Let me start by saying I do not doubt the sincerity of Dr. Brown and I rarely have. I just think he refuses to see things that are plainly in front of his face. It is great that he is now publicly stating that the advocacy group has been honest this entire time. The problem is twofold. First of all, why did it take nearly four months to conclude what anyone not trying to protect Mike Bickle has known all along? Why allow the smearing of these victims and of the reputations of the former IHOP leaders who represent them? Where was the condemnation of IHOP leadership in December when they were all saying that this was a coup? The second point, is what about your friends and associates? Michael Brown enjoys writing for Charisma News but the CEO, Steven Strang, has mercilessly lied about the victims, claimed the former leaders hated Bickle and wanted to just seize the mighty power of IHOP. Where is the denouncement and demands for Strang to apologize for declaring Bickle was exonerated in December! Where are the calls for his repentance for the false witness he bore against the women whose lives were destroyed by the predator Bickle?
The second point here is we must question Michael Brown's discernment at this point. Who cares if IHOPKC has always said they want the truth when all of their actions bear out the opposite? Did they want the truth when they shared confidential reports with the accused? Were they seeking the truth honestly when they poisoned the well with the Misty Edwards nonsense? What about when they lied about wanting an independent outside entity? What about just this week when General Fuller used the fact that the advocacy group released videos damning IHOP to break off all negotiations and pretend their bogus sham investigation was sufficient. They swore they don't want to cover anything up? Are you serious? That is all they have been doing! Stop trying to protect the institution! If the investigator was not approved by the advocacy group, I am sure they had a reason. What did Dr. Brown expect them to say to him? "Yeah, sorry Dr. Brown but we have been trying to undermine this the entire time. Your crack questioning finally broke us" Unbelievable.
"I want to be the loudest voice saying a new direction is needed, I can attest that mistakes were made on all sides. People trying to do the right thing, not malicious." - Dr. Michael Brown
No, no. no. Stop trying to split the bill! On one side you have the VICTIMS. They have been VICTIMIZED! It appears their only serious mistake is in assuming the leadership of IHOPKC would ever take this seriously and in a godly fashion. The former leaders who have tried to help them loved IHOP and were friends and associates of Mike Bickle. Secondly here, stop trying to minimize what the IHOPKC leadership has done. Not malicious? Who are you kidding? The fake leaking of people never mentioned as victims, the sharing of the confidential report with Bickle, the constant smearing of the victims and pretending the former leaders had agendas? All they have done is act maliciously! Dear Lord, and we wonder why no one trusts the church anymore? The story of the 19-year-old has been confirmed already and it led to the most pro-Bickle folks of cutting all ties with him. Stop pretending that there is some kind of equity on both sides. There is not. IHOPKC leadership needs to shut up, accept the true outside source, and get ready to shutter the doors to one of the worst and falsest fake moves of God in the history of the church.
"I can attest to mistakes being made, mistrust coming in, and the devil came in big time. I was on consecutive phone calls this week with the IHOP leadership side and the advocacy group leadership side, both broken hearted feeling they were betrayed by the other. Satan got in and separated brothers. This is the work of the devil." - Dr. Michael Brown
This is often used by Christians as a convenient out. The devil did not create this mess, Mike Bickle did. The devil did not make the IHOP leaders lie, smear the victims, and try to bury the truth - they did that all on their own. This atmosphere of distrust is entirely of IHOPKC's doing. The devil didn't make them do anything. It is also not helpful to keep trying to split this bill. I understand that maybe the IHOP leadership told Dr. Brown they feel betrayed, but he should have shot that down right away. The advocacy group was under no obligation to release the videos to IHOP when all they had previously done was act unscrupulously. It was not a "betrayal." What is betrayal is taking the confidential working documents, which had the initials of the victims, and give it to the perpetrator without permission. What is betrayal is allowing the character attacks upon former trusted IHOP leaders and claiming they had ill motives for helping the victims. What is betrayal is acting like there was only one partially credible victim but hey, it was 25 years ago so who cares? This is not the work of the devil. It is the work of sinful men.
"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. People don't know what's up and what's down. What's right and what's wrong. who can be trusted. What can be trusted. What's real and what's not. This is an international crisis and no servant of God has the right to their own opinion. We all have to humble ourselves and come together and find a path forward." - Dr. Michael Brown
The entire body of Christ is not suffering over this because we can discern that IHOP was a disaster from the start, not just because Mike Bickle is a false prophet. The apostate church might be suffering because they have been lied to for so long and now people they respected as leaders are found to be predators or protecting predators. Brown is right that the name of Jesus is suffering reproach, but that reproach started long ago in Kansas City. It began when people believed two false prophets named Bob Jones and Paul Cain told another false prophet in Mike Bickle that he was called to ministry in Kansas City. Both Jones and Cain had their own sex scandals to deal with, Cain involving a 13-year-old. People do not know up from down because leaders like Dr. Brown's boss at Charisma are telling them that Bickle is exonerated, the victims are liars, and the advocates are just staging a hostile takeover. Any servant of God does have the right to the correct side. The side of the truth. The problem is people like Michael Brown keep pretending both sides are somehow to blame for the predatory nature of one man. Stop the cover up. Stop trying to save IHOP. It is over.
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