Belief It or Not Podcast covers Teen Mania

So an interesting happenstance occurred the summer of 2021. This blog was somewhat resurrected in June (before being more completely brought back by the end of July). A week after this blog got Lazarus’d, and totally unrelated, the fantastic Belief It or Not podcast released their 82^nd episode which covered Teen Mania. I’m not sure why they covered it so long after its demise, but they wrapped the cult in a nice podcast after several minutes discussing pineapple on pizza. Below is a reaction to what they discussed after the canadian bacon talk.

@3:45 It’s hilarious listening them butcher Luce and Hasz’s names. Truly unmarketable names

@4:45 They mention Acquire the Fire. This podcast has two hosts. One guy presents the research while the other chimes in. Guy 2 mentions that he has heard of ATF. This is usually my go to connection when I try to explain TM, with about 40% efficacy.

@6:15 They show clips from various TM promo pieces, like what would play at ATF to draw students to GE or HA. It is interesting that they got their hands on these videos since not a lot of people use these clips.

@8:10 Guy 1 mentions that interns had to be successful on a GE missions trip before joining the internship. During my time it was highly recommended, but you can go on your trip during the internship. I don’t know if this was a rule pre-2007 or post-2008.

@10:00 This one cracks me up. Apparently we prayed over applicants to determine who gets to come. That may have been true in 2007 when we had so many applications and housing was becoming a concern. But I don’t think that we were ever THAT exclusive. If you applied and conducted yourself properly (don’t drink/smoke/porn) or at least say you did, you’re in…if you pay your $200 deposit and $8000 tuition.

@13:10 Guy 1 drops his source: “Blogger from Toronto” I wonder if I know who that is… lol

@14:20 “This is a work youth camp…with the worst jobs.” “I wouldn’t pay to do my job!” If only we had such leeriness in our youth. This reasoning was what actually got me out. My mom was pissed that I was paying thousands of dollars, paying to work for them, but they were not adequately teaching me anything nor investing in me. It took me about another six months to finally realize that they were wasting my time.

@16:20 “This is thought police.” in response to the intense rules and auto-reporting when interns break rules.

@17:45 “You’re in a place of nutjobs and assholes.” Guy 2 is killing it with the commentary!

@18:40 Guy 2 lists the lack of sleep, overwork, and the constant fasting, sounding incredulous.

@19:40 ESOAL is finally mentioned. How it’s “optional” but not really thanks to peer pressure. There’s a lot of extra footage here, I want to know where they got all of it.

@21:00 The first f-bomb when Guy 2 asks What the fuck??

@22:10 A smacking juxtaposition of the aftermath from the four ladies in the documentary vs clips of current interns.

24:00 The word “cult” is finally dropped.

@24:50 (paraphrased) “Funny thing about all this is that this is something churches would get behind [which they did] but now these same people would be part of QAnon [some former interns seem to be] and try to call out child abuse rings but will ignore the abuse here.” There is some crazy truth to this.

@26:40 The hilarious spin attempt at TM’s closure, followed by Guy 2’s “What a fucking piece of shit!”

@27:20 “Robert (sic), fuck you!… I hope you get… planter’s warts!” Guy 2 is my guy!

They go down a rabbit hole after mentioning Ron Luce’s warrant due to his contract violations with Compassion.

These gents are a useful resource in deconstructing or exploring the exvangelical movement. They pick apart different aspects and fads of the Evangelical Church. You should check out their other videos on YouTube.