A Sermon - A Verbal Expression of Hypocrisy.

"So many other small, but powerful things. The Kingdom of God starts with small things. We can help – in our own small ways. We can’t bring peace to Syria, or comfort to grieving families in Connecticut. We cannot resolve growing tensions between Christians and Muslims, even in Tanzania. But we can still do loving and gracious acts. Perhaps a Christmas message to someone we have lost contact with, a small gift for someone we know is lonely, a donation to our own church or to a charity for those who have nowhere to stay this Christmas: the Kingdom of God starts with small things."

16th December 2012 - Swahili Carols
Bishop Emerita Jana Jeruma-Grinberga at St Anne's Lutheran Church in London

"But we can still do loving and gracious acts."

She should have added:
"Unless a person challenges me. Unless I have decided a person is in my way. Unless I feel threatened by someone. Then I will tell lies, make up new rules, call government agencies and forget the words I preach and claim to believe."

What Is Happening in the LCiGB?

There is an Advent Message from the Interim Bishop on the Lutheran Church in Great Britain website but no explanation of what happened to Bishop Jana.

There has been no new newsletters "The Forum" since January of 2012 even though the website says the LCiGB prints these quarterly.

The "News" on the website, with the exception of the Interim Bishop's Advent Message, is mostly from 2011.

The only up to date content is from the Lutherans Up North.

Why??

Values Show Clearly in Actions

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain offers "Resources for Congregations" on the Lutheran Church in Great Britain's website. The resources include:

- The latest guidance from the Charity Commission
- How to prevent fraud in your congregation
- Information on CRB reports
- Rules and Regulations of the LCiGB
- Guidelines for planning an event which primarily focus on finances
- Finance resources for congregational treasurers

Finances, Rules, Guidelines and Regulations are apparently the values of the leaders of the LCiGB or, more accurately, the values of the Dean, Treasurer and Chair.

Not one congregational resource offered for:

- Bible study
- Christian Education
- Worship
- Prayer
- Spiritual Growth
- Lutheran Confessions
- Evangelism
- Social Justice

Why? Because the LCiGB is a "small church" unable to provide such resources? If there are limited resources why spend all the time, energy and money ONLY on finance, rules and regulations?

Racism? Ethnocentrism?

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain is again pressurising a congregation to dismiss an ordained Lutheran Pastor. Once again the Lutheran Church in Great Britain is creating new rules in order to claim that a Pastor who has served faithfully and was Ordained by Bishop Jana is not really an LCiGB pastor. Why?

Could it be racism or ethnocentrism? The Pastor is non British or European. This is the third non-European Lutheran Pastor attacked by the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. This is the third non-European Lutheran Pastor who suddenly is not Ordained correctly, Examined Correctly or Not Licensed properly.

The Trustees of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain are all white Europeans (two of which lost their US Citizenship) and one person from Asia. The majority of the members of the congregations in the LCiGB are of African descent. The most vibrant congregations are people from African countries. 

As the Dean regularly remarks: "The Africans aren't professional."

Beggar's Bowl

Dean TB complained endlessly that the Former Bishop of the LCiGB, now the Interim Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, always traveled around the world begging for money from other Lutherans.

The Dean also enjoyed imitating the Interim Bishop with a fake Polish accent and saying, "Come over! I ordain you!"

The Dean complained that the Interim Bishop ran the LCiGB poorly and that his task was to clean the mess.

I wonder if the Dean will do his imitation for the Interim Bishop now?

Consequences

Due to the actions of the Bishop and Dean, a prominent Lutheran congregation is not able to renew its lease. The congregation is now looking for a new home. Of course the congregation has physical assets that it will not be able to take to a new home.

When will someone stop the Bishop and Dean from completely destroying the Lutheran Church in Great Britain? They have destroyed the lives of pastors, pastoral candidates as well as the families and children - Christ is about life, not death and destruction.

Finance and Rules

According to the Synod Report for the year of 2011 posted at the Lutheran Church in Great Britain website:

The Finance Committee did not meet in 2011.
The Rules Committee did not meet in 2011.

Absolutely amazing!

In a year when the Lutheran Church in Great Britain spent more money on legal fees than the entire annual budget of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain - the Finance Committee did not meet one single time!

In a year when new Rules and Regulations were adopted which allowed the Bishop and Dean to take over congregations, claim that some ordinations performed by the previous Bishop are not valid and removed a pastor based on new regulations - the Rules Committee did not meet in 2011!

In a year with so many new rules and regulations and massive amounts of non-budgeted legal fees were spent - the Finance and Rules Committees did not meet!

Pretentious Piety

Reflections on the year

"Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and 
a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay 
with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing." (1
Peter 3:8-9)


These are the words that Bishop Jxxx JxxxxxGxxxxx used for her Reflection on the Year 2011 in the Synod Report. This is the reflection on the year in which the Bishop spent most of her time and more than the budget of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain creating new rules and regulations so that she could control the Lutheran Church in Great Britain completely, force a congregation into legal proceedings and was so unreasonable that at least two LCiGB pastors had to obtain legal advisors.

This is the pastor that was asked by many in the LCiGB to show compassion and forgiveness - she refused.

She not only failed to repay evil or abuse with blessing,
She not only failed to offer blessing,
She not only failed to lead or attempt to create a unity of spirit,
She not only failed to offer sympathy,
She not only failed to offer love for one another,
She not only failed to show a tender heart,
She not only failed to be of humble mind,
She sowed and grew disunity,
She was cruel,
She expressed hatred,
She had a heart more hardened than Pharaoh,
She was set in her mind and full of pride,
She was the one who was evil and abusive.

No Female Bishops in the Church of England

Yet the Bishop and Dean desperately want to be accepted by the Church of England.

Yet the Bishop and Dean model themselves after the Church of England and continue to force Church of England practice and polity on the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.


http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/16-november/news/uk/women-bishops-legislation-falls

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Bullies Try to Stop Information that Might Identify Their Behaviour

Will you consider the behaviour of a Very Reverend in the LCiGB and this list?

