General Interest > Feed Your Head
Teen Mania's Honor Academy boot-camp
Froderik:
"Teen Mania"?
Any parent who would send their kid to this place based on the name alone is a whack-job.
At best, Teen Mania sounds like the name of some band...sheesh..
People really are fucking STU-PID. :twofinger: :suicide:
cmack:
Teen Mania is an evangelical Christian ministry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Mania_Ministries
It's the kind of belief system and culture I grew up in. As a college student I drifted away from church. I was involved in the normal social scene on campus and at some point began to feel guilty. I visited the Baptist Student Union a few times, but the students there were so tightly enmeshed with each other and cliquish that I don't think anyone ever even spoke to me. So at one point I saw this new guy on campus from Campus Crusade. He was a minister/missonary, around 30 years old. He was trying to start a new ministry on campus. I stopped by his table in the student center one day where he was handing out info. and agreed to sit down and talk with him. It was like a high pressure sales job. I'm not really much of a joiner and his tactics made me feel uncomfortable, but I gave him my phone number and agreed to speak with him again later.
Not long after he contacted me at my frat house and really put the pressure on. I guess he thought I was already more committed to his cause than I was. This was only the second or third time I had ever talked to the guy and he was trying to get me to commit to large amounts of time with his group and to get him an in at my fraternity where he could recruit more people.
His tactics made me very uncomfortable and reminded me of a cult. I broke off contact with the guy and confined my Christian service/growth to the occasional Sunday morning church service when I went home to visit my parents.
Teen Mania seems even more intense. I know/knew a lot of people like this. They can justify just about any abuse in the name of serving Jesus and the young are very vulnerable and naive.
Teen Mania seems to run largely off the free/slave labor of young people who volunteer a year of their lives thinking they are serving Jesus. Oh, they have to pay for the privilege:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Mania_Ministries
--- Quote ---The Honor Academy is an internship program for high school graduates and college students. Honor Academy interns perform most of the day-to-day functions of the different ministry programs through ministry placements. First year interns are often referred to as Undergraduates. Undergraduates that decide to return for an additional year or more are referred to as Graduate Interns. Key areas of the Honor Academy include, Ministry Placements, Weekend Retreats, Classes, and Extra-Curricular Activities. In order to participate in the Honor Academy, individuals must raise their own financial support, which ranges from $650 to $850 per month depending on the specific program. These funds are a tax-deductible contribution directly to the ministry and are non-refundable.[9]
--- End quote ---
http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2011/02 ... early.html
--- Quote ---If You Leave the Honor Academy Early....
2/09/2011 Recovering Alumni 97 comments
Then God Hates You.
Well, at least thats what Dave Hasz teaches.
And I have proof.
Within their first week on campus, every new intern sits through a teaching given by David Hasz about the importance of keeping your commitment. This teaching is designed to get interns to commit to staying at the Honor Academy for a full year. After all, if interns are allowed to leave whenever they want to, then Teen Mania no longer has a dependable work force and its operations would be seriously hampered.
Of course, that is not the way its presented to the interns. They are told that if they leave the Honor Academy before their full year is up, their ability to be successful in life will be severely hindered and that even their future marriage is probably doomed since they presumably can't keep a commitment. They are also told that they will be out of God's will and therefore disobedient and rebellious. If you've never been to the HA, that might sound unconvincing or even trivial. But let me tell you, it is CONSTANTLY hammered into your brain by all levels of leadership to the point that most interns won't even entertain the thought of leaving for fear of sinning against God.
--- End quote ---
http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2010/01 ... -pt-1.html
--- Quote ---This Ethics and Leadership class gives a great glimpse of the true nature of the Honor Academy. You will see just how the interns are primed to accept the absolute control fo the HA leadership.
--- End quote ---
http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2010/02 ... -bond.html
--- Quote ---Former interns will recognize the title of this post instantly. "Our Word is Our Bond" is a teaching given during Gauntlet week (your first week at the Honor Academy). During this sermon, the interns are taught to keep their word no matter what. They are counseled that things may come up to try to distract them from their commitments, but a truly Godly person will not go back on their word no matter what comes up. The not so subtle implication is that interns should not quit the Honor Academy, because if they do they are breaking their word and are therefore in sin. This is a HUGE reason that many people stay at the Honor Academy even when they want to leave - the guilt over "sinning against the Lord" by breaking their word is too horrible to contemplate. And so they stay.
