Over this long, last year of reflection, revelation and reverberation from the collapse of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, the Lord has faithfully led me, my wife, and our All Nations household through months of intentional confession, weeping, listening, repentance, lament and contrition. It’s been our “in house” Joel Assembly.

While it is important to understand the dynamics of how the organization, and individual leaders sinned against God and others, it is ESSENTIAL that we bring our own selves into His cleansing light, to purge us of our own sins, and the strong, endemic inclination to “jump out of the number”. I share in IHOP’s sins. I share in her abuses. When I can say that, AND understand WHY I’m saying that, I am free to walk in the light, as He is in the light. His light doesn’t shame me. His light is able to be “true life” to me – all of me.

At the same time, if I am not willing to walk in the light and let Him illuminate my sinful ways, I have no business dialoguing about the sins of others within the organization… Jesus condemned this haughty, critical spirit as “the blind leading the blind”. (Matthew 15:14)

With this in mind, here are 10 places where the Lord has specifically humbled me into honest confession, and repentance, so that I can heal, engage the process of renewing my heart and mind, and (where God permits) help others to do the same.

1. I let the hope of elevating “self”, and cultivating relationship with prominent personalities dissuade me from embracing, living, and teaching the the crucified life.

2. On too many occasions, I did not listen to others; and didn’t make space for them to simply and purely share, emote, weep, etc. re: their cognitive dissonance re: IHOP – because it was IHOP.

3. Too often I attached more weight to the narratives of those who had “achieved platform status” than those that didn’t. (That’s called idolatry.)

4. Too often I was more interested in defending a beloved organization than simply, and faithfully championing God’s best for the individual souls being shaped by that organization.

5. Too often I accepted IHOP’s Prophetic History stories because either it was Mike who was telling it, and “Mike wouldn’t fudge the truth”, or I simply wanted the specific story to be true. I didn’t apply the same rigor to these stories that I do to many other notable prophetic words.

6. I lived, cultivated, and taught a casual, latte-sipping, attitude about serving as a “priest” before the supremely holy God of 300 trillion galaxies.

7. I succumbed to the lie that a ministry could routinely injure a few people and families, and still be achieving great good for the purposes of God.

8. I let the IHOP model of prayer crimp my prayer-life; pruning me from equally needed prayers of confession, lament, repentance, and contrition.

9. I let go of my circumspection, and stopped objecting to where I was experiencing the white, nationalist, male, 21c American cultural lens, because it was IHOP.

10. I’m letting the Holy Spirit show me whatever 10 is; and 11, and 12… as He graciously brings light to my own soul.

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JSB • May, 2024

You may also want to view these related articles:

10 Things that IHOPKC Got Wrong

10 Things that IHOPKC Got Right

10 Things the Lord is Calling Our House of Prayer to Press Into

10 Places Where the Lord Has Been Bringing Judgment upon the House of Prayer, and His Household in America

10 Rewards Reserved for Those Who Have Faithfully Responded to the Judgments of the Lord that Have Fallen Upon Houses of Prayer and Our Evangelical Family