The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived, and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. John F. Kennedy
There are certain phrases that on the surface seem fairly normal, but in your lifetime, you’ll never hear them uttered aloud. Phrases like “hand me that piano;” or “you know, I never realized how cute Flava Flav was,” or “I think Sarah Palin would make a great tutor.”
Recently, a friend in Atlanta called me and said, Ray!!!! Have you heard the news (blah, blah…..and on the call went for what seemed like an hour); finally she paused long enough to say: “Man, poor Eddie Long!!” I thought, hmm, I never, ever thought I’d hear a member of New Birth say that. In fact, that goes against the very foundation of their recruitment process. I believe that team will probably be dusting off their résumés real soon.
CNN’s: Sexual Molestation by a Decatur Pastor: “breaking news” headline didn’t seem that “breaking” or “news” worthy to me – especially after my phone call the night before.
.
However, given society’s level of intellectual engagement, my CNN assessment isn’t even newsworthy anymore either.
There are a few things in life worst than:
a) Being accused of a sadistic act you didn’t commit. Or
b) Abuse of power. Or
c) Not experiencing the benefit of the doubt for either.
For over 20 years, I’ve lived less than 5 miles from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia and I don’t mind saying Eddie Long was part of the reason I chose Lithonia to reside. I moved from the Bronx, NY to Decatur, GA., mainly to own some land -- but more importantly, I wanted to literally build a community! I wanted to take some land, build a house on it; hopefully surround myself with like-minded neighbors/friends; and circulate our dollars more than 10 times before it fell into the hands of community oppressors.
[Don’t worry they know who they are, even if you don’t].
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love New York (hence my temporary residency in Queens Village now). But New York City just isn’t the type of place to actually build a new community. The only thing new in New York is the growing number of people wondering will there ever be a middle class again?
The first Saturday, after my move to Decatur, Ga., my cousin took me to the South Dekalb Mall.
My first reaction was, WOW, I wonder who is sponsoring this weave-a-thon? Then I realized oh, it’s just Saturday in the Deep South. Fun though. After a half-hour of watching people purchase things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t like,
I went outside for some much needed air – again something the Bronx summers didn’t offer enough of.
When I got outside, there was a cat standing next to a black, dark-tinted, sweet, wide-bodied S-600 Benz-O. The whip, windows and wheels were wiped project clean – underlined with some deep-dished, chromed rims (hey it was 1990). The paint was just glistening – so much so that it was hard to directly stare at it – counter to the owner’s purchasing goal, I’m sure. I am a huge fan of clean cars no matter what the make, but clean foreign cars always seemed real cool to me. So, despite the shine, I stared endlessly until this cool-looking cat popped out – leaving the doors open wide enough to hear the instrumental version of Rob Base’s “It Takes Two.” I didn’t really know how much I missed New York until those doors opened. Man.
The dude that pimped out of the ride was wearing a fuzzy Kangol cap (turned to the back), a black ADIDAS jogging suit and matching shelled-toes. I thought oh, he must be here for the weave-a-thon too. Nice whip though.
My cousin finally came out of the mall and walked up to the Benz driver and dapped him up. I thought, hmm, my cousin doesn’t have a weave. When we headed to her dirty Toyota Camry, I asked, “Who was that guy you greeted?” She said, ALL IN ONE BREATH, “Oh, that’s Eddie Long, he’s the fabulous preacher at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, they have 3,500 members and it’s around the corner from the house, he’s really cool, he’s great, smart, funny – and you’ll like him because he does wonderful work in the community.”
I thought:
a) Man that was a long sentence.
b) Who knows the exact head count of a church they don’t attend? And why?
c) He probably had nothing to do with building this mall.
d) My cousin, who just spent $200 in a marbled-floor flee market knows an activist?
The activist thought is the only one that lingered in my brain until the next day.
On that day, I got dressed and went to New Birth – probably more out of suspicion than salvation, but I have since repented for that choice. After the 30-minute recital from the largest choir I had ever witnessed, the Benz cat from the day before strolled on stage to a Prince-like ovation – really, prince as in royalty, not artist. In either case, I’m not real sure Jesus was ever this popular. Long spoke for about an hour and while I don’t really remember the topic or message, it was truly entertaining, sort of like Prince (the artist), not royalty.
It took Coretta Scott-King’s death to get me to attend another service at New Birth; not surprising, since all of my appearances on earth can be neatly traced to activism.
The TRUTH: It may not lead you to where you thought you were going, but it will always lead you somewhere better. When ignored, it will eventually show itself. The closeness of your relationships is directly proportional to the degree to which you have revealed the truth about yourself. It can be painful.
My cousin was right, through my years in Lithonia, Long was credited with a great deal of the “happenings” in the Lithonia community – most of which are free or of a minimal charge. Long’s outreach is well-noted: He’s funded private businesses, offered countless professional workshops, health and sports initiatives, limo services, restaurants, political podiums, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' funeral service, concerts featuring: Mike Phillips, Rachelle Farrell, Bebe & Cece Winans, Fred Hammond, and the ever-popular, annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
Oddly, it’s the alleged fireworks of a sexual allegation involving two boys (and former members) that has the community reeling about the fate of Bishop Eddie L. Long. The reaction has been as predictable as a holiday sale. The members (that I spoke to) said they are standing behind their pastor. Non members are saying this is one of the many worldly reasons they would NEVER join New Birth. Few have given any unsolicited thought to the boys –whom quite frankly (whether innocent or guilty) will never be the same. One current member told me, I need you to pray for my Bishop – note the possessive term. I wonder if that ownership will be there if Long is actually found to be culpable?
I asked my friend just that…, what if he’s guilty? She said, I never thought of that... – then he’s really going to need your prayers. I thought an attorney would be more immediate (which I believe he’s addressed). A prayer for wisdom is where the LONG-term resolution will ultimately end. Or, maybe it’s me praying aloud for this short-sighted community to grow.
1 love,
Ray Lewis
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