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Permalink Reply by LovelyGirl on April 21, 2011 at 12:46pm

Shannon, 

My dad recently drove his church bus to Acquire the Fire. I explained to him and to his pastor that it was affiliated with a very abusive cult (Honor Academy). I never got a response from my dad's pastor. Instead, he just took an offering to buy next year's ATF tickets. 

 

Do you feel like ATF can lead to kids joining Honor Academy? Is there any other part of Teen Mania that's also abusive? 

Lisa

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Kish on April 21, 2011 at 10:53pm

ATF definitely leads kids to the HA. I haven't been to ATF in a few years, but when I did attend, there were commercials about the HA, GE Missions, Extreme Camps, etc. They pimp their ministry as much as possible.

 

It was during an ATF that I went to a breakout session to learn about the HA. There, I got the application and was allowed to ask a lot of questions and whatnot.

 

While the HA is definitely the most abusive, the teachings and some of the actions of every part of the ministry can be considered abusive and harmful.

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Permalink Reply by Casey Patat on April 22, 2011 at 12:36am

Hi Shannon.

I've been to ATF. It was my first ever time attending a gathering like that. I was with my youth group. I don't remember anything about HA. My memory isn't all to well when it comes to my past with my youth group. But since it was on the subject of cult I think I would like to add this to it.

 

I used to be part of a Youth Group for a non-denominational church in my town. It was great for a young christian who was ignorant like myself. It's been many years since I've associated myself with the group, but I am not kidding when I say they have formed a cult here in little Sparta. The youth pastors separated from the church when they weren't receiving (stealing) enough money to fund their little group. They have those teenagers convinced that if they leave the group then they will be devoured by the devil through people who aren't associated with them.

 

Those who do leave the group are talked bad about behind their backs. I know I've been put in a bad category by them from what few friends I have in that group. They think they have the power to control others. The tell the kids they have the spirits of biblical characters in their bodies and they have to purge themselves (I.E. starvation, hours of prayer, burning their belongings). I remember one of the pastors telling me she was coming to my house to burn all my Harry Potter books if I didn't get rid of them and repent for my sins of reading them.

 

We weren't allowed to sit with the boys and girls mixed together. We had to be separated. Even on a camping trip, the guys slept all the way on the other side of a LAKE! We rode in separate buses. Ate dinners in separate rooms.

 

There's so much more, but I don't want to take up much room. I think I'll do some research on HA and a few other groups like that.

 

Thanks for reading.

~Casey

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Kish on April 22, 2011 at 2:37pm

I hear you Casey. I can relate to your experiences.

 

Church youth groups are known for being pretty strict about the gender issue.

 

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on April 22, 2011 at 3:38pm

I consider all of my religious upbringing to be cult indoctrination but I realize you are talking about something more intense here.  For a while I was in a youth group at an alliance church that was sort of Hitler Youth inspired.  There was lots of talk of health mind, body, and spirit and a lot of activities designed to provide all three.  Sometimes we had these complicated games where we had to accomplish different physical tasks to get to stations where we would be drilled on biblical trivia or how we might respond to different questions.  There were badges you could sew on your uniform if you completed various levels and stuff like that.  It seems so long ago now and a lot of the details are really fuzzy for  me, but I do remember a couple of the boys really well - great athletes, really knew their bibles, and were eager to get out there and start challenging  the non-believers.

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Kish on April 23, 2011 at 3:22pm

To some extent, I think that all religions can be considered cults.

 

I am sorry to hear about your experience in a cult.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on April 23, 2011 at 7:03pm

Thank you. I think it made me a stronger person though, but whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen.

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Permalink Reply by Kenneth Montville D.D. on April 23, 2011 at 8:07pm

I can't imagine growing up in a cult. I was raised a liberal Episcopalian by my mother with the occasional French Catholic traditions imposed by my father's parents. When my parents agreed to compromise on a Southern Baptist church I quickly realized the congregation was all bat-shit crazy, read the bible for insight and stopped believing in God. I was about 11 or 12 when that happened.

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Kish on April 23, 2011 at 10:13pm

I was only in a cult for a year, but the effects of being in a cult for even that long have been far reaching. I was in a cult in 2001. I dropped out of college after my freshman year to spend a year at Teen Mania's Honor Academy. I moved to Texas and paid Teen Mania $4500/month (with the help of sponsors) to work for them for 40+ hours a week and endure a year of torture and other things.

 

We actually have a community of ex-interns at www.recoveringalumni.com where our stories are posted as well as current deceptive practices and whatnot is reported on.

 

The most damaging time at the cult I was in was ESOAL. ESOAL stands of Emotional Stretching Opportunity of a Lifetime. This event last anywhere from 36-72 hours. During the event the interns are treated like dirt and made to go through obstacles similar to Navy Seals Hell Week. We were sleep deprived, food deprived, and emotionally abused during the event. It was a horrible event.

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