IHOPKC debacle an ‘international crisis’ causing people to lose faith, Michael Brown says
International House of Prayer Kansas City's ongoing dispute with a group of former leaders known as the advocate group over an investigation into allegations of abuse against founder Mike Bickle is now an "international crisis" that has been corrupted by the devil, besmirched the name of Jesus and is causing people to lose their faith, theologian and media personality Michael Brown has said.
Brown, president and professor of practical theology at FIRE School of Ministry, made the comments on the YouTube page of his nationally syndicated "Line of Fire" radio program Thursday.
He said that he has been working behind the scenes with the advocate group and leaders of IHOPKC to find a mutually acceptable third-party investigator to examine multiple claims of abuse against Bickle. But those talks are now at an "impasse" after a candidate they had agreed on for the investigation declined the offer due to health reasons.
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"Please hear me. I can attest having spoken to people firsthand, I can attest that mistakes were made on all sides, honest mistakes in certain cases. People trying to do the right thing and it coming out the wrong way, not malicious mistakes. But I can attest to mistakes being made, mistrust coming in, and the devil got in big time," Brown said.
"I can tell you exactly when and where and how. Even this very week, I have been on consecutive phone calls with people on both sides, on the IHOPKC leadership side, on the advocacy group leadership side, consecutive phone calls where both are brokenhearted, feeling they were betrayed by the other," he continued.
"Satan got in and separated brothers. This is the work of the devil. And here's the deal. The body of Christ is hurting terribly right now. The name of Jesus is suffering terrible reproach. The Holy Spirit is being mocked. People are losing their faith in Jesus over this."
Brown's comments follow sparring between the two camps on social media that came to a head Wednesday when members of the advocate group published a series of videos making even more allegations against Bickle that IHOPKC Interim Executive Director Gen. Kurt Fuller said he was blindsided by.
Reacting to the videos hours after they were published, Fuller said he didn't understand why the advocate group chose to publish the videos publicly instead of submitting them as part of the ongoing investigation against Bickle and questioned their motive for doing so.
"I can't understand why they would not have provided these videos to me to support their claims. I'm the one person who has both the authority and responsibility to properly adjudicate this case and hold people accountable. They haven't even given me a chance to do that," Fuller said in his video statement published on YouTube Wednesday night.
"I leave it to you to judge their motives for this. In my role as a general officer in the U.S. military, I've negotiated with our nation's enemies, with foreign officials at the highest levels of adversarial governments, and even with my own government up to the cabinet level," he said.
The members of the advocate group have identified themselves as Dean and Jeanie Briggs; Fran and John Chisholm; Jono and Shari Hall; Elizabeth and Peter Herder; Allen and Rachel Hood; Samuel Hood; Amanda and Wes Martin; and Dwayne and Jennifer Roberts.
The recent publication of additional testimony about their experience working at IHOPKC appeared to be in defense of their campaign to hold Bickle accountable for his alleged abuse after five of eight Jane Does they claimed were his victims publicly denied the allegations.
Before the release of the videos Wednesday, IHOPKC leaders expressed a desire to engage the advocate group and get their buy-in on their investigation, which Brown said is truly "independent."
"In point of fact, the current investigation that IHOPKC has underway actually is independent. I've seen the paperwork. I've seen the emails. They're not, Gen. Fuller is not even allowed to interact with the attorney doing the investigation right now to find out details that will be released to the public," Brown said.
In his response to the video release, Fuller reiterated his commitment to facilitating an independent investigation but stated Wednesday that "I no longer need the unsolicited outside advice of people who have no authority here."
"I'll await the independent results of our investigator and then compare those with what the new leadership here ... and then use those findings to hold people accountable for their behavior and to correct all organizational shortcomings as necessary," he said. "We will not tolerate misconduct of any kind, and we stand against any form of abuse."
While it was his hope to find an internal solution to the dispute between the advocate group and IHOPKC, Brown said he believes there needs to be an international response.
"I want to say again I believe with all my heart that the advocacy group has been trying to do the right thing on behalf of those who have come forward as victims. I truly believe that, and I truly believe that Gen. Fuller wants all the truth to come to light, but we have reached an impasse. There is no way forward now. This is an international issue for the body of Christ," Brown said.
"So I will be reaching out to senior respected leaders in the days ahead. I will ask them, people who do not have a dog in the fight, I will ask them to come together and reach out to the advocacy group and to find a third party that is acceptable to the advocacy group representing those who have come forward as victims."
Citing 1 Corinthians 6, Brown insisted that the global community of Christians that form the 24/7 prayer ministry must work together to reach a resolution.
"IHOPKC will publish their report; that will be public. We will ask for this panel of leaders to come together to oversee that the investigation takes place in a way that is acceptable to those in the advocacy group representing those who have come forward as victims and everyone involved will do their best to make sure it is righteous and fair to all involved," he said.
"If Mike is guilty of the charges, then it's up to that leadership group to call him to repentance and to bear fruits of repentance and to have personal restoration — not to leadership, but personal restoration in his own life," Brown added. "Where he's been falsely charged, then he needs to be cleared on those things. And those who have been victims need not just to have a day in court but to have closure and receive the ministry that they need."
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