The first episode got me hyped but the next-episode teaser had clips that made me nervous. To me, episode 1 is more just history and exposition. I relate to a lot of the discussion but this was more educational than therapeutic since ATF and GE were always highlights. The teaser suggested to me that the […]
Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War ep2 – 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 »
Or Business goals vs spiritual goals (2021 Update: This post is one of ~80 hidden in the drafts folder and was not archived by the Wayback Machine. The OG RA did not write much, just the unchanged text preceding the line break below. However, it did inspire me to expound on it.) We interns (something
Truth in Advertising? Read More »
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 an episode on Teen Mania.
Belief It or Not Podcast covers Teen Mania Read More »
Dear Incoming Class of August 2014 Interns, You were probably told that when you arrived at Teen Mania in only two months, your total yearly cost would be $8,400 and that would include you living in a furnished dorm and eating all your meals in the cafeteria. And just two weeks ago, Ron Luce himself announced
Teen Mania Raises Prices Over 50% After Indicating That They Wouldn’t Read More »
Teen Mania has been seeking legitimate college credit for quite some time. If interns could receive actual college credit during their year it would be easier to recruit more of them. Now, in their brand new partnership with The King’s University (founded by Jack Hayford), Teen Mania interns may receive college credit for their classes.
Teen Mania College Credits Are Nearly Worthless Read More »
It’s been 2 years now since I found the blog. I can’t even begin to tell you what a difference it’s made for me. I’ve tried so many times to write my story. It would mean so much to me to have someone read it. I have a folder on my computer dedicated to doing
I’m clearing off my bookshelves and I have 5 books to giveaway. At midnight, I will randomly select five commenters (so pick a name – don’t be anonymous!) to win! The books are: 1) The Misunderstood God2) 12 Christian Beliefs that Can Drive You Crazy3) Emotionally Healthy Spirituality4) Twisted Scriptures5) The Ragamuffin Gospel Based on
Contest: The Honor Academy in One Word Read More »
Continuing our look at the conversation between Teen Mania’s Former Director of Marketing and Honor Academy alumni… Jeremy: after what I witnessed and was privy to as a staff member at the director level directly under Ron…TMM leadership has some massive issues…Ron specifically. The arrogance, the judgement, the spiritual manipulation, the utter lack of compassion
Former Director of Marketing: Ron Luce is Arrogant, Judgmental & Manipulative Read More »
Today we continue the bombshell revelations from Teen Mania’s former head of Marketing. This comes from a Facebook conversation on a public wall just after the Mind Over Mania documentary aired in November 2011. The entire conversation was over 60 comments and I’ve edited it down to what is most relevant and newsworthy. (As you
Former Director of Marketing: Teen Mania Investigation Was a Sham Read More »
In order to be an intern at the Honor Academy, all participants are required to fundraise for Teen Mania. To complete their year, first year interns must raise a total of $8,400. According to Teen Mania, this required “donation” is 100% non-refundable and non-transferable since you are actually giving the money to the Teen Mania
The Ethics of Required Fundraising Read More »
Note from RA: Before the current CA system, each intern “core group” was led by a staff member whose title was “Intern Advisor.” The CA’s reported directly to the IA and each intern had regular meetings with the staff member as well. From my very first one-on-one meeting with Nikki Bradshaw, (my assigned Intern Adviser
(Moderator’s Note: This story briefly mentions rape.) I was an intern at Teen Mania’s Honor Academy over ten years ago. To this day, I know I have blocked out many of the situations that occurred there. I loved and hated that year and still do. I find it so sad that for each beautiful memory
I have to insert here that my core, brother core, and sister core were wonderful. I love them to pieces and wouldn’t trade them for anything. I wouldn’t trade my time at the HA for anything because of some of the so precious relationships I still have. We loved on each other, had some wonderful
Elizabeth’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
My Honor Academy experience wasn’t nearly as overtly abusive as other people’s was. Sometimes I feel silly for even wanting to write down my story because I didn’t have any of those nutso experiences. I feel like my experiences don’t really matter because the hurts were all “little.” Even now while I’m writing this all
Elizabeth’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
My mom and dad wanted me to wait it out and stay there for the two months (that we already paid for). I got voicemails from friends and family encouraging me to stick it out. I ignored them. I had to. I couldn’t stay. Not after all that had happened that day. Adair’s parents bought
Noelle’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
Friday, August 15, 2008 – I was on a plane to Dallas, Texas. My plane was late during my connection. My mom decided to meet me in Dallas from Jacksonville. She rented a car so that way I could get bedding and storage bins and all that. We got on the road right away –
Noelle’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
In 2007, I heard about the Honor Academy internship from my Mom. I was talking with her about my future one night on the phone. I was telling her how I wasn’t sure what I was going to do after high school. She told me about Honor Academy. A girl from our old church had
Noelle’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
At this same time, I was struggling with my work life. When I first returned to MN after my divorce, I was sleeping on my mom’s couch in her one bedroom apartment. I took up a retail job and actually liked what I was doing. It was for an artsy store, so I at least
Shannon’s Story: Part 6 Read More »
The only classes I excelled in at college were the ones where professors would work with me and my chronic illness. But I continually found myself in positions where adults in authority thought they knew my story and I did not defend myself when I should have. So I continued to go down this path
Shannon’s Story: Part 5 Read More »
This was also the point when Nikki Bradshaw laid hands on me and tried to cast out my rebelliousness and desire to make people like me. I was supposed to keep a 30 day journal of things I was doing to “make people like me.” I never kept it, I guess because I was so
Shannon’s Story: Part 4 Read More »
Shannon first shared her story on the blog over a year ago: Part 1. Part 2. This is an update to her story. Many years ago, I started the Xanga blogring, “No, Teen Mania is not a cult.” I was wrong. Back when I first shared my Teen Mania experience, I was in a daze. It was the
Shannon’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
Teen Mania has long been accused of creating an elitist attitude in its Honor Academy interns. This complaint predates this website by a wide margin and is made by many pastors and parents across the country who have to deal with the interns once they leave Garden Valley. Interns are taught to feel superior to
Does the Honor Academy Teach Elitism? Read More »
A group of Honor Academy alumni have written an “Open Letter to Those Considering the Honor Academy.” I am not an author of this document nor was I involved in putting up this website, but I do support it. At the time of this writing, the document has over 70 signatures from alumni and staff all across
Open Letter from Concerned Alumni Read More »
(2021 Moderator’s Note: Allie’s Story is part of The Vault, a series of drafts that were discovered in a backup file from 2011. These posts were not published for some reason but are now being published. If you are Allie and do not want your story to remain published, please email me at recoveringalumni at recoveringalumni
Allie’s Story, part 2 Read More »
