The Implosion of IHOPKC: Eight Overlooked Lessons

On October 28, 2023, a group of former leaders from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri (IHOPKC), released a statement announcing they had made the current IHOPKC leaders aware of credible allegations of clergy sexual abuse against IHOPKC founder Mike Bickle. The next day, during the 11 a.m. service at IHOPKC’s Forerunner Church, the current IHOPKC leaders presented a statement acknowledging that allegations had been made against Bickle and that the leaders were “engaging with outside parties to assess and arbitrate these allegations.” In December, Bickle was ousted from the organization. Following that, resignations by IHOPKC’s executive director, Stuart Greaves, and the president of IHOPU, David Sliker, were also announced by IHOPKC. And, in February, more allegations against Bickle surfaced involving abuse of minors.

Many others, including Julie Roys, have reported on the high-profile scandal and the fallout at IHOPKC. Nearly everyone agrees the evidence indicates that Bickle is a sexual predator whose abuse of women spans several decades. And nearly everyone agrees that many changes need to be made at IHOPKC, where Bickle’s abusive behavior had gone on since before IHOPKC’s inception. But many of these same people have not seen the larger implications for IHOPKC and the so-called “global prayer movement” it has fueled. They’ve also failed to recognize the scandal’s impact on the larger New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and this movement's many influential churches and organizations. And they’ve missed key takeaways for all Christians in the church at large. Here are eight overlooked lessons.

All IHOPKC-style “24/7 prayer rooms” promote a false theology of prayer that must be scrutinized and abandoned.

Prayer is God’s idea, and true prayer is prayer that God welcomes in accordance with the guidelines He has revealed to us in Scripture. There are many ways to pray and to plan and organize for prayer. We are enjoined by God to pray privately as individuals and to pray together when we are gathered as His people. And we may organize special occasions for prayer or arrange for volunteers to take turns praying round the clock, for a period or even indefinitely. Designating a special room where people can gather to pray at any time encourages this kind of activity. But of course we are to worship God “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24), and this includes the way we pray. We should aspire to pray as God desires to be addressed. So we need accurate beliefs about God’s revealed will concerning prayer, including what it is and how it works.

It is encouraging that so many today have embraced the value of prayer and wish to be more effective in their praying. Sadly, very few people have recognized the idiosyncratic nature of intercessory prayer that is taught and practiced at IHOPKC. IHOPKC promotes “declaration prayer” (making verbal “prayer declarations” that somehow “release” God’s power to change circumstances) over petitionary prayer (making requests of God and humbly submitting to the outcome God desires, as we see modeled in Scripture). Declaration prayer continues at IHOPKC, even in the absence of Mike Bickle, the now disgraced visionary founder.

Also, by keeping their 24/7 prayer room going they are continuing a practice revealed by false prophets. As we have explained elsewhere, IHOPKC’s prayer room began after the NAR “prophet” Bob Jones, another sexual predator, gave Mike Bickle a prophecy that he would start a 24/7 prayer and worship ministry led by young adults that would lead to worldwide revival. Furthermore, based on this revelation, Bickle taught that prayer rooms multiplied in cities worldwide will play a crucial role in unfolding God's end-time plans.

In addition, there's significant testimonial evidence that IHOPKC’s 24/7 prayer program has depended on measures that constitute spiritual abuse to ensure that it continues without interruption. The prayer room staff cannot miss their prayer shifts lest they let the “fire on the altar” go out and extinguish the unfolding of God's end-time plans. Participation in this program is a weighty responsibility that burdens participants with a sense of serious disobedience to God if they should falter, since nothing less than the outworking of God’s plan for the consummation of human history is at risk. The potential for ongoing spiritual abuse will continue as long as IHOPKC’s prayer room continues to operate with a faulty theology of prayer on the basis of a fraudulent prophecy—that IHOPKC’s specific program of prayer is ordained by God and essential to the realization of God’s end-time plans. The same goes for the many other prayer rooms seeking to emulate this pattern around the world.

True discernment detects problems before sexual predation, money-making schemes, or overt spiritual abuse come to light.

