I am an almost 52 year old woman and I remember as a teenager the rhetoric from watching the Shiny Happy People season 2. We were told that we were warriors for Christ… I heard about Teen Mania (couldn’t afford it) but I still remember the youth conferences at our church. I also remember as […]
A visitor shared her takeaways from her experiences with GE and ATF in the early 90s. While she didn’t attend the HA, she did work at a church that espoused a lot of the same beliefs. These are the values that came to mind when she watched Shiny Happy People season 2. Us versus them
Guest Post: Teen Mania Unspoken Values Read More »
I am honored to post the first user-submitted story as the new RA. If you would like to share your story, feel free to email stories@recoveringalumni.blog.This story does discuss the current political climate, but does so in accordance with our politics policy. I attended at least one BattleCry event in the summer or fall of
Hoo boy! Here we go. I am ecstatic that this documentary is out! I have been antsy leading up to the release date. Part of me was happy but another part of me was anxious and I just wasn’t sure what to expect. The trailer suggested to me that I would see lots of older
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War ep1 – Live Reaction Read More »
My wife and I watched all 3 episodes of Shiny Happy people. I think this gif best summarizes the first episode. I was hoping to post last night after binging all 3 episodes and provide some slight raw reaction. I was also hoping to do some kind of live blog post that I would constantly
Holy…. Mother…. of God… Read More »
My new core hit the ground running. My new CA Jeremy was loads better than John. I was an ACA now so in a way I had respect from Jeremy as a co-leader of the pack. I felt really responsible for my 5 guys. I really wanted to do things together and be great friends
Andy’s Story, pt 3 Read More »
(Andy’s story is in 6 parts. Names of his peers have been changed while the names of staff members have not.) One of the earliest memories I have is of my brother’s funeral. I remember the flowers and the blue casket and the sullen tone as I sat seated in the front row of the
Andy’s Story, pt 1 Read More »
As we discussed last time, Teen Mania heavily promotes an us vs. them mentality. Instead of fostering love, grace and compassion, followers of this message wrongfully believe that being obnoxious = being a good Christian. Case in point, this story held up by Ron Luce as a model of Christian living at last weekend’s Battlecry:
Teen Mania’s Christianity: Radical or Obnoxious? Read More »
For as long as I can remember, creating a fear of a future America where Christians are persecuted has been a part of certain streams of Christianity and youth ministry. Having grown up under that kind of teaching, I can honestly say that it is completely irrelevant to the life of the American teenager and
Imaginary Persecution & Living in a Fantasy World Read More »
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 »
I have been following your blog with much excitement since my wife (HA alumni-99) told me about it several months ago. Although I never attended the Honor Academy, I religiously attended ATF’s through out high school and also went on two TM mission trips. In fact, I talked my wife into going to the Honor
Robbie, an active member over at our forums, recently shared his story on his own blog. While he was never an intern, his experiences at Acquire the Fire and on a Global Expeditions mission trip will ring true with a lot of us. Click here to read his story on his blog. but the story
Robbie’s Story Part 1: Acquire the Fire Read More »
The Beginning I was hopeful, as I drove in Garden Valley on the first day of my Internship. I’d just finished another summer in India, my senior high school year, and a long drive to Texas so things seemed to be on a good note. For the past 6 summers, I’d been involved with Teen
Caleb’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
