Bishop Michael Reid in Quest for Payout: Claim

Simon Jones brings my attention to the latest from Michael Reid, the British neo-Pentecostal Bishop who recently fled to Arizona following after admitting to for an eight-year affair with his music director. Reid, it will be recalled, has long-standing links with Oral Roberts and Earl Paulk, and from his Peniel Church in Essex he ran the now-defunct “Christian Congress for Traditional Values”, which campaigned against homosexuality and such.

Reid has since faded from the public eye, but a discussion threat at the evangelical “Reachout Trust” has postings from people with links to the church. These posters are all very negative towards Reid, whom they accuse of authoritarianism and hypocrisy, and of using the law to bully opponents.

According to one poster with inside knowledge, Reid has apparently withdrawn his resignation, and he and the rest of his family – who were also employed by the church – “have all given sick notes”, claiming stress-related illness. Further, there is a fear that Reid intends to blame the stress on the behaviour of church members, and perhaps to claim unfair dismissal, thus securing a compensation payout.

One of Reid’s favourite Biblical passages is 2 Thess 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat”.