is a b*tch.

UPDATE#1 (03/06/11): Long told his congregants that he took a 40 percent pay cut and that the "church was under attack." To that people in the sanctuary cheered. Why am I not surprised. No different from the followers of Jim Jones.