Michael Reid

Michael Reid (born 1944), also known as "Bishop Michael Reid", is a Christian evangelist and founder of Michael Reid Ministries who resigned from public ministry in April 2008, after admitting to an eight-year extra-marital sexual relationship.

Personal Background

Reid is a former Metropolitan police officer and insurance salesman, who entered Christian ministry without any formal theological education. He founded Peniel Pentecostal Church in Essex, which was later renamed "Michael Reid Ministries". The organisation also runs a school with around 170 pupils aged 2 to 19 and a college in Brentwood, as well as a TV ministry.

Title of "Bishop"

Reid was created a bishop in 1995 by the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa of Benin City, Nigeria, as part of a meeting of the International Communion of Charismatic Churches (ICCC). However, according to the current Presiding Bishop of the ICCC (Bishop David Huskins), Bishop Reid resigned from the ICCC in 2001, and formed his own organisation, the Global Gospel Fellowship (GGF).

Associations

He is the author and co-author of several books and a founder member of the Christian Congress for Traditional Values (CCTV) to monitor challenges to family life and traditional belief in the UK. Founded in 2005, the CCTV was instrumental in organising anti-gay demonstrations outside Parliament opposing the Sexual Orientation Regulations. A CCTV campaign in January 2008, which took the form of a mobile poster, "Gay Aim: Abolish the Family," breached Advertising Standards Authority code. He was also a leading figure in the organisation's campaign challenging the BBC over its decision to screen "Jerry Springer - The Opera" on television. Following Bishop Reid's public disgrace, the CCTV has been reportedly disbanded in August 2008.

He is also closely associated with the Oral Roberts Evangelical Association in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a founder member of the Global Gospel Fellowship (GGF). Michael Reid has recently become a patron of the English Constitutional Convention.

Controversy

Controversy has surrounded Bishop Reid for many years and both he and Peniel Pentecostal Church have been the subject of many critical media articles. In 1999, the church received national publicity when Martin Bell stood for Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar constituency following allegations that the church were attempting to infiltrate the local Conservative Party. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,495027,00.html "Never send to know for whom the Bell tolls"] , The Guardian, May 23, 2001] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/parl/Story/0,,408721,00.html "Bell prepares to stand against evangelical Conservatives"] , The Guardian, December 8, 2000] The allegations were investigated by Conservative Central Office who reported that they saw no evidence of entryism. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,397689,00.html "The oracle of Essex"] , The Guardian, November 15, 2000]

Sexual Scandal

In April 2008, Michael Reid admitted to an extramarital sexual relationship and resigned from the leadership of Peniel Pentecostal Church. It is believed the relationship lasted for eight years with his church's music director, Sheila Graziano. He issued the following statement to church members: "It is with great sorrow and regret that I have resigned from the church board and have stepped down from official duties. I confess that I have sinned by committing adultery. I recognize that I have failed in my duties and acted in a way that harmed the Church. I take full responsibility for my actions and so I resigned. I apologize to my wife and family and all of you whose trust I have betrayed and ask for your forgiveness and prayers." The scandal was widely reported online [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2008/04/family_values_campaigner_resig_1.html BBC blog] , accessed 11 April 2008] [ [http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/4/8/8338/23733 Talk To Action blog] , accessed 11 April 2008] [ [http://www.beforeiforget.co.uk/2008/hypocrisy-is-the-greatest-luxury/ HYPOCRISY IS THE GREATEST LUXURY] , BEFOREiFORGET blog 9th April 2008] and in UK newspapers [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1017184.ece "Bash Bishop is a Jerry Sinner"] , The Sun, 9th April 2008] [ [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=558365&in_page_id=1770 "Bishop who preached family values finally admits: I am an adulterer"] , The Daily Mail, 10th April 2008] .

References

External links

* [http://www.michaelreidmiseries.org/ Michael Reid Miseries] , a critical website
* [http://www.reachouttrust.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2174 Thread on The Reach Out Trust's website with a discussion by church members]
* [http://www.michaelreidministries.org/ Michael Reid Ministries official website]
* [http://johlibaptist.blogspot.com/ An account of the decline and fall of Michael Reid Ministries]
* [http://www.beforeiforget.co.uk/2008/hypocrisy-is-the-greatest-luxury/ A blog about Reid's sex scandal and questions about his integrity]