In 2013 Francis Chan spoke at the International House of Prayer (IHOP) apostasy fest Onething: Until the Fame of Jesus Fills the Earth annual event brought to us by false prophet Mike Bickle. Many well intentioned bloggers alerted Chan to the bizarre goings on at IHOP but, sadly, their warnings went unheeded.
In 2014 I penned a piece entitled The Prosperity Priestess and the Pied Piper of IHOP to inform readers that Word of Faith/Prosperity Preacher Joyce Meyer intended to join forces with Mike Bickle at Onething 2014. (Meyer ended up pulling out of the event at the last minute because of “unforeseen personal circumstances.”) In the referenced article I included a bit about Francis Chan’s professed love for Mike Bickle:
It’s important to note that last year Reformed pastor; author; conference speaker Francis Chan spoke at Onething where he declared “I love Mike Bickle.” Chan took a lot of heat for agreeing to speak at the conference. When friends and fans urged him to decline the invite, he admitted that he didn’t know much about Mike Bickle and IHOP so,
I kinda went on the Internet and started looking things up.
Whatever he found caused him to fall in love:
I go, man, there’s a lot of great things going on [at IHOP]. And today was the first time I ever met Mike Bickle. And, I love that guy. I do. And Mike knows – we talked about this – you know, there’s people who told me not to hang out with him.
Like, you know, words like “creepy” came up. And yet, I get to know this guy and I’m going, “Man, I love his heart. And I just want to publicly say I love Mike Bickle. (Source)
As you can see, Chan professed his love for the sort of person Jesus referred to as a ravenous wolf. (Mat. 7:15)
What Francis Chan failed to turn up in his investigation is that Mike Bickle has led countless young people astray. He’s a sort of a Pied Piper to those who journey to Kansas City from all over the globe to be a part of something “significant.” Once there, they stay for days, months…even years. You’ll find them in the prayer room praying. Prayer “led from a stage full of musicians and readers chanting repetitive phrasings of faith” goes on ’round the clock.
The false prophet has filled the young sojourners’ heads with untruths such as “an elite end-time church defeats God’s enemies, and Jesus is ‘held in the heavens’ until it happens.” So they most “go forth and make ready.”
Now I learn that Francis Chan will be speaking at Onething 2015. He’ll be there with several IHOP apostates as well as evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, and one of Bethel Church’s music family, Amanda Cook. More speakers will be added.
In the early years, when it was known as the Latter Rain, it was a fringe movement that most Christians didn’t know about and those who did paid little attention to. But the Latter Rain, now known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), is no longer on the fringe. In recent years its leaders have wormed their way into the seven mountains of society. Through their worldwide mission outreach, the movement that introduced us to breaking down demonic strongholds, casting out demons, healing the sick, raising the dead, and other so-called “signs and wonders” has become mainstream. Who’s to blame for the mainstreaming of NAR heresy? The blame lies squarely with our Christian leaders, clergy, authors, entertainers, so-called Christian media outlets, bloggers, Youtubers, and last but not least, pro-family leaders some of whom profess a belief in Jesus Christ. Many of the people Evangelicals look to for leadership and guidance are not Bible believers and a large number of them are involved in outright heresy. So how can they possibly have spiritual discernment?
What exactly is discernment? According to blogger Tim Challies:
Discernment is the ability to properly discriminate or make determinations. It is related to wisdom. The Word of God itself is said to discern the thoughts and intentions of one’s heart (Hebrews 4:12).
A discerning mind demonstrates wisdom and insight that go beyond what is seen and heard. For example, God’s Word is “spiritually discerned.” To the human mind without the Spirit, the things of God are “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The Spirit, then, gives us spiritual discernment. (Source)
Getting back to addressing Pastor Chan’s participation in Onething 2015. Many in the Christian community wondered about his discernment or lack thereof, when he spoke at the 2013 event — there was a big brouhaha over it. Even so he has agreed to return to the scene of the crime, so to speak. It seems impossible that researching the NAR and Mike Bickle would result in anything other than an ample understanding of the highly unbiblical nature of the movement. Clearly he hasn’t done the research…..or perhaps he has. Inquiring minds want to know.
Finally, it’s concerning that during his talk in 2013 he joked about warnings from friends and discernment bloggers when he snickered, “there’s people who told me not to hang out with him [Bickle]” But even worse than that, hearing a highly regarded Christian leader proclaim his love for a false prophet was upsetting, to say the least.
Hopefully Pastor Chan will do as Joyce Meyer did in 2014 and cancel his speaking gig.
Related
April 17, 2024 IHOPKC Coming to a Close…due to revelations that disgraced leader Mike Bickle is a serial adulterer
CARM lists some of the main offenses of IHOP:
- Cultic origin, worship style, and goals
- Emotionalism
- Mysticism
- Gnosticism
- The IHOP dilemma
- False Prophecies
- Effective Denial of Sola Scriptura
- Opposition by multiple Godly Christian Groups
Copyright Marsha West, August 2015. All rights reserved.
