Did I Grow Up in a Cult?

Growing up at IHOP the word “cult” was more common than you’d probably think.

This is not the first time that IHOP has been called a cult. It’s been called one since day one.

My friends and I would always make jokes about it. But it did become a pattern.

Anytime anyone left IHOP it was because they were offended or selling out. Almost without exception. Or at least that was the story. The only reason we weren’t branded as “offended” when we left was because we went overseas to plant a church and prayer room.

Lots of people would move on from IHOP and start coming to terms with their experience and then call it a cult. I was used to it.

“They’re just offended.”

That phrase was used pretty flippantly. As soon as someone was branded as offended, no one would listen to a word they said anymore. Their experience suddenly didn’t matter because they were just another offended hater of IHOP and what God was doing.

Bit of a red flag now looking back.

When people from the outside looked in and called IHOP a cult, we would just say “They don’t get it”.

I would defend IHOP anytime someone outside of my normal world called IHOP a cult. It was my home, they were my people. I didn’t like when people would attack them.

A lot of people have asked me now, “Do you think IHOP is a cult?”

Honestly, I’ve gone back and forth.

The fact that even sometimes I think I grew up in a cult, is well, a lot to swallow.

I’ve also realized that a cult is not a blanket statement or an on-and-off switch. It’s a spectrum. Some places are full-on cults (Jonestown) and others have cult-like tendencies.

I watched Shiny, Happy People a few months ago. My jaw was on the floor for about half the series. Not only was it horrific to hear those people’s stories, but a lot of it sounded familiar, especially the stories about Bill Gothard, the IBLP’s version of Mike Bickle.

That is why I’ve gone back and forth on calling IHOP a cult.

How could IHOP be a cult AND have good fruit?

How could so many people have been “duped”?

If it is a cult, does all the good go out the window? Do all my real experiences with God get called into question?

I am in no hurry to call IHOP a cult or to say firmly that it’s not a cult.

I do feel confident saying that IHOP has some real cult-like tendencies. That alone hurts my heart to say.

That place that I grew up loving, that was my safe place, caused so many people tremendous harm. It created a culture that promoted arrogance, elitism, and dysfunctional relationships.

The closer you got to Mike Bickle, the more dysfunctional and harmful the culture.

IHOP, although it was never stated outright, implied that they had the “secret” to being a real Christian. The implications of that were horrendous.

It’s not biblical. It’s harmful. It caused so much pain to so many people. Many of whom are just now coming to terms with it all.

Since the scandal with Mike Bickle began in October 2023, the “Prophetic History” has been called into question.

The Prophetic History is a collection of stories and prophecies about IHOP, Mike Bickle, the end-time church, “the young adult worship movement that is going to usher in the return of Jesus”. Light stuff like that.

The Prophetic History was ingrained into IHOP and by extension my childhood. I am, however, very thankful for my parents. All the stories were never elevated to be equal with the Bible in our home, we didn’t sit around the table and talk about old Bob Jones and Paul Cain stories.

Although no one would ever say that the Prophetic History was equal to the word of God, it was treated as such. It was holy. And as I’ve come to learn, anyone who questioned it was quickly shunned.

When I was 7, IHOPKC had its 7th anniversary. It was a big deal. There was a huge celebration picnic. Apparently, there was an epic football game, I didn’t really care much for it. I was more interested in the face painting and the bouncy house.

Around the time of the 7th anniversary (not sure if it was the one in May or the one in September - yes IHOP had 2 anniversaries, don’t ask me why), Mike did several sessions on the Prophetic History.

I remember all the handouts and sitting in the “adult service” with my parents listening to the stories. I was always fascinated by them. They were cool. It felt cool that I knew people who were mentioned in the stories. It made me feel like I was growing up inside a special place that was important.

The Prophetic History revolved mostly around 3 figures; Mike Bickle, Bob Jones, and Paul Cain.

All 3 have been found out to be sexual predators. Super great.

Paul Cain and Bob Jones were known for their profound prophetic gifts. I am inclined to say that they were in fact highly prophetic. Unfortunately, they also used their gifts to abuse, harm, and mislead thousands. They might have been prophetic, but at the very least part of their ministry was fraudulent.

This week the Kansas City Star released an article that debunks one of the most famous stories of the prophetic history that Mike has retold for years.

The story surrounds the death of Paul Cain’s mother, a supposedly prophetic women herself. Mike claimed that Paul Cain’s mother died on 4/18 at 4:18pm and at the moment of her death, she gave her son a word about Luke 4:18.

The Kansas City Star did a bit of research on the story. Although we cannot state for certain what she said on her deathbed to her son, we can know when she died.

She didn’t die at 4:18pm on 4/18.

Ouch.

The article has sent shockwaves through the ex-IHOPKC community.

I’ve assumed that much of the prophetic history is not true in response to everything, but this was the nail in the coffin. If Yoda were here, he would say “Debunked, the Prophetic History is”.

The Prophetic History has such a profound impact on IHOPKC and it cannot be disentangled from it. Just a few Sundays ago Isaac Bennett, the senior pastor of IHOPKC, quoted the prophetic history and mentioned the “founder” Mike Bickle in his message.

If I were going to mention Mike, I would call him “Mike Bickle; the predator” or “Mike Bickle: the pedophile”. Or better yet, not mention him at all.

I can say that I see no positive fruit from the Prophetic History.

It was put on the same pedestal as the Bible.

It created an unrivaled elitism in people because they were the “chosen forerunners for God.”

It manipulated people to “just keep going”, “say yes again”, and never leave.

It convinced us all that anyone who did leave IHOPKC was turning their back on what the Lord was doing in the earth.

The Prophetic History alone is enough for me to say that IHOPKC has serious cult-like tendencies. The pull and manipulation it had on people was astounding. There are still a group that are under its influence that are now more dug in than ever.

But it’s so hard for me to say that IHOP is a full-blown cult.

I didn’t have to wear a head covering. I wasn’t forced to be homeschooled. No one put cyanide in my Kool-Aid.

But I was afraid that I would “miss” God if I didn’t go to all the services, especially during The Awakening. It produced a spiritual arrogance in me. It caused so many people so much harm.

I couldn't care less about the Prophetic History. Even if it were real, it wouldn’t affect my day-to-day life. The Bible stands above every prophetic word or fun story about comets.

I am called to love God and to love my neighbor, to live a quiet and peaceable life.

My hesitancy in calling IHOP a full-blown cult is simple: there was good.

I truly believe, even after everything that has transpired in the last months, that real good came out of IHOP.

I learned to pray there. I learned how to love God. I have many life-long friends because of IHOP.

There were amazing people there. I also think that God did bring a lot of people to IHOP, I don’t know why. But I’m certain He did.

I believe in prayer and worship and much of the prayer room was an aroma that went up the Lord. Good things did happen.

I wish that God would make things more simple. I wish that IHOP was all good or all bad. The mixture is hard. It’s hard to wade through. It’s hard to sift through the wreckage and find a glimmer of goodness.

But I’m not God. I don’t know why He chose to give IHOP such a platform, all while Mike Bickle was sexually abusing women and ruining people’s lives left and right.

I do trust Him though. So I will continue to write and process and choose to trust His sovereignty. What else am I supposed to do? I may have been raised in a freaking cult.

Photo by Cherish Smith