This contact provided me with two documents, which are transcripts of meetings held with Mike Bickle. These staff meetings apparently "alarmed a lot of people there and kinda woke them up" (the person's own words). Why is this? Because the staff were essentially told that, if they committed to IHOP-KC, they were in it for the long haul. Why? Because IHOP-KC was, after all, set up and organized by God. God Himself commanded that it be set up. The double language, of course, was still there: "This isn't about Mike Bickle, but honor the private revelation and commands given by God through Mike Bickle"; "You can serve any part of the ministry in the church, but if you've committed to the forerunner ministry, you're committed"; etc. Nonetheless, many realized what the real language of Bickle and company meant.
Most notable about these documents are two things:
1) The emphasis placed upon the prophetic history of the movement. The contact even wrote:
All staff meetings, worship team meetings, leadership meetings are all about prophetic history. For many it has caused them to question...why is this the means for encouragement and not the work of the cross or the bible?...Over the years hundreds have approached Mike on his usage of scripture and obsession with the "prophetic history". He views them as the "barking dogs" (Bob Jones vision thing) and they are trying to talk him out of the call of God, etc. I've had conversations with the main leaders, and none of them want to see it. The hunger of being apart of a "great move of God" has blinded them. They're all nice moral people but are definitely deceived. They are allegiant to Mike.2) The subtle language of placing divine judgment and authority upon those who would leave the movement. To again quote my contact:
IHOP is obsessed with teaching about "not quitting" and not "giving up". They equate faithfulness with committing yourself to something for decades. Yet in the same sentence they cover themselves by saying..." this doesn't mean doing ihop. It's living wholehearted, seeking God". The big problem is EVERYTHING is vague. Mike doesn't really use Biblical language in context so he says things like "i want a vibrant heart. I don't want to back down from getting all I can in God". Young believers therefore here... do IHOP. IHOP and the prayer room then become your means for keeping you saved. disaster.And likewise:
Mike makes his "non confrontational approach" seem more holy. He will make remarks on how God is his defender so he doesn't need to defend himself. He is very good at playing the victim and rarely takes responsibility for any wrongs on his part. In fact, if you do approach a leader and say, "you hurt me when you did this". They'll usually respond with a, "Well God chooses the weakest people to be his leaders and God's imperfect leadership is His perfect leadership". In the transcriptions I send you I'm pretty sure Mike when he is talking about people leaving says "they're just licking their wounds" "they didn't get what they wanted". He will always make others out to be the bad guy to protect himself. Very manipulative...Below are links to the documents sent to me:
And you know Mike's monastic influence "living a simple lifestyle" is a huge part of IHOP's commitments...it is impossible for [one employee] to get a job because he has to do 50hours a week to be on full time staff so he can play on a team. But if he "quits" he is seen as missing it, or giving up on his assignment, or whatever...So the leaders manipulate people to stay even through the hard times, but Mike is getting 90,000+. That's pretty shady to me.
First link. This is a transcript of a staff meeting held in August of 2013.
Excerpt:
I’m just giving you a little bit of this experience. Here is what the Lord’s mandate to him then which is to you. This is a mandate to you....Second link. This is a transcript of a staff meeting held in October of 2013.
Here’s my point. Is that just a good story? No. When God does this. Here's the point I want you to put your seat belt on. When God gives signs in the Heaven to back up words that have to do with a global purpose and he invites you to do it. You are now accountable for it and you will talk to him at the judgment seat of Christ about it...
Honestly, I went ahhhh and the Lord said I’m not really asking your opinion I’m pointing my finger and saying "do it"...
I wold [sic] just rather have a little ministry on the side and do this and that and the other like a bunch of my friends are doing out there. The Lord said you don’t get to choose any of that. I sent signs in the heavens. I raised up prophetic voices. I went out of my way to establish it. You are bound to this or we are going to have a serious talk...
...it’s a purpose God really cares about and again years later looking back I can’t negotiate it, but neither can you. That’s the point I want you to see. I want you under the weight of that. It’s not that mike is bound, you’re bound. You're sent here, you’re bound. Not to this city. Not to the way we do the ministry ut [sic] to the message and the values. If you were sent you’re bound. All your days to do this...
And when you talk to the Lord on day he’ll say where is your family at? Where are you at? Did you do it? Not for a summer, not for a month, not for 3 years for the rest of your life. I called you to this are you and he, talking to your husband or wife, your children, are they doing it? Well no I got my missionary stipend I come to most of my prayer meetings well I didn’t make all of them, but most of them I got sick a lot and couldn’t make it and ya well no one really knew but hey it seemed to work. I mean I did it for a few years and the Lord says what?! I sent you there and that’s your answer to me? I raised up this movement with supernatural signs and wonders raised up prophetic voices and a global reality and that is your answer to me?!...
Excerpt:
24/7 prayer. Now this is not something that is just we do because it's kind of neat. I know we know that. But the Lord went out of his way - I'm saying that tongue in cheek - I'm saying that as a phrase, He went out of his way to tell us how serious he was about night and day prayer. He's really serious about this. It's not optional for us. He didn't say "build the church, engage in the Great Commission, and do a little prayer." He spoke thunder from heaven, "I am calling you to do this."...
When I stand before the Lord on the last day, he's going to hold me accountable for the whole written word of God. I mean, all of us are, we're accountable through the lens of His grace for our primary calling of building the church and engaging in the great commission, but the Lord is going to ask me in a very particular way: "I went out of my way" (again, I say that as a figure of speech) "to make this clear to you that this was important to me. I invested in this. I raised up prophets, I had a storyline unfold, I trained you, I trained them, I brought it together, I gave special supernatural exclamation points to show you how important this was to me". So when I stand before Him, it will be an issue of accountability. It's not an issue of strutting or being special above other folks. He didn't give it to us so we'd feel special. We feel special because Jesus called us and drew us to Himself and calls us His bride and we're children of the Father...
They join the vision, they join the family, they now the storyline, they build the church, they are engaged in the great commission, we're not drawing back from the reproach of the 24 prayer, we're not drawing back from the rigors of the 24 prayer, we're not drawing back from the challenges, economic and other, of 24 prayer, because the Lord says "I really really really want you to do this 24 prayer"...
