The Third Party Investigation

Ladies and gentlemen you are about to see what my friends refer to as “Chloe Unleashed”.

I have been waiting to write this article for months. But I am beyond grateful to say…

That the third-party investigation into Mike Bickle and IHOPKC is finally here! I want to share a little bit about the investigation itself and then a few of my thoughts.

The Investigation

First off, two important statements have been released about the investigation. The first is from Tikkun Global, the ministry that is overseeing the investigation. The second is from the Advocate Group (AG). The AG also released a new series of videos about the scandal and the need for an investigation.

Tikkun Global is a Messianic Jewish network of congregations and ministries. They have been connected to IHOPKC for many years, but formally called for a third-party investigation early on in the scandal. They are a very reputable ministry willing to roll up their sleeves and wade into these intense waters.

The AG reached out to them a few months back asking them to oversee the investigation. If the AG oversaw the investigation, then it wouldn’t be independent. And we sure as heck know that when IHOPKC oversees an investigation, it isn’t independent.

Tikkun is stepping up to oversee the investigation and to hire the investigative firm, Firefly. They are not doing the investigation. A professional organization is.

Firefly conducts investigations into allegations of sexual abuse (among other things). They are a team of professionals that includes former law enforcement officers, investigators, and psychologists who are all trauma-informed.

This is a huge win.

Once the investigation is complete, the report will be released publicly. That means anyone can read it, and that’s huge. No more hiding the truth behind a wall of “just trust us”.

Tikkun will then oversee a group of global leaders in the body of Christ who will review the results and will make recommendations. That means that, based on the official report and findings, they will recommend that certain people should not continue in any formal ministerial role, for example. You can read more about the investigation and the official scope here.

If you have a story to tell about your time at IHOPKC involving any and all allegations of clergy misconduct or sexual misconduct by Mike Bickle, IHOPKC leaders, IHOPKC staff, and/or volunteers, please consider filling out Firefly’s CONFIDENTIAL survey.

I am really grateful that this investigation will not be just into Mike’s misconduct, but all allegations of sexual misconduct, including cover-ups. This is a huge win. Everyone’s story can be heard.

Despite hours and hours of meetings and conversations, IHOPKC has decided to not participate in this investigation, more on that in a bit.

The Road to Get Here

People have been asking (nay screaming) for an independent third-party investigation since day 1, me included. It became readily apparent that IHOPKC was incapable of revealing the truth or making any restitutions whatsoever.

This announcement comes almost a year after the scandal broke in October 2023. People have been waiting and waiting for months. Doubts have been cast on the AG on whether they were trying to accomplish this or not.

I cannot state this any stronger, the AG has been working tirelessly for months to get a third party off the ground. Often, they were working 100% behind the scenes without posting updates on social media. Their silence in no way communicated that they weren’t working extremely hard. The AG as a whole stayed away from making additional statements about the 3rd party for a very good reason.

They did not want to derail the conversations behind the scenes with IHOPKC pleading with them to join into an investigation.

IHOPKC has gone through several iterations of leadership at this point. All of whom have been sorely disappointing. The AG has attempted multiple times to enter into a mutually agreed upon 3rd party investigation. But IHOPKC has failed to enter into a truly independent investigation.

It was exceptionally disappointing to watch IHOPKC’s response over the last several months. On more than one occasion they verbally agreed to investigators and were “ready” to pull the trigger. But every time a wrench would mysteriously get thrown into the mix and everything would go back to zero.

There are probably several factors that played into it all.

My opinion? They wanted to stall and draw out the process as much as possible so that everyone would forget about it all and move on. Jerks.

They were given so many opportunities to join an investigation, so many accommodations were made and conversations had. But it seemed they weren’t willing to submit to it.

Luckily, everyone did not move on and did not forget.

I now want to share on a more personal note.

My parents, specifically my father, have been accused of being naive and too trusting of the IHOPKC board and leadership team.

I want to take a moment and nip that in the bud right now.

My parents have been betrayed, lied about, spat on, stabbed in the back, and left for dead by the ones they used to call friends. It’s been horrendous to watch and experience.

