HOMOS Out of Their Comfort Zone in the Black Church: What's Your Pleasure Treasure?

According to Patrik Jonsson(FB), here's pretty much what all of Atlanta, and much of the country, is talking about right now: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0922/Bishop-Eddie-Long-case-Will-it-alter-black-church-s-view-of-gays. "The point is not whether [Long] is gay or not or he denies or admits it, but this is really about how people [in the black community] FEEL that black people should be represented in public, and that is about being heterosexual," says Melinda Chateauvert, an African-American studies professor at the University of Maryland, in College Park. "There are [millions] of black people who are gay, members of families, pastors of churches, who serve in the military – they're everywhere. But the deliberate closeting – not necessarily by them, but by other people – is really problematic." Jeremiah Camara, wrote The deeper issue at hand has to do with why so many so-called “men of God” are accused of sex crimes. In the Black church, homosexuality is not a new phenomenon—it’s just more in the open nowadays. Gay, Black men are often the most demonstrative in displaying their love for Jesus and are among the most dedicated members of their churches. Long, who is married, built his mega-church on his prodigious charisma, often defending his ostentatious lifestyle, which includes a $350,000 Bentley and a $1.4 million home. Close friends of Long told CNN Tuesday that the pastor has become more humble in recent years, even complaining of a sense of loneliness. One way Long connects with his church members is by talking about his failings, including a first marriage and rejection from his father, writes CNN's John Blake, who covered Long during a stint as religion reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.