Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of the New Birth Missionary Church in Lithonia, Georgia, has been an ardent supporter of President Bush's Faith-Based Funding initiatives. He also appears to have been a big beneficiary as well and he's under investigation for just how much he has been getting.

Americans United reports:

The newspaper reported that Long, 52, accepted more than $3 million in salary and benefits, including a $1.4-million home and a $350,000 automobile from a now-defunct tax-exempt group called Bishop Eddie Long Ministries, Inc. ... The Washington Blade reported in September that Long’s ministry received a $1-million faith-based grant from the U.S. Administration of Children & Families.

Long has also been active in opposing same-sex marriage in Georgia and recently led a controversial anti-gay march in Atlanta that invoked the name of Martin Luther King.

Long opponents said King would not have supported the march. The Rev. Timothy McDonald, a Long critic, suggested there was a tie between the anti-gay activism and the faith-based initiative. “If you look at the black pastors who’ve come out with the faith-based money, they’re the same ones who have come out with campaigns on the gay marriage issue,” McDonald said.

IRS regulations stipulate that non-profits must not “provide a substantial benefit to private interests.” Executives at non-profit, tax-exempt groups are only allowed to receive “reasonable compensation.” Does any of the above sound like it fits IRS regulations?

According to Long, pastors don’t have to live frugally. He is quoted as saying “I would love to sit with you and walk you through the Bible to show that Jesus wasn’t poor.” I’d love to see him try to do it — and I’d love to see him get around the command attributed to Jesus which specifically says that a rich man, in order to follow him, must sell all of his possessions.

 

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Faith-Based Programs
• Secularism 101