Monday, July 8, 2013

The Independence of the Bishop and Dean

When the Bishop and Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain needed an "Independent" panel to hear the outrageous and false accusations against a pastor, they turned to the Lutheran Council where the Dean was employed as the General Secretary for years and where the Bishop was a Director / Trustee. Two of the three members of the "Independent" Panel were fellow Directors / Trustees of Lutheran Council with the Bishop. The third "Independent" member was an Anglican who had worked side by side with the Bishop and the Dean for years in the Anglican Lutheran Society.

Monday, June 3, 2013

The Former Bishop's Congregation

The former Bishop's London Congregation was forced to move out of it's historic home. Why?

Was it because of her leadership when she was the pastor?
Was it because of her attempts to negotiate a lease?
Was it because of her administration the finances, accounts and maintenance of the congregation?
Was it because she resigned (or was it retired?) as the pastor of the congregation when the lease deadline was looming?
Did she retire as Bishop (before the completion of her term) to avoid something?


Marvelous Words but a loveless, perfunctory, formal religion

The following quote is from a sermon preached by "Bishop" JJG on 1 Corinthians 13
and Luke 18:31-43 ( reference http://www.anglican-lutheran-society.org/AGM%202011%20sermon.pdf ):

"In our lives of faith, which should in turn bring faith and hope to our families, churches and
communities the love of Christ is made manifest. This is true in the small things just as much as in
the big issues. In our interactions with the bus driver and the bank clerk, in our dealings with those
who hate us; in laughing and in loving, as well as in mourning and in conflict, in the seemingly hopeless situation of Palestine; whether in London, Jerusalem, Helsinki or Stuttgart, Christ in his charity
lives in and through us. "

She also told the story of a friend who came to England as part of the Kindertransport. The friend was adopted by 2 sisters who were "regular churchgoers; well-meaning, presumably, but their charity was cold indeed. They treated her with contempt, and forced her to go to church with them; punishments for misdemeanours were harsh; and there was little sign of love or affection. My friend’s experience of Christianity was of a loveless, perfunctory, formal religion; and as a result, she developed a thorough allergy to the Christian faith."

First a marvelous call to action that the love of Christ should be expressed in all of our interactions - big and small - with the charity of Christ in us and through us. God demands that even "in our dealings with those who hate us" "as well as in mourning and in conflict" that our interactions "Christ in his charity lives in and through us." Too bad those are the "Bishop's" marvelous words but do not describe her actions towards anyone who has questioned her, failed to bow to her unreasonable demands and inflated sense of authority and warped vision of obedience.

The story of the two sisters who adopted the little girl from a foreign land describes the "Bishop's" actions better than the her preached words - for JJG has treated those whom God had entrusted with contempt, she has harshly punished for misdemeanours and she has shown little love or affection - especially for children. JJG's practice of Christianity would make most feel "Christianity was... a loveless, perfunctory, formal religion; and as a result, ...develop a thorough allergy to the Christian faith."


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Synod 2013

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain's Synod 2013 was the The Very Rev Dean's show again.

Notice:

- No one in the ENTIRE LCiGB was available to serve on the Trustees except the same one's who do whatever TB says.
- There are still no people of African descent serving as Trustees.
- There is no Annual Report of the Trustees on the Website. Why? Because people will know how small and dysfunctional the LCiGB really is.
- What is posted? A document that uses selective truth and proof texted scripture to prove that the Trustees have no interest in following God or the Gospel but are beholden to TB's solicitors and accountants.
- There is no recognition that the Bishop JGB is no longer Bishop. Why did she resign?
- There is no recognition that the LCiGB has single handedly forced one of the LCiGB congregations to loose their church home, sell the organ and move to an undesirable location.

The LCiGB would rather spend tens of thousands of pounds on solicitors and accounts to allow TB to bully congregations, pastors and others rather than live the Gospel.

Don't forget, the LCiGB is also getting kicked out of its office's in Central London.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Latvian Lutheran Church in London

The Latvian Lutheran Church has severed ties with the Lutheran Church in Great Britain. After cooperating and sharing worship space for more than 40 years, the London Latvian Lutheran Church has found a new home.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Trying to Impress

Thomas or Tom Bruch is the current Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain and the former General Secretary of the Lutheran Council of Churches ( now called the Council of Lutheran Churches).

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain  and Lutheran Council of Churches are both members of the Lutheran World Federation.

The Lutheran Church in Great Britain  also partners with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America  and has recently partnered with Time for God.

Although being recognised by Lutheran World Federation and Church Together in England this does not mean that the The Lutheran Church in Great Britain is credible or should even exist.

If one compares the statistics given by The Lutheran Church in Great Britain in Annual Reports and on the The Lutheran Church in Great Britain website to the statistics that the The Lutheran Church in Great Britain has given to the Lutheran World Federation it is apparent that those responsible for providing statistics to the Lutheran World Federation grossly overstated the membership of The Lutheran Church in Great Britain.




