Latest Update on Allegations Against Mike Bickle

Eric Volz is joining IHOPKC as their official spokesperson. He spoke Sunday, the transcript is below. After his experience of being wrongfully imprisoned in a foreign country, when his conviction was overturned due to a lot of behind the scenes work and international outcry, he began to be approached by families of other wrongfully imprisoned individuals seeking guidance on how to navigate similar situations. After several years, what began as pro-bono advice evolved into a private consultancy in 2009.)

November 21, 2006: Doris Ivania Jiménez murdered in her clothing store in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Mr. Volz was arrested and charged with her murder, despite alibi placing him in Managua at time of murder.

February 14, 2007: Police officer testifies that Rosita Chamorro claimed Eric Volz and another foreigner participated in the murder.

Post-conviction: Friends and family launch "Free Eric Volz" campaign asserting his innocence, using social media and YouTube.

December 17, 2007: After 14 months in prison, Volz ordered released after appeals court overturns conviction. His passport and bail never returned.

Transcript-ish 12-10-23 (Summaries and Headings are my own to assist skimming)

Stuart Greaves: (abridged)

"I'm grateful this morning we have some announcements to make, just as a matter of wisdom and governance; given the growing size and complexity of the crisis. Along with legal counsel and the executive leadership team, I have decided to hand over the management of this crisis to the executive committee of our Board of Directors.

Handing it over to the executive committee will allow our leadership team to really focus again on the day-to-day of pastoring, leading, and bringing people into a place of healing and understanding – the job that we need to be doing. It's been very difficult to do our jobs as well as navigating these different dynamics.

Kurt Fuller Intro With that I would like to introduce Kurt Fuller. Kurt is the vice chair of our Board of Directors. You'll be seeing more of him in the days ahead, but Kurt has 35 years of military experience and tremendous experience in leadership, governance, and how to navigate very complex situations. He'll be helping give oversight to that process.

Eric Volz Intro I'd also like to introduce Eric Volz. Eric is the managing director of the David House Agency, an international crisis resource agency that is widely recognized by the New York Times. Eric has been involved in many high-profile crisis cases. I've appointed him to be the official spokesperson for IHOP-KC to begin making statements.

He's not a stranger to our community. I'll share a bit more about that in a few moments but he's a man of prayer who has a lot of experience managing complex, high stakes, emotional situations.

A Note on The Transition I've thought hard about this next statement I'm making. I've done my utmost best to lead this process. (Tremendous applause; many stand). (Stuart deflects to the ELT; gesturing); The executive leadership team has been a part of it the entire time. And I can say this on behalf of the team, that as it pertains to this situation, our conscience is clear. That's not a statement you make lightly, but our conscience is clear. I want to take a moment to pray and then have Eric take the microphone."

Eric Volz (takes mic):

Relating to the Community
"I know many of you feel this is an awkward, surreal situation having an outside spokesperson introduced. I understand it may feel uncomfortable. While I'm here in a professional role, I do have a personal connection to this ministry.

Over the years I've built relationships here and been part of historical moments. So while strange to be up here as a spokesperson, it is an honor to serve your leadership and this community. I take it very seriously.
Having faced trauma and false accusations myself in the past, I can identify with the alleged victims. When I was wrongfully imprisoned at 27, Jesus found me and I dedicated my life to Him.

My Background
When I was in prison, our Lord Jesus found me. I dedicated my life to him and became free. Behind bars, I found myself thrust into this international crisis of politics, private interests, dishonest journalists, media frenzies, a corrupt judicial system, White House back room meetings, and even a missile deal. My family and friends fought tirelessly for me, amidst the emotions, exhaustion, contextual drivers, peripheral issues, waves of trauma, and fear.

I'm sure a lot of you have felt that in the last couple weeks, watching people that don't even know you debate about who you are in the media...

The Power of One Post/Tweet

How one social media post can change everything in a narrative, when millions of people believe one thing about a case and millions believe the exact opposite about the same case, but there's only one truth. How does that happen?

David House Formation

After my experience, it led to what today is called the David House Agency. We specialize in solving complex matters and have had the honor to work around the world on matters ranging from international adoption and custody disputes, parental kidnapping cases, protecting the persecuted Church, freeing pastors from wrongful imprisonment, combating human trafficking. We work with some of the largest law firms in the world and regularly involve trauma specialists and therapists for aftercare and guidance.

One time our team flew to the Middle East 20 times in 24 months to free a Chinese American couple that were wrongfully imprisoned, and that case alone was featured in The New York Times over 12 times. The complexities of some of these crises are beyond my comprehension, but the Lord is faithful and he will bring relief.

So my point isn't to impress with a resume, it's just to communicate that I've been here in different ways before and I can honestly tell you that in some ways I feel like I can identify with all sides of this.

Crisis Management Approach
As a crisis manager, my role is to support leaders in getting to the heart of matters - not to "clean up" messes. I made clear I will only participate in an honest, thorough, Christ-honoring pursuit of truth.
I aim to provide recommendations, not make decisions. I will communicate on the organization's behalf with utmost integrity and honor. That background should bring common ground between us as I now get to work.

