A Brentwood church whose leaders were accused of spiritual abuse over a period of many years commissioned a special report into how things went so badly wrong.
Trinity Church – formerly known as Peniel – wanted to face up to its past and move forward in repentance. The report's conclusions were severe: it said members had been made to feel insecure about their salvation, they had been bullied and humiliated, the church had taken advantage of them financially and some had been shunned and ostracised.
So far, the story is one of a praiseworthy attempt to face up to the past.
However, the official report is not the only one. There's another, which is even more damning and does what the official version fails to do: it names names and is very specific about responsibility.
The story of why there are two reports rather than one, and which should be regarded as the most accurate, includes claims and counter-claims by those involved. The second, independent report was produced by a team originally tasked with the work but sacked by Trinity's trustees before they had finished. They completed their task anyway.
Inevitably, the saga leaves Trinity's members wondering which to believe – and whether the affair could have been handled any better.
Trinity's problems, however, began many years ago.
It was founded in 1977 by evangelist Michael Reid. Reid – who was consecrated as a bishop in 1995 by Archbishop Benson Idahosa of Nigeria – oversaw extraordinary growth in numbers and income at the church. However, it was embroiled in a series of controversies, making headlines for, among other things, an apparent attempt – which was denied – to take over the Brentwood and Ongar Conservative Association. There were repeated stories of spiritual abuse and allegations of various kinds of impropriety.
Reid himself resigned from the church in 2008 after admitting an adulterous affair and his associate Peter Linnecar took over as the church's leader.
Linnecar announced his resignation from the pastorate following the publication of the official report into the church, though he has said that he and his wife hope to continue attending.
But how was the investigation set up and how did things go so wrong?
The church knew it had a history of questionable behaviour and abusive relationships and was anxious not only to deal with its past but to ensure its present culture was healthy and godly. It approached the Evangelical Alliance for advice about forming an investigative team and eventually, on April 16 last year, appointed a Commission chaired by John Langlois, an Evangelical Alliance Council member and a barrister. The five-strong Commission included Rev Terry Mortimer, who had been called in occasionally to resolve differences at the church.
The terms of reference spoke of a "dark period" in the church's history. It said the Commission would investigate the historical culture of the church and "take a view on whether any remnants of erroneous culture remain".
It took statements from members and former members of the church. Some of these were complimentary to the leadership but many of them had appalling stories of spiritual abuse to tell.
However, on August 14 and out of the blue, Langlois received a letter from the chair of the trustees, John Shelton, informing him he had been dismissed. Two days later the church was told the whole Commission had been disbanded.
Mortimer – who declined to comment for Christian Today – had become alarmed at the direction its report was taking. He had approached Shelton accusing Langlois of various errors in his conduct of the enquiry.
Shelton's letter said Langlois might be perceived as not being an impartial chair and that for the Commission's work to be effective it was vital for the "integrity of the process" to be beyond reproach.
In a statement to Christian Today, Shelton referred to "significant departures from the Commission's terms of reference which, taken together, led the Trustees and Leaders to the conclusion that the Commission's impartiality had been affected by those actions".
He said: "This was clearly going to be a messy situation, whether we took any or no action. We felt that it would be damaging to all parties to allow a process to continue that had been clearly compromised."
In his response to Shelton and in communications with Christian Today, Langlois trenchantly denied all the accusations made by Mortimer. He is adamant he adhered to the terms of reference he was given and the trustees had behaved badly in dismissing him. He vigorously defended the Commission's procedures and its record in dealing with painful and difficult revelations.
Langlois and two others carried on and finished the job. Their report ran to 300 pages as opposed to the official report's 10. It includes testimony from people who found their time at Peniel/Trinity to be a blessing and who paid tribute to the leaders there. However – like the official report – it identifies spiritual abuse, pastoral incompetence and institutional failures. It refers to extreme control over members' private lives. It says: "We have never come across a church which is so abnormally focused on money and wealth generally" and urges further investigation of the conduct of the commercial companies associated with the church. It says the church's leadership appeared to "exalt themselves rather than giving glory to God. In many cases their conduct was atrocious."
