The purpose driven charismatic industrial complex is rallying around Mike Bickle...

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Here they come beloved. We should have expected it. The powers that be who exist to protect the purpose driven industrial complex are starting a backlash campaign against the Mike Bickle allegations. They distort reality with false piety filling their lying mouths. I responded yesterday to Dr. Michael Brown, who continues to plague the church with daily words that he fancies as encouragement, and I am sure they are for Mike Bickle. Now the latest is Steven Strang whose latest attempt at salvaging Bickle and IHOP is linked above. Just remember these two men and the countless others who will pay meaningless words to the victims while talking out of both sides of their mouths. Whenever this investigation runs its course, remember who stood up for Christ and who stood up for Mike Bickle and the apostate church. For now, let us reason once more through Strang's tortured reasoning and deceptive excuses.

Some leaders at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City have called for an independent, third-party investigation into charges of "clergy sexual abuse" brought last week against Mike Bickle who founded the ministry. I wholeheartedly agree with the need for an independent investigation because the truth must come out, and often it's hard to find the truth when those investigating have a vested interest in the outcome. Mike Bickle and IHOPKC have stood for holiness and seemed to be a paragon of virtue in a culture (and church) that has seen too much compromise. The charges seem serious, yet at least two, who were originally thought to be "victims," say it isn't true. While I am not doing an investigation and I'm certainly not judge and jury, I hope what I've found so far will at least show there is "another side" and urge Christians not to rush to judgment. By no means am I seeking to hurt, victimize or minimize those who have come forward. Rather I am seeking to provide some personal context and insight into a very emotional and confusing moment for so many.

The fact that Strang would cite people who have a vested interest in the outcome is hysterical since that directly represents himself. What however is he inferring? Is he seriously suggesting now that the leadership of IHOP is investigating for ulterior motives? These people were friends with Mike Bickle! They worked with him! They respected him! They bought into the sham he was selling just like Strang did! Mike Bickle has been a paragon of virtue? He stood for holiness? Let me give you another name who was renowned for his holiness focus and preaching - Ravi Zacharias. So much so that Dr. Brown mentioned how much he adored his focus on holiness. Well, that is until it was discovered that for years he had created a web of international sex workers for him to visit when he was abroad, paid American masseuses to travel with him, spiritually manipulated them into having sex with him, and then threatened them spiritually to keep silent. Yeah, he preached so great on holiness. You want another name? Ted Haggard once preached relentlessly about holiness by condemning homosexuality daily as the head of the National Association of Evangelicals. Well, until it was revealed that he was in the middle of a 20-year relationship with a male hooker he liked to do crystal meth with but man he could preach the holiness off the walls. Do you get the point Steven? HE WASN'T A PARAGON OF VIRTUE! That is the point!

Now, onto the slick deception Strang will engage in throughout this article. The names of the victims were never released. Steven Strang has zero idea who they are and rightly so. Notice the clever wording. Two of the eight women "originally thought" to be among the victims are now saying it is untrue. Not two of the actually confirmed eight. Two of the assumed eight. It is a classic disinformation tool too poison the well by floating out names of people not among the victims, let them deny it, and then you can pretend as Strang does here that there is "another side." Reporting the facts is not rushing to judgment. The facts are three of IHOP's leadership team, who are not against Mike Bickle, have already investigated preliminarily. They have discovered long term, credible allegations, corroborated against other witnesses, and said that Bickle not only refused to answer questions but that he engaged in manipulation and targeting of the victims to discredit them. So, stop minimizing and deflecting like Dr. Brown. The remaining issue to investigate is the scope, not the overall verity. To continue to pretend otherwise is revictimizing the victims. It is cruel and callous. It is certainly not Christian.

I have known Mike Bickle and his wife Diane since the 1980s and we have become friends. I am also his publisher. The first thing I thought was "oh no, not again, and not Mike, too."

Emotionally I've been numb, not wanting to believe this is true of such a respected friend. I immediately reached out to Mike via email but I'm not surprised he hasn't responded because he has a policy of not defending himself. He's been criticized many times, the most recent in a documentary called "Cessationist." But while others in the movie defended their beliefs publicly, Mike refused to do so. I know Mike as a humble man who lives a modest lifestyle and didn't take royalties on his teaching or make money like some Christian leaders do who have big followings. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, but Mike said early in his career he should avoid even the appearance of evil regarding money.

