Bishop Eddie Long's Church may have Scammed Church Members

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. His church is in the news because of some funny business. Apparently, there's a mortgage scam going on, see here...

The Secret Serviceand DeKalb County police are now looking into allegations that Bishop Eddie Church was used as a recruiting ground for a mortgage scam. Complaints filed report that Fred Lee and GaryHawkins( Matrix Capital) prayed on desperate members of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church who face foreclosure. As part of the scam church members gave the two $1500 in exchange for the help in resolving pending foreclosures.

According to one of the mortgage scam victims no one ever contacted her bank from Matrix Capital and her property remains in foreclosure. Victims as far away as New Orleans are now coming forward with claims that Matrix Capital has swindled them out of their money.

The Preacher Bureau of Investigations (PBI) contacted the Home office of Matrix Capital Group and spoke with Ashly Griffin who says that they have not affiliation with Fred Lee or Gary Hawkins.
Members at New Birth Church paid the $1,500 fee but discovered that the homes were still in foreclosure because Matrix Capital never even made a single call to her bank.

Gary Hawkins serves in a leadership position in New Birth Church and used his position as a point of recruitment for Matrix Capital. When asked by a CBS reporter if he was licensed to in the State of Georgia to negotiate mortgage contracts, Hawkins replied that he wasn’t.

Well, when you think about it... Of course there's a scam. Those church members are used to a scam. Eddie is scam and that church is scam. Haven't they figure that out yet?


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Thanks to his Lesbian Friend, A Pastor changes his Homophobic Heart

Pastor Richard Davis had a change of heart after his lesbian schooled him on his homophobia.

Yet Davis, 58, very publicly broke that code of silence when he conducted a series of forums this fall on "Gays in the Black Church: Is it time to come out of the closet?" that called out the hypocrisy and homophobia of black churches. In the forums, Davis apologized to black gay church members for his past homophobia. It was an apology that may never have come were it not for the empathy he received at a low point in his life and which came from a lesbian friend.

Thanks to his friend, Davis brought the conversation to his church, hoping for some real talk with the pulpit.

Davis' forums brought together members of Orlando's gay community and the black community in what, at times, was a fiery display of fear and acrimony on both sides.

Black church members expressed their feelings that what they viewed as the immoral and aberrant lifestyles of homosexuals were bad for their children, their community and their country. Gays vented their feelings of rejection and abuse by the black church, the black community and members of their own family.

I applauded Pastor Davis for bringing this issue to his church. This needs to be at the forefront of the Black Church.

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Bishop Kevin J. Boyd Sr. accused of forcing sex with a young man

Well, here we go again. Bishop Boyd has been accused of forcing sexual favors from a young man in his church.

The claims in the lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit are similar to allegations leveled against Atlanta mega-church pastor Bishop Eddie Long by four young men.



The local lawsuit was filed against Kevin Joseph Boyd Sr., senior pastor of The Apostolic Church, 1735 Shady Lane Drive, late last month. Boyd also operates a church in New Orleans.
"Defendant Boyd has a pattern and practice of singling out a select group of young male church members and using his authority as bishop over them to ultimately bring them to a point of engaging in a sexual relationship," according to the lawsuit.



Boyd hasn't responded to calls left at the Jackson church and at his New Orleans home for comments about the lawsuit.



Boyd and wife Karla are listed in court papers as having been served with the lawsuit, which represents one side of a legal argument, on Nov. 8. They have 30 days to respond. No attorney is listed yet for Boyd in court documents.

The man involved, claimed to had sex at church and later in hotels. The Boyds have not responded yet. so, there's more to come.

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UPDATE in the Eddie Long Case: First Hearing Held Friday/May move to Mediation

This may be settled out of court.
Here's the story from Fox 5

The first court hearing in the Bishop Eddie Long sexual misconduct case was held Friday, and the case is headed for settlement talks. Lawyers for the bishop and the four young men who have filed suits against him said they want to avoid a trial and resolve the dispute in mediation early next year.

During a status conference held Friday, lawyers for both sides gave a road map of what's going to happen throughout the case, when it's going to happen and why it's going to happen.

On the way into the courthouse, Bishop Eddie Long's attorney Craig Gillen, and the young accusers' attorney, B.J. Bernstein, had little to say. But after a short status conference, one thing was clear: Both sides were ready to resolve the case.