Deaton Murder Trial Postponed AGAIN - Cult Details

The trial of Micah Moore has been postponed, yet again and is now scheduled for November 2014; over two years from the date of Bethany Deaton’s murder.  Some speculate there are higher powers at work with a trail leading right to IHOP’s doorstep.

Without re-hashing the entire story, I’d like to share a couple of links that will give background information and updated information you may not have heard before.  I will admit some of it was new to me.

Read here and see what Rolling Stone didn’t tell you about the Deaton case: 

http://thecosmiccathedral.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/what-rolling-stone-didnt-tell-you-about-tyler-deaton/

In my research I’ve had the opportunity to talk with many people in and around Grandview, home of IHOP-KC.  Some are current members of IHOP, some former members and some with no affiliation at all.  There are many perspectives but I’ve noticed a common thread in every story.  One word, really.  Cult.  No matter who I interview, the word comes up.  They are either convinced IHOP is a cult, concerned that it might be a cult or defending it as a non-cult entity. 

Years ago, IHOP founder, Mike Bickle, created a list of seven ways to recognize the difference between a religious community and a cult. 

1. Opposing critical thinking

2. Isolating members and penalizing them for leaving

3. Emphasizing special doctrines outside scripture

4. Seeking inappropriate loyalty to their leaders

5. Dishonoring the family unit

6. Crossing Biblical boundaries of behavior (versus sexual purity and personal ownership)

7. Separation from the Church

The irony is when analyzing the testimonies of numerous former members, IHOP clearly meets all seven of these statutes.

One former FITN intern said, “I, as well as several people I know, were shut down when we dared to question our teachers.”

One former IHOPU student wrote:  “IHOPU discipleship is based on assimilation and a shame-based unity.” 

Another student noted, “The cycle of victim blaming or quasi-Stockholm Syndrome is alive and well there (at IHOP).”

But profound was an utterance from the lips of a former IHOPU teacher when he said, “Toxic faith, lies, pride, shaming…these kinds of things are sadly becoming an epidemic at IHOP.” 

I could literally quote from hundreds of testimony, but in the end the IHOP-ers will continue to defend their theology and claim that anyone against them is “disgruntled” or “misled.”  So, the point becomes moot and the agenda not to talk-down but rather to share the experiences of those who have been and are still involved with a hope to educate others.

In speaking with a literary acquaintance, the book House of Lies by S.R.Claridge came up in conversation, prompting me to contact the author, whose vast personal interest in IHOP was one of the driving factors behind her controversial novel.  Why the controversy?  As some of you will recall, two weeks after the release of House of Lies, which describes a cult member being drugged and ultimately murdered near a lake in Kansas City, Missouri; Bethany Deaton is found dead under similar circumstances.  FOXNews and the rest of the mid-west wanted to know if the author knew more than she was letting on.

The answer, yes.  Interviews with several reporters indicated that the author’s sister is personal friends with Mike Bickle and in leadership with the IHOP organization; starting an offshoot called Gateway House of Prayer (GHOP) in St. Louis.  In an interview Claridge expressed concern for her sister, stating, “IHOP possesses cult-like tendencies, theologies and practices of which I believe are detrimental to the individual, destructive to families and downright dangerous.”

After the release of House of Lies, Claridge received hundreds of hostile emails from IHOP members upset about the book, some of which stated that they were “praying for her to die.”

In a recent interview, Claridge stated that the hate mail, as she called it, has died down but she fully expects it to ramp up again when the sequel to House of Lies is released in 2015.  “I’ve said it a thousand times, ‘the books are fiction’ but their hatred of me is only proof that I have struck a chord of truth within the pages.”

What is that truth?  According to a former IHOP Editor, “members suffer from a spirit of elitism, and a demonic arrogance that trickles down from the top and stems from the belief that they really are the chosen members of God’s elite army.”  Upon what is this belief based?  A vision allegedly given to Mike Bickle from God. 

What happens if a member questions the validity of the vision?  Former member Anthony wrote, “Asking questions about or having any skepticism about the foundation of IHOP or Bickle’s vision is forbidden.”  Another former member, Kris Koppy said, “I was shamed for asking questions, shamed for disagreeing, shamed for thinking differently than the IHOP way.”