Mike Bickle is believed to have a net worth between 10 and 20 million dollars, so spare me the pious blather about royalties, humility and modesty. Sure, he may not be flying around on Learjets like Creflo Dollar, but he is hardly impoverished. It is interesting here, as with Dr. Brown that they all but admit to not being objective brokers in this matter. Strang openly admits they are both personal friends and business associates. Predators like Bickle would hardly be sharing their conquests with people they have convinced they are of a shared religiosity. Strang already mentioned the great holiness of the man now credibly accused by at least eight women of sexual abuse, so who would give a whit what his opinion is? It is obviously tainted. Mike refused to defend his absurd theological positions so that makes him somehow more respected? No! The exact opposite! Strang openly admits that his friend of four decades has never even answered his email and he believes that is a positive point?

While at IHOPKC I got to meet several of the key leaders whom Mike mentored. They seem to be solid men of God who learned well. Now they are the ones who are trying to navigate what would be a nightmare for any ministry but especially for one that put such an emphasis on holy living and extreme devotion in terms of study of the word and prayer for hours a day. Since it started in 1999 IHOPKC has had 24-hour-a-day prayer and worship even during snow storms and power outages. They called it harp and bowl and modeled it after the tabernacle of David.

As his friend, I never saw anything that would have hinted Mike had a double life regarding what he's been charged with. Having said this, I believe when credible charges are brought they must be taken seriously to protect those victimized. It's like with the police. If charges are brought to them about a crime, they must consider it to be true. If there is enough evidence, then an indictment is issued and the case is tried in the courts. Those accused are innocent until proven guilty.

The legal standards of man for criminal justice are not applicable to the church. Of course, we investigate but Strang continues to pretend that the very same "respected" leaders have not already investigated and found the charges not only credible but that Bickle has been uncooperative, manipulative, and tried to discredit the victims. Again, the emphasis on holy living only underscores the rank hypocrisy. The 24-7 prayer shtick that Bickle was famous for is nothing more than performative charismania. It was a breeding ground for eastern mysticism, contemplative prayer and all sorts of false signs and wonders. That is not me talking but everyone who managed to get out of the IHOP cult.

While this is not in the courts it is playing out in the court of public opinion. Even some Christian media seem to be piling on. People are talking about it. One of my friends calls this "failure porn an expression I'd never heard before. But basically when a failure happens, all sorts of righteous people who would never look at porn delight in the salacious details that come out of the scandal. We mustn't let that happen. But we mustn't be glib because sadly the charges might be true. There's a saying "where there is smoke there's usually fire." But there are cases of false accusations even in the Bible. The best known is Potiphar's wife falsely accusing Joseph.

When they were nominated to the U.S. Supreme court, both Clarence Thomas and Brent Kavanaugh were charged with sexual misconduct by opponents trying to derail their nominations. Apparently the charges were entirely fabricated and both conservatives jurists were approved by the Senate.

These are the same tired arguments that Dr. Brown tried to deflect proper criticism. Pointing out what happened, what is alleged, what is confirmed and what has happened in the past is not "piling on." He sounds like the deniers who complain about interpretation when all I am doing is citing what scripture actually says. Strang tries to use the word salacious, as Dr. Brown before him but we do not allow it because the word salacious means an inappropriate focus on sexual matters. That is not what is going on. Mike Bickle had an inappropriate focus on sexual matters, not the people reporting on it. Strang's mention of Potiphar is absurd and using Kavanaugh and Thomas is blatantly false. They were only confirmed due to their own party being in control. Strang essentially is calling Dr. Anita Hill a liar when most consider her quite credible. Given the recent wildly unethical behavior by Clarence Thomas, perhaps he shouldn't be so prominently mentioned as a defense. Kavanaugh was worse as he clearly was credibly accused. The overarching point however is that it has no relevance. We must not lose sight that the point of Strang's article as Dr. Brown's radio broadcast was to provide cover for their friend and business partner. They are careful to sprinkle in some, "we care about the victims" language so they can defend themselves, but the point here is obvious. Muddy the waters enough to make people believe Bickle is not actually guilty when his own leadership team has already said he is. There is not only smoke, but IHOP is on fire and these guys are trying to put it out to salvage some of the money making as well as the false "spirit" theologies IHOP stood for. We need to let it burn to the ground.