Many of Bickle’s friends and followers have said they were taken by complete surprise that he was not an admirable spiritual leader or a safe leader to follow, as they had long thought. This should not have been. As we and many others have pointed out for many years, Bickle’s teachings have always been unbiblical, extreme, and dangerous. Red flags indicating an unfounded authority were there from the beginning—from the days when he partnered with false prophets that included Bob Jones and Paul Cain. Early on, Bickle himself made grandiose claims that God had taken him to the courtroom of heaven and told him he'd be part of an elite group of 35 end-time apostles, and he’d receive special divine revelation. He made other equally startling claims.

In short, Bickle was engaged in an effort to spiritually seduce a generation of people. And he got away with it until the sexual predation part came out. People have been very disturbed by the sexual predation, and rightly so. But many refuse to see it as a symptom of a wider spiritual abuse that is pervasive and wedded to NAR theology and a subjectivism that is powerless to discern if a leader’s claim to be an apostle or prophet is true. NAR leaders teach that there are authoritative prophets and apostles today, but they do not provide people with adequate means for testing these so-called apostles and prophets. And their followers are far too casual about accepting revelations from charismatic, smiling, Bible-quoting (and Bible-distorting) individuals. This shows a massive failure in discernment. All the heartache and shame and embarrassment to the church, and the specific injuries to many people along the way, would have been avoided if people had not followed a false prophet in the first place. It should not take a major sexual scandal to help people see something is wrong. They should see it in the theology before it manifests in the practice. And if the sexual scandal is all that we see and protect against, we will plow the waters of misguided “revelations” only to strike yet another iceberg with equally destructive results.

All of Bickle’s followers worldwide—all who are enthralled with his vision for IHOPKC as a false prophet—are victims.

Spiritual abuse occurs whenever someone makes a lying claim to be a “prophet” or “apostle,” not just when they sexually abuse or defraud someone. This means that spiritual abuse extends to all those who were part of the IHOPKC community, and not only the victims of Bickle’s sexual abuse—though they certainly experienced abuse to an unthinkable degree. Everyone who has absorbed and assimilated Mike Bickle’s erroneous teachings (from his books, sermons, and classes) and has participated in IHOPKC’s distinctive prayer movement has been subjected to a narrative marked by spiritual abuse, with incalculable potential to be spiritually and emotionally damaging. The whole of IHOPKC's constituency over many years has been subjected to abuse by his narrative of a “prophetic history.” Such spiritually abusive messaging was pervasive and endemic to IHOPKC’s express mission, with countless potential victims. And the abuse of a trusting constituency carried on after the news of Bickle’s actions became known, in the cover-up efforts of IHOPKC’s leaders and high-profile leaders outside IHOPKC who urged Bickle’s followers to rely on the leaders of IHOPKC to bring the truth to light, and to wait patiently in solemn silence as things unfolded. (We say more about this below.)

Today, however, it’s obvious to most who have observed the unfolding spectacle—especially those who had invested their lives in IHOPKC’s vision for themselves and the world—that they had every reason to distrust the process that was at work behind the scenes. This process was led by people who seemed more intent on protecting Bickle, IHOPKC, and themselves than getting to the truth. Thankfully, not all of IHOPKC’s followers obeyed the many heavy-handed exhortations to keep quiet and trust the process. Those “armchair investigators” (as they were pejoratively labeled by IHOPKC’s PR fixer, Eric Volz) ensured that more of the truth came out. They did not allow themselves to be victimized any further by attempts to silence them.

Mike Bickle and IHOPKC’s leaders are not the only people who need to apologize.

Some well-known Christian leaders outside IHOPKC have doggedly defended Mike Bickle over the years, chastising and shaming any who would dare to question such a “fine Christian” and “humble” man. These leaders who vigorously defended Bickle, and used their trusted reputations to bolster his reputation, must also apologize. They need to confess their lack of discernment, their scurrilous shaming of others who exercised greater discernment, and their effort to perpetuate a ruinous theology of prayer, discernment, and prophetic authority.