It makes one wonder what will happen next?  If you truly want to know why not make an appointment at the IHOP Prophecy Rooms, where you can receive prophecy-on-demand.  Different from fortune telling?  You tell me; but sign up quick because, according to the IHOP website, time slots fill up fast.  http://www.ihopkc.org/propheticministry/appointments/

“A perverse and wicked generation looks for a sign, but none will be given to it.”  Matthew 16:4

Does anyone else find it even remotely ironic that the IHOP symbol itself is waving a red flag?

Additional Resources:

http://www.ussolutions.net/bethany-deaton.html

http://www.ussolutions.net/listall-8/101-ihop-murder-scandal/bethany-deaton-news/59-sex-cult-murder-linked-ihop.html

http://thecosmiccathedral.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/babel-pentecost-and-the-house-of-prayer-my-time-at-ihop-kc/

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/06/the-seven-signs-youre-in-a-cult/361400/

Who is Mike Bickle?

Who is Mike Bickle?

Some say he is a prominent Christian leader and will be influential in creating an End-Times army that will pray in the return of Christ.  Others say he is the Anti-Christ.  We take a look at the facts and let you decide.

 

 

Mike Bickle is the former senior leader (until July, '99, senior pastor)at Metro Christian Fellowship, Kansas City, Kansas (Formerly: Kansas City Fellowship).   He pastored the Kansas City Prophets and promotes Latter Rain, Manifest Sons of God theology.  He was also a prominent leader in the Toronto Blessing movement, a movement that was found to be corrupted with false prophetic visions and false healings.

Bickle currently leads the International House of Prayer and he told Charisma magazine in July, 1993:

1.     We had an elite spirit. That's become more and more real to me -- it's so repulsive.

2.     We promoted mystical experience in a disproportionate way and it was disastrous.

3.     We were careless in the way we communicated prophetic words. This was hurtful in a lot of cases.

4.     We were wrong in the way we promoted the city church concept. I still believe in it, but now I believe it's a unity based on friendship.

Had his confessions been a sign of repentance and a changing of his ways, this would have been a positive thing.  Instead, Bickle and IHOP grew worse on all accounts.

For a deeper understanding of the Toronto Blessing and the false prophetic words therein, study these writings:
The Kansas City Prophets Chapter in Bill Randles' book "Weighed and Found Wanting"
The Way of Cain - New teachings in the Christian Church- Where are They Leading Us? Feature-length examination of the movement, its teachings, and its teachers.

Suffice to say, Bickle is fulfilling Biblical prophecy, because Jesus warned us against the false prophets, against those that would do works falsely in His name, and that is EXACTLY what Bickle and IHOP are doing. 

Beware!  For the wolf comes dressed in sheep's clothing.

 

More Threats Surround Novel 'House of Lies'

December 2012  -  Kansas City, MO  -  Susan Claridge (S.R.Claridge),author of seven mystery novels, never imagined she would receive threatening letters from readers.  But she never imagined one of her stories would play out in real life either.

The problem:  International House of Prayer (IHOP) members are claiming her book, ‘House of Lies’ is about their group. 

On her blog today, Claridge posted the threatening note:  “S.R.Claridge, I have read your blogs about IHOP and your book House of Lies. I know it's written about IHOP but your information in the book isn't accurate. You tried to make your character Max Sagan be like Mike Bickle, but Bickle is a true man of God and a true prophet. You are going against God and God will not allow you to spread lies about His chosen people. You are offended by what you don't understand and you're mocking people you shouldn't. If I were you I'd be careful.”

The sender is someone who calls themself “AnonBerean12.”  Anon stands for anonymous.  Berean is a common term used within IHOP and means “one who tests what is told.”  The number twelve can be symbolic of many things, the twelve apostles, the fact that IHOP founder, Mike Bickle, teaches that God is raising twelve new super-prophets and apostles, etc.  Regardless of the symbolism, it is clear that the sender is an IHOP advocate.

