[Note: Our Senior Advisory Team promised to get back to you after we met with Rachael Denhollander. And we also have a final update from the Coordination Team before the Firefly Investigative Report is released. We did not want to send you two updates, so we are combining both into this one message.]

Dear Friends,

Once again, we want to humble ourselves before you and acknowledge the pain that we caused to many in our email several weeks ago. We really want to do the right thing for victims of abuse and for all involved. But if we're honest, this has been a year of learning and discovery, and we’re not done.

A few days ago, we met with Rachael Denhollander and several others from the Advocacy Group. Our two-hour meeting was very fruitful, and Rachael was able to help us better understand where we have erred in some of our communication.

Update on the Investigation

Despite our missteps, we are pleased to share that Firefly has promised to release the final report on Monday, February 3. We will post the full, unedited, and unredacted report on our website as soon as we receive it.

We want to reiterate that while we at Tikkun facilitated the hiring of the investigator, we have had no influence at all nor any access to what the findings of the investigation will be. Every few weeks, Firefly reported the number of people that had reached out to them and the number of interviews they conducted. Beyond that, we don’t know anything. Firefly has conducted the investigation entirely from interviews. Those who requested confidentiality have received it. No one in Tikkun knows their identity—just the investigative team to vouch for their authenticity.

The Role and Make-Up of the Pastoral Recommendation Team (PRT)

When the investigator's findings are made public, the Pastoral Recommendation Team will get to work. The team is made up of three psychologists who specialize in the field of sexual trauma and four pastors with experience in adjudicating sinful situations among church leaders.

While the Tikkun team helped gather the members of the PRT, none of us will have any voice or vote in the recommendations. By design, none of the PRT members have any history of involvement with IHOPKC. The eight members of that team are Jerry Dirman, Mark and Nicki Pfeifer, Steve Prokopchak, Rich Nichol, Monica Mouer, Kim Vastine, and Wanda Morgan. We are so grateful to these men and women of God who are giving freely of their time, energy, experience, and discernment.

Each member will be making their recommendations on the basis of the investigator's report alone. Then, they will read the recommendations of the other members; and finally, the recommendations will be collated and harmonized for a final report. Dr. Wanda Morgan has agreed to do this work of organizing and collating. Our team will simply make sure that everyone is working according to schedule.

The PRT recommendations will be just that — recommendations. Neither do we at Tikkun nor the PRT have any organizational authority over IHOPKC. The recommendations will be made public. At that point the IHOPKC board, the Advocacy Group—or any other group for that matter—can use the recommendations as they see fit, or post their own commentary, agreement, or differing opinions. We see the PRT’s recommendations as a potentially significant contribution to a dialogue that can help bring a measure of healing to all impacted by this situation.

Tikkun Global and Dr. Michael Brown

We are very concerned about all allegations and sinful behavior on Dr. Brown's part. He has confessed that he was guilty of two inappropriate relationships with women. We feel the pain of those who had the courage to bring forth their allegations. We take them seriously.  

Dr. Brown spoke at IHOPKC on November 5, 2023, after it had been announced that an independent investigation was to begin. He urged those in the community with grievances to not "gossip" or speak about them on social media, but to take them to the investigators. Unfortunately, for many victims of sexual abuse, speaking out publicly is the only way they will ever obtain justice. Many in the advocacy world felt Dr. Brown stifled that.

As a result—especially since the allegations and confession of Dr. Brown came out—we sympathize with those in the Body of Messiah who became grieved by Mike Brown's message at IHOPKC and attempt at intervention.

We are hopeful that the investigation by Firefly and the Line of Fire board will bring greater clarity and righteousness to all involved. We, as Tikkun, have no jurisdiction or involvement in their investigation.

We reiterate that victims of sexual abuse quite often have no avenue of effective appeal other than to have their case made public, in whatever forum of exposure that is available, including social media. Only when they feel safe can their cases be dealt with by other processes.

Our hope is that this painful affair will, in time, produce a righteous process where victims can safely report abuse, and New Testament leadership will ensure that allegations are taken seriously and investigated. The days of protecting powerful leaders from answering for their misconduct must end. The New Testament congregation should be the safest place in society—not one where God’s children are at risk.

Tikkun Coordinating Team for the IHOPKC Investigation

Tikkun Global is a broad-based fellowship with a variety of viewpoints on many issues. We often disagree, sometimes strongly. The Tikkun IHOPKC Investigation Coordination Team is an ad-hoc team, which came together to facilitate a process in this sphere of IHOPKC only.

Our team has come into this complex situation with a desire to serve. We are not the investigator, not the recommendation team, and not the board. We are aware of the depth of the crisis before us. Many have been wounded.

Our plan has been from the beginning to reach out to all sides. The first stage was to make sure that everyone involved, especially victims and advocates, were heard and embraced. The second stage was to employ a professional third-party investigator to determine facts, neither understated nor overblown. The third stage is to have a team of psychologists and pastors review the investigation and make recommendations.

Thank God that the investigator's report is about to come out! May greater healing and life for all the people of God be released as we walk through this difficult time together.

In Yeshua's love,

Tikkun IHOPKC Investigation Coordination Team

Asher Intrater

Dan Juster

Ron Cantor

Melva Phelps

Richard Cleary

Tikkun Senior Advisory Team

Asher Intrater

Dan Juster

Ron Cantor

Eitan Shishkoff

Paul Wilbur

Ariel Blumenthal