Several parents visited the Teen Mania campus to watch or participate in the ESOAL/PEARL event. Heath Stoner interviewed this parent, who participated with his daughter.
This man is well-spoken and believable. After watching his interview, even I want to believe him! He seems very reasonable and calmly assures us that there is no brainwashing going on at Teen Mania and that everything is perfectly Biblical and safe.
However, I found the differences between his interview and his daughter’s interview alarming.
Through sobbing tears, she says,
“On Thursday, he threw out his back and he just kept going…”
“On Friday, we did the log thing again and that was really hard to watch because his back was already hurt but he just like took it…and the Lord just wrecked my heart for him. Just the example and I’ve always looked up to him but just in a new way of him completely humbling himself, completely becoming nothing, completely leaning on the Lord as his strength; completely, even past when his body said no. And he didn’t ring out last night because he couldn’t go on. He rang out last night because he wanted me to grow and he was praying about it so he rung out.
So the man that assured us everything at ESOAL was Biblical and safe threw out his back and still refused to listen to his body? Seriously????
“No, no, I’m not brainwashed. I always throw out my back doing spiritual activities and refuse medical care. Since my daughter is crying about how awesome I am for doing that, this shows that ESOAL/PEARL is great!”