Another IHOPKC leader steps down as fallout over sex abuse allegations continues

Less than two weeks after the International House of Prayer of Kansas City permanently separated from its founder amid a sex abuse scandal and its executive director resigned, another leader at the global prayer ministry is stepping down.

David Sliker is leaving his position as president of IHOP University “after seven years of faithful service,” the organization announced Wednesday night on social media and its website.

“David is also stepping down from the IHOPKC’s Executive Leadership Team, effective immediately,” the statement said. “This was a mutual decision made in the best interest of the IHOPKC community and David’s family.

“We honor David’s service and dedication. He is loved by the IHOPKC community and he remains in good standing with this spiritual family.”

Sliker has been a senior leader at IHOPKC for more than 20 years, according to his bio. The executive committee of IHOPKC’s board of directors, along with the Executive Leadership team and IHOPU’s leadership team, unanimously agreed to appoint Matt Candler as the university’s new president, the statement said.

“Matt and his leadership team will be communicating all the necessary information with the faculty and students in the coming days,” it said. “Thank you for continued prayers in this season.”

The action comes as the 24/7 charismatic prayer movement continues to grapple with the fallout from sex abuse allegations against Mike Bickle that surfaced in late October. The allegations were presented to IHOPKC leaders on Oct. 24 by former leaders Dwayne Roberts, Wes Martin and Brian Kim. The current leadership team then called a meeting to inform staff on Oct. 27.

They originally described Bickle’s alleged actions as “misconduct,” then later said the allegations were “unsettling” and involved “sexual immorality.” The leaders said Bickle had been asked to step away from public ministry “to allow for a proper inquiry to be conducted.”

The day after IHOPKC leaders told the staff about the allegations, Roberts, Martin and Kim issued a statement describing the incidents as “clergy sexual abuse” and said they found the allegations “to be credible and long-standing.”

But on Nov. 15, IHOPKC leaders released a report of their initial findings involving the case. The report discounted some of the allegations brought forth by the former IHOPKC leaders.

The former leaders said in a response that IHOPKC’s initial findings and other public statements “have been replete with mistruths and obfuscation.”

“The truth is that multiple witnesses over the last 2+ years have brought concerns regarding wrongful contact with Mr. Bickle and women who are not his wife to the ELT (executive leadership team) and to the concerned leaders, which many eyewitnesses have corroborated,” the response said.

On Nov. 30, The Roys Report, a Christian media outlet, published an online story featuring an interview with Bickle’s main accuser. The woman, whom the report referred to as “Jane Doe,” said that Bickle sexually abused her from 1996 to 1999, starting when she was 19 and he was 42. She said Bickle told her repeatedly that God had spoken to him, saying his wife was going to die and that they would then be married. She said that during that time, Bickle gave her a key to his office, put her up in an apartment and had sexual interactions with her.

On Dec. 22, IHOPKC announced that it was “immediately, formally and permanently” separating from Bickle, saying it had confirmed “a level of inappropriate behavior” involving the well-known leader.

“People will surely wonder about the details, but IHOPKC does not have permission from those individuals to share details where they are being vetted further by an independent investigator,” IHOPKC spokesman Eric Volz said at the time. “The privacy of any person impacted by misconduct is tantamount, and this only amplifies IHOPKC’s conviction that a complete investigation should be conducted into the allegations of clergy abuse by Mike Bickle.”

In that same announcement, Volz revealed that IHOPKC Executive Director Stuart Greaves had resigned and stepped down from the organization’s board of directors. No explanation was given for the resignation.

Last week, Volz told The Star that Greaves’ resignation “was a mutual, amicable decision made in the best interest of his family and the IHOPKC community.”

IHOPKC also recently confirmed that Brad Tebbutt, an IHOPKC staff member who was the subject of a 2018 independent investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, had left the organization.

IHOPKC leaders announced last month the hiring of a third-party firm to conduct an “independent and impartial investigation” into the allegations against Bickle. But that investigation has been bogged down in controversy, with alleged victims and their advocates questioning how the law firm IHOPKC hired — Lathrop GPM — could be impartial. They pointed to a list of accomplishments on the firm’s website, saying it “proudly touts its representation of defendant organizations (including but not limited to the Catholic Church) in sexual abuse related litigation.”

Volz said last week that the investigation was “well underway and still pending, and as such, we cannot comment further on the matter.”

Bickle, 68, issued his first public statement on the allegations on Dec. 12, admitting that he had “sinned” and “my moral failures were real.”

But he was vague on details. In a lengthy note on X, formerly Twitter, Bickle said his “inappropriate behavior” occurred more than 20 years ago, but he did not admit to engaging in any sexual misconduct.

“With a very heavy heart I want to express how deeply grieved I am that my past sins have led to so much pain, confusion and division in the body of Christ in this hour,” Bickle wrote in a letter addressed to “Family and Friends.”

“I sadly admit that 20+ years ago, I sinned by engaging in inappropriate behavior — my moral failures were real. (I am not admitting to the more intense sexual activities that some are suggesting).”