Claridge’s response reads calm.  She first states factual evidence about Bickle, his history with false prophesy and his status of being what she calls a “self-proclaimed” prophet of God, and follows it up by asking the sender a question. 

Claridge wrote: “I will end this blog by asking you one question:  Could it be that House of Lies offended you because deep down you know you are indeed dwelling in a house of lies?  Could it be that it is just too close for comfort?”

If we were to tally points on who won this round it would be Claridge, hands down.  But one point cannot be overlooked and that is the fact that a threat was made to “be careful.”

'House of Lies' is a story about a 29-year old woman who tries to save her sister from a Kansas City cult group called P3, led by Maxwell Sagan.  The book probably wouldn’t have drawn as much media attention were it not for the likeness between the circumstances surrounding IHOP member, Bethany Deaton’s death, and what happens to cult members in the story.  

Now, IHOP members are bringing it even more attention with their angry threats.

In relation to receiving hate mail about the book, Claridge commented in a thread on her Facebook page:  “It doesn’t hurt me anymore because I know they are speaking from a brainwashed view… but it saddens me.”

Accusations toward the book and the author from IHOP members have been outlandish and Claridge states on her blog that she finds them “humorously ironic.”   One such complaint is that the book doesn’t show IHOP accurately. 

Any reader or mildly intelligent individual will tell you that there is neither accuracy nor inaccuracy in fiction.  It is whatever the novelist wants it to be.  However, IHOP members have gone as far as to post negative reviews on Amazon, stating the book shows that the author has a personal vendetta against IHOP.

Despite the fact that Claridge has stated in a Fox 4 news interview, on her Facebook page and in her blog that the book is not written about IHOP, IHOP members refuse to listen.  "I studied five cult groups before writing this novel.  IHOP was merely one of those five," Claridge told Fox reporter, Gia Vang.

"They'd rather attack the author and place blame on her for their own insecurity about their cult group than face the truth," said one ex-IHOP member.

Outside of IHOP, ‘House of Lies’ is receiving rave reviews, likening it to Dan Brown’s ‘The DaVinci Code’ and calling it “another action-packed adventure by S.R.Claridge.”  (RipeReviews) 

Is Tyler Deaton’s Southwestern group angry because the book, which released three weeks prior to the Deaton murder, foretold the killing in which they were involved?   Are IHOP members angry because ‘House of Lies’ hits too close to home?

Whatever the case, Claridge is taking the brunt.

 

 

Ironic Justice: How much Truth Does Novel Unveil

By Michael Duran

December 2012 -  Written by Susan Claridge (S.R.Claridge) as a political cult suspense, House of Lies has been stirring up controversy, particularly in the mid-western region.  Though the book was released in early October, the story follows real events in a too-close-for-comfort fashion, particularly with the recent murder of International House of Prayer (IHOP) intern, Bethany Deaton.  Claridge insists the book is fiction but readers suspect there is more truth to the story.  See full story Fox 4 News.

House of Lies portrays a woman who attempts to save her sister from a cult group located in Kansas City, Missouri and discovers the cult “stretches far beyond its pseudo-evangelical, House of Prayer veil, penetrating the upper echelon of the United States government and pushing a lethal, international agenda.”  (Quote taken from back of book.)

Claridge states she researched five cult groups in order to write the book and admits that one of them was the International House of Prayer located in Grandview, Missouri.

The story of Bethany Deaton, drugged, sexually assaulted and then killed so she wouldn’t talk is all in the book, as is the fact that the woman’s body was found by a lake.  Another likeness, Deaton worked at Menorah Medical Center and the woman in the book was taken to Menorah Medical Center.

But the similarities don’t stop there.

Many Grandview residents and ex-IHOP members confirm that the book accurately describes what takes place behind the armed guarded doors of IHOP-KC.  (See NYT article on armed guards.)

“The look like zombies roaming our city,” said one Grandview woman who asked to remain anonymous, adding, “Most local businesses won’t hire them anymore.”

Another resident said, “There is no light in their eyes, most of them look like walking corpses.”

