Detangling 07: Stephen Deere
This interview has been a long time coming. Stephen’s articles about the IHOPKC / Mike Bickle scandal have been tremendously insightful and helpful. I wanted to pick his brain and hear some of his stories related to the Kansas City Prophets and Paul Cain.
Thank you Stephen for taking the time to dive into these subjects and shed light on this topic while sharing your own story so vulnerable.
Q: Give a bit of background to who you are and how you grew up etc.
My name is Stephen Deere. I grew up as the son of a pastor and seminary professor, Jack Deere. He had what you might call a “second conversion,” though that’s not exactly the best way to describe it. He began believing in the gifts of the Spirit and that supernatural events still happen today. Healing was the first thing he embraced, and soon after, he became interested in prophecy.
I think his first connection was with the Vineyard movement, and through that, he met Mike Bickle. Over time, his theological views shifted, particularly regarding the gifts of the Spirit. He became somewhat of an apologist for the idea that the supernatural events described in the Bible should be a part of everyday Christian life. While he adopted many beliefs associated with Charismatics, he didn’t fully align with the movement. For example, he disagreed with doctrines like the idea that everyone should speak in tongues or that every person prayed for should be healed.
He spent a lot of time traveling as an itinerant conference speaker. He pastored at different points and was an associate pastor at the Vineyard Church in Anaheim. He became fairly well known because, in the late 1980s, it was almost unheard of for a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary to suddenly embrace beliefs that, at the time, seemed pretty out there.
From the time I was about 9 or 10 years old, I was surrounded by many of these figures as they were stepping into their ministries. They were mostly in their mid to late 30s or early 40s—people like Mike Bickle, Rick Joyner, and my dad. Paul Cain was a lot older than everyone else. Then there were the Kansas City Prophets—John Paul Jackson was around a lot, and so was Bob Jones. From about age 10 to 24, it was normal for me to be around them—going to their conferences, spending time with them and their kids, and even having them stay in our home.
That’s kind of my background. I usually introduce myself by listing all the places I’ve lived, and people assume I was in the military. In a way, it was similar. But whenever I explain my upbringing, I tend to downplay the role Charismatic Christianity played in all of it—mostly because I don’t enjoy explaining Charismatic Christianity to someone I just met.