• Jekyll & Hyde personality
• always charming and beguilingly plausible, especially to those who are capable of protecting or enhancing the sociopath's position
• excels at deception (this must never be underestimated, but always is)
• excels at evasion of accountability
• is extremely and successfully manipulative of people's perceptions and emotions (eg guilt and anger)
• silver-tongued, has an extreme verbal facility and can outwit anybody (including a top barrister) in verbal conflict
• will often engineer himself or herself into a position of authority as gatekeeper of the organisation and thus the person through whom all information must flow, and the person to whom all requests for services must be referred - which he or she then takes delight in denying
• is adept at offering weak and inadequate people the positions of power, control, security, influence or respect that they crave but who lack the necessary competencies to achieve - such people are unaware that their consequent dependence on the sociopath makes them permanent manipulatees, pawns and expendable agents of harassment
• identifies those essential to the sociopath's survival and manipulates their perceptions them by making them feel special and thus obligated to reciprocate with support and protection
• manipulates others into making fools of themselves in situations where they cannot back down or from which they cannot withdraw - these people become increasingly susceptible to further manipulation and are then trapped as pawns in the sociopath's game
• is likely to be surrounded by people who, having been subjected to control, manipulation and punishment by the sociopath, look wretched and who start to exhibit behaviour best described as disordered, dysfunctional, sullen, aggressive, defensive, hostile, retaliatory, counterproductive or cult-like and for whom disbelief, disavowal and denial are instinctive responses
• creates an environment where levels of denial are so great that those involved are oblivious of the foolishness and self-evident absurdity of their denials when presented with the facts, with the result that non-involved observers are led to question whether such levels of denial merit psychiatric intervention
• is contemptuous of disrepute to their organisation and of collateral damage and of the destructive consequences for all direct and indirect parties 
• is always surrounded by and leaves behind a trail of dysfunctional organisations, destroyed businesses, ruined careers, stress breakdowns and unexplained suicides
• despite a trail of devastation to individuals, organisations, families and communities, the actions of a socialised psychopath may go undetected or unrecognised for years
• a history of conducting frivolous, vexatious and malicious legal actions, especially (but not exclusively) against anyone who can recognise the sociopath for what he is
• only after the sociopath is exposed and relieved of position, or they move on, can the full depth of their destructive behaviour be fathomed and the consequences calculated
• is skilled at identifying, undermining, discrediting, neutralising and destroying anyone who can see through the sociopath's mask of sanity
• at all times restricts the actions and rights of others (especially those holding the sociopath accountable) whilst aggressively protecting his or her right to do anything without being hampered by social norms or legal requirements
• pursues endless vindictive vendettas against anyone perceived as a threat or who attempts, knowingly or unknowingly, to identify or reveal or expose the sociopath, or who makes efforts to hold the sociopath accountable
• is adept at appropriating rules, regulations, procedures and law to manipulate, control and punish accusers regardless of relevance, logic, facts or consequences
• persists in and pursues vindictive vendettas using self-evidently false evidence or information, even after this is brought to the attention of the sociopath
• will often manipulate minor bullies into acting as agents of harassment and as unwitting or unwilling conductors of vendettas
• is adept at placing people in situations where the sociopath can tap into each person's instinctive urge to retaliate in order to use them as his or her instruments or agents of harassment
• gains gratification from provoking others into engaging in adversarial conflict
• once conflict has been initiated, the sociopath gains increased gratification by exploiting human beings' instinctive need to retaliate - this is achieved by encouraging and escalating peoples' adversarial conflicts into mutually assured destruction
• revels in the gratification gained from seeing or causing other people's distress
• when faced with accountability or unwelcome attention which might lead to others discerning the sociopath's true nature, responds with repeated and escalating attempts to control, manipulate and punish
• is adept at reflecting all accusations and attempts at accountability back onto their accusers
• is adept at creating conflict between those who would otherwise pool negative information about the sociopath
• has no limits on his or her vindictiveness
• the need to control, manipulate and punish develops into an obsession with many of the hallmarks of an addiction
• is skilled at mimicry and can plausibly and spontaneously regurgitate all the latest management jargon
• exhibits minimal professional skill level and competency
• exploits his or her intelligence to excel at talentless mediocrity
• is always identifying the behaviours and strategies to which other people respond with the desired effect
• is able to anticipate and credibly say what people want to hear
• is easily able to win people over before betraying them or deceiving them or ripping them off
• easily manipulates and bewitches an immature or naive or vulnerable or emotionally needy person to be their spokesperson or agent of aggression
• exploits anyone who has a vulnerability
• is pushy and extremely persuasive
• is sexually inadequate and sexually abusive
• is likely to protect anyone accused of or suspected of sexual abuse of pedophile activity, and will frustrate or obstruct investigations into that person
• maybe associating with, or actively involved in, abuse or pedophile activity
• has no emotions, no emotional processing capability and no ability to understand other's emotions
• is incapable of understanding, initiating or sustaining intimacy
• the male sociopath has often convinced a string of women to feel they are in love with him and despite being treated abominably they blindly continue to be loyal to him and minister willingly to his every demand
• may start projects with apparent enthusiasm and energy but quickly loses interest
• frequently takes unnecessary and uncalculated risks but takes no account of consequences
• is likely to be illegally diverting or siphoning off significant sums of money to his or her own budget, project, account or cause
• is unreliable and untrustworthy in every facet of life
• is likely to be leaking confidential information or secrets to third parties
• is likely to have committed or be committing criminal or near-criminal offences, eg fraud, embezzlement, deception
• is likely to have committed or be committing breaches of harassment and discrimination law, employment law, contract law, etc
• cannot comprehend the deeper semantic meaning of language and is thus unable to understand or appreciate metaphor, hyperbole, irony, satire etc (these elicit either zero response or a hostile response)
• likes, seeks, enjoys and relies on procedure, ritual and ritualistic practices
• through arrogant overconfidence takes increasingly risky chances and eventually overplays their hand or makes a mistake which leads to the sociopath revealing him or herself
• exhibits parasitical behaviour, takes everything and gives nothing
• grabs headline credit for minimal, flukey or other peoples' success whilst surviving off the backs of manipulatees who are exclusively blamed for all failures
• rarely blinks, may have stary scary eyes that cut right through you, or may avoid eye contact completely
• is callous, cold and calculating
• is devious, clever and cunning
• is ruthless in the extreme
• regards people as objects and playthings to be discarded when surplus to requirements
• displays zero empathy
• completely without conscience, remorse and guilt
• malicious and evil

The Socialised Psychopath or Sociopath

Also known as the corporate psychopath, workplace psychopath, industrial psychopath and administrative psychopath.

