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 »
I would like to start by saying that my faith in God’s Sovereignty has only grown over the years since I attended the Honor Academy. God knew that I would be attending the Honor Academy. He knew the experiences I would have there and how He’d be using those experiences to grow me in my
It was so hard to explain to people at church why I was back! I didn’t want to lie, but felt beat up and very weak in my spiritual walk after being at the HA for over 10 months. My parents were obviously not proud of me, and very disappointed in my track record thus
Anna’s Story, pt. 2 Read More »
Content Warning: This post contains sexual assault. I have hesitated in writing to you; to be honest what you are doing by creating this blog is scary and very brave at the same time, I believe there are many of us out there reading this blog that are hurting, and have felt alone and crazy
Anna’s Story, pt. 1 Read More »
In light of Hannah’s story and Heath’s outrageous attempts to control and manipulate her, I’d like to share my email correspondence with Heath about this issue. These emails were exchanged AFTER Heath convinced her to return to campus when she first quit. Only the names have been changed. Hannah reports that she was banned from
Behind the Scenes with Heath Stoner Read More »
A day or two after I got back home, ESOAL finished and Heath Stoner called me. He asked me why I left the HA and said that because of our previous meeting he thought we were, “on the same page.” Of course, when you isolate me in a room all day by myself and then
Hannah’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
At this point, I just needed to get off campus and clear my head so I called RA (I had already talked with her on the phone several times previously). She picked me up and I spent the weekend at her house (Labor Day). I was thinking about leaving the HA but I had mixed
Hannah’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
About two years ago, I attended an Acquire of the Fire youth conference. There I had experienced the Lord’s presence for the first time. That night I got saved and I also heard about the Honor Academy. Now remember I had just got saved so I would do anything to be closer to the Lord.
Hannah’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
A letter from Ron’s sister-in-law: I’m not even sure how to start this e-mail to you. A family member told me about your site and I have been reading it for over a year now. I am greatly saddened by the stories I read and my heart goes out to all youth who have experienced
Ron Luce’s Parenting Book: Did He Lie About His Own Family? Read More »
THE WAR Teen Mania had a bit of a crisis half-way through my undergraduate year. 9/11 had occurred, and numbers were down. Parents were hesitant to send their kids overseas on mission trips. Youth groups were backing out of ATF. The Aug. class of 2003 was shaping into an embarrassingly small one. TM wasn’t making
Jamie’s Story: Part 4 Read More »
SEXISM My Intern Advisor was also the Dean of Women. She was on staff for only one year before she and her husband moved on to something else. At our very first focus group, she passed out that dreadful list of rules along the lines of “How to be a Godly Teen Mania Woman”. By
Jamie’s Story: Part 3 Read More »
My biggest liability was that I was physically tired almost all the time. I have had this problem my whole life, but it got a lot worse after I’d been at the HA for a while. My biological clock got so messed up that I would crash in my dorm room after work and classes
Jamie’s Story: Part 2 Read More »
PROLOGUE I came to the Honor Academy with issues. I brought a lot of baggage with me, as does every intern that has had to make their way in this broken world for 17+ years. I don’t think that the leadership at the Honor Academy fully understands this. They say they do, but the infrastructure
Jamie’s Story: Part 1 Read More »
My name is Meagan (I went by Megz at the HA). I have been reading this website for quite some time now and I shared a bit of my story on one of my anonymous comments. I’ve been debating on sharing my full story on the website for some time now, but I’m finally ready
I found your site and I’ve spent the better part of 5 hours reading it, with breaks only to take care of my newborn. My heart is hurting and my brain is just spinning. For years I’ve felt invalidated by my feelings concerning this “ministry” and all that goes with it. Only in the last
I have a different kind of story to tell, but I think it is an important story for both recovering and non-recovering alumni. I was an intern August 98. I would describe my internship year as a positive experience, but I would like to explain that in more detail. Having read all of the stories
Hayley’s Story: How a Pro-TM Alumnus Learned to Listen our Stories Read More »
First of all, I just want to say Thank You for your blog. I wish I could just give you a big hug! My son went through HA and is still dealing with many “hurts” inflicted upon him there. I am just now finding out some of the details, because he has simply been unable
A Parent’s Perspective Read More »
Moderator’s Note: “Sydney” sent this story in last night. While she prefers to remain anonymous, its important to know that her story is recent and occurred sometime in the last 3 years. In my intern year, the turning point for me, the thing that I think cemented the feeling I had that something wasn’t right,
Sydney’s Story: ESOAL 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
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 »
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
It’s been hard to force myself to commit some of these thoughts to “paper”. I don’t spend much time thinking about my Teen Mania days. I don’t really keep in contact with many friends from the internship… and the relationships I still maintain have a kind of depth that doesn’t depend on the Honor Academy
