Bethel Church’s head prophet Kris Vallotton has apologized on Facebook to victims of Mike Bickle after declaring his love for the “struggling” disgraced IHOP founder in a recent church sermon without “express(ing) compassion for, or address(ing) the need for the protection of all victims of abuse and sexual misconduct that I see in and out of the Church.”
Vallotton added, “My omission has hurt many in the Body who are processing hurt concerning the heartbreaking situations unfolding at IHOPKC and elsewhere.”
Bickle is under fire after several women have accused him of grooming and sexual misconduct, including some who say they were in their teens when it began. Bickle has admitted some accusations but has stayed silent on the cases involving 14 and 15-year-olds.
In his sermon, Valloton blasted the “culture of justice” that many in the church have regarding wanting to know the details of fallen leaders, including those who are “struggling” after multiple allegations of decades of predatory and pedophilic behavior.
I want to point out that fallen leaders aren’t entertainment to watch. They’re a tragedy to intercede for. … It’s not a movie where you get to know all the details because you have to know all the details…We watch a fallen leader like we’re watching a movie. We cry out for all the details, “tell us all the details and let’s put it on the internet so the world can see how our fallen leaders are dealt with” And I’d like to point out that that’s a culture of justice, and we need justice, but we need reconciliation
Watching what’s happening with IHOP- and by the way, I want to say publicly, I love Mike Bickle- I don’t know what the outcome will be, but it won’t change the fact that I love him. He’s my brother. It won’t change the fact that he’s my brother.
Valloton shares some of his frustration related to the fact that someone contacted him on Facebook questioning why he hasn’t made a public statement on Bickle, who has previously done ministry with Bethel church, which they have endorsed and promoted, and who travels in the theological circles as them. Valloton called the person asking for a statement an “idiot,” saying:
This is not entertainment: this is tragedy. I’m not going to play out on social media to let you all know, ‘Well, you know, I believe that Mike Bickle should (trails off) and this is the way it should happen. I just want everybody know I’m against it, too.”
Listen, if you can’t look at my life and know where I stand, I guess I don’t have much of a life. “
That last line makes no sense, as people could have said the same thing about Bickle prior to his fall. Valloton continues:
My goal for Mike Bickle and IHOP and everyone else who’s struggling, including the Bethel struggles we have, is that we would reconcile and that we would see righteousness grow out of it, not another documentary. “