Objectivity Matters
As a quick illustration, a bad detective starts with a theory then finds facts to support it, whereas a good detective looks at facts/evidence to inform conclusions. The bad detective often reaches false accusations. So facts matter, as does the sequence examined.

Timeline:

• October 24th - A group of men claiming to represent alleged victims present a complete set of allegations against Mike Bickle, including a 26-year-old sexual abuse allegation.
• October 26th (Within 48 hours) - The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) meets with Mike Bickle and asks him to step away to examine the facts and verify the allegations.
• October 28th (Friday) - The ELT makes the allegations public on stage for the first time, marking a before and after for the community.
• October 29th - An Advocate Group releases a written statement deeming the allegations credible and longstanding. Media headlines about the allegations spread globally.
• November 5th - The ELT announces having engaged the law firm Stinson LLP to conduct an impartial examination of the allegations. This is less than 2 weeks after the formal allegations were presented.
• November 10th - The ELT announces they will not proceed with Stinson after backlash. Instead, they engage a local attorney to interview the alleged victims.
• The Advocate Group demands the ELT hire the investigative firm GRACE, but the main victim's lawyer works for GRACE, disqualifying them. Pressure for the ELT to hire GRACE continues while the ELT reassesses options.
• Attorneys conduct an internal review of allegations based on information from the Advocate Group.
• November 16th - A report on the initial findings of the internal review is published (not an exoneration).
• November 22nd - The ELT announces engaging with additional third party investigator candidates.
• December 10th - IHOPKC engages a new third party to conduct an independent investigation.

Elaboration
On that Tuesday, a group of men claiming to represent alleged victims presented a complete set of allegations for the first time, including details of a sexual abuse allegation from 26 years ago against Mike Bickle.
Within 48 hours, the executive leadership team met with Mike and asked him to step away to allow examination of facts and verification of allegations. This was the appropriate action.
I say "step away" rather than "step down" since Mike has not formally been part of this organization for almost 3 years. He was not on staff or the org chart. I aim to be precise given much assumption and nuance causing confusion. Formal allegations arrived Tuesday, and Mike was benched within 48 hours. None of you have seen him since.

Stinson LLP

The Advocate Group released a written statement stating that they had found allegations of clergy sexual abuse by Mike Bickle to be credible and longstanding. That same day, the media picked up the story and the headline ran around the world within 24 hours. Two days after that, on October 29th Sunday, the IHOPKC leadership team (ELT) announced that they were engaged with outside parties to help assess the situation. Just one week later, following Sunday November 5th, the ELT announced that they had engaged Stinson LLP to conduct an impartial examination of the allegations. That was less than 2 weeks after formal allegations were presented to IHOPKC.

How One Post Took Down Stinson

One post on social media claiming that Stinson was actually a threat to the alleged victims started a conversation that, with all due respect, was ill-informed. It's probably the primary reason we're having this conversation here today. One social media post had that effect. Stinson is a national law firm who's recognized for their work representing victims of sexual abuse, but that fact seemed to be overlooked.

The Advocate Group also communicated a lack of trust, and so knowing that they would likely not participate, less than a week later on November 10th the ELT announced that they would not be proceeding with Stinson. Instead, they engaged a local attorney who was going to start with the simple step of interviewing alleged victims.

This local attorney was known in the IHOPKC community, she's well respected in the legal community, she's extremely professional, and she was involved in the founding of an anti-human trafficking organization. But The Advocate Group and people associated with The Advocate Group complained that this local attorney could not be impartial.

Advocacy Group Demands Internal Investigation

The Advocate Group, on that Tuesday the 24th (the day that complete allegations were formally presented from The Advocate Group), actually demanded that the ELT hire "GRACE" to conduct an internal investigation. But then IHOPKC later discovered that the main alleged victim was using the founder of GRACE, who is currently a primary board member of GRACE, as her private attorney. This immediately disqualified 'GRACE' as a candidate to conduct an impartial investigation.

ELT Conducts Internal Review of Allegations

So the ELT, they went back to the drawing board. Meanwhile they're being bombarded by emails, text messages, accusations - I mean a crisis. Ironically, when I first came here I was shocked at how busy all of you are. I thought in my mind it's an intercessory ministry, but you guys are so busy doing good work. So imagine three additional full-time jobs on the ELT. Now again, the feelings and questions about what the ELT was or wasn't doing during this time are understandable. It was extremely challenging for them to know what to share, when to share, what they could share. And this did lead to an information void that was filled with a narrative that came from the outside. (ed note; this was significantly damaging and remains so).

Attorneys Examine Allegations While Crisis Unfolds

While all this was happening, IHOPKC's attorneys conducted their own examination of the allegations based on the information that had been provided to them by The Advocate Group. Let me just give an analogy - imagine someone comes to your house, knocks on the door, and tells you you have to replace your roof and here's the contractor you have to use. Obviously you would say, well can I at least verify there's a leak first?

This organization has a sovereign right to verify there's a leak. We're not opposed to replacing the roof, but can we just verify there's a leak? That was the dynamic during that time period. And that's why the ELT wisely engaged attorneys to conduct an internal review.

