Michael Reid (evangelist): Difference between revisions

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Michael Reid (born 1944) was a Christian evangelist in Essex, England and founder of Michael Reid Ministries who resigned from the role of pastor at Peniel Church in April 2008, after admitting to an eight-year extra-marital sexual relationship. He has since developed his evangelistic ministry and has begun speaking at a number of churches in the UK and overseas.

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.

Reid was given the title of 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). Reid has continued to use the ICCC title 'bishop'.

Along with his wife, Rev Ruth Reid, Reid travelled globally and claims to have witnessed miraculous healings through his ministry,^[1] although a 1999 investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority was unable to substantiate the claims.^[2][3]

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. 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^[4]. Following Bishop Reid's public disgrace, the CCTV was 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 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.^[5][6] The allegations were investigated by Conservative Central Office who reported that they saw no evidence of entryism.^[7]

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^[8][9][10] and in UK newspapers^[11][12]. At an industrial tribunal where Reid was claiming unfair dismissal it also emerged that a second woman claimed to have had an affair with Reid over an extended period.^[13]

On Thursday August 27th 2009 Michael Reid was arrested on suspicion of rape. He was released on bail until November 28th 2009^[14][15].