Charismatic Heavy Hitters Issue Statement Against Mike Bickle, Declare Him Permanently ‘Disqualified’
Eight charismatic heavy hitters, led by Michael Brown, have issued a joint statement against Mike Bickle and IHOPKC, declaring him permanently disqualified from ministry and describing his organization as having ‘cult-like tendencies’: vindicating us again.
In a post on the Line of Fire, Michael Brown, Jack Deere, Dan Juster, Patricia King, Joseph Mattera, Sam Storms, Michael Sullivant, Terri Sullivant share that while many of them have been trying to call an “independent judicial council to hear all the evidence and responses and then render a decision” about Bickle, because this has not happened, a statement is now in order. They write:
1. We have reviewed the testimony of Jane Doe and found it to be credible. IHOPKC has also admitted to its validity.
2. We have reviewed the testimony of Tammy Woods and found it to be credible, and Mike Bickle has not issued a denial of this testimony.
3. The investigation conducted by Rosalee McNamara of the Lathrop Law Firm for IHOPKC has confirmed some of the allegations.
4. Mike has publicly admitted to some of the allegations, at least in part in a general and non-specific sense.
5. Some members of this team have personally attempted to approach Mike to ask for full disclosure, but at present, after several attempts, he has not agreed to meet, nor has he categorically denied the growing number of charges coming against him.
6. Some members of this team have been deeply involved in meetings with leaders of both the Advocacy group and IHOPKC leadership to hear their hearts and concerns.
Empathizing with Bickle’s victims and those affected by his wicked wandering, they lament that “this is a spiritual tragedy of international proportions, affecting millions of believers worldwide and bringing great dishonor to the name of Jesus as well as a disgrace to the reputation of the Spirit,” rendering their final judgment.
After considering the reports we have reviewed, we must state categorically that he is, sadly, unfit to lead a ministry. Even with full repentance and personal restoration in the Lord, he is disqualified from public ministry.
It’s a strange statement for them to make, considering some of them were part of a council that investigated and judged Todd Bentley as guilty despite being “supernaturally gifted” and restorable back to ministry in the future. No such luck with Bickle.
In a brief note of further vindication, we wrote in 2015 (and earlier) that IHOP is “arguably one of the most spiritually dangerous cults in the world today” and that Bickle was a false teacher and prophet. As part of their joint statement, the heavy hitters write:
While we know that many fine believers and leaders have served at IHOPKC and are part of the related, global prayer movement we recognize that the evidence points to some dangerous cult-like tendencies that emerged over the years that need to be addressed and adjusted. There has also been a lack of a formal structure of accountability for those serving in various capacities at IHOPKC, overseen by local elders, resulting in a failure to deal properly with serious sexual sins, and not just pertaining to Mike.
We do not deny that the broad outline of the IHOPKC history was credible, but it appears that, in some ways, it has crossed over into areas of spiritual elitism.
No kidding.
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What’s Bentley got that Bickle is lacking?
Bentley was even worse.