Thanks for that Hugh. As l was the one who posed the question l'm glad that you have clarified certain points. I did put questions to Simon directly and he refused to answer them which raised my suspicions. I can understand Simon's reluctance to talk about his past, l don't exactly advertise the fact that l was a member of an evil little sex cult either. But when he says that he was a "missionary" and gives the distinct impression that this was a period of his life when he was doing God's work then l think that he is either deluded or being more than economical with the actualite.

> Came across this by accident. Happen to be a
> member of Simon's church.
> He doesn't really talk about this aspect of
> his past, but then he might not want to. He
> doesn't hide it either.
> With regard to mentoring, the church is
> affiliated to the local branch of the
> Evangelical Alliance and Simon has a close
> relationship with many leaders of other
> local evangelical/charismatic/mainstream
> churches. The church structure includes an
> assistant pastor (who is of a very different
> background) and is administered by a
> committee with officers elected by the whole
> membership.
> I know Simon is very shy of HFC being a
> cult. I would describe his teaching as
> "this is a Godly way to live - now
> check it matches up with scripture".
> Nobody has ever been
> "excommunicated" for anything,
> least of all disagreeing with the leadership
> (although, obviously we've had members come
> and go). I assure you that neither myself
> nor most of the other membership would stand
> for too much "heavy shepherding".
> Also, his wife would never let him get above
> himself!
> The most important thing is valuing the Word
> and following the guidance of the Holy
> Spirit.
> Hope this sheds some light.
> Best wishes
> Have fun
> Hugh