Daystar Scandals, Michael Tait & IHOPKC Survivor: Our Top 5 Podcasts of 2025

This is a generated transcript and may contain some spelling errors.

Julie: From a bombshell expose about Michael Tait and the Newsboys to a look inside the excessive lifestyle of Daystar TV’s, Joni Lamb, our 2025 podcasts covered it all. We also platform brave victims of America’s most popular megachurches and movements who publicly told their stories for the very first time.

And you responded more than 31,000 of you subscribed to our YouTube channel this year, which had a stunning 8 million views in 2025. So thank you. Thank you for caring enough about the state of the church to be willing to listen to the hard things. It’s not fun to hear that people you once trusted have betrayed that trust or that a movement you sacrificially gave to was built on a false foundation.

But we’re firm believers here at the Roys report that before you can fix something, you have to be aware that it’s broken. And we don’t tell these stories because we hate the church. We tell them because we love the church and we passionately wanna see her restored. So with that in mind, we’d like to look back at some of our most popular podcasts of 2025, covering huge developments in the church and the Christian community.

Welcome to the Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys.

Here are the top five podcasts of 2025, beginning with number five reporter who broke Michael Tate’s story shares inside Scoop. Last summer, the Roys report broke a bombshell story about Newsboys lead singer Michael Tate, whom you may also remember from his days at DC talk. Roys report. Journalist Jessica Morris, spent two and a half years investigating allegations that Tate had drugged and sexually molested numerous men over his decades in music.

She also reported a woman’s story who says Tate drugged her. And then watched while a crew member essayed her. It was a horrific investigation, but one that has cracked the code of silence that’s permeated Christian contemporary music or CCM. Now, more musicians are coming forward. In the last week, singer, Stacie Orrico filed a lawsuit against her former manager claiming he essayed her as a child.

Our initial reports on tape quickly garnered more than 300,000 views on our website. The story was also picked up by People Magazine, Variety Magazine, the New York Post and more. As a result, numerous organizers canceled scheduled concerts with the News Boys and Capitol Records dropped the Newsboys from its record label, but more importantly, the story helps survivors find their voice, and as Jessica Morris explains, there was healing for them as the public heard their stories and believed them.

Jessica Morris: And I was so incredibly relieved when we released the first story about Tate and those three young men who were all 22 at the time of their incidences.

Julie: Yeah.

Jessica Morris: I was so relieved when the majority of people. Said, we believe these men. We believe we can see the pattern. We can see the evidence, we can, we can see that there was like these moments and these photos here, here and here.

We can see what has happened here. And I was so grateful for that. Because I know that the public isn’t always taught to trust the media, which is why we have to work and we should work extra hard to make sure that we are doing our jobs well and proving what we have. But I was so relieved, and for me that was, it was a miracle, honestly.

It was, it was protection from my sources. Sources in terms of recognition of their stories.

Podcasters at NRB: Mm-hmm.

Jessica Morris: Um, but it was also for me, recognition that there was. People in the church and evangelicals like myself who are willing to be, can see the darkness and say, okay, let’s call out what isn’t of God in this situation.

We can still ask questions. We can still look for more evidence, that’s fine, but we are willing to say this is wrong, and that was. A relief for me, and I was so glad I was able to, when I checked in on my sources and the survivors and the following days, I was so grateful when they were able to say, we’re doing all right.

We’re fine. No one has contacted us, but are a few friends who know us. We are processing, we are really glad that this has helped people. One even said to me that they were, they felt like there’d been some healing and they weren’t even looking for that. They didn’t think they needed it, and that, that for me was just like, well, God, that’s all I did was my job.

All we did was our job. And sometimes, and it required them to be the most uncomfortable positions ’cause they would have to repeat their story multiple times. To me, up to the very last few hours before publication, I was checking details. I would literally say, can you tell me specifically what happened here?

