whatsup?: Michael Brown and Mike Bickel: Exposing the Lies and Revealing the Truth PART 4

Posted on Facebook by Ron Canter yesterday April 28, 2025

The team of elders revealed today by the Line of Fire Board for Dr. Brown did not include the promised trauma-informed counselor. A trauma-informed counselor would never have agreed with their conclusions—most notably, recommending that the survivors meet with their abuser. They need to speak to this.

This is a massive breach of trust. If there is anything we have learned in the past few years, it is that New Testament eldership today is not qualified to deal with allegations of sexual abuse on its own. We need qualified trauma-informed psychologists to help.

As more and more people ask this question, "What happened to the trauma-informed counselor?" hopefully, they will answer.

I would encourage them to submit their conclusions to a psychologist who has expertise in clergy sexual abuse, like @dkpooler or Diane Langberg.

("at least one" suggests that you might have two or three, not that you would have zero.)

Posted on Facebook by Ron Canter today

Bob Gladstone was one of the co-leaders for over a decade with Dr. Michael Brown at BRSM and FIRE. His words are stinging. They are powerful. Please read them.

The document released today by the Line of Fire was so awful that people told me they couldn't finish it because they were physically sickened or in shock, and others were enraged at the lack of compassion. They spent probably around $100,000 of donor funds to hire an investigator and then trashed his trauma-informed conclusions and came to their own uninformed ones. And, as Bob pointed out, while the LOF board promised at least one trauma-informed counselor, there were none.

Posted on Facebook by Bob Gladstone

My Initial Thoughts on the “Elder Accountability Team Recommendations” for Michael Brown

The report was basically what many of us expected, but for me, it was more disappointing than I thought it would be.

* The LoF board publicly stated that their “outside team of elders/leaders… will include at least one trauma informed counselor.” But none of the team listed on their report today included such clearly stated credentials. If one of the four men, or one woman, is in fact the trauma informed counselor, I find it odd that this was not mentioned clearly in his or her description. Instead, the team’s credentials include mostly leadership over ministry organizations, accomplishments and degrees in other fields, and books authored.

* If there is a trauma informed counselor among the Accountability Team (AT), I did not read his or her professionally informed comments about the way Michael Brown’s behavior, outlined in the Firefly report, would impact those mistreated—Sarah in particular. It actually seemed to avoid making such comments, even dismissing the need to, which, in my opinion, should actually have been one of their reasons for existence. How else can they really help Michael Brown and the larger church, unless they accurately assess what happened and how it was handled? They cannot help—and they did not help. Instead, the AT stated: “Our hearts go out to Sarah and her family along with the husband and family of [Kim] for the pain they have experienced.” Later the report insinuated that Sarah should have voiced her trauma sooner, without regard for the way these emotional injuries typically unfold in those wounded by powerful leaders. This does not seem trauma informed to me.

* However, if the failure to identify the “at least one trauma informed counselor” means that no one in fact filled that role, then the AT broke its word and set back its credibility right out of the gate. Only in that light, then, can we process their “opinion” that the Firefly investigator’s terminology was not valid. They switched the investigator’s conclusion of “sexually abusive misconduct” to “moral indiscretions” and “leadership misconduct.” They deemed their own chosen terminology “more accurate.” But again, it is confusing to me that they reached this conclusion without clearly stated expertise in such matters. The Firefly investigation was conducted by a professional investigator who specializes in sexual abuse investigations. This switch of terminology seemed totally out of order to me and lacked a compelling explanation.

* The Firefly report also concluded there was an attempted coverup: “It is believed that over the past 25 years, BROWN has deliberately deflected questions about allegations of sexual misconduct involving IS #1 and IS #2 Sarah. This pattern of deflection appears to be a calculated effort to evade accountability, suppress the allegations, and protect his ministry’s reputation. By maintaining silence and avoiding direct answers, BROWN has seemingly sought to shield himself from scrutiny, potentially enabling these stories to remain hidden and preserving his position within the ministry.” As one of Michael Brown’s co-leaders who was kept in the dark at the time, and as one who has talked to several of those who confronted him, I concur. Yet the AT concluded, “Dr. Brown has been repeatedly questioned about these two situations and has answered his interrogators consistently with honesty and remorse.” I cannot imagine how they came to this conclusion. It ignores the investigator’s conclusion, as well as the credible reports of changing stories and contradictory explanations to people who confronted MLB throughout the years. These are attested by several witnesses. Do all these people really have it out for this one man? They include former close friends, former family friends, former co-leaders, graduates from his ministry schools, former members of his church, and former employees. Did this many people who loved and favored Michael Brown at one point, some of whom followed him after a disastrous split and believed in his mission, now all simply join a satanic attack against him? In view of Scripture’s requisite two or three witnesses, that thought badly strains credulity.

* While the AT’s recommendations failed to account for the changing stories, it did emphasize the supposed isolated nature of the abuses. But as I have stated before, they were not isolated to the past. They continue with the victims’ pain and the alleged ongoing lies. In other words, in my opinion, the AT rewrote history regarding the original problem, calling it something they prefer and then isolating it to the past, and then they disregarded a very credible account of cover up. The Firefly report stated that one Fire leader was “forbidden” even to tell his wife what happened with Kim, which by itself should have set off alarms. Further, the rest of us leaders were completely uninformed of the details regarding Michael Brown’s need for a lengthy restoration, and therefore the local church’s need for well-being—not to mention the well-being of our families. How is all this not recognized, let alone emphasized, in the AT’s recommendations? To me, this is a definitive failure.