We recognize that a few of Bickle’s past defenders have issued apologies for boosting a popular mythology surrounding Bickle and his organization. For example, Remnant Radio’s three hosts apologized for making a 13-part series of videos promoting IHOPKC’s prophetic history, which featured interviews with Mike Bickle and Sam Storms (one of Bickle’s most ardent promoters).

Jack Deere—another of Bickle’s long-time supporters—acknowledged in March 2024 his failure to “adequately discern potentially criminal patterns of misconduct of those close to me.” But Deere goes further, noting “the importance of addressing false prophets and the damage they cause.” He stresses that, although he signed a recent joint statement denouncing Bickle’s actions, he takes exception to one special feature of that joint statement, which “affirms IHOPKC’s ‘broad outline’ as historically credible.” He believes that “IHOPKC’s entire prophetic history is questionable,” linked as it is with three “prominent contributors”—Mike Bickle, Paul Cain, and Bob Jones—all of whom “were involved in clergy sexual abuse.” Deere confesses that, early on, “friendship with Mike led me to overlook significant concerns,” and “my bias towards Mike skewed my focus.” This candor is motivated by a desire now “to caution the younger generations against my errors.” “I am intent,” he says, “on not repeating past mistakes.”

Unfortunately, others have not fully owned up to their part in backing a dangerous false prophet, including radio host and author Michael Brown, Sam Storms (pastor emeritus at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition), and Francis Chan (bestselling author and founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California).

When the allegations of sexual abuse against Bickle were made public, Michael Brown rushed to IHOPKC’s defense to assist with the organization’s public relations response—a response that has been viewed as one of the sketchiest and sloppiest organizational responses to a church scandal in recent history. Though Brown claims not to have taken sides between Bickle vs. his accusers, he wielded his reputation to shield Bickle and IHOPKC from a barrage of criticism—something he has been doing for years. Many, including ourselves, had presented Brown with evidence of Bickle’s dangerous theology. Yet, during a roundtable discussion filmed in April 2023 (just six months before the allegations against Bickle were made public), Brown strongly rebuked anyone who challenged his support of Bickle, declaring him to have an upstanding character. He said, “If I’m gonna be judged by my orthodoxy of whether I judge a fine Christian man like Mike Bickle to be a false teacher, I’m gonna turn around and tell the person asking that question, ‘You’re out of line. You don’t even know the man. You don’t know his life, his walk, his fruit, etc.’”

And Brown’s actions following Bickle’s exposure was largely given to admonishing IHOPKC’s followers to keep their opinions about the scandal to themselves and to refrain from posting any comments about it on social media. To do otherwise would be “doing the devil’s work,” he said. He also strongly censured those who had already taken to social media and ordered them to delete their posts. And he warned those people who had been critical of Bickle over the years not to “gloat” or say Bickle’s actions confirmed their criticisms (though of course they did), but to use this time to search their own hearts for sin. This pattern of authoritarian and sanctimonious posturing, loaded with mandates and rebukes, is typical of NAR leaders seeking to keep their followers from questioning them and to silence their critics.

Prior to the recent allegations about Bickle, Sam Storms also used his reputation in the wider evangelical world to defend Bickle against his critics. We’re not talking about a rare or mild defense, but repeated, public defenses made in the strongest possible terms. For example, Storms wrote what he himself has described as “glowing articles defending Mike.” In these articles, Storms speaks of those who have “slandered” Bickle and he exhibits a sarcastic, scolding, and scoffing tone. The articles have now been removed from his site, but you can still read them on the Internet Archive here and here. During the roundtable discussion in which he and Brown vigorously defended Bickle, Storms declared emphatically that he personally believes Bickle’s claims to have been to heaven multiple times, and he assured his readers that he knew Bickle “to the depths of his soul” and that Bickle was a “biblically orthodox, humble, Christ-exalting individual.” He said then that it “angers” him when he hears people say Mike Bickle is a false teacher.

