Bishop Eddie Long, the embattled pastor of New Birth Missionary Church, wasted no time responding to two of his accusers yesterday. Jamal Parris, 24, and Spencer Legrande, 23, are speaking out about their experiences with Long, despite signing a confidentiality agreement.
Apparently, they aren’t happy with the terms of the structured settlement they agreed upon earlier this year. They thought their $2 million settlements spread out over 20 years was a generous amount — until they started spending the cash and discovered that $100,000 doesn’t go a long way when you’re greedy and have extravagant tastes.
In a message to his congregation posted on the church’s website, Long wrote:
New Birth Members,
We have a long history of dutifully serving those in need in the local and global communities and we will continue to do so. We are committed to the calling of a strong, viable and relevant ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, we are in the media again and people are wondering what I am going to say. All I have to say is what we stated earlier. All parties involved decided to resolve the civil cases out of court. The decision was made to bring closure to this matter and allow us to move forward with the plans God has for this ministry.
I will continue to honor and abide by my commitment of confidentiality and restraint as it relates to the resolution of the civil litigation and will not be diverted from the important work of the ministry.
Spotted on RWS
