International House of Prayer

Paper Two

Article

“Praying Perpetually to Save Society”

10/14/11

Lauryn Hreben

“Praying perpetually to save society” by Mitchell Landsberg is an article about the ‘new found worship’ of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) located in Kansas City. For twelve years IHOP has committed to 24-hour prayer, accompanied by Christian rock bands. IHOP represents a group with voluntary membership. The church also fulfills the functional requisites. With a parking lot of license plates representing 27 states and Mexico it is needles to say that they are able to replace members. They socialize members by introducing them to the music and sharing prayers. The service that IHOP produces and distributes is worship, and God’s word. They preserve order by having interns, students and staff (whom are housed in an IHOP apartment complex) commit to 25 hours a week at the church. They also have a leader, founding pastor Mike Buckle who represents an expressive leadership style. Lastly, IHOP provides a sense of purpose in that they are focused on seeking influence over “Seven Mountains” of secular power. This includes business, media and government, which they consider as realms that the devil is thought to have infiltrated. Ironically, before Rick Perry’s announcement for candidacy for the Republican presidency nomination, he held a pray meeting where IHOP played a central role. IHOP also streams their prayers on their website and television channels around the world. Personally I find this to be inconsistent of their values seeing that they believe there is evil in media and government.

Peter Montgomery, apart of the liberal advocacy program for People for the American Way has given his input on the goals and values of this group. He questions asking what if IHOP succeeds with their message, and how this could change society. The effect on equality among gays and women could change according to the church’s value system....