Once it looked to all the world like the allegations about Bickle were obviously true, Storms removed old posts from his blog and uploaded new articles addressing the scandal. One blog post includes a joint statement with other high-profile charismatic and NAR leaders (including Michael Brown, Jack Deere, Dan Juster, Patricia King, and Joseph Mattera). Another post is an article Storms wrote with Michael Sullivant speaking of their “sorrowful hearts” and their “deep regret” for not being aware of Bickle’s abuse of Jane Doe at the time it occurred (from 1996 to 1999, while Storms was working in a senior leadership position alongside Bickle at Metro Christian Fellowship and during the same timeframe Bickle began launching IHOPKC).

They go on to write that Bickle’s recent statement addressing the allegations did not indicate genuine repentance and was “woefully inadequate.” That certainly is true. But we believe Storms’ statements are also woefully inadequate, as they fall far short of an apology from him for assuring people that Bickle was a safe leader to follow. We don't fault Storms for being Bickle’s friend or for not knowing what was going on at the very time he was most closely associated with Bickle. But we do question his judgment and discernment for crediting Bickle the way he has over the years. Storms has written extensively on matters related to the Holy Spirit and miraculous gifts (including prophecy) and is regarded by many as an expert in such things. Nevertheless, he has not delineated adequate criteria for discerning who is to be trusted as a legitimate prophet who speaks for God. And this grave omission now threatens his credibility as an advocate for the prophetic.

And then there’s Francis Chan. Before the scandal broke, Chan spoke at IHOPKC multiple times—acknowledging that he had been warned by many people not to accept the invitations because Bickle is “creepy” (warnings he ridiculed while on stage at IHOPKC). He also gushed about his love for Bickle in front of thousands of young people, and praised Bickle’s “humility” and love for Jesus. And he apologized to Bickle and other influential NAR leaders (including Bill Johnson) for ever thinking he needed to “correct” their theology. Shockingly, he suggested that anyone who criticizes Christian leaders, including Mike Bickle, is a “divisive person” and may be struck dead by God. Say what?

In short, all those who gushed about Bickle and assured people that he was safe, while lambasting Bickle’s critics for daring to question him, are culpable. Of course, when they were directly affirming Bickle, they were also affirming Bickle’s vision and the movement that grew out of his fraudulent claims. Surely, they have much to answer for.

The situation with IHOPKC is not isolated. The risk exists beyond IHOPKC to all other apostle- and prophet-led organizations.

Seeing the fallout at IHOPKC, it’s no wonder God set a very high standard for legitimate prophets, to be used as a test of their claims to be God’s prophets. The stakes are high. And people still have not fully come to grips with the seriousness of this aspect of the IHOPKC debacle. There are other predator prophets out there. Yet many of the same leaders who have defended Bickle and are still anxiously defending Bickle’s specific vision for “24/7 prayer” have also defended other NAR prophets and apostles in other organizations. We stress that those who have apologized for promoting Bickle still have rejected appropriate criteria for testing prophets going forward (such as the biblical requirement for 100 percent accuracy found in Deuteronomy 18:20-22). So this will happen again. Indeed, history has already repeated itself. (Recall Bob Jones. And Paul Cain. And Todd Bentley.) If leaders had learned the lessons of history and submitted to the teaching authority of Scripture about the high calling and responsibilities of a genuine prophet of God, they would have known better than to endorse Bickle. Their enduring confusion about divine standards for the prophetic makes them complicit in Bickle’s errors and ongoing sponsors of a counterfeit and corrupt movement that is rapidly infiltrating the church.

In their circles, how do you test a prophet? Failed prophecies are useless as a test since they insist that a false prophecy does not disqualify someone from being a genuine prophet of the God of all truth. And you can’t use their lifestyle to test their prophetic claims, even though Jesus warned that a false prophet is known by their “bad fruit.” (Consider how Bob Jones is still recognized as a legitimate prophet even though he “fell into sin.” The same is now being suggested about Bickle by those who are clinging to IHOPKC’s prophetic history.) Their pattern of twisting Scripture in their sermons and books does not disqualify them, either. Yes, there are reliable, biblical criteria for testing prophets, but these criteria have all been canceled by celebrated leaders in the church who seek to perpetuate a false narrative about the apostolic and the prophetic. We must ask these leaders, as we have so many times, by what criteria is someone truly qualified to be trusted as a prophet of God, bringing new revelation? And by what criteria is anyone recognized as a false prophet if not by inaccuracy and not by years of behavior as a sexual predator? If leaders can’t answer that question, then neither are they reliable guides in these matters. They lack discernment and they are unsafe, powerless to protect God’s flock. Believers should take care not to trust them or the “prophets” and “apostles” they defend.