I misunderstood you, or I wanna make sure I got it right. And these brave people every time would tell me exactly what happened. And I hated they had to do it, but I appreciated it. Um, because it’s led now to. So many people. I think speaking up in some capacity, we’ve had people, um, reaching out to us and the fact that we had both the News boys and then Michael Tate make public statements was.

Completely unexpected for me. For me, I was like, well, there’s a chance here for some form of accountability and hope and redemption, and that has to be my hope. Some vindication for these people who have survived this

Julie: so often with these survivors, again, they’re. They’re speaking out of often conviction.

Um, they have nothing to gain that, that’s the incredible thing. They do this at great costs themselves. They really don’t have anything to gain through it. However, I think through the process, and I’ve heard this from so many survivors, that they find healing. There is something healing about the truth, being out there

Podcasters at NRB: about what really happened.

Julie: That is why we report. Jesus said the truth will set you free, and we have witnessed that over and over again. Lies and secrecy keep people in darkness and bondage, but the truth that brings you into the light. If you’d like to listen to my full podcast with Jessica, just look for the podcast episode published on June 27th, 2025.

You also can read our exclusive reports on Tate by going to julie roys.com. Then click the investigations tab and look for Michael Tate and the Newsboys Number four, podcasters exposing Daystar TV kicked out by NRB. If it wasn’t caught on camera, you might not believe it. Last February, three Podcasters who have been reporting on the scandal at Daystar tv attended the National Religious Broadcasters Convention near Dallas.

And if you’re not familiar with the National Religious Broadcasters or NRB, this is the largest association of Christian communicators in the world. And everybody who is somebody in Christian Broadcasting attends this annual convention that gathers about 6,000 Christian media professionals from all around the world.

Well, apparently the presence of these three podcasters, Laura-Lynn, Tyler Thompson, Everett Gagnan, and Ray Curry was very offensive to Daystar executives at the convention. According to the podcasters they had earlier had some interactions with the executives. None of the interactions were angry or violent, but the podcasters did ask some probing questions about the alleged coverup of SA involving the family of Daystar President Joni Lamb.

Not long afterwards, NRB Security showed up and confronted the podcasters. They only kicked one of them out. Ray Curry, who just so happened to be the only black podcaster present the incident shocked. Not just Curry who hosts the Unction podcast, but the other podcasters who were present. Not only did NRBs actions reveal latent racism, they said, but it also showed the continued power and influence Daystar has within Christian broadcasting.

As I mentioned, you might not believe it, had one of the podcasters not caught it on camera. Here’s Laura-Lynn, Tyler Thompson and Ray Curry describing what they witnessed.

Podcasters at NRB: So then all of a sudden, these, these, uh, security guys are behind me. And I’m like, and, and they were so mad. They were offensive. They were like, and I said, it was so bizarre.

So I actually said to their faces, and I have it on camera, and I said, um, you’re, you’re so weird. You’re weird. And then, then the guy’s like, you are weird. And I’m like, oh, y’all are weird. Like, what is going on? And I walk off, I walk off thinking this is the end. Let’s go guys, let’s go unction. Right brother?

We’ll just, you know, we’re outta here, right? Y’all, y’all are weird. All of a sudden, unction in front of me and, and the, the guys are on either side of him and they are marching him out.

Julie: Here’s what happens. Yep. And we got it.

Podcasters at NRB: Oh, you go outside. Oh,

what did he say?

No, no. What’s he going out? Is this a, like this a racist thing? What are you taking?

Are you serious?

No. Why are you? ’cause he just told us.

To leave.

No,

you’re gonna, you don’t need to be in the hall today.

You don’t need to be in here today. So

they’re literally picking, they’re literally picking on unction and making him leave. When Rachel came up to me earlier, I was just saying, Rachel, if you wanna talk privately, you let me know

somebody.

Appreciate.

He didn’t even do it. He did. What? What are you walking him off?

We don’t have to. We just appreciate you not talking to people like that. That’s all they’re asking. Don’t be rude to us and don’t be rude to others. That’s all we’re asking. I don’t think wants be rude to No, no. It was very polite and I, and I’m very polite, too.