* The AT surprisingly endorsed the Browns’ way of handling Michael’s sins as biblical due process. But that is precisely what it was not. In their words, the Browns made “a sincere effort… to follow Biblical Due Process as those involved understood it.” But in fact, they had a biblical obligation to inform their local leadership team and church. That was non-negotiable. They simply failed to do this. The AT does admit that, “We believe not confiding in [the local team of elders] and seeking their forgiveness, spiritual understanding and support was unwise.” But this is a shockingly weak statement, and it reveals the root problem. Michael Brown needed more than personal reconciliation and a bit of encouragement from his church and leadership team. He needed their discipline, which was their responsibility, not his, nor that of his wife, nor that of the other couple. And he needed transparency, without which we could not have true fellowship nor a God-fearing resolution. So, in contrast to the AT’s statement that this was merely “unwise,” it was in fact a colossal failure that is now revealing itself. And the AT continues to make the same failure by ignoring this fact—even commending the Browns for the way they handled it. In my opinion, their report calls the problem the solution, and the solution the problem.

* I personally conclude that the recommendation report is the opposite of what it should be. I believe it insults the survivors, further injures them, ignores many who testify of Michael Brown’s coverup and lies, completely misjudges the need for public exposure, and then commends a man back into ministry while giving those he mistreated further pain. The injustice continues.

* Thankfully, more and more people in the church are waking up to these sad realities, lifting their voices, and working together to make things right.

—- END—-

https://youtu.be/NCynp-X8j44?si=VYyn0UOhuSUEtAZw

https://youtu.be/2G5qQ0R6mus?si=ApaowcaAJxjTJfKa

April 30, 2025 Update

Posyed by Joel Richardson on Facebook:

Public Statement on Dr. Michael Brown and the Line of Fire Board’s Response to the Firefly Investigation

As a brother in Christ, as a father of four daughters, and as a public figure committed to the Body of Christ, I feel I must address the very grave findings of the Firefly Independent Sexual Abuse Investigations report released on April 18, 2025 concerning Dr. Michael Brown and the profoundly inadequate response from the Line of Fire board. First, to be very clear, the Firefly report, despite its drastically incomplete nature, 100% confirms Brown’s sexually abusive misconduct with Sarah Monk and a sinful emotional relationship with a married woman in 2001-2002. Brown’s actions—hand-holding, kissing, and swatting a 19 year old young woman on the butt, his sexually explicit communications with a married woman—were deemed “inappropriate and unacceptable for his leadership position,” violating the trust and integrity a spiritual leader must uphold. In light of such harmful behavior now being dismissed, I cannot remain silent.

The Line of Fire board’s response is a slap in the face to the victims and to the Body of Christ. The Elder Accountability Team labeled Brown’s actions mere “leadership misconduct” and a “moral indiscretion,” claiming his “most fruitful days” lie ahead (Roys Report, April 28, 2025). This minimization disregards the profound damage done to Sarah, who literally fled Dr. Brown’s abuse, left the ministry broken, her faith shattered (Firefly, p. 18). Scripture demands leaders be above reproach (1 Timothy 3:2)—not exploiters who evade accountability. The board has ignored the testimonies of elders, staff, students, and whistleblowers who confronted Brown over decades, only to face deflection, half-truths, and intimidation—such as his instruction to keep allegations confidential as a “betrayal of confidence before God” (Firefly, p. 26-27). This is not the conduct of a shepherd but of one who prioritizes self-preservation over the flock.

I have known Jonathan Bernis for years and have held him in high regard, which makes my disappointment all the more acute. His failure to uphold integrity in this matter—particularly in endorsing Brown’s autobiography during the investigation—is a betrayal of trust. I appeal to him as a brother in Christ to repent and lead the board in acknowledging the Firefly findings with the seriousness they demand. Brown’s sins—confirmed as predatory—disqualify him from ministry leadership. Beyond this, Brown has inserted himself into numerous ministry scandals over the years, obscuring truth and even covering up severe abuses, including allegations of child rape. His pattern of lies, spiritual manipulation, and bullying—evidenced by his dismissive tone to me, “You have no clue, Joel! The truth will come out”—reveals a character unfit for spiritual authority. The truth has now emerged, and it demands action.

The board’s recommendations fall short, offering weak measures where the Firefly report calls for zero tolerance and robust policies to prevent sexual harassment (p. 28-29). I urge the Line of Fire board to retract their stance, bar Brown from ministry, and amplify the voices of Sarah, former elders, staff, and students who have spoken out. To Jonathan and the board, I call for repentance and a commitment to prioritize victims over reputation. To the wider Church, I implore men and women of integrity to stand for justice, holding fast to Ezekiel 34:1-10, where God condemns shepherds who harm the flock and promises to hold them accountable. Let us protect the wounded, restore trust, and honor God’s truth without compromise.

In Christ,

Joel Richardson

—- END —-

PART 1

http://enjoyingthejourney.blogspot.com/2025/04/michael-brown-and-mike-bickle-exposing.html

PART 2

http://enjoyingthejourney.blogspot.com/2025/04/michael-brown-and-mike-bickle-exposing_23.html

PART 3

http://enjoyingthejourney.blogspot.com/2025/04/michael-brown-and-mike-bickel-exposing.html

PART 4

http://enjoyingthejourney.blogspot.com/2025/04/michael-brown-and-mike-bickel-exposing_29.html

PART 5