For all the talk of being fundamental, conservative and sticking to the Bible, its ironic that the Teen Mania Honor Academy “discipleship” program actually has no basis in New Testament Scripture. If we are going to call ourselves Christians, then you would think we would actually look like Christ. Since He is our Head, our Source, our […]
Where is Jesus in This? Read More »
Today’s post is inspired by The Onion. 8 comments: katydid said… -Intense therapy.-Diving into scripture and letting the grace of the Lord wash over me..-Connecting with others who were also damaged/hurt and realizing that you’re not alone–and healing. August 27, 2010 6:59 AM heartsfire said… -running from “Christianity” for 10+ years-recovering from eating disorder-trying to get
How Are We Spending Our Post HA Lives? Read More »
We’ve examined several of the most popular teachings at the Honor Academy as given by Ron Luce, David Hasz and Heath Stoner. But we all know that lectures aren’t the only way we learn. In fact, I’d say we primarily learn about God, ourselves and others through the way we are treated. Lectures may give
Honor Academy Lesson #1 Read More »
A friend recently sent me this excerpt from the book Captive Hearts, Captive Minds. I haven’t read the book, but this passage is outstanding. I hope this gives you the freedom to feel your feelings. The emergence of anger is one of the first signs of recovery. Anger is a normal and healthy reaction to the
Anger is Part of Recovery Read More »
Somehow we’ve come to believe that leadership and excellence are key pillars of the Christian life. Yet Jesus own ministry violated many principles that we teach in the name of these ideals. Jesus chose blue collar workers without an education to be his friends and his representatives. His communication was often confusing. He didn’t play to the
How Leadership and Excellence Damage People Read More »
My favorite thread on the forum has got to be the Teen Mania haikus (all 6 pages!). I’ve posted a quick sampling below. They are sure to put a smile on your face. Feel free to post your own in the comments. This generationWill be lost to God unlessWe do our push-ups. I found a
There are several really great blogs about that cover the topic of spiritual abuse. Pushing Jesus specifically focuses on recovering from spiritual abuse using the 11 steps. I found this post particularly helpful in recognizing the difference between God and the people who abuse in His name. I’ve reprinted it here, but the blog is worth a visit: Refer
As documented here, the Honor Academy teaches a theology of very strict submission to your authority. According to their teachings, even if you don’t agree with your authority figure’s decisions, you must submit to them and obey them because God has placed them in your life. To disobey your authority is to disobey God. What this
Absolute Submission to Your Authority (Unless They Disagree with Me) Read More »
I saw this comic over at the ASBO Jesus blog and immediately thought of Teen Mania. Does this reflect your intern experience or maybe your experience with Christianity in general? Why? Discuss! 7 comments: Recovering Alumni said… Wow, no comments yet? This comic really resonated with me. The beginning of the internship is full of hype and energy…but
Many interns have complained about Ron Luce’s sex teaching which includes the ideas that oral sex is wrong, lingerie is wrong and missionary position is the only correct way to have sex. (Yes, he is actually serious.) In the past, Dave Hasz has responded by saying that Ron is just giving his personal convictions, not
At some point, if we are going to call ourselves Christians, we are going to have to actually look and see if what we are saying and doing reflects Christ. Its funny how we have four books of the Bible that tell us all about Jesus and his disciples – and yet our methods of
Honor Academy’s Culture of Confrontation Read More »
2 quick notes and some good links for your Friday. 1) The spam filters on the forum are very aggressive. If it won’t let you in, send me an email and include the username you’d like and I will manually add you. 2) I think that I’ve now published all the stories that have been sent in.
Housekeeping + Link Roundup Read More »
I’ve been out of the Honor Academy for quite a while now…enough time to graduate from college, start a career and get married. Throughout the years I’ve dealt with various issues in my life related to TM. Each time they were resolved, I would think, “Yes, now I am FINALLY done with healing from TM.”
How Long Does it Take? Read More »
I went to the HA several years ago in the middle of my sophomore year of college because I was seeking to be stronger in the Lord. Looking back on my time in the HA, I now understand the negative reinforcement that was given to me. My mother was fully against it as she saw
Taking a week off from the world of TM has been a wonderful thing. Spending time with trusted friends and having more mental space than usual has allowed me to have some new insights on where I am in my journey towards spiritual and emotional healing. Even though I purposely didn’t think about TM, or
Breaking Free from Old Paradigms Read More »
This week I’ll be taking a much needed mental and emotional break from all things TM. Since there won’t be any new posts this week, feel free to browse the archives. If you are a new reader, there is lots of great stuff from last year, especially critiques of popular TM teachings. Or you can
Just wanted to remind everybody of these very wise words*, via the SGM Survivors blog. You are not out of the cult until it is more important to you to see the victims healed of hurt, than to see the abusers shielded from the possibility of hurt feelings…. IF they have TRULY repented with great contrition
You Are Not Out of the Cult Until… Read More »
50 comments: Anonymoussays:July 29, 2010 at 10:44 AM Hahahaha!Oh boy oh boy the memories!Lots of people need to see this…. Anonymoussays:July 29, 2010 at 11:58 AM is this a real picture from ESOAL? Yes. Shilohsays:July 29, 2010 at 3:21 PM R.A. I’m really happy that you are exposing ESOAL. I honestly couldn’t really see what
Emma’s ESOAL story: I was truly excited for ESOAL. I thought that it would be a great experience, and that pushing myself to my limits would be really good for me. So in the auditorium, we sat in our companies and platoons. General Hasz walks up and says, “So this year we are doing things
Emma’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
Summer started for Global Expeditions in June. I was working in operations in GE, and we had to basically make “Immersion” happen for each wave of missionaries. We had to plan the services, the ceremonies to get them fired up to go, and send them off. Once the missionaries arrived, I was working 7am to
Emma’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
Just before my senior year in high school, I decided that I wanted to take a year off from school after I graduated, to travel or do something different. My grandma offered to pay for most of a 3-month trip to Europe, but I decided to turn that down to go to the HA instead,
Emma’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
There is no spiritual growth without love. None. Absolutely zero. We can see this most clearly in I Corinthians 13. If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain
Spiritual Growth Without Love = Nothing Read More »
Hannah recently sent me her story, but noted that in her TM days, she went by “Hosanna.” The thing about TM is that you have this weird “connection” with people. That “you understand the 1-2 years of the craziest, best, worst, emotional, incredible, unforgettable, hardest time of my life” type of feeling. And yet, everyone
How ministry placements are decided has always been a hot topic. During gauntlet week, the interns take a battery of skills and personality tests. At the end of the week, they are given their job assignments which range from cafeteria workers and janitors all the way up to Ron’s executive assistants. TM leadership constantly tells
Ministry Placements: God’s Will or Manipulation? Read More »
