Is IHOP a Cult?

A friend of mine posted about International House of Prayer (IHOP) being a cult. I have been there and know people who have interned there and taken courses there. I am not an expert but from what I have seen and learned about them I do not believe they are a cult. There were two post from blogs given to show it was a cult. The first one I will discuss is “Why I believe IHOP is a Cult” from the blog THE GOSPEL MASQUERADE. I would copy and paste parts of it here but since I do not have the author's permission I can not do that. So please take a look at the post as I take each point.

The author was an intern at IHOP. Interns are there for 3 or 6 months to prepare individuals in serving the Lord. They have college level training and gain practical experience. The six month internship presently costs $4900. There are other options for internship but this one is the most expensive. See here for details. (This is for your info not to get you to become an intern.)

1. The author says that a IHOP is a cult because it controls its members' behavior. She complains that as an intern she was restricted in where she could go (unless she got verbal permission), the hours required to be at prayer room, classes and attending services at night.
   1. When signing up for internship, she knew what the requirements were and didn't have to apply for internship. She could have left at any time if she so wanted. Compared to some colleges (such as Bob Jones University which once had two sidewalks with one for boys and one for girls) these restrictions were not that bad. Also it is very wise of IHOP to restrict where people go since it is not in a safe area of town.
2. Cults have destructive ethical double standards. The author complains that interns were punished when they broke rules and didn't like being required to participate in sharing personal struggles and questions. They were required to keep a journal and turn it in weekly to a leader.
   1. IHOP has to have rules and breaking rules will have consequences. The journal keeping is a good practice and letting leaders see what you wrote so they can help you and pray for you should not be a problem. HOWEVER, I do think they were wrong to pray for someone from things in the journal when other are around.
3. Destructive Cults have two basic purposes: recruiting and fund-raising The author did not like being pressured to recruit new interns. At conferences internship was promoted. She also did not like having to pay $4500 for 6 month intership.
   1.  As an intern she would be a great person to tells others what it is like so of course they wanted her to tell others about it.  That is pretty much normal.  The intern shares a fully furnished apartment for 6 months with 5 other girls. The upkeep and utilities come out of that tuition. She attends college level courses and is trained in Bible study, prayer, witnessing, and other Christian activities and gains practical experience in their use. $4500 is not a bad price and I am not sure where you could go to get that kind of training for less..

4. Destructive cults appear innovation and exclusive. The leader, Mike Bickle, refered to us and them when talking about the people in IHOP verses people not in IHOP. Those in IHOP were cutting edge and ahead of the church in something new.
   1. They are cutting edge when it comes to some things. They were one of the first to have 24/7 prayer year around. They make disciples of people and not just bring them to Christ. Compared to almost every church I know, they are ahead of them.

5. Destructive cults are authoritarian. Friends of the author were concerned about theology and the model of everything at IHOP. (never says what theology) Mike Bickle says, “This is how we do things here. This is how IHOP is. It's not for everyone.” IHOP has its own culture and you had to assimilate that culture. If you had problems with the culture you were told you just were not a good fit for it.
   1. The author was definitely not a good fit. We have different cultures everywhere. Each church is a different culture and we all look for a church culture we fit into. The IHOP culture was not a good culture for the author.

6. Destructive cults have self appointed messianic persons claming to have a special mission in life. The author was required to listen to a 12 hour history IHOP. Prophetic words were spoken about Mike Bickle leading the next big thing God was doing. Mike was to lead a movement that would change the nature and expression of Christianity on Earth. Mike's mission was to capture the hearts of young people. This teaching put Mike on a pedestal and he has a “Messianic-like” following. If Mike says a book is good, all copies of that book would sell out. Mike is charismatic and people are drawn to him and follow him blindly. IHOP calls on young people, who do not think the church or their parents understand them, to come to IHOP where people are understanding. Some people who go to IHOP never want to leave.
   1. A pastor of a church is almost always held up on a pedestal. They were called by God to preach and lead that church. Mike Bickle is in the same boat. He is held up on a pedestal because he was called by God to lead IHOP. In both cases we should not hold anyone up as better then us but only with a different calling. However, that is often not how it turns out. God has called Mike to lead IHOP. He is charismatic and he does desire to capture the hearts of young people for Christ. Young people are often troubled and feel like outsiders in their families and churches. So what is wrong with calling on them to come to IHOP and train to serve God. Yes, it is true that some people might go and become afraid of going back to their previous home culture but that can be true of anything such as becoming so attached to your job you could never leave it.

7. Cult leader centers veneration upon himself.
   1. Just because people hold Mike up on a peristalsis does not mean he wants them to. Does a pastor want it? They are there to simply serve God and the Church.

8. Cult leaders tend to be determined, domineering and charsimatic.
   1. Mike Bickle is determined, domineering at times and charismatic. If that makes him a cult leader then we have a few million cults in our land.

Through out this blog post the author talks about what happened to her and how hard it was on her. She saw Mike Bickle as a charismatic, popular leader and IHOP as a culture which she did not fit into. Not once did she ever say what was taught which was counter to scripture. I admit some things at IHOP might not be as they should be but it is not a cult. This blog only shows how one person could not handle internship at IHOP. They could have left at anytime but decided not to. She was free the whole time to accept being a part of IHOP and or not.