The latest update on this scandal includes new statements from Brown and "Erin"

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Three Devastating Lies from Dr. Michael Brown as Per One of His Alleged Victims

But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. - Luke 12:48 (ESV)

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Despite the recent attempts by the Charismaniacal machine, by people like Shane Idleman, discernment ministries do not relish having to write articles about people like Mike Bickle, Robert Morris, or now Dr. Michael Brown. The issue however is in protecting the cause of Jesus Christ and His sheep. It seems the machine is always infinitely concerned about the predators instead of the victims and it just is so wrong. Now, to be clear, what Dr. Brown is accused of so far is not even close to the likes of Morris and Bickle but that does not exonerate him from his actions 23 years ago, especially in light of his ministry being built on what can only be described now as faux-holiness. This story matters because for decades Brown has marketed himself as the voice of moral clarity while knowing full well that he built his image on his own impropriety from all those years ago. Today's update is twofold. First, Brown took to the Line of Fire to fall on his sword publicly and try to salvage his career and reputation. The problem is that at the same time, "Erin" has now released a detailed statement. We will review both, starting with the linked Charisma article above. Let us reason once more beloved.

'Dr. Brown went onto his "The Line of Fire" show to make a public statement regarding recent allegations. "Since a third-party investigation can drag on for months, I want to speak to you today with transparency about recent stories and allegations in the news," Brown says. "I want to be transparent, take full ownership of any wrongs done on my part, and ask forgiveness for incidents that took place 23 years ago." Brown states that the events happened in the latter portion of 2001 and 2002 in what he calls a "very difficult season of life and ministry."

"I've lived with the sobering reality that many people follow my teaching and look to my example as Jesus taught in Luke 12:48," Brown says. "I am accountable to a holy God for the ministry entrusted to me" as a result of recent allegations, many are deeply confused and troubled."' - Charisma News

We must recognize that Dr. Brown is very adept at this sort of thing. He routinely makes sincere sounding pleas that are very carefully crafted. Luke 12:48, the key verse above, does teach that much is required from those whom much has been given. As with a lot of theological statements he makes, Brown is correct. The problem is these are always couched in favorable language to him and his cause. In this opening, he is asking for compassion because this was a difficult season for him? What about for Erin and now we have a second woman as well? We should not lose sight of the fact that Brown was in an authoritative position to Erin, from a work perspective and spiritually. We do not know if this was also true with the other woman. While it is true that Bickle's four-year affair with the 19-year-old daughter of a family friend while he was in his forties and married, while telling her God showed him his wife was going to die so they could be together, is far worse than the allegations from Erin, they only are so because Erin stopped him at some point. The escalation of activities from handholding, to lip kissing to butt smacking may sound benign but it is classic grooming designed to keep pushing the boundaries until you end up in the four-year affair. There is no real confusion here, just trouble.

"Brown asserts that he never committed adultery during his marriage, however, he admits to having an emotional tie to another person who was a close friend. Brown says he spoke with another close friend confessing the truth to them, and then went to his wife Nancy and repented.

Brown says he was "eager" to share this with his leadership team and their school, but all spouses in the situation agreed that since adultery had not occurred, the situation would end in private, "sparing" Brown and the other woman's spouse from any additional shame. After this, Brown states that he made changes to his schedule and lifestyle, along with going through counseling. "I am profoundly grateful that our Lord is a forgiving Lord. That He responds to deep, heartfelt repentance. That He does not discard and cast off His children because of their failings when they turn back to Him with all their heart," Brown says." - Charisma News

Brown keeps offering up this "I did not commit adultery" talking point but no one has accused him of committing sexual adultery to my knowledge. This assertion is a classic strawman argument, that Brown always employs in his many debates. It is designed to shift the debate from the substance to a strawman he can easily knock down. Please keep in mind that the woman he is speaking about here is NOT Erin! It is a second woman! My first observation here is that there is a certain level of vagueness to this "admission." What exactly is an emotional tie with a close friend? That kinda sounds like when Morris claimed he had an incident with a "young lady" but omitted that she was actually 12 years old. I am not saying this from a substantive standpoint but they both appear designed to gloss over facts. Now, maybe this emotional tie was nothing but it sure sounds like it was something or else why is he trying to get ahead of it? The second observation here is this resolution sure seemed very self-serving, which is consistent with the resolution with Erin as well. It is always designed to provide the least exposure for Dr. Brown, no? It seems that whatever spiritual authority Brown had at the time could have been properly informed without this nebulous "shame" concern. Again, if Dr. Brown just had an emotional tie that might have led to something but he truly repented and dealt with the matter with the woman, who I assume was not 19 like Erin, and his wife - that seems appropriate. The problem is that at the same time he was preaching holiness while building his ministry career. Please do not "Jesus-fy" this. The radical forgiveness of Jesus is awesome but has NOTHING to do with our "ministry" or in Brown's case, his career. It has to do with our WALK. So, if everything he says is true, yes God will always forgive true repentance. That does not mean however you must be restored to your job.