Appreciate. Good job. Appreciate it.

You guys have a good rest of the day

and are like, we’re going back in

y’all, y’all go back in?

No, we’re

going with him. Y’all reach out for today? Nah. Y’all good? Y’all good?

He was telling us to move along. So we’re

I y’all that my word I say y’all want

to be.

That’s cool.

I’ll out this group and I’ll be the one out here.

Oh, except we both heard. I’ll say they can keep it moving. We’re not, we’re not gonna play these games with you. You’re trying to route people up. That’s what you’re doing. Y’all have a good day. See how much luck you guys. I,

they don’t have any.

Julie: Wow. So I mean, Ray, you think if you were a white man, that would’ve happened,

Ray Curry: uh,

from what I’ve experienced earlier. See, you know, I tried not to be the one I, I have purposely from Laura-Lynn’s podcast last night to speaking with our other colleague, Eric Everett. I try not to be the one to say it.

All right. I tried not to be the, I’ll say it. Huh?

I’ll say it.

Yeah. I, I tried not to be the one to say it, but here, here’s the thing. Here’s the facts. I endured the all black people lookalike joke I endured, and then I endured being the one singled out that my few words were so threatening. Something about me that my few words was so threatening that I got to get kicked out outta everybody in the group.

And after looking at these two things, I can’t say confidently that if I were a white man, that would not have happened.

Julie: Wow. Just seeing that again is just so grievous. You wouldn’t know it from this podcast where Ray gets pretty fired up, but in person, he’s pretty mild mannered, and so the fact that he was singled out and removed from NRB is shocking. It’s been almost a year since this incident and still. NRB has not apologized to this man, and you’ve gotta wonder if, again, this has to do with the impact and the influence that Daystar TV continues to have despite all of our reporting showing their coverup of alleged SA at the organization.

If you’d like to listen to my full podcast with Thompson and Curry, just look for the podcast episode published on February 27th, 2025. You also can read our exclusive reports on Daystar by going to Julie Roy, spelled ROY s.com, and then click on the investigations tab and look for Daystar TV. Number three, Daystar TV Insider uncovers Marcus Lamb’s web of deceit.

To understand the genesis of the Daystar TV scandal, you need to hear the firsthand account of Melanie Contreras. Melanie was a rising star at the growing Christian TV network who had worked closely with Daystar tv co-founder Joni Lamb, but then Melanie’s husband, former head of it at Daystar, discovered Joni’s husband, the late Marcus Lamb was engaging in sexual misconduct with a woman who worked under him.

Melanie describes how she and her husband took the evidence to the then spiritual mentors, Fred and Anna Kendall, founders of a ministry called Life Languages. This led to gaslighting, a mistreatment from both the Kendall’s and the Lambs. And though at the time Melanie thought she was protecting a repentant man of God, she realizes now she was manipulated into a sophisticated coverup.

We also discussed whether what was termed an affair by Marcus, and this woman should have been termed adult clergy sa. So there’s a huge power differential between Marcus Lamb and Janice Smith. And we don’t know if there was grooming involved how this relationship happened, but I’ll just say this from my understanding of adult clergy sexual abuse.

This is how it often happens. And so we think, you know, that this is a person who is a full fledged adult, she should know better. You know, that’s kind of the standard way of thinking and yet now we’re understanding a little bit more that, oh no, there’s this huge power differential and, and there is a predatory kind of behavior.

Um, and again, I’m not privy to to, to what happened or what went on, but I’m just curious because this is such a question. I mean, do you feel like she was a victim?

Melanie Contreras: I absolutely feel like she was a victim and I know that people have painted her as this seductress and she ruined their marriage. And you know, anybody can say that.

And I’m not even saying that that’s not true. I don’t know what the dynamic was between them before I was ever involved. But I will say this, you cannot ignore the fact, the fact, not the assumption, the fact that he was her boss, that both of them were her boss, that he was, um, you know, a minister. Um, that this was a huge ministry that they were a part of where she answered to him directly.

