Relationships matter. Correction flows from connection. My roots with IHOPKC go back to before there was even a house of prayer. The journey begins shortly after getting saved in the fires of the Brownsville Revival. I love the worship music at Metro Christian Fellowship (Mike’s church before IHOPKC). I also had a deep interest in the prophetic ministry due to my own calling. Out of that flowed some relationships with some of the “prophets” in the church. It was naturally for me to make the transit to IHOPKC in 1999.
I loved Mike Bickle and he was always gracious to me. However, I had theological differences with him and confronted things I believe that were not clearly found in the Bible. After all, he said, “if you don’t see it with your eyes in your own bible, question it.” I wanted to be a good Berean. (Acts 17) One of the things was I did not see the biblical evidence for pre-wrath to be strong. I believe the weight of scripture points to the evacuation of the Church before the events in Revelation 4-19.
My theology concerning the Song of Songs has changed over the last few years. I no longer see a basis for the “bridal paradigm.” The book we have today was considered to be a short story in Jewish culture. It was never read in the temples by the priest but by fathers in the home. It was a custom to read it during Passover. No Jewish scribe would have understood to be about God’s love for Israel. It is weirder to believe they would understood the Church, something they had no context for at all at the time.
Prophetic Abuse
Probably the biggest issue at hand is not the sexual abuse that happened and the gross immorality that was systematic at IHOPKC. It is the prophetic abuse that allowed the sexual sin to become common place. Mike Bickle claimed that the Lord showed him that his wife would die soon and all these women would be his new wife. He was telling women 20 years younger that the Lord showed him they would “run the ministry” together. Without the abuse of the prophetic, Mike is just a man with a sexual addiction.
Mike Bickle used other men that were also used the prophetic to commit sin as well. It is clear that Bob Jones was never qualified to be an elder but was allow to act as one because of his “gift.” The harder one for me is that Paul Cain also claimed someone would be divorced before they got married because he did not want the people together. There is other examples about false prophecies centered around John Paul Jackson and Rick Joyner.
Having been around many of these prophets, I did not see the gaslighting that happened for what it was. I believe they wanted in the Spirit and when I saw things I didn’t agree with, I would tell myself they were understanding things that I didn’t. After all, I didn’t want to touch God’s anointed or do the prophets any harm.
For whatever reason, I didn’t hold the people claiming to be prophetic at IHOPKC to the same standard as I would anyone in the Pentecostal movement. I did not test their words and demand accountability when the prophetic utterances failed.
Signpost of Divorce
One of the things I find in ministries that do not hold to holiness and biblical living is divorce is common. The amount of people of their second, third and fourth marriages in the “IHOPKC community” is hard to look past. Leaders would explain away verses that tell us that re-marriage is adultery. One of the people who divorce her husband was given a platform to teach often because she was Mike Bickle’s sister. Biblical view of marriage was talked about concerning homosexuality but it was never held when it comes to divorce. Many staff members did not have a fear of the Lord concerning leaving spouses.
There is grace concerning divorce. God hates divorce but he loves those who are divorced. If someone is divorced before they come to Jesus, they are a new creation. However, biblical theology requires us to believe we have been given the Spirit to empower us to walk through hard relational dynamics for the glory of Christ.
This was empowered by anti-gospel focus on “inner healing.” This is where Jesus did not do enough on the Cross for us and He needs our help making us more like Him. It is a weird mixture of psychology, eastern religion and some random verses. There is nothing wrong with a Christian therapist. However, some “prophetic counselor” that knows about as much as any Youtuber is where to start. Colossians gives a pretty solid case against inner healing.
Marriage is not about being happy. It is about being holy.
Prophetic Words in 2023 & 2024
In December 2023/January 2024; there was a series of three prophetic utterances that would shake the house of prayer. In December, I had a dream where Mike Bickle fell out of his chair in the prayer room and was laying face down. Several people from the early days of IHOPKC and myself ran over to help him. When we turn him over, it was the face of William Brahman. The Lord showed me quickly that the Brahmanites has become the Bicklites. People would give up their salvation to follow the teachings of Bickle. This happened in real time and many today are still trying to hold to the doctrine of a confirmed false teacher.
The following month, the Lord spoke to me that the “greatest sending out IHOPKC has ever seen is coming in the Spring.” Three months later, roughly 60-70% of the people at IHOPKC left or greatly reduced their involvement in the prayer room. People left for the mission field, joined YWAM, moved back to their hometown, etc.
At the end of January 2024, the Lord spoke that “April’s judgements will unravel December 5th.” This was given in a meeting with several people connected to the prophetic department. December 5, 1982 is the founding of Kansas City Fellowship, Mike Bickle’s original church. In late March, the decision was made by the board to disband everything but the prayer room. In April, the ministry began closing Forerunner Church, internships, IHOP University, bookstore, etc. Everything that was build on the prophetic history was not unraveled in the month of April.
