Former IHOPKC crisis manager finds himself in crisis of poor judgement, many observe
Eric Volz spins IHOPKC defense of Bickle tale to Eric Metaxas, joins Joni Lamb, accused of covering sex abuse, all to promote his own cause.
Donning his trademark blue shirt, IHOPKC’s infamous, now former, crisis manager, Eric Volz, aka The Whippersnapper, reemerged recently with appearances on two shows, which displayed what many audiences viewed as poor judgement calls, at best. The Whippersnapper, however, appeared to view his personal cause as more important than anyone’s objections, regardless of who he might harm along the way.
In keeping with IHOPKC pseudo-theology, dubbed here as the Spirit of Double Down, Volz did just that—doubled down on what abuse advocates saw as stunningly poor choices for media appearances, and even going as far as rudely retorting to Julie Roys of The Roys Report (TRR). But let’s hit reverse and park on Memory Lane for a moment, to see why, and Dr. Dénouement’s mom used to say, the end does not justify the means.
Returning to Memory Lane
If you have been under a rock this week, old Dr. Dénouement (who actually is being forced to share her Very Old Birthday with Tom the Turkey this year) has you covered. Here are your Journalism 5Ws:
WHO: Eric (Whippersnapper) Volz: Former Crisis Manager of IHOPKC who declared, upon his Feb. 1 departure, the ministry was “transitioning out of crisis mode,” and proceeded to rebuke anyone who did not understand his “crisis manager speak” and why that was not akin to “the crisis is over,” especially when Tammy Woods appeared in under a week with a bombshell of a story which shook the ground like the buried fault line that rocked Los Angeles on Jan. 17, 1994, making Dr. Dénouement leave the Southland.
WHAT: Appeared on Eric Metaxas’ podcast, and on Daystar-TV with Joni Lamb. The former, an ardent Bickle supporter, defending him immediately, and who also is a fiercely right-leaning political figure. The latter, accused of covering up the child sexual abuse of a family member. Volz appeared on these shows because he is promoting Justicia Para Doris, or Justice for Doris, which is an effort, he says to bring about genuine justice for his murdered and raped ex-girlfriend.
WHERE: The events to which Volz refers, of course, happened in Nicaragua is where he was imprisoned for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend Doris Jimenez, a conviction which was later overturned.
WHEN: While Volz has not commented to those from IHOPKC asking him questions, such as Dr. Dénouement’s question this week regarding whether this YouTube excerpt a reader sent was accurate, he does say that he is attempting to find justice, and has been for years.
WHY: I mean, this is usually the biggest question with The Whippersnapper, isn’t it? Why, Whippersnapper, just why? But he selectively chooses to reply.
The taxing Metaxas spectacle
“False accusations and faith” was the bold title, the veiled—or not so veiled—accusation that the infamous Whippersnapper, aka Eric Volz, managed to hoist and hold midair against IHOPKC victims of abuse, as he told his own story again of being falsely accused of crime in Latin America.
While Volz is seemingly returning to his own quest for justice for his murdered and raped ex-girlfriend (and this newsletter is not here to address that), Dr. Dénouement does not appreciate Volz attempting to insert new opinions into the IHOPKC situation, and especially by way or spiritualizing the cases by literally demonizing it, while using everything from Israel (you can stop with that one already) to pretending no one was “allowed” to say certain words, to changing his story.
Therefore, instead of focusing solely on his quest to find this justice he claims to seek, The Whippersnapper appears with Metaxas—a man already disgraced by his manipulative use of Bonhoeffer’s name and his support of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection—and instead of staying focused on what he purports to care about, Volz’s cry for justice drowns in the echoes of… well, other cries for justice.
Over here where Dr. Dénouement is not trying to sell her book from a fancy press—where she would place big money bets on the fact the acclaimed crime editor, Charlie Spicer, who edited his book for St. Martin’s Press, did a lot of editing, since she has seen Volz’s writing. Either way, she acknowledges the value of the story and the pedigree of the press, and while she is not trying to woo any fancy pants publishers, if you represent said fancy press, do feel free to call because she doesn’t hold anything back and requires far less editing). As Volz oozes ooey gooey humility (which isn’t), it’s easier than a peasy to see behind what The Whippersnapper failed to veil anyway, but let’s take a peek.