And so, you know, and, and also there’s a few years between now and when this happened, and so now we are so much more aware of where the line is drawn that I think that if this were happening today. It had played out very differently because, or I would hope, but isn’t that why we’re doing the show, is so that people will know that’s not okay.

It is not okay, and you can’t, people just can’t do that and hide behind touch, not thine anointed. Like that’s not what that’s for. That’s not what that means.

Julie: Yeah. Well, and, and he got to keep his position, he got to keep his job. He got to keep his family. She gave up, she lost her family. She lost her job.

She lost everything at that point.

Melanie Contreras: Yeah. And made her a part of, made her, you know, like, um, like she didn’t have any, I felt like she, I feel like she didn’t have as many choices because of the situation that she was in with him being her boss, but made her part of the inappropriate financial decisions that were being made because, and around her.

So, you know, when they sent her outta town, they gave her a large amount of money and when, and they, you know, paid for her house ’cause she had just bought a new house and all of those things that maybe she wouldn’t have chosen in a professional, you know, situation. She, I feel like she was left to, she had to be a part of that, a part of those decisions and, you know, that I felt like that’s not what she would’ve chosen.

You know, she felt like that was out of her control.

Julie: I mean, do you know what account paid for her house? What account gave her that? You don’t, don’t know.

Melanie Contreras: No.

Julie: Um,

Melanie Contreras: I know that that’s what happened from her and from Joanie telling me what was going to happen and then that it did happen afterwards. And then of course, her story as I listened to her while I was with her at her house, I heard the same thing.

I have to be out by this time. I can never speak to him again. I have to turn in on my device. Like she told me all the things that they were, you know, basically forcing her to do so that she would never talk about it again, and she would leave quickly and never have anything to do with that again. And I cannot imagine.

I, I remember listening to Jeanette talk about having to try to find a job after, you know, everything blew up. And I had a similar experience where I was blacklisted also. And so I cannot imagine Janice trying to get a job after that. Like, how do you explain anything? How do you, like you can’t. Especially if you’ve signed anything that says you can’t talk legally.

And she

Julie: did sign an NDA, correct? That’s what I

Melanie Contreras: believe, yeah. Yeah. She told, she said so much and and they said so much. So.

Julie: There’s so much more revealed in my full interview with Melanie. So if you missed it the first time, you can watch my full two part interview with Melanie by searching for the episodes we published on March 25th.

In 27, number two, Mike Bickel’s, primary Jane Doe. Comes forward our second most popular podcast of the year, featured the primary Jane Doe, whose story toppled. Mike Bickle, founder of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, also known as IHOP kc. Prior to our podcast, Jane doe’s, identity was unknown.

But on our podcast, Debra Perkins not only revealed her name, but went on video to tell her story of SA BI to hundreds of thousands of people. What she did was unbelievably brave, and I was honored that she chose to do so on our platform. Debra also spoke at our Restore conference with another one of Bickel’s victims.

Tammy Woods, as well as whistleblower, Elizabeth Herder. That session was one of the most powerful and intense sessions at Restore, and if you haven’t heard that, I strongly encourage you to look it up by going to the Restore 2025 playlist on our YouTube channel. For those of you unfamiliar with Deborah’s story, Deborah knew Mike Bickle from the time she was 12 years old.

That’s when her father began admiring Bickel’s Prayer Ministry, and regularly took his family to visit IHOP kc. It was in that context that Deborah says Mike Bickle began grooming her. But it wasn’t until Deborah moved to Kansas City to intern with Bickle that his adult clergy essay of her began at the time she was 19, and Bickle was more than twice her age.

She trusted Bickle as a man of God, and Bickle used that status to manipulate and exploit her.

Podcasters at NRB: You

Julie: got the prophecy that. Now we know a lot of women have gotten this prophecy about Diane. When did that happen? And again, for those who might not have heard this before, what was that prophecy that he gave to you?