"Brown then addressed the topic of "Erin," who was reported to have had what she considered an uncomfortable relationship with Brown during her time working at his FIRE School of Ministry. "It is not my purpose here to deny or confirm specific allegations. I'll leave it to the investigation to uncover the truth. The fact is that an offense remains. And that is what I must address, taking full ownership of my actions and the pain I caused." Brown says he recognizes now he did not fully understand how deeply "Erin" was hurt by his actions. "Please forgive me for my actions which caused you so much pain," he says. "Had I more clearly understood the result of those actions in 2002, I would have responded very differently. Again, from the heart, I ask you to forgive me. I am truly and deeply sorry." Brown also asked for both the larger body of Christ and those who have been involved in his ministry over the years to forgive him as well. --forgive me for my failings and poor judgment and any mishandling of these situations during that time 23 years ago. I fell short of the high standards that we set. I disappointed you and I hurt you. Please forgive me." Continue to pray for Michael Brown and for all of those involved in this situation." - Charisma News

Here we come back to some of the early whitewashing of this scandal. It is not that she was merely "uncomfortable." Stop trying to minimize it. Now look, I was not there 23 years ago but we have two sides of this story. Brown is basically saying mea culpa but there does not seem to be much ownership about what they did back then to resolve the matter. As we have previously covered, Matthew 18 is not designed to provide cover for ministry leaders who abuse their sheep and make no mistake beloved, that is what we are talking about. What Matthew 18 does, is allow these sinful leaders to control the flow of information so that there is minimal exposure for them, while providing the cover that they handled it "biblically." A funny thing happened on the way to that biblical resolution however. The victim, clearly did not feel it was "resolved." This is an excellent segue into the statement from "Erin:"

'"I am 'Erin'"This may be lengthy, and I apologize from the start. I have been trying to process everything that is going on lately. I keep thinking about why Michael Brown won't just admit to what he has done or publicly repent and bring healing to SO many who have been hurt by his actions and words. Why is he hiding? Why such a vague statement? Why did he lie in his statement? I know they are lies because I am 'Erin'. My name back then was Sarah ERIN Monk. I held this secret for two decades. I was ashamed and guilty, and I felt I was the one who should have stopped it long before anything more physical happened after HE held my hand in a car with three other students watching. That was the ONLY time we held hands PUBLICLY. There were many times when the hand-holding took place privately. Yes, he lied about making a point about doing it publicly because I was like a daughter. I should have stopped it; I should have spoken out. I did not, so then the next physical touch was him touching my backside. Yes, Dr. MICHAEL L. BROWN put his hand on my butt!!' - Sarah Monk

The accusation here is very blunt and clear. She claims the statement from Dr. Brown are lies. There has also been a very real element of shadiness in how this has been handled by Brown and his associates. He never addressed why someone called Sarah/Erin to try and get her to back down. He never addressed why a fundraising email went out essentially accusing Ms. Monk of working with the devil to tear down Brown's ministry. We see this all the time when ministry leaders fall. The machine works against the cause of Christ and the victims in order to protect the brand and the perpetrator. What is of interesting to note here is the first assertion of a lie is that Dr. Brown made up this "I did all of this because she was a like a daughter to me." That angle seemed pretty odd to begin with and it was reported that he did not act this way with his actual daughter either. It is gut wrenching to hear this victim lament so powerfully about how this was somehow her fault. This is what happens when someone is spiritually abused.