Motivation: power, gratification, personal gain, survival
Mindset: manipulation, deception, evil
Malice: high to very high; when held accountable, off the scale

What would Bishop J Jxxxxx-Gxxxxxxxx or Dean Txx Bxxxx say? Now we know, they took action to remove statements of the truth. They have spend more money on legal fees.

New Rules, More Complaints

The current Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain has changed all the rules concerning ordination. Pastors who were ordained by the previous Bishop have been told they are not really ordained Lutheran Pastors.

Pastors who have been ordained in the last few years have been told that they are not "fully approved" as Lutheran Pastors. The Bishop has even told a Bishop from a Lutheran Church outside of the UK that the Lutheran Church in Great Britain does not ordain pastors except women who come from countries and Lutheran Churches that do not ordain women. That statement was news to the men who have been ordained in the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

Additionally the Bishop has refused to ordain any pastor with more theological education than the Bishop. Unfortunately this eliminates most of the Lutheran Pastors in the world as the Bishop has no degree in theology and most Lutheran Pastors have graduate degrees in theology.

The Bishop also appointed a lay person with no theological or pastoral training to Chair the committee responsible for theological education. This lay person is also appointed to mentor candidates for ordination and guide them in their theological and ministerial formation. Would a doctor be mentored by someone who never went to medical school? Would a solicitor or barrister be mentored by someone who did not read the law?


Is it incompetence? Fear of challenge? Insecurity?

No News Is Not Good News

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain is failing to communicate the activities of the Trustees, the Bishop and the Dean. The blog that the Bishop used to share of her day to day activities and travel has been shut down. There has not been an issue of the Forum since "Epiphany 2012". The news on the website is news from 2011 and the majority of the links do not even work.

The Lutheran Church in Great Britian has made it clear in private emails that the Bishop is stepping done, that an Interim Bishop has been chosen and that the Bishop and Dean are appointing Church of England Clergy to take over several Lutheran congregations without the consent of the members of the congregation. Each item is significant news to be shared with the members and supporters of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, but, as in the recent past, the Bishop and Dean prefer to withhold information so they can manipulate the processes of the church.

One should not expect much from a Dean who hides the fact he lost his American citizenship and a faux Bishop elected by less than 25 people whom has the delusional notion that she is a Bishop like the real Bishops of LWF churches who are educated, experienced and properly elected.

One Step Closer

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain is assigning an Anglican Priest as Pastor of a significant Lutheran Church.

The vision of the Dean and Bishop to remold the Lutheran Church in Great Britain into Church of England is moving forward. Under the Bishop and Dean:

1. The polity of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain has completely changed. The Synod and members of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain have been removed from the decision making process. The Bishop, Dean and Trustees now make all decisions except approving an auditor and electing Trustees.

2. The Bishop and Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain have pressurised the congregations to abandon the Constitutions which ensured congregational polity and were faithful to the Lutheran Confessions and Historic Practice, to become companies and adopt provided Articles and Memorandums which have removed the congregation members from the decision making process and forced the congregations to submit to the Bishop and Trustees of the the LCiGB. The LCiGB has done this with offers of money (grants funded by the Lutheran Council of Great Britain) and threats of legal action.

3. Now the Bishop and Dean are appointing Anglican Priests without the consent of the congregation members to serve congregations. There are no agreements that these Anglican Priests will follow Lutheran worship practices or preach in accordance with the Lutheran Confessions.

Soon, the Bishop and Dean will be calling for the Lutheran Church in Great Britain to become a part of the Church of England.

This is insulting to the faithful Lutherans in the UK. Lutherans who have faithfully kept the confessions and worshiped in small groups around the UK. Faith Lutherans who have sacrificed because they are Lutheran and believe that God desires a Lutheran community in the UK.

Many Lutherans in the UK will travel fifty miles, passing literally dozens and dozens of Church of England churches to attend a Lutheran Church. Why? Because they are Lutheran! Faithful Lutherans! Lutherans do not think Anglicans are "wrong" but Anglicans are not Lutherans!

Why would any Lutheran travel 50 miles, even a mile to attend services led by an Anglican Priest. Ever residence in England is part of a Church of England parish.

The Bishop and Dean are dishonoring the sacrifice and faithfulness of generations of Lutherans in the UK and the Lutherans who died for their faith in this great country.

The Bishop's Sermon- To Whom Was She Preaching?

"But into this picture, this commonplace situation of 1st century Palestine, or 21st century Africa, the grace of God breaks in. When, at the end of the day, all the workers gather to receive their well-earned wages, it turns out that they are not being paid an hourly rate, or apparently even in any way that is fair. From the perspective of labour relations or employment law, the owner of the vineyard is behaving in a way that is deeply unfair, and one that would today guarantee an instant wildcat strike. How can you pay everyone the same, whether they work for one hour or eight?"*


The Bishop preached about the owner of the vineyard behaving in a way that is "deeply unfair".

The Bishop preached about deeply unfair behaviour that would violate employment and labour law whilst she was in the very process of leading a deeply unfair process that violated employment law and resulted in a Lutheran congregation landing in an Employment Tribunal. The Bishop preached about the unfairness of the vineyard owner whilst making deeply unfair decisions and demands that deeply hurt a congregation, a pastor, a partner and small children. She preached grace whilst crippling the Lutheran Church in Great Britain with tens of thousands of pounds of legal fees. ( The legal fees over £50,000 was reported in the LCiGB Annual Report - though rather buried and not reflected in the accounts. )

Many a wise preacher has observed that a preacher reveals much in a homily.

"This rebuke reminds us that the story, not just this parable, but the whole of the great salvation story is not about what we do, but about what God does out of sheer grace." As the Bishop preached those words one wonders did her voice tremble or was it hopeful?

The Bishop preached, "why would we want to be miserly about sharing that joy?"

To whom was she asking?




*Anglican-Lutheran Society Conference 16th-20th September 2011
“THE WORD PREACHED – THE WORD READ” Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK
SERMON PREACHED IN SALISBURY CATHEDRAL
The Rt Rev Jana Jeruma-Grinberga (Lutheran Co-Moderator of the Society)

http://www.anglican-lutheran-society.org/Jana%20ALS%20Salisbury%20sermon.pdf

Interim Bishop

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain has an Interim Bishop, although there is no mention of this development on the Lutheran Church in Great Britain website.

Heartless or Soulless?

Which word best describes a Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain?

