IHOP Lawsuit: Pancakes vs. Prayer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The International House of Pancakes is suing another IHOP, the International House of Prayer, saying the church mission shouldn't be allowed to take advantage of the restaurant chain's famous name and acronym.

The Kansas City Star reports that the chain says it sued only after the church mission refused repeated requests to stop using the IHOP acronym. Restaurant spokesman Patrick Lenow said the church has expanded and some branches are serving food. The lawsuit was filed last week in federal court in Los Angeles.

Gary Cooper, a former Houston attorney who until recently served as the church mission's chief financial officer, said he didn't think the lawsuit had any legal basis. The religious group, which promotes its belief in daily, continuous prayer, has drawn thousands of people to Kansas City since it opened 10 years ago.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

Comments

[prophetic1]

01:23 AM on 11/14/2010

Isaiah 56:7 give them joy In my House Of Prayer
Mark 11:17 "Is it not written: "'My house will be called
a House Of Prayer for all nations'? But you have made it ( a house of pancakes)?
Luke 19:46 "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be a House Of
Prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'" ...
Matthew 21:13 ""It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a House
Of Prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'" ...
what if Isaiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke & Jesus decided to have a board meeting in heaven & came to the conclusion let sue the International house of Pancakes , but Jesus is at the right hand of the Father to occupied PRAYING & Isaiah, Matthew, Mark, & Luke are to occupied worshipping The Great Intercessor "JESUS".

[Wes Dennison]

08:54 PM on 10/19/2010

Part 4
I don’t know how others will be affected by this lawsuit, but I know how it has affected me. I am an infrequent customer of your pancake house, but my wife and I usually eat there about once every two months. My wife just loves your Harvest Nut-n-Grain pancakes! However, now that I know how mean-spirited you can be, I will have great difficulty eating there again. I’m not even saying I will “boycott” your establishment, but now every time I see an IHOP, there is a bitter taste in my mouth as I think of the pettiness your leaders had in this situation. I actually find it sad, because in the past, every time I saw an IHOP sign, it fondly reminded of me of the good times I had at the House of Prayer and encouraged me to shop there. Now I feel differently. My wife has even gone on the Internet and found a passable Nut-n-Grain substitute recipe so we can make them ourselves at home. It is my hope that you will reconsider this course of action and drop this lawsuit. I would hope that you would visit IHOP-KC and see the good work they do there. Maybe you will decide to adopt them as a project and help them help the poor, which is all they want to do.

[Wes Dennison]

07:01 PM on 10/19/2010

Continued part 4...

[Wes Dennison]

07:01 PM on 10/19/2010

Continued...
I’m not sure what you think this lawsuit will accomplish. Has a ministry devoted quietly to prayer in Kansas City using the acronym IHOP caused you to sell less pancakes? Do you somehow think that them stopping using this acronym will help you sell more pancakes? The only thing I can possibly see is that you will unnecessarily cost them money attempting to defend themselves against this lawsuit. This ministry lives extremely spartanly to have money to give to the world poor. When the hurricane hit Myanmar, they took from their meager store and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the recovery. Did the House of Pancakes do anything to help? Do you really think it is right to cause IHOP-KC to take the little money they have and waste it on a frivolous lawsuit? I think your time and money would be better spent giving it to them to continue their work of helping the poor of the world.

[Wes Dennison]

07:00 PM on 10/19/2010

Continued...

I think one of the things bothering me is that you have made several extremely incorrect and even hurtful statements. You said that Mike "selected and adopted the International House of Prayer name, knowing it would be abbreviated IHOP. IHOP-KC intended to misappropriate the fame and notoriety of the household name IHOP to help promote and make recognizable their religious organization." If you knew anything about Mike at all, you would know how ludicrous this statement is. Mike has never sought praise or notoriety. He is a man who has lived a quiet life of prayer and personal holiness almost to being monk-like. He has spent the last 30 years of his life praying a minimum of 6 hours a day. I know this personally, because I have gone to the prayer room many times and always see him there, praying and seeking God. As far as I am concerned, you may as well be suing Mother Teresa.

[Wes Dennison]

06:59 PM on 10/19/2010

This is a letter I wrote to IHOP the pancake house:

As a long-time customer of IHOP, it was with great regret that I heard you are pursuing a lawsuit against the International House of Prayer.
I have followed the ministry of the House of Prayer and of its leader, Mike Bickle, for almost twenty years now and I feel that I can say with authority that Mike did not choose the acronym IHOP with you in mind. He did, however, have a reason for choosing those letters, if you had taken the time to simply ask him.
In 1998, Mike was told by Kingsley Fletcher, a well-known black evangelist, that he should start a ministry based on the four principles of “Intercession, Holiness, Offerings to the Poor, and Prophecy”. Obviously, the first letters of these principles spell out IHOP. Coupled with the fact that Jesus pointedly stated when he threw the moneychangers out of the temple that the church should be a “House of Prayer”, it was an obvious conclusion to Mike to call the ministry a House of Prayer. Adding the “I” for Intercession, Mike called his ministry the “International House of Prayer” since people from all over the world came to join him in prayer. The fact that his acronym happened to already be used by you is just a product of the fact that in our world today we are running out of acronyms!