"The one who condemned so many for a lustful eye, who screamed from the pulpit, REPENT OF YOUR SINFUL WAYS. The one who taught us to live holier than the day before. The one who preached REVOLUTION. The one who said being alone with the opposite sex was a sin and would get you kicked out of school. Yes, THAT Dr. Michael L. Brown was alone in HIS office with someone from the opposite sex touching MY butt as I would exit his office. This didn't happen just once, and NEVER happened publicly or in front of his wife, Nancy!! NOT ONCE. But it did happen privately. Still, I did nothing; I allowed it to happen. I kept the secret because I felt I had to because it was Michael Brown. Surely, he wouldn't be doing anything against his preaching or the Lord, I thought. I was not okay with what was happening, but I didn't stop it. I allowed it to happen. Many have told me that he groomed me and I was a victim. But still, I have felt guilty. Then the kiss, not just one kiss or two, but many! Once again, he had someone of the opposite sex in his office ALONE! As I told him goodbye, he sat in his chair and leaned up for a kiss. On the lips, not the head as he has told others. Yes, stupid me gave him one. I felt something was off when it happened. Why didn't I stop it? I do not know. Once again, this NEVER happened in front of Nancy or the public eye. Everything happened in secret. Everything happened when no one could see (except the first-hand holding). So yes, he lied about merely having 'poor judgment' in public because they happened in private. Doing it in public seems like it was meant to pave the way for him to do it in private. He was testing the boundaries. I was too young to understand that." - Sarah Monk

It has been widely reported that 40 million people have left the church in the past 25 years. The number one reason given is hypocrisy. It is why Jesus speaks so much against hypocrisy. That is what Sarah Monk is decrying here. Ted Haggard used to rail against homosexuality from the pulpit while leading the National Association of Evangelicals. Then it was revealed that he had a 20-year relationship with a male prostitute that he like to do crystal meth with. Oops. Bickle and Ravi Zacharias were renowned for their holiness preaching. Yet Bickle sexually abused two different minors BEFORE having the four-year affair referenced earlier. Ravi traveled to world with a network of sex workers and masseuses that he spiritually manipulated and bullied. Keep in mind that the difference here is that Sarah stopped the advances, or who knows where this story would have ended up. The hypocrisy asserted here, especially from one of the former students and workers of his ministry is staggering. The second revealed lie from Erin is that Brown's insistence that this was lapse in judgment based on the handful of public displays of affection is also untrue. This was the primary defense - she was like a daughter and I just had a judgment lapse but now Sarah is saying, nope - untrue. Notice here that Sarah now realizes he was testing boundaries, which is exactly the same grooming argument that we made earlier. The worst however is coming up next:

"The meeting he claimed happened between me, him and Nancy, " this one: "And so Nancy and I met with her immediately in the spirit of Matthew 18, I apologized to her from the heart, we talked things through together, after which, to our knowledge, everything was good between us." Well, it NEVER happened. The idea that he apologized to me in this meeting is a complete fabrication. The only meeting the three of us had about any inappropriate behavior was when I found the 'confession' he wrote about another woman! I confronted him about this and that is when he asked me to meet with him and Nancy. It had nothing to do with his "foolish and irresponsible" behavior toward me but with his sensual relationship with another woman, who I assumed was groomed as well. Note: what I read was written in his handwriting. There is no reason for me to believe that the things he attributed to the other woman were actually said by her. I believe that she was a victim. That is the only meeting ever to take place between us three!!!" - Sarah Monk

I cannot stress enough that if her assertion is true, this is devastating for Dr. Brown. Let's put side by side the assertions from Dr. Brown and now Sarah Monk:

"Nancy and I did have a relationship with the woman in question and considered her to be like a family member, and she conducted herself as one who viewed our relationship the same way. But she was not a family member, and aspects of my interaction with her, although totally non-sexual in every way, reflected a definite lack of judgment on my part. Before she relocated to another state in August 2002, she informed me that our interaction months earlier had made her uncomfortable. And so Nancy and I met with her immediately in the spirit of Matthew 18, I apologized to her from the heart, we talked things through together, after which, to our knowledge, everything was good between us." - Dr. Michael Brown Statement

"The meeting he claimed happened between me, him and Nancy - Well, it NEVER happened. The idea that he apologized to me in this meeting is a complete fabrication. The only meeting the three of us had about any inappropriate behavior was when I found the 'confession' he wrote about another woman! I confronted him about this and that is when he asked me to meet with him and Nancy. It had nothing to do with his "foolish and irresponsible" behavior toward me but with his sensual relationship with another woman, who I assumed was groomed as well. Note: what I read was written in his handwriting. There is no reason for me to believe that the things he attributed to the other woman were actually said by her. I believe that she was a victim. That is the only meeting ever to take place between us three!!!" - Sarah Monk Statement