Initial Findings So on November 16th, a report on initial findings was published. I want to repeat - it was simply a report on initial findings. It's not in any way an exoneration of Mike Bickle. It was just an examination of the information that had been provided at that time. If any of you have not read it, I would encourage you to go and read it today. You can find it on the IHOPKC website. (ed note: I must acknowledge that I have personally verified some of the claims made here. Specifically, certain women were added to the open letter without their consent or permission. Understandably, they have expressed dismay and frustration at being unwillingly included on this list. Despite their public objections, the Advocate Group has yet to provide any explanation or apology for this careless and inappropriate decision. The voluntary participation and enthusiastic support of all signees is essential for the letter's message and purpose. By failing to obtain and validate full consent, the Advocate Group has regrettably diluted their efforts and lost credibility in the process.)

Outside Investigation Less than a week after the report on findings was published, the ELT announced that they were engaging with additional third parties who would be candidates to come in and do an outside investigation. IHOPKC's attorneys even traveled to Washington DC to interview one of the investigative firms that everyone online was demanding be hired. So to be fair, what may have appeared to be slow rolling or an act was really a slow moving process and actually is just the reality of the workload, the time it takes to properly assess these service providers, the way they work, their terms of engagement. There are very real costs involved with this process. A lot of this is unprecedented for this organization – it can even take easily a week just to get one of these contracts signed.

A Note on the Pace at the Time It's important to note for me, especially as a believer, that acting with wisdom and integrity sometimes prevents you from moving really fast, as fast as everyone wants you to go. And I can say from what I've seen, your Executive Director Stuart Greaves has been cautious, prudent, measured, very fair, maybe even too fair, and that has not been easy. It has even led to many to believe in false allegations against him. So again, we realize the communication during that time maybe wasn't what everyone had wanted, but I hope that providing you with even just this basic summary could bring a little bit of clarity.

A Note on the Independent Investigators

Now I have some good news; today is December 10th and I'm naming dates because all the investigators online are going to be picking all this apart. Today is December 10th and IHOPKC has engaged a new third party to conduct an independent and impartial investigation. One more time – IHOPKC has engaged a new third party to conduct an independent and impartial investigation.

Elaboration What does that mean? Let me tell you a little bit about this firm. The firm has extensive experience conducting independent investigations into high-profile cases across the KC metro area, including cases of clergy abuse allegations. They are highly sought after due to the skill and thoroughness by which they conduct investigations. And I think most importantly in this case, they are completely independent. They have no known ties or connections to IHOPKC leadership, staff, alleged victims or advocates. I believe they can conduct a fair, thorough and impartial investigation.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission
IHOPKC and its Board of Directors are developing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This will include an advisory panel of outside leaders and a thorough examination of everything that's happened.
More details on this initiative will be shared publicly soon. But from what I've seen that the Board has voted on, IHOPKC cares deeply about sound oversight, accountability, and improvement. Crisis reveals opportunities for growth and learning. I can say your ELT and Board are not only willing, but eager to make improvements.
Path Forward
I know there are many outstanding questions and things people want to understand better. We will aim to address as many of those as possible in the coming days through various communication channels.
This crisis has permeated the entire IHOPKC community - working relationships, friendships, businesses, and households. What many are experiencing are normal reactions to an abnormal situation. Though difficult, these feelings are also temporary. Time and the Lord's sovereignty will provide perspective and clarity.
It's important to communicate feelings respectfully and not internalize things - this will help the community stay healthy and minimize long-term damage. In this case, God loves this spiritual family too much to not reveal truth, whatever that may be.
A Call to Prayer
On behalf of IHOPKC, I ask for patience as this process unfolds properly and responsibly. For members of this community, we must keep doing what you all do so well - pray. Regardless of perspectives on this situation, there is a spiritual battle requiring unity and perseverance. This too shall pass, and it is going to be okay."

Additional detail (added by ed.) The Eric Volz Story

When Eric Volz had his conviction overturned after a year in a Nicaraguan prison for a murder he did not commit, his journey was only beginning in some ways. As an American wrongfully imprisoned abroad, his story garnered international attention. Upon returning home, he was soon approached by families of others locked up overseas under dubious circumstances, seeking guidance on how to navigate the tangled politics and bureaucracies standing in the way of their loved ones’ freedom.

Having lived through the excruciating helplessness firsthand, Volz felt compelled to act. Behind bars, he had experienced the full force of false accusation that can ensnare the innocent and wreck lives. His own family and friends had fought tirelessly for his release, enduring trauma along the way; Volz knows the pain and complexity these other families were facing, and In the aftermath of his exoneration, Volz launched an organization to advocate for accused foreigners denied due process abroad. He uses his hard-won knowledge and platform to try bringing wrongfully convicted citizens back home.

Having navigated the disorienting maze of legal battles, political pressures, and media storms himself, he helps guide families through the surrounding quagmire of “politics, media frenzies, a corrupt judicial system” etc obstructing their relatives’ cases. Drawing on his supporters’ perseverance and his faith through during his own incarceration, his mission is now to support others on this arduous road.