(CNN) -- Jonathan Walton was walking through Bishop Eddie Long's church one day when he saw something that disturbed him. He stared at a 30-foot banner draped behind the pulpit of New Birth Missionary Baptist. Church. It displayed a profile of a grinning Long with the caption: "What is God up to?" "Everywhere you went in that church, his name and face was there," says Walton, an assistant professor of religion at Harvard Divinity School in Massachusetts. "His image has replaced the cross." Long's image is now under assault. Four young men have filed civil lawsuits accusing him of abusing his spiritual authority to coerce them into sexual relationships, allegations he has denied in a statement issued by his attorney.
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Bishop Eddie Long ascension at New Birth raises questions about megachurch culture
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Some New Birth members consider Long "anointed"
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Megachurch culture creates potential for abuse, scholar says
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Religious sociologist on Long: "His ministry is over"
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Long wrote in his book, "Taking Over," that New Birth's deacon board was "gripping the purse strings" of the church, and "telling the man of @placeholder when to jump and how high."
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"Then @placeholder ministers back to him the word, and he comes before the people to tell them what God said."
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"Then God ministers back to him the word, and he comes before the people to tell them what @placeholder said."
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It is not unusual for pastors to portray themselves as vessels of @placeholder's revelations.
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He says Long can retain @placeholder's support if he appears transparent before his congregation in the days ahead.