"At the height of his power, Bishop Eddie L. Long would pack tens of thousands of people into his megachurch in the suburbs of Atlanta. With his well-cut suits, passion for Bentleys, and dynamic, accessible style of preaching, he quickly climbed the list of the nation’s most powerful religious leaders. He built his ministry, which stretches to Kenya and other countries, on a strong message of conservative Christianity that included promises of prosperity and attacks on homosexuality. But life inside Bishop Long’s home had been crumbling. And on Sunday, members of his dwindling congregation heard news they had been bracing for. Their charismatic bishop, who in May settled with five young men who accused him of sexual coercion and who has fought a series of other legal battles, said he was temporarily stepping away from the pulpit to try to save his marriage."
Source: NY Times
Some key "takeaway" words from the snippet above: "height of his power", "passion for Bentleys", "most powerful religious leaders", "promises of prosperity", "crumbling", and "charismatic". Is 2011 the year of the demise of the world's charismatic leaders? What will 2012 look like?
"Religion will become smaller, 'deeper', and more traditional. The megachurch and megamillionaire ministers might have seen 'the peak'. Hopefully they saved all of those millions from the book deals."
Random Roving, January 1, 2010
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