Here’s a note of caution to our readers. If you are part of any apostolic/prophetic ministry, we urge extra vigilance in these days. The crisis at IHOPKC is a lesson for all of us. Groups that took inspiration for their ministries from IHOPKC should be especially alert and should reconsider the fraudulent prophetic history that is still invoked to keep the original vision alive. But anyone who is part of a NAR organization—be it Bethel Church in Redding, California, or a rogue Assemblies of God church like James River in Springfield, Missouri, or a Vineyard church that has considerable NAR influence, or a church that has separated from the Association of Vineyard Churches to promulgate a NAR agenda (such as Vineyard Anaheim, now called Dwelling Place Anaheim)—should insist that any so-called “prophet” in their midst meet rigorous standards of authenticity. Don’t just accept their word that they’re a prophet or an apostle. You should want to protect yourself, your children, family, and friends, and do your part to guard the reputation of the church, the bride of Christ.

The entire NAR movement is further undermined by Bickle’s actions.

We have noted that IHOPKC's entire prophetic history and IHOPKC are thoroughly undermined by what Bickle did. But what many have not considered is that Bickle's actions undermine the “global prayer movement” and the entire NAR movement. Their prophets are untestable. And NAR organizations have another big problem: you can’t hold their prophets and apostles accountable, despite all claims to the contrary. (We address these claims in Reckless Christianity.) This is the crucial mistake of those who think IHOPKC can continue along a healthy path if they simply make changes to the organization’s governance and bring better accountability to its leaders. Indeed, the governance structure at IHOPKC has been identified by many as the fatal flaw that allowed Bickle to engage in predatory behavior for so long. (See Allen Hood’s comments about the failure of IHOPKC’s governance. And see this article that foresees a future for IHOPKC with “stronger organizational safeguards.”) We agree that governance is a major issue. We’ve been saying that all along. But the specific problem at IHOPKC is governance by a prophet/an apostle.

When questioned directly by us in a private interview we had with Mike Bickle in 2017, he denied that he viewed himself as a prophet or an apostle. And IHOPKC denied that they had any apostles or prophets in leadership. But now, with all that’s unfolded, no one can seriously dispute that Bickle presented himself as a prophet and that is how others at IHOPKC regarded him. Hear how Allen Hood—a member of the Advocate Group and a former executive leader at IHOPKC—describes the culture at IHOPKC under Bickle’s leadership, where people were afraid to touch (criticize) “the Lord’s anointed” and where they viewed Mike Bickle as their “spiritual father.” And, as Hood points out, “Sons and daughters cannot investigate their spiritual fathers.” So, it’s no wonder Bickle got away with doing evil things for so long. Hood also said the prophetic history—particularly the story of when Bickle went to heaven and God ordered him to climb into one of 35 golden chariots reserved for select end-time apostles—set Bickle up in the position of an untouchable prophet who could not be questioned. “That story alone put him in an exalted place that was hard for 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds to question this global leader,” Hood said. So, Bickle’s denials to be a prophet and/or an apostle have crumbled along with IHOPKC’s denials to be NAR. (They’ve removed this denial, but you can still read it on the Internet Archive.)

The only way to ensure that this does not happen again is to repudiate “apostles” and “prophets” who do not meet the biblical requirements for an apostle or prophet in the first place. Yet Michael Brown and other defenders of NAR have gone to great lengths to convince people that there’s no connection between IHOPKC and NAR, and that it’s safe to follow other “prophets” and “apostles” (if not Bickle) and be part of other NAR organizations (if not IHOPKC). Brown and company are compelled to defend NAR because they’ve long been supporters of “the prophetic” and have moved freely in NAR circles for years, so they have their own track record to answer for. They’re obviously feeling threatened because they’ve aligned with a movement that is being called into question and rightly so. But while Brown denies that NAR exists and actively defends NAR apostles and prophets—and provides cover for them with a constant flood of statements that obfuscate their true teachings—the dangers of NAR are being played out in the IHOPKC scandal. May all readers soberly consider the implications and seek the Lord’s wisdom in their assessment of a movement that continues to grow.