--- End quote ---
This what was said about the boot camp:
http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2009/09 ... crack.html
--- Quote ---Are They on Crack??
9/02/2009 Recovering Alumni 38 comments
That's pretty much what I think of every time I hear about ESOAL. For those of you who are unitiated, ESOAL stands for Emotionally Stretching Opportunity of a Lifetime. The interns call it "torture camp" for short. In reality, it should probably be called EABTNG or Emotionally Abusive Brainwashing and Torture in the Name of God.
Am I being too harsh here? After all, surely they wouldn't actually torture innocent kids who are paying to be there and who trust their every word. If torture was going on, surely the news and police would be all over them. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
I am here to unequivocally state that ESOAL uses well known brainwashing techniques including:
- Verbal Abuse
- Sleep Deprivation
- Fatigue
- Restricted Diet
- Excessive exact repetition of routine activities
- Dehumanizing of individuals by keeping them in filth
- Assault on identity
- Guilt
- Self-betrayal
- Breaking point
- Compulsion to confess
- Chanting and repetitive Music
Even without understanding the science and pyschology behind these brainwashing techniques, where in Scripture do we see Christ using any of these practices on his followers? Clearly, Scripture says we will be persecuted. Nearly all of the disciples were martyrs. But they didn't go looking for it. They didn't practice on each other. This is something that is never endorsed or commanded by Jesus. He said to love one another, think the best of one another, forgive and care for one another.
Forcing people to roll endlessly down vomit covered hills, depriving them of food and sleep, continously hurling insults and verbal abuse at them - I don't see how any of this behavior is even remotely justifiably by Jesus nature or Scripture.
--- End quote ---
My Teen Mania Experience
life at the Honor Academy and beyond
http://www.recoveringalumni.com/
Ursus:
From the above article:
TYLER (KYTX) - A national network documentary on East Texas based Christian youth organization Teen Mania, claims parts of the program are too extreme.[/list][/size]
-> That would be MSNBC's "Mind Over Mania," which aired about a week ago. According to the stats on that link, over 10,000 online views already...
Ursus:
From the below blog entry:
...At this time, MSNBC does not have plans to air the show online so please set your DVRs accordingly.[/list]
Apparently, MSNBC revised those plans? See my just above post for link...
-------------- • -------------- • --------------
My Teen Mania Experience
life at the Honor Academy and beyond
MSNBC Airs Documentary on Honor Academy Abuses
11/01/2011 Recovering Alumni
This Sunday night at 10pm/9pm Central MSNBC will air the premiere of their new show, "Mind Over Mania" which documents the lives and struggles of Honor Academy survivors. Earlier this year, cameras followed myself and several other alumni as we attended a weekend cult recovery workshop led by Doug and Wendy Duncan. The Duncans are experts in cult recovery and are former cult members themselves. I was acquainted with Doug and Wendy prior to this weekend workshop and had discussed my recovery with them in bits and pieces but they really didn't know that much about Teen Mania.
Until completing this workshop, I never felt comfortable calling Teen Mania a cult - instead preferring the term "cult-like." I couldn't bring myself to use that very explosive and loaded label. However, after going through the entire weekend and discussing every aspect of what makes a cult - I changed my mind and I think the other participants did as well. As we discussed Robert Lifton's 8 criteria for mind control, it was startling to see that Teen Mania's Honor Academy actually had every single one in spades.
I haven't been privy to any of the footage from this show, including the final edit. I can only hope that its a fair representation of what Honor Academy interns have gone through during their struggle to recover from the abuse at Teen Mania. Of course, there is no way a one hour program can cover everything but I hope its a good introduction to the dangers of the Honor Academy. I do know that Teen Mania senior leadership was also interviewed for the show and that the crew spent several hours on campus.
At this time, MSNBC does not have plans to air the show online so please set your DVRs accordingly.
