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Showing posts with the label IHOP

A Peculiar Way

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Sometimes when God leads us to do something, the outcome doesn’t go as planned. This weekend, my friend Gretchen and I attempted a road trip from Minnesota to Texas. We both prayed before leaving and perceived this was God’s will. The original plan was for us to stay a few days with an intercessor who lives outside Dallas.  While checking my text messages in Missouri, I found out the intercessor doesn’t allow dogs in her home. Gretchen had brought along her chihuahua. Nevertheless, we continued our trip since Gretchen has a daughter in Austin she could stay with. Hours later, Gretchen received an emergency phone call from her parents. It became necessary for us to turn around and return to Minnesota.   This wasn’t a wasted trip from an eternal perspective. Gospel tracts were handed out along the way. One recipient was a McDonald’s employee in Kansas City who had to bring our order out in the rain. She still prayed with me to receive salvation. Jesus said in Luke 15:10,  “...

Pancakes and Prayer

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I figured this would happen sooner or later. The Kansas City-based ministry IHOP (International House of Prayer) has been sued by the other IHOP…the International House of Pancakes for trademark dilution and infringement. The California-based restaurant chain claims it made several attempts to persuade the ministry to change their name to avoid confusing the public. The lawsuit was prompted by the ministry’s expansion plans plus some of their branches are now serving food (it’s actually a coffee shop called Higher Grounds that sells coffee and bagels…no pancakes). In one way, I'm a little more supportive of the restaurant. After all, they trademarked the initials IHOP 26 years before Mike Bickle founded International House of Prayer. Mike could settle this matter out of court by renaming the ministry to something like Worldwide House of Prayer. Other ministries have changed their names for various reasons. For example, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship was originally cal...