Charismatic pastor and bestselling “Crazy Love” author Francis Chan has finally apologized for his lengthy silence concerning fallen church leaders whom he once heartily endorsed.
In a 1,300-word statement released Friday, Chan also refused to name names and excused his reluctance by saying biblically, he’s supposed to be slow to speak.
“I know that my endorsements of leaders who have later fallen have added to the hurt and heartbreak experienced by the Body, and for this, I sincerely apologize,” Chan stated.
“I believe it is important and necessary for scandals to be exposed publicly. I just don’t see a biblical mandate for everyone to weigh in on them.”
A two-year wait
Chan, who leads the We Are Church house church network in San Francisco, has been associated with Mike Bickle, disgraced former leader of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC).
A third-party investigation last February found Bickle sexually abused 17 women over decades. In November 2023, Bickle was accused of using prophecy to sexually abuse a 19-year-old woman. Two more women came forward, saying Bickle groomed and sexually abused them beginning when they were 14 and 15.
Chan was also associated with now-discredited charismatic pastor Chris Reed.
And he served on the board for Gospel for Asia (GFA), which agreed in 2019 to refund $37 million to donors to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging rampant fraud. Chan made no apology Friday for defending GFA and his mentor, GFA founder K.P. Yohanan, even after the 2019 settlement.
The statement on his website titled, “Tremble at His Words, Be Careful with Your Own: A Public Apology for Careless Words I Have Spoken,” spells out that Chan no longer endorses Bickle. Chan said he’s been recently convicted by reading Matthew 12 to the point of “trembling” about his careless public words. He also apologized for the hurt that his past endorsement caused.
Chan also said that before the internet, leaders who once made endorsements weren’t expected to denounce their fallen brethren.
“Only in recent years has it become the expectation that everyone who ever publicly affirmed someone as a brother or sister must publicly denounce them if they fall,” he wrote.
Moreover, he didn’t want to draw more attention to disgraced leaders.
“I understand that some people see it as apathetic or irresponsible to refrain from commenting on these situations,” he wrote. “But I would ask you to consider that after issues have been disclosed about someone, there may be some of us who remain silent, not because we don’t care, but because we believe there is already too much focus and discussion about these people.”
But IHOPKC whistleblowers and advocates are saying Chan is simply making excuses for staying silent about abuse.
“He wasn’t asked to apologize, he was asked to support a public call for an investigation into his friend having sexually abused teenagers,” wrote Alyssa Degraff, IHOPKC advocate, on X. “Is that something you’re neutral about?”
Awen Dunning, an IHOPKC whistleblower, wrote of her frustration on X.
“Weak. Too late,” she posted on X. “I didn’t see an apology for all the times he covered for these guys when people were crying out in the streets. He called them gossip when they were asking for help.”
Chan also apologized for his comments in a sermon for a July 2021 Send conference, sponsored by IHOPKC. Chan called people “so foolish” for abandoning Bickle on the basis of negative rumors.
Chan said he was thinking of criticism circulating about Bickle’s prophetic and end-times theology.
“In light of everything that came out afterwards, I regret saying that, as I realize I could have discouraged people who had legitimate concerns or given the impression that silence is best when there is real abuse or unrepentant sin,” Chan stated.
Chan’s past connections to Bickle, other fallen leaders
The first time that Chan reportedly publicly endorsed Bickle was in the closing days of 2013 at IHOPKC’s uber-popular annual Onething conference in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
“I love Mike Bickle,” Chan declared to the crowd at the Bartle Hall Convention Center.
Last Friday, Chan’s elders for We are Church, wrote in a 2,400-word companion statement that Chan vetted Bickle before speaking there.
“The consistent testimony Francis received was that Mike was a man of strong character and deep devotion to Jesus,” the elders stated.
Elders Kevin Kim, Rob Zabala, Sean Brakey and Joe Moore offered a timeline of Chan’s associations with fallen leaders. They said they also looked into any concerns — usually theological in nature — about Bickle but found nothing too concerning.
“As we evaluated these concerns that were publicly available at the time, we did not see anything that warranted breaking the relationship with Mike or IHOP,” they stated.
Concerning the Send conference to which Bickle had invited Reed, Chan’s elders said they believed Reed’s prophecies were credible and also relied on IHOPKC’s endorsement of Reed. Chan seemed to defend Reed’s prophecies, in a sermon, urging people not to discredit prophets simply because they don’t believe in prophetic gifts. Over the years, people have used this clip to say Chan endorsed Reed. The elders denied this.
“(Chan) was attempting to stir faith in people in regard to prophecy, not issue a formal endorsement of Chris Reed,” the elders stated.
In 2024, Reed admitted to engaging in sexual misconduct in 2021, while preparing to become CEO of the South Carolina-based prophetic ministry MorningStar. In January of this year, some of Reed’s former friends released videos discrediting Reed’s ministry even more.
Chan’s elders stated Chan has been unaware of such wrongdoing when he’s made endorsements.
“Had credible information of that nature been known to him at that time, he would not have partnered with or endorsed these individuals in the way he did,” the elders stated.
But they acknowledged that Chan’s past endorsements gave erring leaders credibility.
“Francis sometimes spoke strongly in defense of certain leaders, particularly when seeking unity, which may have unintentionally overshadowed or minimized concerns from others,” the elders stated. “Looking back, we recognize that some sincere believers were raising legitimate questions. Those voices deserved to be heard more carefully. We are sorry for the confusion, hurt, and loss of trust that these situations have caused.”
The elders said that in 2021, Chan warned leaders at the Send conference to guard against pride, greed and sexual misconduct.
“Please don’t let me down,” Chan stated.
This shows Francis wasn’t “blindly” promoting them, the elders stated.
They also pointed out that in 2023, when Chan learned of sexual abuse allegations against Bickle, Chan got on a plane to confront him. However, Reed literally blocked Chan’s entry into Bickle’s home.
“From that moment, Francis refused speaking engagement requests from IHOPKC and immediately stopped endorsing Mike or the ministry of IHOPKC in any way,” the elders stated.
Chan wrote that he’s seen “hundreds” of leaders fall during his 40 years of ministry.
But he added, “(I)f I were to make public statements every time I was wrong about someone I once trusted, sadly, it would be a very, very long list.”
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