She has knowingly allowed pastors "under her care" to be underpaid and kept in poverty. She routinely turned down requests for assistance from pastors with children. She allowed pastors and staff to go unpaid for months at a time. She knowingly allowed congregations to provide substandard housing for pastors. She approved grossly disparate pay for pastors apparently based on the colour of their skin.

Any one of the above examples alone is soul destroying for pastors and their families. However, the callousness of the Bishop is even more stark when one discovers that the Bishop not only knowingly allowed such horrendous treatment of pastors and their families, the Bishop has recently remodeled her home, kept a flat in another European city and built a second home in another country. She regularly travels to and from her various properties whilst pastors and their children suffer in poverty.

Heartless or Soulless?

Our Vision

The website of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain features a page titled "Vision" under the "About Us" tab. There one can read:

• An expanded central administration which will enable congregations to concentrate on their mission by taking on some of the administrative burden.


At first reading "an expanded central administration" implies a helpful role of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain especially in consideration of the very small congregations.

In practice and reality, "an expanded central administration" is moving from a congregational polity to an Episcopal polity. Changing to an Episcopal polity violates the historic practice of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain and violates the constitutions and historic practice of the congregations. The majority of Lutherans in the world believe that the Lutheran Confessions outline a congregational polity and therefore the majority of Lutherans in the world have a congregational polity.

The most egregious aspect of the Bishop and Dean in this "Vision" of an expanded central administration is that this move is a surreptitious change of theology without discussion, dialogue or vote. The expanded central administration and the "free of charge" governing documents are the Bishop and Dean taking total control of congregations and fundamentally rewriting the theology and polity of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

The Dean has a history of manipulating organisations, rules and policies which result in the Dean being in total control and the perceived "expert" to whom all defer. Anyone who questions the expert is systematically removed. The Dean is a master of controlling an organisation. He successful fends off scrutiny by having successive victims who are either accused of being unprofessional and incompetent or he tortures his victims by constant minor complaints, unreasonable demands and impracticable deadlines until the victim resigns.

If a victim of the Dean's efforts to avoid scrutiny begins to question the Dean, stands up to the Dean or attempts to hold the Dean accountable, the Dean will carefully create the documentation needed to ensure that the victim is dismissed and removed. The Dean will pursue every legal option to continue to pursue, discredit and punish the victim without regard to the cost to the organisation or the legal jeopardy to individuals or the organisation. The Dean will always ensure that he is insulated and protected from any legal repercussions.

Will you consider the behaviour of a Very Reverend in the LCiGB and this list?

• Jekyll & Hyde personality
• always charming and beguilingly plausible, especially to those who are capable of protecting or enhancing the sociopath's position
• excels at deception (this must never be underestimated, but always is)
• excels at evasion of accountability
• is extremely and successfully manipulative of people's perceptions and emotions (eg guilt and anger)
• silver-tongued, has an extreme verbal facility and can outwit anybody (including a top barrister) in verbal conflict
• will often engineer himself or herself into a position of authority as gatekeeper of the organisation and thus the person through whom all information must flow, and the person to whom all requests for services must be referred - which he or she then takes delight in denying
• is adept at offering weak and inadequate people the positions of power, control, security, influence or respect that they crave but who lack the necessary competencies to achieve - such people are unaware that their consequent dependence on the sociopath makes them permanent manipulatees, pawns and expendable agents of harassment
• identifies those essential to the sociopath's survival and manipulates their perceptions them by making them feel special and thus obligated to reciprocate with support and protection
• manipulates others into making fools of themselves in situations where they cannot back down or from which they cannot withdraw - these people become increasingly susceptible to further manipulation and are then trapped as pawns in the sociopath's game
• is likely to be surrounded by people who, having been subjected to control, manipulation and punishment by the sociopath, look wretched and who start to exhibit behaviour best described as disordered, dysfunctional, sullen, aggressive, defensive, hostile, retaliatory, counterproductive or cult-like and for whom disbelief, disavowal and denial are instinctive responses
• creates an environment where levels of denial are so great that those involved are oblivious of the foolishness and self-evident absurdity of their denials when presented with the facts, with the result that non-involved observers are led to question whether such levels of denial merit psychiatric intervention
• is contemptuous of disrepute to their organisation and of collateral damage and of the destructive consequences for all direct and indirect parties 
• is always surrounded by and leaves behind a trail of dysfunctional organisations, destroyed businesses, ruined careers, stress breakdowns and unexplained suicides
• despite a trail of devastation to individuals, organisations, families and communities, the actions of a socialised psychopath may go undetected or unrecognised for years
• a history of conducting frivolous, vexatious and malicious legal actions, especially (but not exclusively) against anyone who can recognise the sociopath for what he is
• only after the sociopath is exposed and relieved of position, or they move on, can the full depth of their destructive behaviour be fathomed and the consequences calculated
• is skilled at identifying, undermining, discrediting, neutralising and destroying anyone who can see through the sociopath's mask of sanity
• at all times restricts the actions and rights of others (especially those holding the sociopath accountable) whilst aggressively protecting his or her right to do anything without being hampered by social norms or legal requirements
• pursues endless vindictive vendettas against anyone perceived as a threat or who attempts, knowingly or unknowingly, to identify or reveal or expose the sociopath, or who makes efforts to hold the sociopath accountable
• is adept at appropriating rules, regulations, procedures and law to manipulate, control and punish accusers regardless of relevance, logic, facts or consequences
• persists in and pursues vindictive vendettas using self-evidently false evidence or information, even after this is brought to the attention of the sociopath
• will often manipulate minor bullies into acting as agents of harassment and as unwitting or unwilling conductors of vendettas
• is adept at placing people in situations where the sociopath can tap into each person's instinctive urge to retaliate in order to use them as his or her instruments or agents of harassment
• gains gratification from provoking others into engaging in adversarial conflict
• once conflict has been initiated, the sociopath gains increased gratification by exploiting human beings' instinctive need to retaliate - this is achieved by encouraging and escalating peoples' adversarial conflicts into mutually assured destruction
• revels in the gratification gained from seeing or causing other people's distress
• when faced with accountability or unwelcome attention which might lead to others discerning the sociopath's true nature, responds with repeated and escalating attempts to control, manipulate and punish
• is adept at reflecting all accusations and attempts at accountability back onto their accusers
• is adept at creating conflict between those who would otherwise pool negative information about the sociopath
• has no limits on his or her vindictiveness
• the need to control, manipulate and punish develops into an obsession with many of the hallmarks of an addiction
• is skilled at mimicry and can plausibly and spontaneously regurgitate all the latest management jargon
• exhibits minimal professional skill level and competency
• exploits his or her intelligence to excel at talentless mediocrity
• is always identifying the behaviours and strategies to which other people respond with the desired effect
• is able to anticipate and credibly say what people want to hear
• is easily able to win people over before betraying them or deceiving them or ripping them off
• easily manipulates and bewitches an immature or naive or vulnerable or emotionally needy person to be their spokesperson or agent of aggression
• exploits anyone who has a vulnerability
• is pushy and extremely persuasive
• is sexually inadequate and sexually abusive
• is likely to protect anyone accused of or suspected of sexual abuse of pedophile activity, and will frustrate or obstruct investigations into that person
• maybe associating with, or actively involved in, abuse or pedophile activity
• has no emotions, no emotional processing capability and no ability to understand other's emotions
• is incapable of understanding, initiating or sustaining intimacy
• the male sociopath has often convinced a string of women to feel they are in love with him and despite being treated abominably they blindly continue to be loyal to him and minister willingly to his every demand
• may start projects with apparent enthusiasm and energy but quickly loses interest
• frequently takes unnecessary and uncalculated risks but takes no account of consequences
• is likely to be illegally diverting or siphoning off significant sums of money to his or her own budget, project, account or cause
• is unreliable and untrustworthy in every facet of life
• is likely to be leaking confidential information or secrets to third parties
• is likely to have committed or be committing criminal or near-criminal offences, eg fraud, embezzlement, deception
• is likely to have committed or be committing breaches of harassment and discrimination law, employment law, contract law, etc
• cannot comprehend the deeper semantic meaning of language and is thus unable to understand or appreciate metaphor, hyperbole, irony, satire etc (these elicit either zero response or a hostile response)
• likes, seeks, enjoys and relies on procedure, ritual and ritualistic practices
• through arrogant overconfidence takes increasingly risky chances and eventually overplays their hand or makes a mistake which leads to the sociopath revealing him or herself
• exhibits parasitical behaviour, takes everything and gives nothing
• grabs headline credit for minimal, flukey or other peoples' success whilst surviving off the backs of manipulatees who are exclusively blamed for all failures
• rarely blinks, may have stary scary eyes that cut right through you, or may avoid eye contact completely
• is callous, cold and calculating
• is devious, clever and cunning
• is ruthless in the extreme
• regards people as objects and playthings to be discarded when surplus to requirements
• displays zero empathy
• completely without conscience, remorse and guilt
• malicious and evil