My dad spent hours and hours trying to reason with the IHOPKC leadership on several different occasions working towards a mutually agreed upon 3rd party. He worked with many iterations of leaders working towards one goal: healing.

My dad is a pastor. He is not a lawyer, a prosecutor, or an investigator. He is a pastor. His goal has been to bring about justice and healing.

He relentlessly tried to get IHOPKC to repent and get on board with an investigation. It would be so redemptive if IHOPKC actually repented and entered willingly into a third-party investigation.

Can you imagine how much healing that could bring if IHOPKC truly sought to expose darkness and make amends and restitutions?

That was my father’s goal. Healing, redemption, and justice. He tried more times than I can count to build a bridge so that we all could together as the body of Christ and heal.

A lot of people called him naive for attempting to reason with IHOPKC so many times.

But from where I see it, my dad is nothing short of a courageous hero. He put himself out there numerous times, getting attacked and betrayed by his once close friends, in an attempt to bring healing to victims and the broader IHOPKC community.

I don’t call that naivety, I call it godliness. He is a true pastor. Willing to stick his neck out to protect the flock.

Disagree if you want, but this is where I stand.

I have watched in the background as my parents and the other members of the AG have spent their blood, sweat, and tears fighting for justice and for light to shine. Many have cast doubt on their motives, but I can attest to how diligently they’ve walked out what they feel the Lord has called them to do.

Set the Record Straight

There are a few things I’ve wanted to clarify, from my point of view, from the last year. I’ve waited until the announcement of the third party investigation to share these thoughts.

First off, the rumors spread about the Advocate Group and my parents have been hilarious and appalling from day one. These former leaders of IHOPKC that were seen with the utmost respect were suddenly drug through the mud because they decided to shine the light on Mike’s crap.

My father was accused of starting this whole “conspiracy” to take over IHOPKC.

It was said that my parents were disgruntled former IHOPers who just wanted to take out all their bitterness on the organization and their former leader.

Every step of the way our former friends picked up pitchforks and screamed “Mathew 18”! They cared more about their precious imaginary process than the truth. By the way, the situation of clergy sexual abuse does not constitute the use of Matthew 18.

Someone shared a very helpful analogy with my dad. He said that this situation is as if there is a dark room full of cockroaches. My dad came in and turned the light on and cockroaches scurried away to hide. But my dad got in trouble for turning the light on.

My father and the entire AG have been screamed at for turning the light on and exposing the vile sickness inside IHOPKC when instead everyone should have been screaming about all the cockroaches in the room.

If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend Wade Mullen’s book Something is Not Right. It reads like a playbook for this whole debacle.

Secondly, I want to talk about the “Non-Victims”. At the beginning of the scandal, several women came out on social media, Misty Edwards being one of them, to share that they were not victims of Mike Bickle in any way.

People are free to say whatever they want. However, one particular woman has said that Dwayne Roberts hunted her down and that members of the AG came knocking at her door. She said that they were harassing her to try and get her to come forward as a victim.

I cannot state this strongly enough, that is utter crap. My father never hunted down any victim. He never tracked down women trying to get them to tell their stories.

This outcry from the “non-victims” cast serious doubt on the intentions and integrity of the Advocate Group. This in turn caused victims to not want to come forward to share their story, and that’s heartbreaking.

My prayer is that every victim of IHOPKC or Mike Bickle feels safe enough to share their story with Firefly and their trauma-informed investigators.

During that season I had to get off social media. The “Non-victim” statements they made on social media made my blood boil. It was even more infuriating when IHOPKC decided that those social media posts were enough to cause Jane Doe’s story to become only “semi-credible” while telling everyone else to stay off social media.

This has been an incredibly long road. I am tired. My parents and family are tired.

But I cannot state how incredibly grateful I am that this day finally came. The third-party investigation is finally here. Victims have a safe place to share their stories. Thank you God.

If you or anyone you know has a story to tell, please consider filling out this confidential survey with Firefly. Your story deserves to be heard.

Chloe Unleashed out

Photo by Marcus Dall Col on Unsplash