In the church, we must hold up a high standard of morality because the Bible commands us to, and the world is watching. And Dr. Michael Brown discussed how clergy wrong-doing must be handled if the charges are true. (He made clear that he hoped the charges against Mike aren't true.) Now, information is coming out that this may not be a black and white issue. Only time will tell, but several close to the ministry who I know personally say they are standing with Mike until they see absolute proof the charges are true. Some have told me off the record that some former leaders have been gunning for Mike to remove him from leadership.

More bluster. More subterfuge. More distraction. People "off the record." Right. Why would people be gunning for such a humble, modest man who only preaches holiness? Why would the eight women go along with it, and all make up stories? Why would the current leadership, friendly to all things Bickle, say the allegations were credible. Why would Bickle refuse to meet with his own leadership folks if he was so darn innocent? Why would they say they have credible proof that he tried to manipulate and intimidate the victims? Again remember, the point of this article is to provide cover for his friend of forty years and business partner. So, two of the "believed to be" victims say it wasn't them even though he doesn't know the victims' names and now off the record folks are telling him people were gunning for poor Mike Bickle. Ridiculous.

In my long career I've seen charges of clergy immorality both in the Pentecostal movement as well as in evangelicals circles, the Roman Catholic church and even among Southern Baptists. Usually the leader leads a double life and is finally caught and within a day or two admits it is true. I've known Mike well for many years and I've never seen anything to suggest he has any sort of double life, and so I am choosing to stand with him, recognizing that we still don't know what is the truth and we must be careful to defend those who may have been victimized in some way. Why do I say this? According to reports there are 8 "victims," yet two have come out saying the charges (involving them) are entirely false. One is Misty Edwards, probably the best known worship leader to come out of this ministry. In a post on Facebook, she said she was very sorrowful about the charges and she wasn't commenting on any of the women, but she wanted "to make it clear, I am not one of them. I have worked with Mike for 25 years and in my personal experience he has only been godly. I have been sent several social media posts speculating differently and I want to boldly say, those are lies and entirely based on suspicion. I have never been sexually or spiritual abused by Mike Bickle."

The deception continues. There has been NO report of who the women are and some reports say the number is greater than eight. Note that Misty Edwards, who owes her entire fame and fortune to Mike Bickle and IHOP, is at least honest enough to admit that her involvement was pure speculation. I have no issue with her wanting to clear the air regarding this speculation, but Strang is reporting as if the speculation was fact, and it is not. By citing this as fact and putting the word victims in quotes, Strang continues this shill piece for his buddy. Nobody claimed to have realized Ravi Zacharias' double life either! That doesn't prove anything. The accused by the way NEVER come out and admit it unless irrefutable evidence comes forth. Ted Haggard denied the affair with the male prostitute until the male prostitute came forward with the receipts. Most of these people face legal problems and cannot just come out publicly that they had committed crimes.

Another Facebook post by April Rose (who I do not know personally) was even stronger. She said she was solicited by some former leaders based on something said about her secondhand "years ago" that she was one of Mike's victims. "This has NOT been my experience with Mike. I've only known him to be a God-fearing man who genuinely loves Jesus (with all of his heart) and is living for eternity. I have not witnessed any duplicity. In the years that I have known him, he has always been consistent with how all of us know him..." She went on to say she was outraged to learn that her name was added to the list of victims anyway and she says it in very strong terms. That makes me know something strange is going on. Time will tell what, if anything, Mike did improperly. But I'm urging the Christian community to not jump to judgment. There seem to be two sides. We need a thorough investigation.

