Georgia televangelist Eddie Long told his congregation Sunday that he is "taking time off" from the church to work on his family. His announcement came just three days after his wife filed for divorce.
Long is senior pastor and bishop of the New Birth Missionary Church, which has more than 25,000 members, according to its website.
Last spring, he settled a lawsuit filed by four young men who accused him of pressuring them into s-xual relationships while they were teenagers and members of Long's congregation at the church, in an Atlanta suburb.
That suit alleged that Long "uses monetary funds from the accounts of New Birth and other corporate and non-profit corporate accounts to entice the young men with cars, clothes, jewelry, and electronics." Ref. CNN