The Socialised Psychopath or Sociopath

Also known as the corporate psychopath, workplace psychopath, industrial psychopath and administrative psychopath.

Motivation: power, gratification, personal gain, survival
Mindset: manipulation, deception, evil
Malice: high to very high; when held accountable, off the scale

What would Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga or Dean Tom Bruch say?

New Rules for Ordination

The current Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain has changed all the rules concerning ordination. Pastors who were ordained by the previous Bishop have been told they are not really ordained Lutheran Pastors.

Pastors who have been ordained in the last few years have been told that they are not "fully approved" as Lutheran Pastors. The Bishop has even told a Bishop from a Lutheran Church outside of the UK that the Lutheran Church in Great Britain does not ordain pastors except women who come from countries and Lutheran Churches that do not ordain women. That statement was news to the men who have been ordained in the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

Additionally the Bishop has refused to ordain any pastor with more theological education than the Bishop. Unfortunately this eliminates most of the Lutheran Pastors in the world as the Bishop has no degree in theology and most Lutheran Pastors have graduate degrees in theology.

The Bishop also appointed a lay person with no theological or pastoral training to Chair the committee responsible for theological education. This lay person is also appointed to mentor candidates for ordination and guide them in their theological and ministerial formation. Would a doctor be mentored by someone who never went to medical school? Would a solicitor or barrister be mentored by someone who did not read the law?


Is it incompetence? Fear of challenge? Insecurity?

Total Control of St Anne's Lutheran Church

St Anne's Lutheran Church recently shared the news:

"New constitution

At the ECM last Sunday a unanimous decision was made to adopt the Memorandum and Articles, the Constitution, as drafted by the LCIGB and approved by your council.  An amendment was proposed regarding our name. The vote decided our official name as the one in current use: St. Anne's Lutheran Church.

There will be a second ECM after a month has passed to vote again on adopting the Constitution, members will be notified of the date."

Please note: 

• There is no mention of how few people attended the meeting. 

• There is no mention that the Dean, Treasurer, Bishop and Bishop's family are all members of St Anne's and even if they do not attend regularly - they alone make a quorate under the current constitution.

• Unanimous does not report abstentions.

• During the Bishop's time as Pastor of St Anne's Lutheran Church membership records were not kept, there was no membership list and most members of St Anne's Lutheran Church have effectively been removed from the membership by the current leadership by demand of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain who has insisted a "new" membership list be created.

• The new Memorandum and Articles creates Trustees who will now control all aspects of congregational life including the employment of the pastors and doctrine.

• The new Memorandum and Articles places the congregation under the control of the Trustees of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, ignore the history and practice of the congregation and directly contradict the Lutheran Confessions.

The greatest irony is that the news was shared with this quote:

'I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen' (Martin Luther)

Too bad all the people with conscious captive to the Word of God, like Martin Luther, have been forced out of the congregation by the Bishop and Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain!

St Anne's is now only a Lutheran Church by name. It makes many of us weep.

The Illusionists

The Bishop and Dean continue to create the illusion that the Lutheran Church in Great Britain is growing and is a significant church. There are no full-time pastors, no full-time employees - not even a full-time Bishop!

Consider this recent email from the Lutheran Church in Great Britian:

The office is staffed part time on a Monday and Friday, and messages will be picked up on these days.

If you wish us to remove your email address from our mailing list so you do not receive further notifications such as these, please email back to let us know.

With kind regards,

RXXXXXX HXXXXXX

-- 

RXXXXX HXXXXX (nee MXXXX)

Senior Administrative Manager and PA to the Bishop 

E: admin@lutheranchurch.co.uk 

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain has no full-time employees, yet the one employee they have who works two times a week is the Senior Administrative Manager and PA to the Bishop?