Posted in: msnbc expose
Ursus:
There are some amazing comments left for the above blog post, "MSNBC Airs Documentary on Honor Academy Abuses" (by Recovering Alumni, 11/01/2011, My Teen Mania Experience - blog), especially once you get further into it. Here are comment #s 1-20:
Nunquam Honorablus says: November 1, 2011 9:21 AM
YESS SO EXCITED
My only question- is the series itself called "The Exit"? The 10PM slot on their website has it labeled as "Mind Over Mania". Is that just the name of the episode?
EITHER WAY, this is exciting stuff. Thanks for sharing!Carol says: November 1, 2011 9:21 AM
Just FYI - I had to search for "Mind Over Mania" on my DVR in order to find it. I couldn't find it under "The Exit". Can't wait to watch.Eric says: November 1, 2011 9:28 AM
Awesome news. I do hope there's some plan to get the footage or at least clips online some way for those of us who don't have cable.Ben says: November 1, 2011 9:37 AM
Awww, no cable :( But that's great news!Recovering Alumni says: November 1, 2011 10:22 AM
You guys are right - looks like they changed the name. Too bad - I liked the other name better. I've updated the post accordingly!Maurice Moss says: November 1, 2011 10:31 AM
Awesome! I can't wait!
Do you think someone can record it and upload it? I don't think I will be able to watch it live...Carrie Dickson says: November 1, 2011 10:49 AM
RA~ I'm so proud of you. It still pains me to call TM a cult. It still pains me that I have lost friends in the process of my recovery. It still pains me that kids are still going to TM, hoping to grow closer to God and are turned into Honor Academy-zombies. No matter how MSNBC edits this show, I know that your heart in all of this has always been to love, protect, and create a safe community for alumni who have been brave enough to take on their healing.Anonymous says: November 1, 2011 10:50 AM
it would be great if someone could upload it!Gorian says: November 1, 2011 11:14 AM
I also would love to see it, and don't have the option to watch it livemusic.is.passion says: November 1, 2011 11:53 AM
I have noticed this theme... a lot of us can not watch it, is there anyway that is can be taped and perhaps uploaded to youtube? I am not sure about what is legal and what isn't :( Thinks A Lot says: November 1, 2011 12:22 PM
WOW! Awesome!!Ricky Bobby says: November 1, 2011 1:18 PM
I'm agreed on the uploading of the show to the inter-webs.
I don't have a TV, but if its online I'd watch it.Anonymous says: November 1, 2011 1:30 PM
Wow you guys will belive anything the media puts on. The "cult expert" never even went to teen mania and the blogger who started this pack of lies never went through E.S.O.A.LEric says: November 1, 2011 2:10 PM
And to think that all this time, I thought objectivity was a valuable quality in an expert researcher. Who knew?
If you like it when people lie to the media, you'll love Dave Hasz's many lies to the media![/list]
That redheaded one says: November 1, 2011 2:13 PM
FYI I think most MSNBC Documentaries go up on Hulu within a week of first airing (Not 100 percent on that but I am pretty sure)Nunquam Honorablus says: November 1, 2011 2:14 PM
rofl
Saying "The "cult expert" never even went to teen mania", is like saying "this internationally renown doctor who can treat and diagnose cancer never went through chemo".
Also LOL ERICRicky Bobby says: November 1, 2011 2:19 PM
It seems as though this site offers a live stream of MSNBC.
http://www.yycast.com/bregando[/list]
Anonymous says: November 1, 2011 3:34 PM
IM WITH YOU ANONYMOUS.....WHAT A BUNCH OF GARBAGE!!!!!!!Maurice Moss says: November 1, 2011 3:53 PM
To Anon @ 1:30pm
Thank you for giving me a good laugh. Brightened up my afternoon! Please, I'm curious, what parts of this web site in particular are part of this "pack of lies"?
To Anon @ 3:34pm
Please continue to use all caps and excessive exclamation marks so that you will be taken seriously. As we all know, the louder you type, the more correct you are.Anonymous says: November 1, 2011 3:55 PM
lies lies lies yeah...they're gonna get you!!
Copyright © 2011 My Teen Mania Experience
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