Some of those who brought Bickle’s abuses to light are still bound to Bickle’s teaching and vision.

Thankfully, many former IHOPKC staff and church members now know that Bickle is dangerous. We’re less sure about their current assessment of his distinctive teachings and practices. The Advocate Group—a group that includes Dwayne Roberts, Wes Martin, Allen Hood, and Jono Hall—is to be commended for bringing Bickle’s actions to light and exposing the toxic culture at IHOPKC. This took courage and has resulted in immeasurable good. It’s possible that they now recognize that IHOPKC’s problem is a NAR problem and not only a problem with Mike Bickle’s sexually predatory behavior. It’s also possible that some still see value in Bickle’s revelations. They themselves have been under Bickle’s spell for many years. (See Joel Richardson, a former teacher at IHOPKC, speak of this spell, which he says he himself has been under here.) And some of them were Bickle’s “spiritual sons and daughters” according to IHOPKC theology. Do any of them still believe that about themselves? Do they somehow feel beholden to his early teachings and vision? Are any still attached to false doctrines and practices that Bickle popularized through IHOPKC: 24/7 prayer with its hallmark “declarations,” the restoration of David's tabernacle, the bridal paradigm, and a great end-time revival (i.e., “billion-soul harvest”) led by apostles and prophets, along with a host of other unbiblical doctrines?

It's interesting how the deception is still accepted on one level even by people currently affiliated with IHOPKC—though they now acknowledge that Bickle is guilty of the allegations brought against him and they rightly consider his actions to be horribly scandalous and damaging to innocent persons. Surely, any teaching that is his, insofar as it is rooted in private “revelations” to a fraudulent prophet and apart from what can be confirmed from Scripture, is suspect (as it should have been from the beginning) and should be thoroughly rooted out—immediately.

Some say that Bickle’s doctrines have the support of Scripture and that they are not relying on revelation from Bickle when they embrace them. Yet any attempt to demonstrate scriptural support for them is strained. For starters, there is no command in Scripture to form a society of individuals who engage in 24/7 prayer, and all passages that have been used to support that practice have not been interpreted with careful exegesis. To continue in the path of these doctrines is to continue to do Bickle’s bidding—which probably affords him some measure of satisfaction during this time of personal public disgrace.

Though the prophet-messenger has been discredited, many talk as if they still believe the prophetic message of IHOPKC and are trying to restore its culture. But what's needed is a revival movement among those people to completely forsake the culture that includes its false teachings and prophecies. Otherwise, they are complicit in fostering the same culture of deception. We pray that those who have exposed Bickle or are now holding him accountable will distance themselves not just from the man, but from all the false teachings and practices they once accepted from him.

Exposure of false teaching brings a blessing. It's like applying a disinfectant.

When false teaching is exposed, people can begin to heal from its damage. Author Teasi Cannon summed up the widespread harm that is being caused through the false teachings of the NAR movement and the good that can result from its exposure in a Facebook post about the IHOPKC ordeal:

Praise God for exposing this! I pray Bickle’s victims (direct and indirect) receive the care they deserve and desperately need, and I pray the Church will continue to learn from tragic examples like this. It makes me sick that “prophecy” was used to confuse, gaslight, and exploit the vulnerable, but it’s happening all around.

This is NAR. We’re in a critical battle and we’ve arrived at a key moment. Michael Brown, Sam Storms, and others like them are seeking to convince people that they still need much of what Mike Bickle/IHOPKC taught and practiced, though they now say that Bickle himself is disqualified from public ministry. Unfortunately, many are convinced by this deception. But, praise God, there are signs that great disgrace has led to greater discernment for some people caught in the vortex of this perilous movement. They are growing in discernment and recognizing that what has happened at IHOPKC is indeed closely intertwined with the NAR movement. To see what we mean, consider how “Aaron” answered Brown’s question (posted on Brown’s Facebook page on Feb. 18, 2024), about how IHOPKC’s prophetic history being called into question has affected people from IHOPKC. First, here’s Brown’s question.