And the Senior Administrative Manager and PA to the Bishop will only check messages two times a week. 

The Illusionists are hard at work. The Church if the LWF and the Lutheran Council (or is it the Council of Lutheran Churches) need to recognise the illusion the Dean and the Bishop are creating. 

What would Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga or Dean Tom Bruch say?

Acceptable to Christ? NO - Acceptable to the Government

"Apart from administrative matters, to have a sound faith and financial base is key to church growth."

David Lin, Chair of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

The Forum, Winter/Epiphany 2012 ISSUE 11

The Priorities and Values of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

1. Administrative Matters.

2. Sound Faith

3. Financial Base

Reflecting on the most important work of 2011, David Lin wrote:

"Most significantly, I think, is the congregations' steadily growing compliance of the rules and regulations of the Charity Commission in England and Wales (CC) and Companies House (CH). Our commitment for compliance means that LCiGB will be able to build on a solid ground of structure and enable us to grow in its ministries with an appropriate framework that is acceptable by the government."

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain is built on the "solid ground of structure...acceptable by the government."

Not the solid ground of Christ.

Not the solid ground of Faith.

Not the solid ground of the Word of God.

Not the solid ground of the Bible.

Not the solid ground of the Lutheran Confessions.

Not the solid ground of God.

No, the Lutheran Church in Great Britain is built on the solid ground of administrative matters acceptable to the governments of England and Whales.

Maybe the Lutheran Church in Great Britain needs to consider a new name: The Formerly Lutheran Church Acceptable to the Governments of England and Whales (the FLCAttGEaW).

Is it any wonder the Bishop, Dean, Treasurer and Chair spend thousands of pounds on legal fees punishing pastors and congregations? 

What would Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga or Dean Tom Bruch say?

Demanding Stewardship?

The leadership of Lutheran Church in Great Britain continues to demand payment from member congregations. Although all of the member congregations struggle financially, the leadership demands a share and sometimes more.

Recent demands have been made on congregations that are behind on payments owed, yet the leadership of the LCiGB continues to make demands. The Bishop and Dean do not seem to care if a congregation survives, they just want their money.

The website for St Anne's Lutheran Church

http://www.stanneslutheranchurch.org

Click to see a story that exemplifies the extreme positions of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain and how it has effected one congregation.

HMRC Fines

During the current Bishop's tenure, the Lutheran Church in Great Britain has been substantially penalised for failing to properly report and pay payroll taxes.

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Paldies mūsu draugiem Latvijā!

Porvoo

The Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain believes that the best use of her time is traveling to conference after conference and meeting after meeting hoping and begging that the Church of England will accept the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

Is this the best use of the Bishop's time? Is this what the pastors and members of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain desire?

The Bishop does not care because she will not allow it to be discussed.

Pastors and congregations want to share the Gospel. They want to be Lutheran Christians not members of a state Church.

The Bishop does not care. The Bishop has her own agenda. She has created new rules to require obedience. She will punish those who defy or question her.

The Bishop fails to understand servant leadership, the Lutheran Confessions or the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A Growing Church

On the Lutheran Church in Great Britain's website the following statement is made:

"We are a growing church, with people from all parts of the world worshipping in our congregations."

This is either wishful thinking, delusion or an out right manipulative attempt to deceive those outside the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

Since the Bishop came to office the congregations of the LCiGB have been in decline or have left the LCiGB.

There is a reduction in people attending worship, a reduction in members, a reduction of pastors and a reduction in the number of congregations. The only areas of growth are:

A growth in conflict.
A growth in legalism.
A growth in secrecy.
A growth in rules and regulations.
A growth in penalties.
A growth in useless meetings.
A growth in the number of people denied the opportunity to serve God.
A growth in the power of the Bishop.
A growth in the power of the Dean.
A growth in the LCiGB abilities to take over congregations.
A growth in watering down basic Lutheran Confessions, practices, beliefs and traditions.

Growth?

Merely Incompetence or Deception

After months of claiming problems with the telephone line at the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, the website now proclaims a new telephone number which is preceded by the old telephone number.

Why a new number? Why was the landline not working for months? Does the Lutheran Church in Great Britain fail to pay for services? It wouldn't be surprising if the LCiGB was unable to pay a telephone bill since the Bishop and Dean spend more than half of the annual budget on legal fees.

Why two telephone numbers on the website? Incompetence or is it another form of deception? You decide.

The Call Unheeded

The Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain claims to discern the voice of God better than anyone else. Over the last several years many people have met with the Bishop because they have heard the call of God to become a pastor. The majority of whom have been turned away by the Bishop. Why? The Bishop has given various reasons, none of which make sense. However, it is notable that most who were told no (without the opportunity to even meet the proper committee of the LCiGB) were people who were more educated than the Bishop, who challenged the Bishop, or were from non European countries.

The Bishop, who has no degree in theology or the Bible, seems to believe that individuals with degrees in theology are not called by God.

Once she even claimed that the Lutheran Church in Great Britain does not ordain pastors.

She has also claimed that pastors ordained by the previous Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain are not really ordained unless she approves them.

The Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain does not seem to understand vocation from the Lutheran Confessions. She also seems to think her opinion is more important than God's or a congregation.

What is the Bishop Hiding?

The Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain began her time as Bishop being very open. She regularly updated pastors, members and friends of her activities by email and her blog at http://lutheransuk.wordpress.com/

She no longer does. She not only stopped blogging about her activities she has hidden her blog.

What is she hiding?
Was there something on her blog that was inappropriate? Shameful?
Why hide what you do when you are Bishop?
What does she do as Bishop?

Most of her activities seem to be flying around Europe and Africa misrepresenting the true size and activities of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

She also appears to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince Anglicans and the Church of England that they need to accept the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. She has allowed no theological discussion concerning her need to have the Lutheran Church in Great Britain accepted by the Church of England.

The rest of her time seems to be spent with solicitors to find ways to keep pastors under her thumb and punish those who question her. She has spent thousands and thousands of pounds given to the Lutheran Church in Great Britain on solicitors. Money given to God for ministry is used by the Bishop to attack and punish pastors.

Why does the Council of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain allow the Bishop to ignore her duties as a Bishop? Why do they allow her to spend more than half of the LCIGB annual budget on legal services whilst most of the LCiGB pastors go unpaid?

