Megachurch pastor Eddie L. Long on Tuesday revealed his is "recovering" from an unspecified health challenge.
Long, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, issues a statement in which he said he was trusting God to deliver him from the health problem.
He asked for privacy for himself and his family.
Speculation rose about Long's health after he posted a video last month that showed a a dramatic weight loss. Long said he was eating mostly raw vegan diet. He was shown exercising and said he wanted to address concerns from church members about his leaner frame. He said the new diet had helped lower his blood pressure and that he no longer needed medication.
Long has been both a beloved and controversial figure in recent years.
In 2010, Long was sued by several young men who alleged his coerced them into sexual relations. Those lawsuits were later settled.
Then earlier this year, Long revealed that he had considered suicide during the scandal, when it appeared many had turned against him.
It was love that saved him
In the video, entitled "The Power of God's Love, Long, with a clean shaven head and dressed in a dark suit with a red shirt,, says that what prevented him from doing so, "It's not a Scripture. What kept me is that every time I showed up here, you were here."
The congregation, many dressed in red, rush down to gather around Long. Some are crying, some can be seem praying or touching him in support.
A tearful and trembling Long said in the video that he did not take his life because "my family loved me, my church loved me...regardless of what anybody said, love lifted me and carried me. And you didn't judge me. There are folk here who know what I mean, that you're alive because somebody loved you. They didn't give you a sermon, they didn't question you, they didn't call you before a council."
