Here’s a quick rundown of the top stories on mycharisma.com:
Reports: IHOPKC to Close Amid Ongoing Mike Bickle Scandal
Recent reports indicate International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC) will close amid the sexual and spiritual abuse scandal involving founder Mike Bickle.
A recording from IHOP University an internal email from IHOPU President Matt Candler refer to the closing, according to The Roys Report. The recording reveals that the ministry is losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, partly due to the many donors closely connected to Bickle.
“We began to accrue some pretty significant financial challenges, with our expenses outpacing our revenues by about $500,000 a month… with no end in sight,” IHOPKC Forerunner Church Pastor Isaac Bennett says.
Breaking news, Spirit-filled stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!
Driscoll, Lindell Megachurch Confrontation Sparks Controversy
I arrived at my radio studio Monday to learn that social media sites were blowing up over the latest controversy involving Pastor Mark Driscoll. He had publicly called out the performance of a sword-swallowing acrobat as demonic without talking to the pastor first. The pastor, in turn, then called out Driscoll in midstream, shutting down his comments.
Did Driscoll do the right thing? And why was this acrobat, a former male stripper, performing at a church conference?
The plot thickened when I received a phone call from one of my ministry school grads, now a trusted ministerial colleague. “Dr. Brown, I go to this church,” he said. “I know this pastor. He’s a fine man, and he preaches holiness and purity. I’m perturbed.”
Attention Megachurch Leaders: Immediate Response Needed
I’m not against megachurches. God often blesses a work, and a church grows, but there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Some megachurches are doctrinally sound, filled with excitement and expectations, while others have a mere motivational speaker leading them away from theological depth and width.
Or worse yet, the recent disaster at a men’s conference where Mark Driscoll rebuked the tasteless male performer in a performance better suited for America’s Got Talent than a house of worship.
They Know Not That the Spirit Has Departed
Like many, I was surprised that James River Church and Pastor John Lindell allowed this to take place at their men’s event. To say that Pastor Mark Driscoll should have rebuked him privately is nonsense. A godless display of a shirtless man swallowing a sword must be confronted on the spot (regardless whether he is a former stripper or not). Where is the discernment?
Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!
James Lasher 
Charisma Staff 
