Each year, Ron Luce gives a sex teaching to the Honor Academy interns which includes the ideas that oral sex is wrong, lingerie is wrong, sex toys are wrong, and only certain sexual positions are allowed. In the past, Dave Hasz has responded to concerns about the unScriptural basis for these teachings by saying that […]
Let’s Talk About Sex Read More »
Before we look at the specifics of Ron Luce’s teachings on sex, I want to highlight this very disturbing and dangerous doctrine. In a 2001 teaching, Ron says: Sexual intimacy outside of marriage always breaks trust. If you have sex before marriage, you’ll never have full trust in your partner. You’ll be suspicious that they
Ron Luce’s Sex Teachings, Part 1 Read More »
Well, that’s what Teen Mania wants you to believe. In her talk to the intern women this past November, Katie Luce said the following: It’s not just whether we have intercourse or not, whether we are a virgin or not. But it goes deeper than that. It’s any kind of sexual immorality outside of
Pre-Marital Kissing is a Sin Read More »
Women at the Honor Academy are constantly taught that they should not wear anything that might cause their brother to “stumble” (i.e. – have lustful thoughts.) Unfortunately, once again, Teen Mania takes a seemingly good piece of advice and distorts it into an unhealthy burden that eventually destroys relationships between men and women. Allow me
Women Are to Blame for Men’s Lust Problems Read More »
Next week, I promise to get back to the dating/sex/marriage series. But in light of the story yesterday, I wanted to make a few points. First, if there has been any doubt in your mind about Ron Luce’s character and the stories on this website, yesterday’s story should fully convince you. The way he continues
How to Deal with an Unrepentant Abuser Like Ron Luce Read More »
I’m interrupting this series on dating for an important update… Short Version: Ron Luce is a sick, twisted and evil man. Long version: A few months ago, Ron Luce’s sister-in-law wrote in to share her story about how Ron lied about their family in his parenting book in order to boost his own reputation and
Breaking News: Ron Luce Is an Unrepentant, Habitual Liar Read More »
As part of their homework, Teen Mania interns are required to write their own “courtship constitution.” This constitution is supposed to define the set of procedures you will use during your courtship. The men and women’s classes are both shown a sample “Courtship Constitution.” Most of the suggested guidelines are normal, common sense stuff
Teen Mania’s “Courtship Constitution” Read More »
Shared with permission: A few months ago, an alumnus called me seeking advice about a potential romantic relationship. You see, there was a boy that she liked, but she was convinced that she had ruined the potential relationship. She felt enormously guilty for being “too forward” and afraid that she was not letting him lead.
Fear & Shame in Dating Read More »
The central tenet to Ron Luce’s courtship process seems to be that finding a spouse should be a process governed by our minds, not our hearts. We should make objective decisions NEVER clouded by emotions. To that end, Ron preaches strongly against the idea of “falling in love.” He speaks about it in a derogatory
Ron Luce Advocates Arranged Marriage? Read More »
As stated yesterday, the Bible does not provide a model for how to find a spouse. However, this does not stop Ron Luce and Teen Mania from putting words in God’s mouth and insisting that they teach a truly Biblical way of “courtship.” In today’s post, I’ll summarize two of Ron’s main points regarding
Ron Luce’s Courtship Teachings, pt. 2 Read More »
Every spring, Honor Academy interns get a series of relationship talks on dating vs. courtship, marriage and sex. While talking with recent interns, I have noticed a trend of many of them being totally unable to, afraid of, and/or ignorant of how to engage in a normal romantic relationship. While the Evangelical church at large
Ron Luce’s Courtship Teachings, pt 1 Read More »
How many Christian teens have suffocated under the weight of false guilt and condemnation for engaging in something that has never been explicitly condemned in the Bible? Yes, its time to talk about masturbation. Teen Mania tells interns that masturbation is a sinful act that should always be confessed and renounced. Interns are told that