Thursday, April 4, 2013

The Way to Become Bishop in the LCiGB


The former Bishop was only elected by 25 votes - total. If each church received one vote for clergy and one lay member then there would be at least 12 churches in the The Lutheran Church in Great Britain. However - each Trustees of The Lutheran Church in Great Britain is able to vote. The largest congregation in The Lutheran Church in Great Britain was given three lay member votes and one clergy vote.

Of the 25 votes for Bishop:

At least FOUR came from the congregation she was serving at the time.
Up to SIX came from the Trustees (of which most where members of her church).

So Bishop Jana was elected by 25 people of which close to 50% were members of the congregation she was serving.

But she has stepped down - quietly without announcement.

Who will replace her?

The current Trustees - each of which have a vote - have been hand selected by Dean Tom Bruch. SIX VOTES. (Do not forget one of the Trustees is his wife.)

Dean Bruch has ensured that all the African clergy are not really considered ordained so they will not be able to vote.

The majority of the Trustees of The Lutheran Church in Great Britain are members of the same church as Dean Tom Burch. The Dean has ensured that the current council of that congregation support him 100%. They take all of his administrative and legal advice and only have a "visiting pastor" because of Tom Bruch. The congregation (his) is allowed three or more votes.

NINE VOTES

IF and it is a BIG IF, there are actually 25 people allowed to go to the 2013 Synod (which is by invitation only and subject to new rules written by Tom Bruch):

25 - 3 = 22 (Dean Tom Bruch has successfully removed three clergy from voting).

So Dean Tom Bruch needs 22 votes and has hand selected at least 9 votes. I am sure he has also rewritten the rules to make sure that most of the other clergy in The Lutheran Church in Great Britain will be unqualified.

So Dean Burch might be elected Bishop - so what? Over the last few years he has almost shut down every congregation in the LCiGB. Even if The Lutheran Church in Great Britain gets "Bishop Thomas Bruch" he will be never be considered a real Bishop by anyone who looks into The Lutheran Church in Great Britain or Tom Bruch.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

GROSS MISCONDUCT

According to the cte.org.uk website:


EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

Jana Jeruma-Grinberga is the European Officer for CTE. Jana is the Bishop of the Lutheran Church UK and brings extensive experience and knowledge of Europe into the work of CTE.
CTE has not traditionally engaged with European issues and relationships, but an increasing sense of the importance of relationships across Europe, including those between the churches means that this area of work is growing in significance.

According to the Church Times:

"Readings followed from Ruth and 2 Corinthians, both read by co-presidents of Churches Together in England, the Lutheran Bishop, the Rt Revd Jana Jeruma Grinberga, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Revd Vincent Nichols."


Bishop Jana resigned. She is not the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain.

According to the Rules and Regulations of the LCiGB, she should immediately be charged with GROSS MISCONDUCT for: "2. deceit or dishonesty affecting LCiGB affairs;"

Of course the Rules and Regulations only apply to those the Dean and Bishop are attacking.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Racism?

In the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, if a pastor has been ordained it does not mean the pastor is ordained.

Some pastors who have been ordained by Bishops of the LCiGB have been told they are not really pastors yet. These pastors who have been ordained, taking services, celebrating communion, baptizing and who have been called and installed as pastors of LCiGB congregations have been told by the LCiGB Trustees they are not yet pastors. Why? The LCiGB require SOME PASTORS BUT NOT ALL PASTORS to meet new rules that were adopted AFTER they were ordained.

Why is this important?

1. Ordination in the Lutheran tradition means only one thing: You are an ordained pastor. You cannot be a pastor unless you have been ordained and their is not half ordination. Once again the LCiGB is abandoning the Lutheran Confessions.

2. By questioning if a pastor is "really" ordained it causes insecurity, distrust and questions of faith for faithful members. Is my child really baptized if the pastor isn't really ordained? Is communion really communion?

3. This LCiGB exercise is aimed at pastors who are not European. The only pastors who have been "called in" to meet with the LCiGB and told they must meet the new rules are non-European pastors serving congregations where the majority of the members are African.

4. This is another goal of the Dean and current Trustees.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

By Invitation Only

The 2013 Lutheran Church in Great Britain Synod date has been announced. Please note: if anyone other than approved Synod members want to attend a member must email the LCiGB and request an invitation to be sent.

This gives an interesting meaning to the Lutheran Church in Great Britain belief statement:

"This Church affirms the call of the Gospel to unity, reconciliation and healing. We therefore commit ourselves to the pursuit of all that makes for unity within the One Body of Christ."

Apparently "unity, reconciliation and healing" are by invitation only.

If Ladbrokes or BetFred has the option, the best bet would be that the Lutheran Church in Great Britain will NOT publish this year's Trustees Report on the website. After all, "Voting Members have been sent the relevant details."


Saturday, January 26, 2013

Congratulations for Paperwork!

From the Lutheran Church in Great Britain:

Congrats to London Chinese Lutheran Church (LCLC) for completing the incorporation with Companies House and registration with the Charity Commission - a step forward for better governance and stewardship. LCLC is a member congregation of LCiGB and is host of this year's Synod in April. Well done to the church leaders! ♡
--

Of course the LCiGB is excited because pleasing government and paperwork is the most important priorities of the LCiGB.

