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
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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
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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,
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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
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“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
I’ve been deficient in blogging the last few months…but not for lack of things to blog about. Teen Mania continues to do crazy things, interns continue to reach out to me with the SAME stories as always and Ron Luce continues his unethical and unbiblical ways… But today, I’d like to talk specifically about Teen
Exploiting a Tragedy to Raise Money Read More »
October 18, 2012 Guest Post: Teen Mania’s Version of Love 10/18/2012 Recovering Alumni 26 comments This is another guest post by community member, Shannon Ashley. My entire Teen Mania experience has followed me with a very deep cost. I lost many things in my life as a result of the lessons I learned there. Among
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October 1, 2012 Guest Post: On Recovery 10/01/2012 Recovering Alumni 22 comments This post is written by community member, Shannon Ashley. This past summer, I turned thirty. It’s strange to consider I’m in an entirely new decade of my life and that my time at Teen Mania ended eleven years ago. My first Acquire the
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July 12, 2012 Teen Mania Annouces ESOAL (PEARL) Suspended Indefinitely 7/12/2012 Recovering Alumni 40 comments In a surprising turn of events today, Honor Academy leadership announced that the abusive ESOAL/PEARL event will be suspended indefinitely because the secular media is portraying it negatively. Not because hundreds of people have been injured, some near fatally. Not
Teen Mania Annouces ESOAL (PEARL) Suspended Indefinitely Read More »