This past weekend, 20/20 aired a scathing expose on the widespread abuse happening within Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Churches (IFB). You can watch it here. (2021 Update: It seems ABC does not have this linked anymore. You can watch the first part on YouTube here.) The IFB is a loose association of churches that also have their
20/20 Exposes Church Abuses Read More »
I was an intern from Aug.01 – Aug. 02. My Unreached People Group Retreat (UPG) was one of the worst experiences during my internship. I went into the weekend with a little apprehension. This was supposed to be a simulation of what it would be like to go out into the mission field and I
Earlier this week, I blogged about Acquire the Fire for the very first time. It generated several reader reactions, most notably this extended comment from “Little Gray Girl” which resonated with a lot of readers: I went to ATF every year as a teenager and I thought it was AMAZING. The smoke machines, colored lights,
Acquire the Fire: Reader Response Read More »
Here are a few blog posts that stood out to me over the last month. I hope you like them as much as I do! 1) The Allure of Toxic Leaders We are apparently attracted to toxic leaders. Psychological dynamics that lead us to rally around such leaders include a subconscious longing for a parental
Note: If this is your first time here, please check the “Abuse Allegations” tab at the top or the “true stories” category on the right to read about abuse at Teen Mania. One of the most common questions that was asked during our protest is do we think the Acquire the Fire event is bad?
At the Protest: Is Acquire the Fire Abusive? Read More »
Note: If this is your first time here, click the ‘Abuse Allegations’ tab at the top or the ‘true stories’ category on the right to read about the abuse. On Saturday, some local alumni and I held a protest at the Dallas Acquire the Fire. We wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of the
Protesting the Dallas Acquire the Fire Read More »
Last summer, Teen Mania hosted a conference call between David Hasz and former interns. During the call, he was asked if it was ethical to make almost $80,000 in rental income from Teen Mania in addition to his $80,000 salary. After all, David Hasz has been known to tell interns that if God has not
Why Did David Hasz Lie About His Rental Income? Read More »
In the past few days, we’ve seen some heinous treatment of interns including facilitators and staff members that terrorized a girl with a cockroach, watched idly as a guy has a panic attack, and Heath Stoner taunts interns as he literally endangers their lives. In the first few seconds of this short clip, you’ll see
ESOAL: Do Facilitators Enjoy Harassing Interns? Read More »
In last night’s service at Teen Mania, Ron mentioned that there are a lot of “squirrelly” things happening in the name of Christianity. Watch live streaming video from teenmaniaauditorium at livestream.com @45:20 – There is a lot that is unfortunately going on out there that is unfortunately under the name of Christianity that really
Ron Luce and I Agree on Something! Read More »
The Honor Academy teaches an extreme version of submission that leads to an oppressive authoritarian environment. Interns are so conditioned to submit without question, that they will even commit a sin if commanded to do so by David Hasz or other Teen Mania leadership. Of course, Teen Mania would deny this accusation, but as always,
Would You Commit a Sin if David Hasz Told You To? Read More »
Today’s video features the incredibly dangerous “vacation” hosted by none other than Heath Stoner. Of course, before he coerces them into this very dangerous activity, he first states that ESOAL is optional and you can quit at any time. He even goes so far as to say you should never get mad at the facilitators
ESOAL: Heath Stoner Endangers Interns Read More »
You may remember Lauren’s story from ESOAL 2003. She was put in a coffin that contained mice and cockroaches. Apparently, Teen Mania was very fond of using cockroaches that year. In this video, at least 4-5 facilitators crowd around a girl, put a large cockroach on her head and then demand she get in a
ESOAL: Girl Terrorized with Cockroach Read More »
The only way I can describe the footage you are going to see over the next 3 days is that these interns are literally being terrorized. Over and over, David Hasz claims that the most extreme elements of ESOAL happened because of rogue facilitators stepping out of bounds and that they have put measures in
Honor Academy’s ESOAL: Disturbing Footage Read More »