The Dean

Whilst General Secretary of the Lutheran Council (or that completely separate organisation the Council of Lutheran Churches) the Dean dismissed many people. He even kicked out a fellow Lutheran Church in Great Britain pastor and his wife!

Why would the Dean kick out a pastor and his young wife?

Was it because the pastor wasn't British? Or an American?

No matter the reason, the Dean has a long record of no compromise, no discussion and an attitude that can only be described as "to hell with anyone else". If you question the Dean he will not hesitate to kick you out of your home, dismiss you from employment, bring harm to a spouse or show absolutely no heart for the care or concern of children.

Isn't the Dean a living example if Jesus Christ? Didn't Jesus call people Satan? Didn't Jesus say, "The children aren't relevant?" Didn't Jesus say, "Make enemies and persecute them with no mercy?" Didn't Jesus say, "Blessed are those who can retire early and live in luxury?"

Time for God

I wonder why it is that the only church in the world that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America does not trust or partner with for young adult global ministries is the Lutheran Church in Great Britain?

The ELCA actually tells young adults to avoid LCiGB congregations whilst in England. I wonder why?

What would Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga or Dean Tom Bruch say?

Almost 3,000 Page Views!

We are just short of 3,000 page views! Thank you for your support! I appreciate the many messages I have received with thanksgiving, although it continues to break my heart to hear how many have been hurt by the the current leadership of the LCiGB.

Bishop to "Step Down"

The Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain is preparing to step down from her office. One wonders why.

Is she retiring? If so, will it be like her last retirement?

She did retire from being a pastor or, at least, that's what she told her congregation. But did she retire? No.

So why did she leave her last congregation?

Was it to devote time and money to campaign for Bishop?

Was it to leave before everyone discovered that she not only failed to negotiate a new lease for St Anne's but alienated the Diocese?

Was it to leave before HMRC discovered payroll irregularities?

Was it to leave so she could spend more time building a second home in Europe? Or remodel her first home?

Ask the Dean

Ask the Dean to do his impression of the former Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. The Dean enjoys adopting a faux Polish accent and saying: "Come over. I ordain you."

The Dean seems to enjoy making fun of people from outside of the UK. It is one of the ways a bully operates. A bully makes fun of people to dismiss them and "prove" the bully is the only smart person in the room

What Would Jesus Do? I don't think he would make fun of his former Bishop.

Rules and Regulations

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain's Rules and Regulations have not been approved by Synod. The Bishop and Dean have created all new rules to consolidate their power and control over congregations and pastors.

LCiGB congregations no longer decide the rules for membership or who the congregation can call as their pastor. If the Bishop and Dean do not like or approve of a pastor they can now force a congregation to dismiss the pastor without consent of the congregation.

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain has abandoned the confessional and historic practices of Lutheranism.

The Bishop and Dean are willing to spend thousands of pounds to get their way and to control congregations.

Dean Tom Bruch

Lutheran Council of Great Britain
Or is it...
Council of Lutheran Churches?

According to one source "those are two entirely different organisations."

Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga

Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga trained as a nurse and a singer. She has no degree in theology.

The Desire to Belong - Porvoo

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain was approved as an "observer" with the churches in the Porvoo Agreement. No synod approved such action. The Bishop and Dean made the decision without the approval of the Synod or the Ministerium or anyone else.

Why? Because the Bishop and Dean have a love affair with the Church of England. The Dean has even proposed that the Lutheran Church in Great Britain be dissolved and that all Lutherans submit to the authority of the Church of England - which is to suit to the government and Queen of the United Kingdom. This reality alone shows the blatant disregard that the Bishop and Dean have for the immigrants in the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. The many legal and illegal immigrants who worship in Lutheran congregation do not want to be a part of a state church. Yet, the Bishop and Dean continue to pursue this agreement without permission or even discussion from Synod.

When Lutheran pastors have objected to participation in the Porvoo agreement, the Bishop and Dean have ignored them and kept their objections from being discussed by Synod in public.

One should not be surprised that the Dean and Bishop have resorted to manipulation rather than theological discussion. The Bishop does not have a theological degree. The Dean lacks theological skills as well. Rather than engage in conversation with trained Lutheran theologians they have resorted to manipulation. They have changed the structure of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain so that no vote will be required to approve theological issues.

Even if joining the Porvoo Agreement was in harmony with Lutheran theology, the process of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain violates the Lutheran Confessions and the historical practice of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

By convincing the Synod that the new structure was the only legitimate and legal way for the Lutheran Church in Great Britain to be structured in the UK, the Bishop and Dean now control all theological decisions. It is highly doubtful that the Synod would approve becoming a part of the Porvoo Agreement so the Bishop and Dean manipulated the system to get what they want. The Bishop and Dean have no regard for the Lutheran Confessions or the members of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

This is yet another significant example of the abusive and manipulative actions of the Bishop and Dean.

Fined

How much has the Lutheran Church in Great Britain been fined by HMRC?

Unfortunately the answer to that question is very difficult to obtain. The Bishop, Dean and Treasurer will only acknowledge the fines when asked directly, but will not disclose the total amount the Lutheran Church in Great Britain has paid in the last three years.

Several other Lutheran organisations have come under scrutiny because of the HMRC penalties. In meetings between the Bishop, the Dean and HMRC representatives, HMRC questioned the Lutheran Church in Great Britain about various possible employment and tax violations.

These fines have been hidden from members of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

One wonders why the information is kept secret. Is this another example of the consistent failure to disclose and manipulation by the Bishop and Dean?

What Would Jesus Do?

"What Would Jesus Do?" is a question that apparently never occurs to the leadership of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

"What's in it for me?" seems to be the question on their lips and in their hearts.

Lutheran Church in Great Britain - No Telephone Communications

For months the following has been on the Lutheran Church in Great Britain's website:

**Please note: we are currently experiencing difficulties with our phoneline, if you need to contact the office please do so via email on the "Contact Us" page.**

Why?

Is the Lutheran Church in Great Britain unable to pay for telephones?

Do the leaders of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain not want to talk to the public?

Are the leaders of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain using this as another excuse for not answering questions about policy, finances and the actions of the Dean and Bishop?

If the Lutheran Church in Great Britain is as professional and has as many members as the Bishop and Dean claim why would they not be able to fix the telephones?

Bearing False Witness

Although the Ten Commandments include:  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. That does not seem to stop the false witness of the Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

Please read the article in the Church Times "Dismissed pastor rebuts charges".