Again, being speculated as one of the victims does not mean anyone said you were. It sounds like one of the victims mentioned this person and when investigators asked, she denied it. Nothing wrong with that. That is the purpose of investigating. The only strange thing going on are sycophants and the evangelical good ole boys network trying to save one of their own. It is disgusting to be lectured to about jumping to conclusions by a man clearly jumping to conclusions! Steven Strang has admitted throughout this piece that he does not believe the charges. It is not about "improper." If Mike Bickle was speeding that would be improper. Sexually abusing multiple women over decades and the spiritually manipulating them and targeting them to discredit them is a bit higher than "improper." We do, however, need a thorough investigation that lays bare everything.

What spiritual lessons can we learn? My friend Malachi O'Brien has been part of IHOPKC and a close friend of Mike Bickle's for several years. Here is what he posted on X Sunday afternoon:

What has come out (recently) does not discredit the prayer 24/7 movement, the labor of IHOPKC and its thousands of faithful missionaries and the tens of millions of people who have been impacted by Mike Bickle, the worship from IHOPKC, the miracles, the prophetic promises, and the innumerable hours of prayer. We know that Jesus is faithful when people are not. Remember, God blesses His Word and work because of what He desires to do on the earth. His blessing has more to do with His character than the character of leaders.

This is another tired argument that Dr. Brown tried to make. IHOP KC was built by Mike Bickle upon a false prophecy, and he was ushered in by a gaggle of other false prophets. Forcing kids to pray at 3 am is not biblical. The 24-7 prayer room thing was awash with horrible teaching, false worship and false signs and lying wonders. Jesus is certainly faithful but not to people who falsely represent Him. So, you want to hold to the prophetic promises delivered to you by people who could not even tell that their leader was a predator loose in their midst? God has brought to light these acts as an indictment against IHOP, not just Mike Bickle. Did God bless the cover up of the murder of Bethany Deaton? Did God bless IHOP using a disgraced child molester because he had done 18 months of repentance and restoration? You think God blesses the absurdly heretical bridal paradigm theology or the Jesus is my lover false worship that IHOP was infamous for? Read Acts 19 and you will see the Sons of Sceva were sincere. They thought they were casting out demons according to Christ until one day the demons answered and beat them so bad, they fled naked. Read Matthew 7 and realize the folks saying Lord Lord on the last day thought they were serving God only to discover too late that He never knew them. I understand that those caught up in the deception of Mike Bickle will have a hard time admitting they were duped but they were duped about everything. They need to hear the actual gospel so they might be saved and rebuilding IHOP on the ashes of Mike Bickle and his false, corrupt foundation, will not end well for anyone.

There is a tension between innocent until proven guilty and the need to validate and care for victims of any and all kinds of abuse. Mike has denied the allegations and I choose to believe he deserves the benefit of the doubt and I fully believe credible accusations must be taken seriously and victims deserve to be taken seriously without repercussions and character assassination.

We need to view all situations through a higher perspective. What does Father God think, feel, and see in this situation? What God wants is repentance, healing, and restoration. Truth is our ally and we must pursue it with patience and no bias"not the version we want but the version of truth and wisdom that identifies reality. Good or bad, we seek the truth and the appropriate response to it. Finally, let's reflect on our lives and draw closer to Jesus. Wise words we all must take to heart.

So, take the accusations credibly but with your forked tongue say you believe the accused, got it. I do not need someone as compromised as Steven Strang to tell me what God wants. God wants the truth, period. The very last thing God wants is restoration because you must realize Strang is talking about ministerial restoration. If they can downplay these charges enough and muddy the waters, they can try to pass it off as a witch hunt, or people gunning for Mike and at some point seek to restore him to work. Even if Mike is forced to admit wrongdoing the powers that be would seek to restore him. How do you think Mark Driscoll is leading a church today? Or Ted Haggard? Or Tullian Tchividjian, who despite affairs with multiple women while married, not only leads a church but was a featured speaker at a men's convention just last year. Steven Strang does not want the truth and wouldn't recognize it if it came up and bit him in his Sneaky Squid Spirit. Strang wants Bickle cleared and if he is not, this article lays the groundwork for him to use Charisma News to pretend he has repented, pretend he wants healing for everyone, and eventually restore him back to ministry. God forbid. How do i know? Because the title of the first video Strang put out on this was entitled, Mike Bickle, predator or prey? You have to be kididng me.

Revered Anthony Wade - November 3, 2023

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.