The report says: "The trail of destruction left in the wake of their conduct has been appalling, broken marriages (some divorces being brokered by the church), widespread depression and mental illnesses, attempted suicide and young people losing their faith in Christ because of the actions of the leaders, etc. The list goes on."
As well as Michael Reid, it specifically criticises Peter Linnecar and Carolyn Linnecar.
Neither of them responded to requests for comment.
Among the recommendations in the independent report were a clean sweep of the church's leadership, setting up a fund for those who have needed counseling and the establishment of a "truth and reconciliation committee".
And what of the report of the official investigation, by Phil Hills and David Shearman? It too took submissions from 77 people, examined historical evidence and put accusations to key personnel. Hills and Shearman say the leaders and trustees cooperated with them fully.
The official report reaches many of the same conclusions as the independent one. It speaks of the deliberate encouragement of spiritual insecurity as a means of control and the leaders' sense of superiority.
It too speaks of pressure on members to achieve excellence and to give time and money beyond their capacity. It criticises the church's culture of secrecy and its use of rumours, lies, ostracism and humiliation as means of control.
However, it does not criticise Peter Linnecar, the Senior Pastor, for personal failings. Instead it places the blame on the church's structure and "historic culture". Recruiting someone to lead a church after a long-term pastor who has left because of a moral failing, the authors say, is extremely difficult: "To have put this burden on someone who had no experience as a Senior Pastor and whose primary experience of church leadership was in Peniel is utterly staggering."
In his statement to Christian Today, Shelton acknowledged the difference in tone between the two reports, but denied any suggestion that it was less rigorous or honest: the Hills/Shearman report "laid the lion's share of responsibility at the door of the leadership and governance of the church. To say that this is a whitewash does not stand up to any scrutiny."
While the trustees and church leaders have read the independent report, he said, the church's action plan would be based on the official one. It intends, among other things, to meet and apologise to individuals, to provide financial help for people needing counselling, to completely reshape the governance and leadership structure with professional help and to build up a "culture of trust" with the help of Hills and Shearman.
Shelton says: "We continue to be focused on our objectives of reconciliation with no more hurt but recognise that we have much work to do."
The fallout from Trinity's past has been profoundly damaging, not just to individuals but to the wider image of the Church. The controversy arising from its attempt to deal with it arguably indicates just how deep-rooted some of the problems were.
The Evangelical Alliance told Christian Today: "While we made a suggestion that John Langlois head the commission, the investigation and subsequent report are independent to the Alliance and are a matter for Trinity Church. Such processes are always difficult and painful."
Langlois himself dismisses the official report on the grounds that it names no one and "contains no facts". He also points to the large amount of pastoral work involved in the compilation of his own report.
However, he also told Christian Today: "The work of repentance is truly genuine. It is not a corporate exercise. It is being done individual to individual in private. Some of the emails I have received from victims have been heart warming and astonishing, truly works of grace."
Trinity's path to a better future might not be entirely smooth, but it appears to have embarked on the journey.
Peniel controversies
1. The church ran a fee-paying school at which church members' children were educated. Michael Reid was an advocate of corporal punishment and the school was accused of beating children; it said it had ceased the practice after it became illegal.
2. The church also made headlines when a financial services company owned by Reid and Peter and Carolyn Linnecar, from which members were encouraged to buy mortgages, pensions and other financial products, was investigated by the Financial Services Authority, which believed the congregation might have been subjected to coercive selling (Independent, April 5, 1999).
3. The church was also accused of misrepresenting the "miracle" cure of a little boy. Reid claimed Sam Mildenberger, aged four and suffering from a rare blood cancer, had been cured through his prayers. No evidence was provided for the claim and Sam died later of the disease.
4. The most high-profile negative publicity the church received under Reid's stewardship was over its influence on the Brentwood and Ongar Conservative Association. More than 100 members of the church joined the association on one day and, it was claimed, "took it over". A Conservative Party investigation found no evidence of "entryism", but the journalist and campaigner Martin Bell took up the cause and stood against the sitting MP, Eric Pickles, in an attempt to highlight the issue.
5. A former church member, Caroline Green, won a case against the church for its treatment of her and received a large settlement. She dramatised her experience in the book Call Me Evil, Let Me Go, writing as Sarah Jones.
