Bishop Eddie Long, the pastor who built the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta into a 25,000-member megachurch and publically campaigned against homosexuality, has denied accusations by three former male members of his congregation that he coerced them into having sex.

Two of the three men, then aged 17 and 18, allege that Long plied them with gifts including cash, cars and trips abroad. But Long's lawyers say he "categorically denies the allegations." A third man today launched a civil action against Long, the church and a related youth academy.

In 2006 Long's church was the venue for the funeral of Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King, attended by President Bush and former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George Bush senior.

Long is an outspoken and high-profile opponent of homosexuality, once described by the Southern Poverty Law Centre as "one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement."

Long led a campaign for a national ban on same-sex marriage and his church counsels gay members in an attempt to "turn" them straight. In 2004, he led a march to Martin Luther King's grave in Atlanta in support of amending the US constitution to define marriage as "between one man and one woman" – and so permanently barring gay marriage under US law.



The lawyer for two of the men, BJ Bernstein, told the Associated Press: "We are taking calls and we do believe, based on what the boys' statements are, that there are other victims."

Although the relationships started when the plaintiffs were older than the legal age of consent of 16 in Georgia, she said Long abused his "spiritual authority" to coerce her clients into engaging in sexual acts.

Bernstein also said that Bishop made an excessive number of phone calls and emails to her clients. "It's an irrational number of contacts," she said.

Long's lawyers said that one of the men is facing a criminal burglary charge after a break-in at Long's office in June.

Long was appointed pastor of the New Birth church in 1987. Then, the church had just 150 members. Now it boasts more than 25,000 members, a 250 acre campus and a cathedral seating 10,000 people.