Georgia

The DeKalb County District Attorney in Georgia has agreed to drop burglary charges against a former security guard who was accused of breaking into Bishop Eddie Long’s office and stealing $100,000 in property.

Anthony Boyd had been scheduled to stand trial on the incident that occurred in June 2010 at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church located in Lithonia; however, the Georgia minister was reluctant to testify.

District Attorney Robert James said Monday that Long’s hesitance to testify against Boyd and Boyd's lack of a "bad criminal history" were among the reasons for dismissing the charges. more >>

Embattled megachurch pastor Eddie Long has requested the DeKalb County District Attorney Office to dismiss burglary charges against his former security guard.

The former security guard was among three young men accused of stealing about $100,000-worth of jewelry and electronics from Long's office inside New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta in 2010, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The other two young men were among the four former New Birth church members that had filed a lawsuit against Long for allegedly luring them into sexual acts.

Long wrote a letter to District Attorney Robert James to cancel charges against his former security guard, Anthony Boyd. His request is under consideration, according to District Attorney’s Office spokesman, Erik Burton. more >>

A church in Georgia that had been worshipping without air-conditioning due to a burglary was “thrilled” as it found a winning lottery ticket worth $80,000 placed in the offering plate.

Someone left a winning lottery ticket as offering at the Cathedral of Prayer in Columbus, Ga., around three weeks after thieves broke into the church and stole the copper from the air conditioning unit, NPR reported Saturday.

Although the church teaches against gambling, it accepted the winning ticket as offering and claimed the price from the Georgia Lottery’s Columbus District Office, according to the Georgia Lottery website. more >>

The young man recently revealed as the fifth person to accuse Eddie Long of sexual misconduct took to Twitter this week and lashed out at the Georgia preacher.

It was reported in late July that Centino Kemp, 22, received settlement money from a lawsuit filed against Long by four other men.

Although Kemp was not named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, his allegations against the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church pastor reportedly led to his involvement in settlement negotiations. more >>

There are a lot of fat, super-sized sheep inside the church, says one Georgia megachurch pastor. They may call themselves followers of Christ, but few are willing to go out and share the Gospel.

"I don't care how many Bible studies you've been through; if it's not causing you to love God, ... serve more, share your faith, all you're becoming is nothing more than a big, fat sheep that is super-sized on knowledge and full of religion," said Pastor Brian Bloye of West Ridge Church.

His straightforward message was conveyed to thousands at his Dallas, Ga., megachurch on Sunday. For the past four weeks, Bloye has been addressing what he considers is an epidemic in the American church – that is, a "Super Size Me" culture. more >>

Herman Cain, former Atlanta talk radio host who was yet to return from a trip to Israel, won Georgia’s GOP straw poll Saturday with Rep. Ron Paul trailing by a thin margin.

Cain, who was unable to attend the poll held at the Georgia National Fairgrounds after traveling to Israel for former Fox News host Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Courage” rally, received 232, or 26 percent, votes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Cain, former chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, got just three votes more than runner-up Rep. Ron Paul from Texas, who got 229, or 25.7 percent, votes. more >>