Apostolic Friends Forum - Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

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Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

Did anyone read about the story coming out of Kansas City concerning a guy who murdered his small group leader's wife because his small group leader asked him to?

Allegedly, the small group leader's wife was being abused by multiple men living in a IHOP group house and, well it gets even more troubling.

http://apprising.org/2012/11/14/ihop...-him-up-to-it/

Atleast he is not claiming that the devil made him do it.

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

And this is why I don't do IHOP.

I prefer Denny's instead.

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

According to the article:

"According to newspaper reports and a statement released by IHOP “ Allen Hood, said Deaton was the leader of “an independent, close-knit religious group” that was operating separately from the International House of Prayer “under a veil of secrecy.”

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AreYouReady? (Post 1204548)

Yes, but IHOP had previously claimed Deaton was an IHOP director of some kind, which was quickly taken off their website when the news broke.

So ... hmmm...

I personally have NO IDEA why anyone would be dumb enough to fall for a 'church' whose teachings include mass fornication and adultery, but hey, that's just me, I guess...

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

Very interesting article. This is one of the reasons why I object to independently run home churches and small groups. There needs to be some collective oversight and accountability, at the very least amongst the leaders (plural) of a "group of groups." It's too easy for someone with a "domineering and charismatic" personality to prey on weak-minded or ignorant people otherwise. Likewise, traditional churches function more healthily when there is plural leadership and elders rather than a single man making all the decisions for a local congregation. I can appreciate independent churches where the pastor stays accountable to a group of elders or peer ministers; I'm highly suspicious of men who want to run the church without being accountable to anyone but God (and I've personally observed the sort of chaos and destruction that results from such a church government). God didn't set it up that way--not for saints or leaders either one.

ANYtime a leader wants to have private meetings that exclude other saints or church leaders, that is a Big Red Flag. I don't care if they're just meeting for prayer and scripture reading. The only reason for secrecy or exclusivity is for the leader of the group to maintain control of the group. Alarm bells should go off at that point.

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

Quote:

I personally have NO IDEA why anyone would be dumb enough to fall for a 'church' whose teachings include mass fornication and adultery, but hey, that's just me, I guess...

Please document where IHOP'S teachings include mass fornication and adultery.

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esaias (Post 1204563)

Yes, but IHOP had previously claimed Deaton was an IHOP director of some kind, which was quickly taken off their website when the news broke.

So ... hmmm...

I personally have NO IDEA why anyone would be dumb enough to fall for a 'church' whose teachings include mass fornication and adultery, but hey, that's just me, I guess...

Pardon my French, but many Christians [people!] ARE ignorant and weak--God loves them anyway--and provided for that by instituting a multi-faceted ministry and a church body that is intended to remain connected. A church system in which leaders are accountable to one another and are required to work within a body larger than themselves protects the ignorant and weak from spiritual abuse and exploitation.

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple (Post 1204569)

Please document where IHOP'S teachings include mass fornication and adultery.

Michael, that was a reference to the possible teachings of the small group in question; not IHOP as a whole.

This quote from the article addresses the problem area:

Quote:

"This comment came in on another post that explains IHOP’s bridal theology and may explain some of why and where Tyler Deaton went off. I also want to add that on Tyler Deaton’s facebook page he listed 3 scripture quotes from the Song of Solomon, which is where Mike Bickle gets his Bridal Paradigm theology…

...the reason this was the first thing I thought of is because IHOP explicitly emulates the Moravians under Zinzendorf. For those here who don’t know about them, they were a pre-Reformation Protestant group which was under the leadership of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf in the mid-eighteenth century. Zinzendorf was a “radical” Pietist who was influenced by Christian “bridal” mysticism common in Germany at that time including the writings of Jane Lead and Jacob Boehme.

One of the central focuses of this type of mysticism is the marriage between the bride and bridegroom. Anyone who is familiar with IHOP knows about the 24/7 prayer rooms, focus on becoming the bride of Christ, harp and bowl worship, etc. and much of this is taken from the Moravian movement. Most radical Pietists in Zinzendorf’s day emphasized that this was a spiritual marriage even as far as promoting or requiring celibacy. Zinzendorf instead believed the marriage act was a sacred act where believers didn’t unite with one another but with the divine…

I am NOT claiming that IHOP explicitly or even implicitly teaches or promotes what was going on at the Deatons’. But, since there is SO much focus on Moravian spirituality (or more importantly, how IHOP has interpreted and reenacted it since the reality of what happened in the eighteenth century is a bit different), it wouldn’t take much for participants to go look into this stuff on their own and try to reenact it themselves to release more spiritual power or even gain it for themselves."--Source

The point is not that IHOP endorses mass fornication and adultery, but that Deaton may have taken that idea (The Bridal Paradigm) and ran with it--in an immoral direction.

Re: Abuse, Murder and IHOP Oh My!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple (Post 1204569)

Please document where IHOP'S teachings include mass fornication and adultery.

I never said that about IHOP. I was speaking about the particular group run by Mr Deaton.