Now anyone keen to the IHOPKC story of sexual abuse allegations against founder Mike Bickle, said to have begun years before the launch of the prayer ministry and church—but to have continued years into the tenure of the organization as well—knows that what used to be a somewhat revered temple of holiness is now seen more as a den of iniquity.
While Volz worked for IHOPKC for a whopping three months, during which he announced—while wearing a blue shirt of course—that IHOPKC was “immediately, formally and permanently” from Bickle, he also appeared to offer some assent to the allegations made by Jane Doe. He certainly wasn’t kind about them. Few can dismiss the way he went right on YouTube and in an interview with his pastor Tyler Feller, spinning his work at IHOPKC as a yeoman’s labor of love, a divine and daunting task which was oh-so-worth it. It was in this interview that he also revealed he had been informed of the allegations a full five months prior.
Thus, this past week, as The Whippersnapper proudly posted his interview with Bickle defender Eric Metaxas (who even Bonhoeffer's family and an organization committed to continuing the theologian’s legacy, have disavowed), it felt disingenuous to most IHOPKC-affiliated people.
The Eric and Eric Aggrandizement Meetup netted some of the expected and some of the disturbing:
The Whippersnapper wears a blue shirt
He hints that the IHOPKC accusations are connected to "Hamas attacking Israel."
He posits that the alleged Bickle victims that spoke up after he left were potentially part of “demonic stuff” and says he “never saw” abuse. (Dear readers, this is one of those moments in which Dr. D longs to use eye roll emojis in her posts)
He speaks in Bickle-isms. Volz says two phrases that are classical Bickle phrases, as he comments that lawmakers in DC “really helped peel back the onion for me,” and the old “Lord just supernaturally put me in Checkmate.”
NOTE: There must be an onion peeling and spiritual checkmate or you didn’t really spend time in Kansas City listening to Bickle. [Used the onion metaphor: check. Used the chess metaphor: Check. Wait. Checkmate?]
Volz announced his appearance on the show, and was met with a reply from Susan Tuma of the Metaxas tweet in November of 2023, in which he defended Bickle against his sex abuse allegations—something he has never taken back.
Despite Volz saying the interview explored “the depths” of several topics, it was only 34 minutes, and launched into IHOPKC around 31 minutes, which is where The Whippersnapper began his unfortunate speech after Metaxas asks if Volz wants to comment on Bickle (ums and uhs omitted, emphasis added):
VOLZ: You know, I had never seen a case like that before. Honestly, I don't think anyone who's being honest has seen a case like that before. You know, I thought it was very unfortunate that no one was really allowed to talk about the fact that this all seemed to happen right around the time that, you know, Hamas invaded Israel. Again I'm not taking away from any credibility of some of the allegations; it's just the spiritual activity that was flying around in the IHOP case was undeniable. Now again the sort of cancel culture that's coming to the church—we're not allowed to talk about that because it's offensive to people. You know, it was almost like if we even asked questions or did anything except blindly believe the allegations it was considered gaslighting and not trauma informed.
[DR. DÉNOUEMENT: Yes, you are. Well, you are trying to take away from the credibility of the allegations. And you are trying to manipulate listeners into thinking it’s a con job. It certainly appears that you are calculatingly using far right leaning, emotionally-charged rhetoric , which is generally reserved for people like Ryan Walters in Oklahoma and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania. Words and phrases like cancel culture, and woke, are designed to distance the behavior of the actor from the sin, grievance, or evil of the act. But it doesn’t work. Do not play Rhetoric with a teacher of rhetoric.]
And, by the way, most would recommend not playing Rhetoric with a survivor of abuse.
-Tammy Woods speaks out to The Whippersnapper-
Dr. Dénouement was rather surprised to hear Volz comment about some of the accusations on the Metaxas show, especially the one following, due to the fact that he had posted comments to the contrary. Tammy Woods was only a week into age 14 and in middle school when Bickle began his alleged abuse of her, which changed the trajectory of her future. Woods’ story broke within days of Volz declaring his job at IHOPKC was complete and the mega-ministry was transitioning out of crisis mode. In fact, the crisis mode had entered a new level.