Beloved, these are not congruent statements in the slightest. Dr. Brown asserted that he met with Erin as soon as he found out she was "uncomfortable." That he apologized to her with all of his heart and that they talked through the issues to the point that Brown thought it was a biblically settled matter. Sarah now is saying that NONE of this is true. None of it! That they only met once but that had nothing to do with their issue and was instead about the first woman Brown references. Please do not lose sight of this connection. Brown's statement was to deflect this story and his entire premise is, "hey I took care of this biblically, so sorry you were still feeling bad about it." Except Sarah says no, the one meeting they had was not even about their issue at all and there was no apology to her! That would explain why she never felt this was ever resolved. Beloved, public ministries deserve public scrutiny, especially when the sheep are at stake. There are three glaring lies that Sarah has now accused Dr. Brown of that he must answer for. Why did he say that this was all because he viewed her as a daughter and that it was just a public lack of judgment? Where was the truth about the in private violations? More importantly is this revelation that the alleged Matthew 18 meeting was nothing of the sort and he never even apologized to her true. I might add, that Sarah refers to the confessed relationship as sensual, while Dr. Brown maintains nothing sexual ever happened. This seems to be a glaring discrepancy that Brown needs to provide clarity on. Dare I say, moral clarity.

"He has lied, and I lied for him for two decades, protecting him and his ministry. For that, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. For allowing a physical relationship to happen, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. For not speaking up before I moved, PLEASE FORGIVE ME. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, for all my wrong and sinful ways in this situation. I truly want healing to come from this"-not just for me, but for EVERYONE involved, all who have been hurt. Michael Brown wrote in his official statement: "If it's true that for 23 years she has carried this pain and I am responsible for it, I am beyond mortified and would plead forgiveness and the opportunity to bring healing and restoration. Her wellbeing remains our priority." If my well-being had been your priority 23 years ago, you would've never laid a hand on me. You were thinking about yourself. Instead of hiding behind your creative wordsmithing, simply tell the truth. I am so thankful for Amber, Londa, Rachel, Katherine, Gregg, Kris, and Ron for standing by me through this. Without their support and guidance, I would not have said a word to The Roys Report. I learned to just ignore it, not think about it, and pretend it didn't happen. It was easy to do back then because when I moved home, no one reached out to me, and I didn't reach out to anyone. I wanted to forget everything from Pensacola. I did just that! But there is a time for everything (Eccl. 3:1-8). Now is the time to speak out and help those who are hurting find the healing they need. I have read the heartbreaking stories that many of you posted (this was originally posted in a private Facebook group for graduates and former faculty of BRSM/FIRE, were many or sharing their own stories). I am genuinely sorry for all the hurt and shame you all have felt for years. No one should be hurt the way you all were by ANYONE, especially a nationally known spiritual leader, holiness preacher, and revivalist. Your compassionate responses to "Erin" have been life to me. Thank you. Again, please FORGIVE me for my role in the situation and the lies I told to cover it up." - Sarah Monk

It is just soul crushing to hear the sorrow from this woman, begging for forgiveness, for potentially being abused by her spiritual leader and mentor. This subject brings me no joy beloved. There is a political truism that says the coverup is often worse than the crime and that is how it appears here. The actions from Dr. Brown 23 years ago were "bad" but an honest approach would have gone a long way. Instead of saying that he used Matthew 18 and thought it was resolved, he could have just said that he never addressed it and is sorry. Perhaps he could have received more understanding if he had not tried as all the other fallen leaders have tried, to cover it up. To deflect with excellent wordsmithing as Sarah so aptly describes. It is sloppy and lazy but more importantly it is just arrogant. Unless Sarah is lying here, these revelations are absolutely devastating to the decades long brand of the voice of moral clarity. There is no moral clarity is claiming you met with Sarah to apologize for your butt slapping, lip kissing, handholding ways but you really did not meet with her or apologize at all. Perhaps there is still time to do the right thing. As the key verse teaches us, much is required from whom much is given. What is required now from Dr. Brown is the truth. Save us the bottom of your heart apologies as long as the fundamental arguments you make are simply untrue. Answer these three charges and stop trying to parry it off to "there's an investigation." It is flimsy and transparent. Answer why your associates tried to bully Sarah and why you sent out a fundraising email accusing her of working with Satan. Much is required Dr. Brown. Start by telling the truth please. For the good of Sarah Long, who is obviously still spiritually tortured right now because of you, and for the good of the body of Christ.

Reverend Anthony Wade - December 17, 2024

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.