This past weekend, 20/20 aired a scathing expose on the widespread abuse happening within Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Churches (IFB). You can watch it here. (2021 Update: It seems ABC does not have this linked anymore. You can watch the first part on YouTube here.) The IFB is a loose association of churches that also have their […]
20/20 Exposes Church Abuses Read More »
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 »
Here are a few blog posts that stood out to me over the last month. I hope you like them as much as I do! 1) The Allure of Toxic Leaders We are apparently attracted to toxic leaders. Psychological dynamics that lead us to rally around such leaders include a subconscious longing for a parental
Note: If this is your first time here, please check the “Abuse Allegations” tab at the top or the “true stories” category on the right to read about abuse at Teen Mania. One of the most common questions that was asked during our protest is do we think the Acquire the Fire event is bad?
At the Protest: Is Acquire the Fire Abusive? Read More »
Note: If this is your first time here, click the ‘Abuse Allegations’ tab at the top or the ‘true stories’ category on the right to read about the abuse. On Saturday, some local alumni and I held a protest at the Dallas Acquire the Fire. We wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of the
Protesting the Dallas Acquire the Fire Read More »
Last summer, Teen Mania hosted a conference call between David Hasz and former interns. During the call, he was asked if it was ethical to make almost $80,000 in rental income from Teen Mania in addition to his $80,000 salary. After all, David Hasz has been known to tell interns that if God has not
Why Did David Hasz Lie About His Rental Income? Read More »
In the past few days, we’ve seen some heinous treatment of interns including facilitators and staff members that terrorized a girl with a cockroach, watched idly as a guy has a panic attack, and Heath Stoner taunts interns as he literally endangers their lives. In the first few seconds of this short clip, you’ll see
ESOAL: Do Facilitators Enjoy Harassing Interns? Read More »
In last night’s service at Teen Mania, Ron mentioned that there are a lot of “squirrelly” things happening in the name of Christianity. Watch live streaming video from teenmaniaauditorium at livestream.com @45:20 – There is a lot that is unfortunately going on out there that is unfortunately under the name of Christianity that really
Ron Luce and I Agree on Something! Read More »
The Honor Academy teaches an extreme version of submission that leads to an oppressive authoritarian environment. Interns are so conditioned to submit without question, that they will even commit a sin if commanded to do so by David Hasz or other Teen Mania leadership. Of course, Teen Mania would deny this accusation, but as always,
Would You Commit a Sin if David Hasz Told You To? Read More »
Today’s video features the incredibly dangerous “vacation” hosted by none other than Heath Stoner. Of course, before he coerces them into this very dangerous activity, he first states that ESOAL is optional and you can quit at any time. He even goes so far as to say you should never get mad at the facilitators
ESOAL: Heath Stoner Endangers Interns Read More »
You may remember Lauren’s story from ESOAL 2003. She was put in a coffin that contained mice and cockroaches. Apparently, Teen Mania was very fond of using cockroaches that year. In this video, at least 4-5 facilitators crowd around a girl, put a large cockroach on her head and then demand she get in a
ESOAL: Girl Terrorized with Cockroach Read More »
The only way I can describe the footage you are going to see over the next 3 days is that these interns are literally being terrorized. Over and over, David Hasz claims that the most extreme elements of ESOAL happened because of rogue facilitators stepping out of bounds and that they have put measures in
Honor Academy’s ESOAL: Disturbing Footage Read More »
Every day this week, we are going to look at some disturbing footage from ESOAL (the event based on Navy Seals hell week). In an attempt to instill humility and rid interns of the “fear of man,” some male interns are required to wear very feminine dresses and headbands throughout ESOAL. But that alone is
Gender Confusion at ESOAL Read More »
Teen Mania says that ESOAL is an optional, voluntary event. They claim that interns are not required to participate nor are they forced to endure the event longer than they want to. They can ring out at anytime. In my cult recovery group, we have a saying for that, “Its voluntary, if you volunteer.” In this post,
Honor Academy: ESOAL is NOT Optional Read More »
I was recently corresponding with a reader who shared about their journey of coming to terms with their Honor Academy experience and I thought it was a great summation of the path many of us take towards recovery: It has only recently occurred to me that my time with TM was really messed up. It’s
The Process is Slow Read More »
During his Week of the Ring sermon this week, Heath Stoner preached about honesty and telling the truth no matter the cost. (Kind of like a lecture from Bernie Madoff about fiscal responsibility.) Any who, Heath used a clip from the movie “Les Misérables” to emphasize his point that you should “swear to your own
Ignoring Context = Sloppy (and Wrong!) Preaching Read More »
Well, I’ve put off writing this post for weeks. Honestly, it seems silly to dignify the accusations by refuting them here, but I guess the rumors have spread far enough that I should address it, especially for people who might be new here. As you may remember, in the fall, Teen Mania commissioned a lawyer,
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Lie About ‘Em Read More »
1) Alumnus and sometimes commenter Brad Kelly is coming out with his first album. To celebrate, he’s giving away a free download of his song Kaby Lake, and its pretty good! It’s got kind of a U2 vibe to it so go check it out. Brad said, “Music for me has always been something I’ve enjoyed,
One of our forum members recently shared a link to some great information about mind control. I’m excerpting part of it here. Reflect on your experiences at the HA and answer these questions to see if you were under mind control tactics. How many questions can you answer “yes” to? 1. Is your doctrine legislated rather
Katie Luce teaches a women’s class at the Honor Academy called Risen. Some wonderful people inside Teen Mania have provided me with the audio and PowerPoints from some of her messages during the fall semester of 2010. Katie often likes to talk about God’s power and desire to give us physical healing. During that sermon
Katie Luce on ESOAL Read More »
Honor Academy interns are not allowed to date during their first year at Teen Mania. You might be surprised to find that I don’t have a problem with the idea behind that guideline. The problem is how its enforced and built into the culture at the HA and equated with sin. Did you know that
Get Away You Creep 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
I’ve been thinking about my post H.A. experience for a while, I wanted to share it. I left the H.A. in the middle of my second year, spring 2008. I went home with an elitist attitude towards everyone in my church… much to my personality, I’m loud and passionate naturally- whether I’m right or wrong.
Shiloh’s Recovery Story Read More »
The Honor Academy recently posted this video recapping a recent chapel service preached by Emmie Harper, long time staffer at Teen Mania who now serves as Director of Operations for Global Expeditions (the missions department of Teen Mania). With regards to foreign missions, Emmie says: 00:54 – We’re not sending enough people. If you ask
You Should Probably Be on the Mission Field Read More »