Woods, then, had much to say this week regarding The Whippersnapper’s snap opinions of her and of the entire situation:
“I strongly disagree that there was an expectation for everyone to blindly believe the allegations made against Mike Bickle and the IHOPKC ministry. As victims finding our agency, we joined the mass appeal a year ago for a proper third-party investigation so that no one would have to blindly believe any of our stories. This appeal by advocates and victims alike, for a formal investigation fell on deaf ears for months, and the posture doggedly held by several waves of IHOPKC leadership during the last year has most assuredly been riddled with gaslighting and the opposite of trauma-informed.”
Indeed, Woods’ observations echo what most of the non-double downers have cried out for months—or years if we’re to listen to voices of students at IHOPU or young people in ministry who were not dealing with “big names” but were, nonetheless, dealing with abuse and cast aside. (Dr. Dénouement was roommates with one person who experienced this while living in Kansas City, as a matter of fact, and has more stories in her noggin from myriad experiences, people, and situations than even a single book could hold. So when a whippersnapper of any sort utters such lines, she takes the philosophy learned in those “humanist” PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree programs and applies them on a practical level. There is a lot to apply here because Volz is still talking; after all, his audience is sympathetic.
VOLZ: But it was a really, really hard case, and I will say, I'm the only person that actually was able to interview Mike, and I spent six hours with him over the course of several meetings initially. Obviously there's been some new women who have come forward in the press, but personally when I was there, I never actually saw evidence of spiritual or sexual abuse at IHOPKC.
[DR. DÉNOUEMENT: Well, listen, Whippersnapper, were you expecting someone to invite you over and play a recording of the time he abused Woman A? Or perhaps share documents of a timeline with Woman B? Of course you didn’t see evidence of sexual abuse! You were there to manage the crisis and make it look bleached and sanitized. While no one seemed to think you did that very well, absolutely no one should be stunned you didn’t see evidence of rape, molestation, assault, and abuse. Duh. Just duhhhhhhhh.]
VOLZ: Again, you know I was there for three months. My understanding is there are new allegations that have come forward, and I'm not involved or privy to those documents if there are, but I think that's a really tragic situation that could have been avoided. And again, we don't know the details, but you can see how demonic stuff gets in there, and before you know, you're dealing with things…things just aren't clear and aren't straight, and things get twisted.
[DR. DÉNOUEMENT: It certainly could have been avoided. It’s called keeping your hands—and other parts to yourself. This is a principle that is taught in Pre-K or Kindergarten. Generally, people who do this until they are given consent otherwise, do not find themselves with numerous accusations. Certainly only a court of law, civil and/or criminal, will render a judgment on this. But let us be clear, sir, the avoidance of this tragedy was not the origination of the allegations in close to 100% of all cases, ever.]
Before we return to Woods’ specific response to Volz here, let’s look at what Volz said in response to Woods’ story when it appeared in the Kansas City Star on Feb. 7 of this year, just seven days after the announcement from Volz that IHOPKC was transitioning out of crisis mode:
Woods acknowledges a bit of Volz’s assertion, however, though not quite in the same manner as he does. After all, as a Christian woman and leader in the prayer movement, she certainly believes spiritual activity is real—but not as a hall pass to Satan for every sin and crime. She told Dr. Dénouement:
“I agree with Mr. Volz that ‘demonic stuff got in there’ and we ARE dealing with twisted and unclear things; dare I say, copious amounts of word salads, deceptions, manipulations and vile cover-ups for decades.
“As someone who led in the prayer movement for almost two decades and who believes in the unseen “stuff,” I find the reference of timing and implied comparison of the clergy sexual abuse allegations against Mike Bickle and others in the IHOPKC ministry to the Hamas attack on Israel to be an outlandish and vile implication. It smacks of the “black horse prophecy” deceptive rhetoric.
“Let’s be clear, the exposure brought to Mike Bickle and IHOPKC is not a brutal attack by a demonically charged enemy such as Hamas. Rather, Holy Spirit empowered victims of sexual, emotional and spiritual abuse are finding our agency in God’s grace and finally telling our stories and finding our path to freedom. And as we do, Jesus Himself is answering the very prayers prayed on the altar of the Global Prayer Room for years: ‘Shine Your light, Jesus’; ‘Let justice roll down’; ‘Shake everything that can be shaken.”