Too bad it's not the Gospel, God, Christ, or anything else.


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Over 5,000 Views!

More than 5,000 views from over a dozen countries!

Thank you for your support.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

How to Lead a Christian Organisation

By Dean TB

1. When taking office immediately begin to explain how the former leaders were incompetent and put the organisation in jeopardy of severe fines from the Charity Commission, HMRC, Companies House and "Health and Safety". None if these allegations have to be true or valid.

2. Immediately offer your "expertise" and ability to bring the organisation into compliance.

3. Make sure you are in control of "administrative" matters.

4. Ensure your spouse is in control of the finances.

5. Ensure that only people you know and control are hired or consulted regarding any financial, legal, and administrative advice.

6. Make sure that the "External Auditor" is in your control and that you are able to review any reports before anyone else

7. When you are asked questions always use technical jargon, insert references to important people and places you claim to have been involved in, make your work and your spouse's work sound more important and critical than it really was. Always answer with condescension and and attitude that "anyone who is professional knows that" as to make the members feel dumb and incompetent so they stop asking questions.

8. In smaller groups mock former leaders and other members to keep the attention away from your own plan to control ever step of the process.

9. Constantly badger others by email and point out any and all spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting issues to wear them down so they will give in and let you write it.

10. Offer to "help" by writing letters and emails for others. Be sure not to sign them so you are not legally responsible and it makes someone else look mean or demanding.

11. Attempt to play other members against one another. Always create conflict between others so you can offer advise to both sides and manipulate the outcome.

12. Occasional make short comments to plant the idea that others are incompetent or not educated or is too "English" or "Latvian" or "African" so that the opinion is dismissed.

13. Encourage people "on you side" to serve in voting positions if they can help you. Feel free to use people who you think are idiots, but will support your position.

14. Make the nominations process for serving as a Trustee very complicated with multiple deadlines, forms and requirements. Never remind the members of these rules or deadlines so no one but your hand chosen trustees will serve.

15. Create all the documents, rules and regulations. Registered those documents with the appropriate agencies well before the members even are aware that a change is coming. Create a false urgency so that members will vote even if they have questions or concerns because "we will be heavily penalised" if we don't pass this immediately.

16. The second the vote passes, the new structure is in motion allowing no time for second thoughts or changes.

17. Make sure that the new rules and regulations make it impossible to change anything without a vote of the Trustees you now control, the ones you hand picked and the ones who believe you and your wife are experts.

18. Have "Executive Meetings" which are not provided for in the rules and regulations. Have the "Executive Meeting" make important decisions because you control half the vote (you and your spouse). You only need convince one person to get your way.

19. Extravagantly spend money on legal fees to stop anyone from questioning you in the future.

20. Attack anyone who questions you with every means possible. Stop at nothing. Force members to do morally questionable actions to dispose of your "enemy". Consider damaging their reputation, causing harm to families, calling the police with false charges, calling other agencies to besmirch their credibility, refuse any and all attempts at dialogue or conversation. YOUR AIM IS COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE CHURCH NOT LIVING LIKE A CHRISTIAN OR PRACTICING CHRISTIAN LIVING.


21. Cover your tracks. Make sure no one gets the emails and letters you have written. Never let anyone record your meetings. Someone might publish those letters, emails and recording on the Internet. Then what would happen?

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The Best Use of Time and Resources?

From the Lutheran Church in Great Britain Trustees Report for 2011:

Unexpected legal fees were incurred to safeguard the organisation during a disciplinary case amounting to approximately £27K and this resulted in a deficit this year. Trustees took steps to replenish these funds by appealing to donors and a grant has now been received (on 31st January 2012) which replenished the funds in full.

Dear Interim Bishop

Dear Interim Bishop,

Please be careful. Two of the Trustees of the LCiGB have been waging a campaign to take over the LCiGB. They show no mercy and have no hesitation crushing anyone who challenges them. They are crafty. They always convince people that they are the experts and know everything about finance, employment law, charity law and how to properly run an organisation. They insisted that the previous could not chose her assistant on her own but chaired the search committee. They made sure that the previous Bishop sign all the papers to attack pastors and congregations. They carefully craft letters so that they are "writing on behalf of" the chair or Bishop. They never take responsibility for their actions and plans, they get other people to do the deeds so they can't be held liable or legally responsible.

Bishop J did their bidding despite the damage it did to her reputation, to her family, to her friends, and to the church.

If you want to make them angry, just point out that the Charity Commission advises that husbands and wives should NOT be Trustees on the same board. That is the one rule from the Charity Commission they will even deny exists. Why? They control the money and the Rules and Regulations - that's complete power and control.

They even control who audits the books. Who knows if those audits are true? What have they hidden? What money has not been sent to the people it was intended for? We will never know as long as they have all the power.

For the sake of the people in your care, remove them from power before it is too late.

By the way, one of them loves to do a mocking impression of you.