Deborah Perkins: The prophecy was that Diane was gonna die, his wife, and that we would be married. Um, the first time that he said that to me, he called me from that trip to Asia. And so he’s in another time zone. Um, it was daytime for me, but it was night for him, and he called, I was living with a host family and he called the host family and the dad answered the phone.

And so he comes and, you know, again, landline days and he says, um. Someone’s on the phone for you. And so I get on the phone and, and Mike’s lapping and he tells me how he had disguised his voice. Um, and, and so of course I’m just, it’s just all the things he does is utterly shocking and it’s supposed to be right.

So I’m not, I’m in a shock like he’s calling me from. From, from, um, and, and then he was, he wasn’t himself like, um, I, I soon was like, why? He’s laughing, he’s talking really loud. Um, but in that, in that space, he started to tell me, you know, um, I need to tell you something and it’s really serious. But the Lord has spoken to me several times that.

And he goes, and I believe that we’re gonna get married. Again, now it’s more shock, not just that he called me, but now it’s like, and I’m losing agency very fast. Um, in this time he’s, he’s just come after me and he’s so sophisticated in the way that he manipulates, um, and lies. And I mean, it just, he is a dark deceiver, but he it, but it’s massed behind my spiritual hero and my dad’s friend, you know.

And so, um, I soon thought something was off. Um, and then he started to tell me about the alcohol that was in the fridge and that he had been drinking. And again, that was so odd because, you know, I came, I was raised Nazarene, we didn’t drink like, and I’m just going. Okay. Okay. Well at least you’re free, but Wow.

I mean, but it’s just, um, it was really messing with me, the whole thing. Just shocking. And, um, but that’s when he started that telling me that, and, you know, he would tell me in every different way for years after that, um, I mean, he would talk about the house he was gonna build me and how it was gonna be.

Modest on the front, but it could be as big as I wanted on the back. And, um, and it was gonna be on his, you know, and just, and that again, that was an aha moment for me. Maybe let’s say eight, eight years ago was like, oh, the, the whole thing, the fasted lifestyle lift. Simple. Well, we’re finding that he’s funding all of this double life that he’s living, you know, and that’s lots of money going to this double life of sin, you know?

Um. So, yeah, that was the first time that he told me the prophecy.

Julie: Debra goes on to describe how after giving this prophecy, Bickle apparently drugged and saed her while on a ministry trip in Paris, and that started a horrific cycle of abuse that lasted several years. And due to Mike Bickle’s spiritual manipulation, Debra kept quiet for decades about what had happened.

But then God began to open her eyes to the truth, and her decision to speak up started a domino effect that led to Mike Bickel’s exposure and the exposure of the system that protected him. To read our full investigation involving ihop KC and Mike Bickle, just go to the investigations tab at julie Roys dot com and to listen to both episodes with Deborah.

Just look for the podcast published on February 3rd and fourth of last year. Number one, what’s really going on at Daystar Insider Tells All and our top podcast from 2025 with more than a quarter million views on YouTube. Featured Lisa Anderson, a former executive assistant to Daystar TV founders, Marcus and Joni Lamb.

Lisa gave us a revealing account of rampant hypocrisy she witnessed at Daystar. Though at the beginning she says she saw evidence of authentic faith in Marcus That began to change as the ministry grew. As I noted earlier, Marcus engaged in seven years of sexual misconduct with a staff member. Lisa also said Joanie went from humble to hotty and began mistreating staff and asserting family privilege.

Does this mean y you basically were on call 24 7.

Lisa Anderson: Yes, ma’am. I had a blackberry back when blackberries were around

Julie: and she could call you at any point and you’d have to come.

Lisa Anderson: Mm-hmm. There was one example, I’ll never forget it. It was a Thanksgiving day.

Julie: Oh my,

Lisa Anderson: no joke. Thanksgiving Day and I am having Thanksgiving at my parents’ house, which they only lived around the corner from me.

