(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.
@highlight
Bishop Eddie Long ascension at New Birth raises questions about megachurch culture
@highlight
Some New Birth members consider Long "anointed"
@highlight
Megachurch culture creates potential for abuse, scholar says
@highlight
Religious sociologist on Long: "His ministry is over"
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."