Breaking: IHOP Founder Mike Bickle Admits to ‘Inappropriate Behavior’ + Deflects, Deflects, Deflects
Mike Bickle, the false-prophet leader of the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC), has released a personal statement regarding allegations against him, writing, “I sadly admit that 20+ years ago, I sinned by engaging in inappropriate behavior—my moral failures were real.”
It’s a cagey, minimizing statement from Bickle- a careful admission designed to give the impression that he did something twenty years ago, but it wasn’t that bad, and it’s all in the past. To punctuate the point, he likewise insisted that “I am not admitting to the more intense sexual activities that some are suggesting.”
According to Jane Doe, the woman Bickle engaged in “inappropriate behavior with,” he started coming onto her when she was 19 and he was 42. Prophesying over her and telling her that she would be his wife one day, despite him being already married, she recounts that he plied her with manipulations, machinations, and spiritual abuse, resulting in the two of them engaging in many acts of sexual activity spanning a period of the years. This activity included everything but intercourse and would certainly qualify as clergy sexual misconduct.
Bickle offered that “I hate my sin and I see it as serious and grievous before a holy God” and that “on those occasions (of “inappropriate behavior” I quickly and sincerely repented in a way that resulted in receiving assurance from God followed by a daily resolve to live holy in all of my ways.”
He explains his rationale for not bringing this up sooner:
Some may wonder why I am just now making a public statement 20+ years later? It is because I was recently confronted about things that I said or did 20+ years ago—things I believed were dealt with and under the blood of Jesus. Since this has now become public, I want to repent publicly.
On October 28, 2023, I wrote the first draft of this statement but at that very same time, false allegations of sexual abuse were being circulated against me. I was given legal advice to wait to make my statement public for several important reasons—including creating the misunderstanding that I was confessing to the false allegations that were circulating. I am very sorry that it took so long for this personal statement to come out. This delay created additional pain, anguish, division, and more for so many people that I love. I am deeply sorry for this.
Put another way, he borrowed a play from Johnny Hunt, saying that his sexual sins and adultery were private and none of the business of his church and ministry, and that because he dealt with them privately, there was no reason to confess them publicly until he was exposed, which perhaps explains why even now they are so vague and hazy.
Hitting back at his critics, including us, Bickle grumbles that “Since late October, terrible things have been written against me in various communications (blogs, articles , posts, etc.) that describe me and various sinful things that I allegedly did. There are many misrepresentations of my words and actions in these communications, including statements that are out of context, greatly exaggerated, or blatantly false.” Of course he does not say what those terrible and false things are, leading one to assume it’s all just made up.
He concludes by reiterating that “For an extended season, I will not engage in my public preaching ministry (conferences, social media, zooms, etc.)—I see this as God’s “delayed” loving discipline on my life” and that he will only re-engage in the ministry when others give him the go-ahead.
If he’s like every other scumbag Christian leader who engages in disqualifying behavior but doesn’t want to be disqualified, we have no doubt he’ll be back in the pulpit within a year.
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No doubt there are ‘apostles’ lining up to ‘restore’ Bickle. While I’m no apostle, I’d be glad to restore him for 40 or 50 bucks or equivalent Olive Garden gift card.
Whatever happened to honoring the biblical litmus test of teachers (or prophets, for that matter)?