The relationship that Elim Church had with Bedmond Church faded over the period towards the end of 1979, we saw some of Alan Vincent and his people but there was less involvement; perhaps the Elim church hierarchy didn't approve.
Steve Dennett
In 1979 a guy called Steve Dennett joined the Elim church, together with his wife Leonie and then two children, daughter Sophie and son Christian. (He has since had two further children, the younger of whom is blessed with the name Raphael).
Steve was strongly into a "prophetic ministry" and spent much time talking about prophecy to those who would listen, many of whom congregated in the art studio place run by Dawn. He was a person of very strong opinions, and very soon was appointed an "Elder" of the church, along with the other guy I mentioned, Chris Williams, and a visiting guy from the USA called Dee.
However in early 1980, Steve gave a prophecy in church that everyone there would be "shaken" that year. This was to completely come true. Everyone there was - starting with him and followed closely by me. Shortly afterward, Steve fell out rather noisily with the pastor Ian Meredith, and the church news-sheet, rather foolishly, carried a rather one-sided account of the dispute.
Eruptions
A couple of months after they'd left, I met Steve's wife Leonie in the street, who she invited me to lunch the following Sunday and I accepted.
It turned out that they had joined Alan Vincent's church in Bedmond, and were happy there.
They encouraged me to join them that evening at Garston Church (the evening meetings were usually held there after they acquired it). I didn't much care for the speaker that evening at Elim and I had heard the speaker at Garston before, Terry Virgo from Brighton. He had spoken at the Dales Bible week in 1978. He ran an ministry called variously New Frontiers and Coastlands.
During the day, Steve and Leonie told me their side of the story regarding the row with Ian Meredith, which to a large extent involved the antics of his wife Shirley (one of the strangest women I ever met, heavily into "deliverance ministry" and who had seen fit to "deliver" me of all sorts of things over the years). I'm sure I expressed understanding of their point of view but I'm also sure I said nothing about leaving the Elim church.
Steve and Leonie told me that they had a "special calling" to help the single men they knew of which I was one.
I went along to Garston that evening, where Terry Virgo was speaking, and at the end of the service Steve actually introduced me to Terry with the words "This is John Collins. He is intending to leave the Elim church and join this one". I need hardly say that I had said absolutely nothing to that effect, and more or less gaped at Terry making noises like a goldfish pulled out of its tank. I really didn't take in anything that Terry said, I was so aghast at what Steve had done. He must have thought that I was some kind of zombie.
Interviews
Composing myself after the encounter with Terry Virgo, I approached Alan Vincent, and asked him if I could meet him one afternoon. I had in mind only that I should try to rectify what I saw as the damage Steve had done, but I didn't give Alan any indications at the time what I wanted to talk about, and he didn't really enquire. Unfortunately Alan was going away for a couple of weeks, and he could only give me an appointment 3 weeks away. I accepted that, and I said nothing to anyone about the meeting, generally keeping a low profile until the appointed day.
About a week before the meeting with Alan Vincent, however, Chris Williams, the "elder" I'd never really got on with, rang me at work, to say that he'd discovered that I was going to see Alan Vincent and he wanted to know what it was about.
I was a little shocked that it had come out via Alan and had moreover found its way to Chris of all people. I was very non-committal about the meeting, but Chris told me that before I saw Alan, I should have a meeting with Ian Meredith first. I was more than a little worried about the way things were escalating out of control, but I agreed to this.
When Ian came to see me, the day before I was due to see Alan, he spent the entire time asking me about what was wrong with his church in my opinion. Now at the time I didn't have any particular comments, but I made a few observations, of which the strongest was that I had serious doubts about the "deliverance ministry" of his wife.
Showdown time
The following day I went to see Alan Vincent - however Ian Meredith and Chris Williams turned up too! Actually it was worse than that, because not only did they insist upon coming, but they insisted that I gave them a lift there. The meeting turned out to be the most dreadful imaginable. I was accused before Alan of all sorts of immoral behaviour and all sorts of crimes and problems that had taken place in the church, about many of which I knew absolutely nothing.
Again I did the "gaping goldfish" imitation, which Alan took initially as being evidence of guilt. Ian and Chris said that they were going to expel me from the fellowship in view of my alleged misdeeds. Alan said that he would see me later about what had been said. We had gone to this meeting in my car, so I then had the distasteful task of taking my more or less triumphant accusers back home. The temptation to stop in the middle of a country road and tell them to get out and walk was a strong one! However, Alan needed a lift to a garage to pick up his car from repair and my facilities were offered to provide it.
Later in the evening of that day, I saw Alan again, and he said that he had reflected on the afternoon's events and had come to the conclusion that there was no truth in any of the accusations made. He saw no alternative but to "receive me into" his church. He went on to say that in about 6 months he would reconvene the meeting with Ian and Chris and unless something very drastic happened between now and then, I could be sure that they would have to explain what they had done.
However as events turned out, this never happened. A week or so after that interview I received a letter from Ian and Chris saying that I was formally expelled from the church and must have nothing to do with any of its members. This was to be enforced strictly - even when I returned some borrowed books to various people by calling at Dawn's art studio and leaving them on the doorstep with a note, this was deemed to be a violation of the injunction and I had Alan on the phone a few minutes later. To put the record straight I should add that some 4 years later, Ian Meredith came round to see me and unreservedly apologised for his behaviour. Shortly afterwards, he divorced his wife Shirley, and has since remarried.