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 »
After Ron Luce accused World Magazine of making false statements in their last article, World Magazine has responded by releasing a scathing report by independent auditors. Of particular note, in the wake of the original article, Board member and former intern, Nathan Moody, resigned his position. The auditors report can be found here and is full of sound advice
World Magazine Follow Up: Teen Mania Turmoil Continues Read More »
In a recent blog post, Honor Academy Director Jeff Pruett purposely plagiarizesCBN’s story on author John Hagees crazy blood moon prophecy theory. (And then hints that a nuclear holocaust may happen in the near future.)I say purposely because he often changes only one word in a sentence like saying that particular events in Israel’s history
Honor Academy Director Plagiarizes Read More »
Update 5/11/2014 8 COMMENTS Eric | April 22, 2014 at 4:57 pm | ReplyAnd for the bonus round, can anyone find a suitable quote from TM about the importance of good stewardship?This again raises questions about ECFA accreditation– if $4.1m in debt counted (till last month) as “good standing,” then we probably have to conclude that the ECFA badge
Teen Mania is 6th Most Insolvent Charity in the Nation Read More »
World Magazine just published an in depth report on some of the circumstances that have led to Teen Mania’s foreclosure. The entire article is fascinating and covers both things mentioned here as well as some new facts. One item that was news to me: for the past two years, Ron Luce has used the Dallas marathon
World Magazine Reports on Teen Mania’s Unethical Use of Donations Read More »
It was the summer of 2007 and I was in Tijuana, Mexico building homes on a Teen Mania mission trip with nearly 600 teens from around the country. A young girl on my team was a current intern at Teen Mania and mentioned to me that the ministry had been hunting for Ron’s new assistant.
Last month, Teen Mania lost their accreditation with the ECFA. (2021 Update: The former member page covers only the prior 12 months of a given year. So the link points to the Wayback Machine showing Teen Mania’s termination March 10th 2014.) The ECFA (Evangelical Center for Financial Accountability) “provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully
Teen Mania No Longer Accredited by ECFA Read More »
Yesterday, Teen Mania’s Communication Director officially retracted her statements regarding Teen Mania’s foreclosure. She originally stated the following in a comment on the Charisma News article: …What has happened to Teen Mania financially is the same as what is happening with untold other ministries, organizations, etc. in these tighter economic times. …We are being as
February 18, 2014 Teen Mania College Credits Are Nearly Worthless 2/18/2014 Recovering Alumni 14 comments 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
Teen Mania College Credits Are Nearly Worthless Read More »
The Great & Powerful Oz: Behind the Curtain of Teen Mania Ministries It was February 2008 and I was standing in an expansive crowd at the New York City BattleCry. I was surrounded by thousands upon thousands of young people lifting up the name of God in worship. It should have been the very pinnacle
February 10, 2014 Reaction to Teen Mania International Alumni Conference Call 2/10/2014 Recovering Alumni 6 comments Teen Mania International setup a conference call for Ron Luce to explain why the ministry is in foreclosure and what their future plans are. The call lasted about an hour and can be heard here: I will share a
Reaction to Teen Mania International Alumni Conference Call Read More »
Teen Mania announced today that they can no longer afford their compound in East Texas and are entering a “friendly foreclosure” with the bank, which allows them to take less of a hit on their credit than full blown foreclosure proceedings. (Which would have likely been inevitable.) Anyone who has been watching their trajectory over
Breaking News: Teen Mania Campus in Foreclosure Read More »
June 25, 2013 VH1 Show about Ex-Cult Members 6/25/2013 Recovering Alumni 3 comments I was recently contacted by a casting agent for a new VH1 show. I do not know enough about the project to endorse it, but if feel like this would be a good idea for your recovery and are interested in participating,
VH1 Show about Ex-Cult Members Read More »
May 20, 2013 Mark’s Story 5/20/2013 Recovering Alumni 20 comments Hmm. Where to begin? I guess that my name is Mark. I was very recently at Teen Mania as an intern and also as a Core Advisor. In this story(or rant) I will be, for the first time, recounting some of my experiences at TM.
May 2, 2013 Megyn’s Story 5/02/2013 Recovering Alumni 6 comments Since I came to Teen Mania as a staff member instead of an intern, my story is a little different than most here. I graduated from Bible College in the early 90’s and struggled with what I was supposed to do with my life. I
“Hangman we played double dutch with a hand grenadeBehind the church, hiding place. Apathetic to the devil’sFace. Wear the sheriff’s badge put your toys awayThey let us go saying let us pray!“ Time passes at an individual pace but offers us–the individuals–absolutely no negotiation. We do not get a say, nor can we decide how
Youth Without Youth Read More »
March 20, 2013 David Hasz Hired by Bethany College of Missions 3/20/2013 Recovering Alumni 23 comments After leaving Teen Mania last year, David Hasz went to work at a company in the Houston area that was staffed by many Honor Academy alumni. Now, he has moved on to another “ministry” job. After serving on their
David Hasz Hired by Bethany College of Missions Read More »
“There has to be a better way to love God and feel free.” -Esther, Paradise Recovered Paradise Recovered is an independent film that follows a fundamentalist believer’s journey to freedom. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is at the heart of story, though here it is a church that has robbed our victim and left
Filmspiration: Paradise Recovered Read More »
Ever since I saw the Mind of Mania broadcast and found this blog, I’ve considered posting, but never did until now. I suppose it is because I am embarrassed to say I ever had anything to do with Teen Mania or even worse, that I recommended it to others. I was horrified by what I
Note: This is a response to a video made by an intern and aimed at interns, about how to work as a Christian in a non-Christian job. I’m hoping that those in our community who are not Christians will also contribute to this discussion, as I know there’ll be great points made. Above is a YouTube video for Honor
If You’re Working in “The World”, You’re Doing it Wrong. Read More »
I write because its 2013, and I’m still pretty torn up. I went on a mission trip with GE in 2011. But who knew one month of my life could hurt me so much?! Right when I think I’m over it, I can see and feel everything all over again.Its like time picks at scabs
Last month on the Honor Academy Director’s Blog, Ron Luce wrote a post called What’s the Real Cost of a Video Game? (which has since gone defunct) In it, Ron made a correlation between violent video games (aka worldly culture) and the Newtown Massacre: If we know nothing else about this 20 year old gunman,
Creating a Culture of Killing Read More »
(disclaimer: I’m not endorsing the United Methodist church–I just think this is a good message.) Christmas is complicated. At least, that’s my experience, but I would guess it’s a hard time of year for others in the community as well. In my case, the holidays stir up a deep loneliness and longing for family. Some
So This is Christmas… and What Have We Done? Read More »
I recently hosted a screening of The Pink Room Movie with a small group of strangers–mostly friends of friends and college students five to ten years younger than myself. Someone asked how I’d found the film and I gave a brief explanation that a Teen Mania friend introduced me to it. Two girls beamed up at me
Ever since Mica asked me if I would like to take over the RA blog, I have been contemplating how to start my first post. In the past I have spontaneously and awkwardly contributed my story, as well as some thoughts about healing or lessons I learned at the Honor Academy. But taking over the