A friend from Texas who knew Micah Moore (the IHOP member who confessed to killing Bethany Deaton, upon the order of her husband, Tyler Deaton) said this about Moore:

“We were never the best of friends, but I would describe him as being intelligent, soft-spoken and kind. I am only beginning to learn about IHOP and what kind of a community they are creating and promoting. However, I have to say that even though there is some evidence that Deaton's group began in Georgetown, TX while the members were students at SU there appears to me to have been a dramatic change in Micah since he moved to Kansas City to join IHOP. The pictures that have come out in the past week show that the light is gone from his eyes. Bethany Deaton is not the only victim in this horrible tragedy, merely the first to come to be revealed.”

Numerous blogs have detailed evidence of corruption inside the IHOP group, but it took a murder to finally make the media take notice. 

Bethany Deaton’s death was said to be a suicide, then a murder, then back to a suicide.  In the novel, cult members are told the woman committed suicide and the cover up is inside the Kansas City Police Department.  The book paints the picture that cult leader, Maxwell Sagan, is so powerful that individuals will do anything he says…even kill.

One ex-IHOP member said, “People will do anything Bickle says.”

Is it possible that the book holds even more truth and that Grandview Police will also do anything Bickle says?

Does Bickle have the resources to pay them off?  It certainly appears that way.  Between what he charges students to attend the university, what he charges interns, camp-goers, conference attendees, the fact that seventy-five percent of the IHOP-KC bookstore is filled with books written by Bickle, (all self-published books so all monies go to him) it would stand to reason he has the financial means.

In addition, his wife, Diane Bickle, owns Gladheart Realty, which (just like in the book) shares the same lot as IHOP-KC and is responsible for providing all of the apartment buildings, hotels and housing for members.  A deeper look into this financial structure would prove interesting.

How deep does this corruption go?  According to ‘House of Lies’ it dates all the way back to the foundation of the cult group. Is that true of IHOP?

On a blog post by Claridge, who has made her opinion of IHOP known, the author stated:

“IHOP is a cult, but don’t take my word for it; study it for yourself, starting at the very beginning.  My advice is to research the Kansas City Prophets (namely Paul Cain, Bob Jones and their relationship to Mike Bickle), read all versions of the Blueprint Prophesy and all 233 pages of the Ernie Gruen Report.  Look at Bickle’s involvement in the Toronto Blessing, Vineyard Ministries and read/listen to/watch his sermons on his ‘open visions’ and two visitations to heaven.  What you will find is that every prophecy was been proven false and that Scripture has been twisted to form a foundation of deception.”  (Author Blog)

IHOP has been accused of having a spirit of elitism, one to which Bickle admitted by saying, “We had an elite spirit. That’s become more and more real to me- it’s so repulsive.”   

 

But nothing has been done to rectify the problem. 

In fact, according to several family members of those involved in IHOP-KC, the elitist spirit has gotten worse.  “We can’t even talk to our son anymore because he acts as if we don’t ‘get it,’ like we don’t understand God because we aren’t a part of this end-times army.”  (Mother of an IHOP member who asked to remain anonymous for fear of destroying her relationship with her son.)

This elitism and families separated from their children is apparent in House of Lies, as it is in the reality created by IHOP. 

One mother wrote:  “I haven’t spoken to my son in over a year because he was told to stay away from us, his family, and he said he was given a prophetic word that IHOP was his family now.  He won’t return my calls.” 

Bethany Deaton was estranged from her family, drugged, raped and murdered.  Was she the first?  Was she the only?

According to John Colwell, she wasn’t the first and she will not be the last. “I spent four years in and around this community exposing their practices on my web site www.hisapostle.org This cult has a history of rapes and other felonies all being covered up by their leaders. The most perverse leaders in the body of Christ are IHOP leaders. I guarantee you eventually all will be exposed and you will find that this episode (Bethany Deaton’s death) was just typical of the practices taught and exemplified by many of their leaders.”

How much truth does a fictional book unveil? 

If Bickle can take the truth of God’s Word and turn it into lies, why can’t God take fiction and use it to expose the truth about IHOP, a cult group that is destroying lives? 

Some are calling it "ironic justice. "