DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Bishop Stephen A. Davis, who stepped in as interim senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in DeKalb County after the death of Bishop Eddie Long, has resigned.
The news was confirmed by board chairman Thomas W. Dortch Jr. , who said that the “strain on Bishop Davis from having to come back and forth from Birmingham to Atlanta weekly while maintaining his other churches - one in Birmingham and one in Tuscaloosa - became a major challenge for him.”
Dortch, a prominent Atlanta businessman, also said it presented a major challenge for Davis being away from his family “and that is quite understandable.”
New Birth in Stonecrest later issued a statement which appears to be Davis’ public first comments since resigning. The statement said Davis considered leaving to be “bittersweet.”
“I love my New Birth Family both in Birmingham and Stonecrest,” Davis said in the statement . “ However, at this time my wife, my children and the New Birth Birmingham family need my full attention. We will remain a New Birth Church in Birmingham and maintain a relationship with the New Birth Stonecrest Congregation.”
Elder Vanessa Long, the widow of Bishop Eddie Long, said she is “grateful that Bishop Davis honored the wishes of my late husband by serving New Birth at a time of need. We pray God’s Blessings over him, his wife, First Lady Darlene, and the Birmingham church family.”
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Davis could not be reached directly for comment. Several calls were made to his church in Birmingham, where he is still senior pastor. A woman who answered the phone in Birmingham said he would release a statement later.
Dortch said New Birth “would really like to thank Bishop Davis for his dedication and commitment and for stepping in at one of the greatest times of loss for the New Birth family.”
Long, an influential and controversial pastor, died in January 2017 from an aggressive form of cancer.
Cox Media Group