And He’s just getting started. I find it baffling, therefore, that in an hour when Jesus is flipping over the tables in His church once again, making straight what has been twisted, and faithfully answering the cries of the oppressed, that Mr. Volz and Mr. Metaxas would undiscerningly credit the enemy.
Undiscerningly credit the enemy. Woods covers a whole lot in a simple sentence. Of course, Woods is extremely discerning.
Further, that Volz doesn’t grasp the rationale behind Jane Doe as a common victim name and continually mentioned this, even while at IHOPKC, was troubling even then. This is especially true when “Jane Doe” is a common name assigned for victims of sex crimes in the United States for a variety of reasons. That a man running an agency whose services include “public relations” and “crisis management” do not know this well enough to not criticize it is in itself a troubling fact.
“When Jane Doe came forward a year ago, she was grievously gaslit, blamed and canceled in the “cancel culture” Mr. Volz references. When my story broke in the KC Star last February, Mr. Volz and IHOPKC leadership issued a public statement saying they believed me; why, because I used my real name? I assure you, had I used ‘Jane Doe #2,’ my story of abuse would have been just as legitimate and the rape just as real. It is statistically proven that only [a very small number] of sexual abuse claims are false, and if someone like Jane Doe with a history of proven character came forward with a story of horrendous abuse by her pastor, she deserved to be believed and given the honor of a sincere investigation instead of gaslighting and victim blaming.
“We had the same predatory abuser, same patterns of grooming, manipulation and control used on us, [and the] same Jesus sustaining and freeing us, just different names.”
Let’s be clear here: Dr. Dénouement is no scholar of Latin American politics, Mr. Snapper, but she is a pretty decent judge of character, and she didn’t see much of that on display as you managed to use your story to somehow turn the stories of anyone who came forward about Mike Bickle after you left into false accusations. So let’s get this straight, Whippersnapper. This is what we call—in North, South—and, yes, even Central America—no bueno.
If you so desire, you may watch his interview here, which he reposted on his own site:
- A postscript on Metaxas -
A disturbing theme emerges lately in which politics and religion flow into the same river, and it’s a polluted one. Metaxas was well-regarded for a while there, before Donald Trump went from a man running for the 45th president of the United States to an almost cult-like figure, to the losing candidate for the 46th president and a figure in the capitol insurrection. There we saw religious leaders become political uprisers who fanned a flame that Jesus would not have called the Holy Spirit no matter how many times they waved a flay shaped like a dove or a fire.
Metaxas is one of those flame-throwers of course. A friend of Bickle’s, biographer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and proud proclaimer of insurrection, he stirred up the subject of his own bestselling book—the family of Bonhoeffer—to tell him to clam it. What an indictment.
Please read this statement (scroll down for the English version); it’s scathing. Additionally, in October, when the aforementioned statement was published, Religion News also reported:
A group of Bonhoeffer scholars — and the theologian’s descendants — have had enough. In a statement issued Friday (Oct. 18) members of the International Bonhoeffer Society called on Metaxas and others to stop comparing the current election to the rise of the Nazis. The statement, in particular, called out Metaxas for social media posts featuring a gun and a Bible and his support of Jan. 6 rioters.
“This portrayal glorifies violence and draws inappropriate analogies between our political system and that of Nazi Germany,” the scholars said in a statement, which has been signed by more than 800 Bonhoeffer scholars and other Christian leaders. “It is a dangerous misuse of Bonhoeffer’s life and lessons, particularly in this election season in the United States.”
The scholars and relatives of Bonhoeffer also objected to the mention of Bonhoeffer’s work in Project 2025, a controversial plan from the Heritage Foundation and other Trump supporters, which has been criticized for promoting Christian nationalism.