The article states:

Dean Xruch disputes this interpretation of events. The members of the panel were drawn from a "completely different organisation"- the Council of Lutheran Churches, he said; and the panel members were from churches other than the LCiGB.

This is a completely false and misleading statement. The Council of Lutheran Churches is the Lutheran Council of Great Britain. It is the same organisation. It is the organisation that employed the Dean as General Secretary. The organisations own website uses both names. The organisation is registered at the Charity Commission as The Lutheran Council of Great Britain. The Lutheran World Federation lists the organisation as The Lutheran Council of Great Britain.

The Dean continues:

He explained: "The Appeal Board considered two charges against Mr Dearhamer, and set aside one of them on the balance of probabilities, without totally exonerating him. The other charge, of serious insubordination against his bishop, was upheld on the grounds that he had made it effectively impossible for the bishop to meet him, and he had explicitly rejected episcopal oversight.

The Pastor, the Trustees of the LCiGB, the Bishop and the Appeal panel all agreed that Pastor had been completely cleared of the first charge made by the Bishop. 

The Appeal Panel completely cleared the Pastor of the second charge made by the Bishop. If a charge is "set aside" it means that the person is cleared of the charge. "Without totally exonerating him" is false witness and an attempt to mislead. A sad and pathetic attempt to mislead.

The final charge of Insubordination to the Bishop "was upheld on the grounds that he had made it effectively impossible for the bishop to meet him" Note: there is nothing to suggest that the pastor refused to meet with the Bishop, did not try to meet with the Bishop or that the Bishop needed to meet with the pastor - ONLY that the pastor made it "effectively impossible"  What does that mean? How could that be? Could it be that the Bishop set ground rules that made it impossible for the pastor to meet the Bishop? Was it a trap so the Bishop and Dean could make allegations against a pastor that they had decided must be removed contrary to the congregation that called the pastor?

The truth is the only allegation that was upheld was Insubordination to the Bishop because the Trustees of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain did not allow the Appeal Panel to consider all the testimony and evidence given by the pastor.

The Church Times article quotes the Dean: While the Appeal Board acknowledged that the Lutheran communion had varying traditions of episcopal authority

The Appeal Panel (or Board as the Dean has renamed it) did not merely acknowledge that the Lutheran Church had varying traditions but agreed theologically with the theology of the accused pastor that the a Bishop does NOT have the authority claimed by the current Bishop and Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

Again, the Panel was made up of Trustees of the Lutheran Council of Great Britain / the Council of Lutheran Church - fellow Trustees with the current Bishop who is a Trustee of the Lutheran Council. And the Trustees that employed the Dean as General Secretary. 

If the process of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain was fair / just / ethical / legal than why did the LCiGB have to spend thousands and thousands of pounds in legal fees?

Bishop of the LCiGB

Can you really consider a Bishop a real Bishop when they were elected by less than 25 people?

Are there any other Lutheran Bishops in the world that have been elected by so few people?

Are there any other Bishops who have been a pastor in so many different Lutheran Churches?

Is it appropriate for a LCiGB Bishop to explain that the LCiGB does not ordain women? Or that the LCiGB does not even ordain pastors?

Most Lutheran Bishops ordain pastors . For unexplainable reasons the current Lutheran Church in Great Britain Bishop has written that she does not ordain woman although she has. She has also told the very people she has ordained that they are not really ordained until the LCiGB Trustees approve them.

Why would the current Bishop tell pastors ordained by the previous Bishop of the LCiGB that they are not really LCiGB Pastors?

I wonder if the only "real" LCiGB Pastors are the ones that don't question the Bishop?

Could it be that the current Bishop's theology concerning ordination and the role of a Lutheran Bishop is confused and inconsistent because the current Bishop has no degree in theology ?

The American Dean

The Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain was born and raised in the United States of America.

Why isn't he a US citizen?
Why would the United States revoke someone's citizenship?
Why would anyone hide the fact that their US citizenship has been revoked?
Is it good to have persons serving as Dean and / or Treasurer of any organisation that have had their citizenship revoked?

Lutheran Church in Great Britain INCORPORATED

Have you ever noticed the Lutheran Church in Great Britain's website address? If you have not, the address is www.lutheranchurch.co.uk

Unlike most Christian Churches and Charities, the Lutheran Church in Great Britain chooses to use .co.uk for its website. Most Christian Churches and Charities use .org or .org.uk. The .org is the official URL for charities. The .co and .com are the URL tags for Corporations or Companies. The UK, of course, indicates the United Kingdom.

Why is this important? The Lutheran Church in Great Britain became a company shortly after the election of the current Bishop and Dean. The LCiGB website states on the home page: The Lutheran Church in Great Britain Limited is a company registered in England and Wales, registered number 7034897.

The Dean and Bishop used misinformation to convince the Synod that the ONLY way that the LCiGB could be legal was to become a company. If one does any research on the Charity Commission website it is clear that a church DOES NOT have to be a corporation.

So why did the Dean and Bishop insist that becoming a corporation was the ONLY way forward? The company structure removes the power of pastors and congregational delegates to manage the Church. Now the only power that the Synod (pastors and congregational delegates) have is is to elect Trustees (who can only be approved for election by the current Trustees) and approve the total budget expenditure but not the specifics of the budget.

Now the Trustees (who are the Dean, the Dean's wife, the Bishop and the hand picked rubber stamp Trustees - including one Trustee who is not even a member of the LCiGB) decide who is or isn't a pastor. The Trustees make all theological decisions. The Trustees can remove congregations. The Trustees spend funds any way they choose. JUST LIKE THE BOARD OF A CORPORATION without the accountability of shareholders. The LCiGB has adopted an organisational structure unlike any other Lutheran Church and contrary to the Lutheran Confessions, practice and history.

The Bishop, the Dean and the Dean's wife believe they are the only people who know how to run a church and make decisions. Everyone else is deemed "unprofessional" or "misinformed". The Bishop and Dean have no business / accounting / legal training or degrees. The Dean and his wife control the funds and policy by using technical words and condescending to anyone who dares question them.

Rising visits to blog!

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain blog has had just under 2000 page views! Because of the increasing traffic, the blog is being updated.

Cheers, 

The Editor

Apologies for the Interruption.

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain blog has been temporarily removed for updates. Check back soon for a new an improved blog with new information and insight into the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, the Dean and the Bishop.

Cheers,

The Editor