Teen Mania is no more

[GenerationCedarchip]

I know Teen Mania has been discussed on here in the past and I was aware that they had financial issues.  Apparently, they have now called it quits. The spin seems to be that they've completed their mission, so they don't need to stay around.  As always, the folks at Wartburg have some helpful commentary:

 

http://thewartburgwatch.com/2015/12/21/teen-mania-calls-it-quits-after-30-years/

Personally, I was aware of Teen Mania via Acquire the Fire growing up, but those were the sorts of events that most in my church didn't really attend.  Too much rock music, too charismatic, etc.. I did have friends in other churches who went, but I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. Some of the control tactics and groupthink almost make their "academy" sound like Gothard-lite.

[FundiesInParis]

I've never heard of these guys before, anyone care to give me the rundown? The church I grew up in was too "traditional" to ever get caught up in this stuff. 

[Dark Matters]

You can read about the experiences of the kids who participated on the Recovering Alumni blog:  http://www.recoveringalumni.com/

[Cleopatra7]

I remember seeing the MSNBC documentary and thinking what an abusive cult this was. And to my knowledge, none of these Teen Mania alums have changed the world, although many are probably stuck with PTSD and other mental problems from their TM experiences. I think the real purpose of TM was not to "change the world" but to further indoctrinate already zealous evangelical teens to remain within the fold.

[danvillebelle]

Glad to hear it.  They are based in my neck of the woods (East TX).  They won't be missed.  One of my kids has a friend who went through the boot camp or whatever.  When I read that recovering alumni site it made me want to cry.  

[Four is Enough]

Sounds like an interesting rabbit hole to fall into. Maybe after the holidays..

[GenerationCedarchip]

17 hours ago, Dark Matters said:

You can read about the experiences of the kids who participated on the Recovering Alumni blog:  http://www.recoveringalumni.com/

Yes, that site was eye-opening.  As I said, I was vaguely aware of TM through others, but it was too worldly for my old church. I had no idea this kind of stuff was happening in such a huge movement.  Very sad.

[purple_summer]

Oh god we used to get dragged to Acquire the Fire! I don't remember too many details (all those conferences start to blend together) but it was definitely a "treat" to be able to go and it was incredibly cheesy to me. 

I'm going to watch the doc and see if it rings any bells.

[Kate11]

My church went to Acquire the Fire a few times! None of us ever got sucked into Teen Mania thank goodness! The Recovering Alumni website is really informative. I got drug into that rabbit hole a few weeks ago.