[Vin777]

03:35 PM on 10/07/2010

I love IHOP-KC and follow Bickle's teachings closer than any evangelist of this decade. But IHOP has been my favorite pancake place since I was a kid and I was always kind of annoyed that something as great as an end time prayer movement would coin the well known acronym of an American pancake palace. I have always felt that we could do much better than "IHOP". We are a prayer ministry changing the world, for crying out loud. Let's ditch the pancake association while we still can!!!!!!!!!!

Also, IHOP is wrong in thinking that IHOP-KC uses the name for some kind of benefit. What do they think...that we attract people with pancakes then ask them to fast? Ha! They just want the media attention to bolster sales, probably among atheists.

[handmaiden555]

05:33 PM on 09/28/2010

This is the reason why the IHOPrayer chose it's name:
Isaiah 56:7 NIV
...these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."

If anything, God called it first & the pancake people should repent!- Haha - just joking on that bit!

Never was it trying to "steal" their acronym. There are IHOPs (for prayer) all over the US & internationally, & people come from all over to visit the central one in KC. The name makes perfect sense. IHOPancakes' site says their all for celebrating "diversity" & "inclusion". I guess that only counts if you're not using "their" letters. Seriously, is NO ONE ELSE EVER allowed to use that acronym...maybe we should google it & go through pages to see if anyone else is...let's get sue happy, shall we?

[Candice Mary]

11:56 AM on 10/07/2010

AMEN! Heck let's get Paris Hilton in on it and she can sue every person who uses the phrase, "that's hot." Same difference! It's not like it is taking away from IHOPancakes profits.

[Vin777]

09:21 PM on 10/18/2010

Actually, according to that passage, God intended the name to be HOPFAN, not IHOP. The pancake emporium had first dibs.

[Pearfallenangel]

11:58 PM on 09/27/2010

They're taking this way out of control...it's just a name. Why doesn't the prayer group just come to an agreement and change their name to something like International House of Prayer and Enlightenment...make it IHOPE...:D It would hold a lot more meaning...I don't know about you all, but I think the name IHOP for a prayer group just sounds weird......

[JeRa JiSs]

02:31 PM on 09/29/2010

I second this. IHOPE has a lot more meaning there is no connection from one to the other. There is no need to hvw these conflicts when there is a way to fix them without damaging anyone.

[fourthestatepost]

09:07 PM on 09/20/2010

Yet another reason to hate religion

[mjeffn]

07:45 PM on 09/20/2010

Their dogma won't touch pancakes.

[mjeffn]

07:40 PM on 09/20/2010

Yeah...I think the restaurant chain has good cause. When I read the headline I thought an IHOP franchisee was suing or being sued by the Franchisor. I obviously thought of the restaurant when I read the name IHOP. The church has used the compan's name for it's own gain and caused confusion and damage that is unfair to the company through it actions.

[theophagousmonkey]

09:55 PM on 09/18/2010

There never seems to be a good lion's den around when you really need one.

Cheers,

Theo

[henrypapillon]

12:20 AM on 09/21/2010

There is little decency among the Christians these days.

[Hye Sung Goto Gehring]

08:23 PM on 09/23/2010

Well that is an incredibly ignorant thing to say.

[sk8eycat]

07:56 PM on 10/21/2010

There never was much decency among xians...IF you read church history. The Crusades, "witch" burnings, schisms, anti-semitism, Hitler (still a Roman Catholic in good standing), slavery, gay-bashing, Sarah Palin, Virginia Thomas and her Tea Partiers...ew.

[theophagousmonkey]

09:54 PM on 09/18/2010

Does IHOP the prayer house serve up Rootie Tootie Fresh and Fruity angels? Can I get my blessings over easy or sunny side up?

Theo

[Wes Dennison]

07:03 PM on 10/19/2010

They have a small coffeeshop that is not even called IHOP. It is only for the benefit of those who come to the prayer house much like many churches that have a coffee shop for their parishoners.

[SUE13]

03:29 AM on 09/18/2010

They bought so much crap with their "tax free" cards for free in my store it's unbelievable! Skateboard ramps,basketball nets,pool heaters,etc. All these things are at the at this "preachers" house! As he spends day after day harassing the neighborhood wives and their kids over his lawn and noise complaints against us! what a jerk! The local police cave to his every whim while he fills his "house of prayer" with multiple renters in our once quiet neighborhood. He harasses the poor neighbor wives 24-7,as the city makes excuses for him. In todays economy - SINFULL!

[Candice Mary]

11:38 AM on 10/07/2010

That is actually completely untrue. I know Mike Bickle and he lives in an apartment and drives a '80 something honda... So there is no way that he has all that stuff at his house. But as for the other things I have no clue as to the validity of it all. I was a student at IHOPU (The university) for 2 years and never had a bad experience whatsoever. I felt as though I was around very godly and humble people. I will say that though he is the director of the House of prayer, he is the most humble person I have ever met. He is human and if he makes mistakes then so be it. We are all human. Please dont make the mistake of holding him to a higher standard.

[Wes Dennison]

07:05 PM on 10/19/2010

Whoever you are, what you are saying is completely untrue and you are a fraud. You obviously are not a neighbor of Mike Bickle nor do you know anything about him. It is sad that the anonymity of the internet allows anyone to say whatever they want and pretend to be someone they are not.