And Volz seems right on board in supporting anything from this camp: (story link from picture here):
Volz has made alignments with extreme right-leaning politics with his Malachi O’Brien (IHOPKC board member) and Greg Locke, pastor in TN who was part of the Jan. 6 insurrection. He certainly needs Department of State connections if he hopes to do any international work as far as finding help in Latin America. The latest news seems to show that while his conviction was overturned, that was appealed (though it shouldn’t be allowed under Nicaraguan law) and open. It is hard to fathom he would ever step foot in the country, but doing so without friends in DC would be pretty dumb, even for a Whippersnapper. On the Daystar show, however, he praises the high level Democrats who helped him. Imagine not making every single thing ever about being red or blue. Just imagine.
Closing a chapter in Nicaragua—or writing a sequel?
The Whippersnapper appears to be jumping on the media circuit again because of the death of “one of Doris’s killers” in June of this year and his desire to bring about full justice by weaving together the whole story. Fine. Since his entire identity and even celebrity status has been shaped by this, Dr. Dénouement honestly wishes him no harm on the front of doing so. However, she wishes his mouth a clamp on the topic of drawing conclusions about IHOPKC and Bickle—and his alleged victims. He is 45. That would make him a 1-year-old baby still in diapers, likely not even walking yet when Woods was that middle school girl who met Bickle and began babysitting Luke and Paul. Commenting on what Bickle did or did not do in 1980 because he spent a whole six hours with him in 2023-2024 is simply not appropriate. [Full stop]
Journalist Julie Roys, with whom many of Dr. Dénouement’s readers were familiar even before reading this newsletter, called out The Whippersnapper on Monday for his appearance on Daystar-TV. If you were busy with life, as Dr. Dénouement was with her full time day job, and missed the exceedingly devastating news about Daystar-TV (which you likely correctly assumed is not something she watches), then you also may have missed The Whippersnapper’s poorly planned partnership with another accused sex abuse cover up.
This newsletter was intended to publish before this, but upon seeing the Daystar story and Volz’s appearance, then the necessary retrieval of Dr. Dénouement’s jaw from the ground, it grew apparent that editing (with no Charlie Spicer to assist) was necessary.
TRR published a comprehensive piece on the horrifying child sexual abuse accusations of the Daystar family member. Reading before or during eating is not recommended; turning off Daystar is, however. The Whippersnapper, of course, insists his mission for investigating his ex-girlfriend’s actual murderer—from almost two decades ago—is somehow so timely right this minute—he apparently absolutely positively had to do that interview.
In the TRR report, we learn: “Joni claimed that God had told her while she was praying that ‘Pete’ was innocent, [and] Marcus reportedly clapped his hands in joy, and the rest stood dumbfounded.” This is reminiscent of a charismatic rationale many use to justify anything from outright sin to plain old poor decisions. No one can really argue with the old “God said,” after all.
So Volz plays the God card with Roys to justify his appearance with Joni Lamb on Daystar right as the exposure of covering up sex abuse accusations of a child have been revealed (this was a live show). Roys calls him out. His response is about as predictable as anyone associated with Bickle and IHOPKC—and one who quotes convicted sex abuser Donald Trump as well: He insults Roys.
According to the JusticiaParaDoris website, the English version posted says in part:
In June 2024, nearly 18 years later, one of Doris's killers, Julio Martín Chamorro, was secretly released from prison …On October 26, 2024, Julio passed away at his home in San Juan del Sur from aggressive gastric cancer….Eric Volz addressed the people of Nicaragua in a video on the matter and has called on the Nicaraguan government to open a new line of invvestigation [sic] into the unsolved crime.
Dr. Dénouement cannot help notice that while the stated goal here is to reopen the investigation, the summary, for example, as well as the topic on these shows, is resoundingly Whippersnapper-centered at every turn.
And finally, it’s also notable that now that The Whippersnapper has launched this new angle to his investigation he has merged this personal quest with his professional one—despite some asking if this is a conflict of interest. The Justice for Doris site has prominently placed notices on each page that say:
“This campaign is under the direction of The David House Agency.”
Then again, is anyone really surprised that the common denominator in all of this is David?
I’ve only just started reading, and chuckling because my initial reaction was “because he did such a great job the first time around!” and here you are reacting pretty much the same! Plus, you have a great sense of humor. The irony of everything.
Am I reading this right? Volz is still defending Bickle, and is siding with Joni Lamb? The former case is particularly befuddling, since it was Volz who was tasked with making the former IHOPKC announcement that Bickle was gone altogether.