We were have Thanksgiving dinner and it was her calling me on the phone on my Blackberry. Lisa Lou, would you go over to La Madeleine’s, which was over there in um Arlington? Pick up a coconut cake and bring it to the house and leave it on the counter. Sure enough, I did. Sure enough, I put it on the, I went, I excused my, you

Julie: left your family on Thanksgiving Day.

Lisa Anderson: I certainly did. I says, I have to make a run. I will be back, continue on. And I left the house, got in my car, went to LA Madeleine, picked it up, took it to her house, left it on the counter. They were in the other room having their dinner. Ca Kate was on the counter, left the place, closed the door, and went back.

Back to my family. Yes, I did. Wow. That was true fat, so, wow.

Julie: Wow.

Lisa Anderson: I’ll give you another example.

Julie: Okay.

Lisa Anderson: I got a dime a dozen, but no, there was, um, Rachel. And she wanted to go on vacation, and one of the things that was concerned was, I need to make sure your passport is more than six months out. That was the first thing, and she assured me that her passport was fine and everything was good.

Okay. So now she wants to take a trip and I believe it’s like a graduation trip. So she goes ahead and, um, I book her a trip and it’s to the Caribbean and I, I can’t remember where we were going, but it’s someplace in the Caribbean and they’re at the airport now. Mind you, it’s two hours before flight time.

Okay? Maybe two and a half. Okay. She’s at the counter. Either driver’s license or the passport was expired. I can’t remember which one it was, but one of them was expired, so she’s not able to go to this Caribbean destination, which requires a passport. Okay, so I’m getting a call from Johnny and she’s saying to me, Lisa, Rachel can’t go.

Is there any other place that she can go? I said, uh, yes. Off the top of my head, she can go to the US Virgin Islands and all she needs is her birth certificate. If she can get ahold of her birth certificate, then we can rebook her and get her on a flight and she can go to the, um, the US Virgin Islands, and that’s what she wound up doing.

But I’m gonna tell you, Julie, I was on the phone with my house phone, my Blackberry phone. And another my own personal phone ’cause I’m talking to a travel agent, I’m talking to the airline and I’m talking to Rachel trying to get all of this changed. So yes, you can be on back and call, but. I’m a multitasker.

That wasn’t the concern or the issue, but what the concern was, all you had to let me do is look at your passport and your driver’s license, but you assured me that everything was good and I left that

Julie: well. And the other thing is this is not official day star business. This is a completely personal matter.

You are a day star employee. Mm-hmm. And this has nothing to do with Daystar. And so, I mean, this was a concern too with, with the jet and the way it was used. Uh, I mean, this was years later, but Inside Edition did this whole expose because Marcus and the whole family was going on, you know, ostensibly the executive retreat, because they’re all executives, it’s all in the family, but he’s using a jet, the, the, the day star jet for this.

And it’s really a family vacation. And so there seems to be a blurring of. You know, I, and again, you’re using donor funds. This is a donor funded ministry, right? You’re using donor funds and you’re using something that’s given for the advancement of the gospel, and you’re using it for your own vacation, for Rachel’s vacation or for the family vacation.

And so that becomes, becomes an issue. You can listen to my full eye-opening podcast with Lisa by searching for the episode published on January 23rd, 2025. And as I noted before, you can read all about our investigation of daystar [email protected]. Also, I wanna mention that the Roy’s report is listener supported.

That means we rely on you to continue investigating, reporting and podcasting. So if you appreciate our podcast and our mission to report the truth and restore the church, would you please help support us today? Just go to julie roys.com/donate. That’s julie roys.com/donate. Also, while you’re at our donate page, please go to the bottom of the page and look at our financial statement.

Unlike some ministries that hide how they spend donors money, we disclose it all, including my salary. We believe that if you give to this ministry, you have every right to know how we spend your money, and we take stewardship and accountability very seriously. So thank you for your support and thank you for the 8 million views on this YouTube channel last year.

It’s my hope and prayer that armed with the information in these podcasts, God will use you to be an agent of change and reform. God bless you.