An important question for those who were positively impacted by IHOPKC.

Personally, I had no connection to “prophetic history" and was not impacted by it in my own life or ministry. But some of you were, and now that questions are being raised about the veracity of that history, it is raising lots of questions for you personally (or for your ministry). So, without attacking individuals or discussing the current scandals specifically, could you tell me how all this is affecting you? In other words, how does the questioning of “prophetic history" directly impact you? I'm seeking to get a better understanding of the struggles some of you are experiencing. Thanks!

And here’s Aaron’s response.

It’s as simple as this: if you-know-who used prophetic lies to get what he wanted, how much else did he make up to get what he wanted? And how many others make up prophetic words to get what they want? How has this affected me? I have taken a huge step back from everything claiming to be “apostolic-prophetic.” I don’t want to hear one more prophetic word or claim of “apostolic authority.” I want to see real Christlikeness, an iron clad commitment to biblical truth, and an end to abusive leadership.

To this another poster commented, “Bingo!”

These comments reflect personal decisions that are encouraging and inspiring. Many more such comments can be found on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where people are talking about how the recent developments at IHOPKC have opened their eyes to deception. If you are moved to examine the NAR perspective with fresh eyes, you are not alone.

People who are in despair about IHOPKC need a different hope than what Michael Brown and other leaders proffer with their salvage attempt. The global church is not dependent on the survival of IHOPKC, or the “global prayer movement,” or the NAR movement. We can pray that the implosion of IHOPKC will produce greater fruit of discernment so that many more people come to their senses. And perhaps the Lord will bring relief to more people who have been mistreated in various “ministries” over the years, where “apostles” and “prophets” have caused much damage.

And if you’re in a church or other Christian group and suspect something isn’t right—if something doesn't gel with your reflective understanding of Scripture or if you don't feel completely settled about things you see and hear going on—don't ignore the warning signs. Don’t ignore them even if leaders you respect tell you there’s nothing to worry about and that a leader is safe, or they threaten you with warnings about causing disunity in the church. And if you’re told that you should not be asking searching questions or contemplating objections that have been raised by those who have carefully researched the NAR movement, be extra vigilant. Consider all those leaders who have had to walk back their support of Bickle, some of whom now assure people (without warrant) that there are other apostle-led organizations that are safe. For example, in their “Joint Statement,” Brown, Storms, and the others write, “We know of denominations and apostolic streams that have good government and have had no major leadership scandals.” (Note their mention of “apostolic streams.” That was very intentional. Talk of “apostolic streams” is not customary among non-NAR leaders.) Please do not just take their word for it that an apostle-led organization can be a healthy environment.

Michael Brown and friends fear that the fallout from the Bickle scandal will quench a move of God. In response, we say that exposure of Bickle and the toxicity of the “prophetic culture” at IHOPKC is a move of God. God is jealous of His reputation, and anyone who purports to speak for God without meeting the most stringent of biblical requirements is playing with fire. This toxicity is present in the prophetic cultures in other NAR churches and organizations. Even if it takes decades for this to come out, don’t think that your favorite “prophet” or “apostle” won’t let you down in the future. Our favorite prophets and apostles are the human authors of divinely inspired Scripture who set standards for us to follow and warned us of false prophets and teachers that might be so persuasive that even the elect might be deceived. Again, it is not possible to be too vigilant when Jesus himself issued just such a warning (Matthew 24:24).

We’ve noted that those who follow the prophets and apostles of this age are injured by spiritual abuse and false teaching. We also stress that the church’s witness is compromised. The apostle Peter warned:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:1-2)

In other words, the truth is maligned because of false teachers and their abhorrent conduct. But many have repented from seeking the covering of false prophets and false apostles. They’ve turned from NAR. We urge you to heed their example. Do not be a victim. Assume your biblical responsibility to appropriately test all who present themselves as apostles and prophets (Matthew 7:15-20; Acts 17:11; Romans 16:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22; 1 John 4:1; Revelation 2:2).