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#ShowFilm98
#Shiny Happy People
#Shiny Happy People
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00:00Hi, my name is Ray, and I'm a Christian musician, and I'm also gay, and I want you to know that
00:06it gets better.
00:09Our dad, he had a very successful career, but he had a bit of a secret.
00:15No one knew all those years.
00:18He became very depressed.
00:21At the time, I was coming back from the internship frankly destroyed.
00:25Dad's career starts to slow down a little bit, and I started to get really concerned
00:30about Dad's mental health.
00:32And here's Daddy.
00:35We have him after his long, long drive.
00:39We sat him down at a family meeting.
00:42Which we do not have family meetings.
00:43We don't do that.
00:44That is not a thing our family does.
00:45We don't need to talk about that.
00:46We don't talk about things.
00:48We just got very earnest, and we're like, Dad, what's wrong?
00:52I had prayed for 30 years, I gave my heart to the Lord at 19.
00:57I went to church, I went to counseling, I went through deliverance.
01:01I did every single thing that everybody said to do, and at the end of 30 years, I just decided
01:07I can't pretend anymore.
01:10I was with my children and my wife, and I thought, if I can't tell them who I really am and what
01:15I'm going through, what kind of a father am I?
01:20We immediately, we supported him, we told him how much we loved him, I was like, guys,
01:27I think it's fine to be gay, like, I think it's good, I think it's like, okay.
01:34Dad came out publicly, and church turned on him.
01:38Can a gay person be a Christian?
01:55Some people have it so nailed down that nobody can be a Christian.
01:58I kind of decided the only person that can really answer that question is Jesus and you.
02:05After my internship, the next spring, I ran into Ron at the Acquire the Fire when it came
02:10to Muncie, and we sat together for like 30 minutes.
02:15Dad came up, and he was like, oh, homosexuality's bad.
02:20He wished me well, and that was the last time I talked to Ron.
02:23I wasn't quite like, I'm never touching this organization again.
02:26However, in the few years following,
02:32Teen Mania just becomes crazier than you ever imagined.
02:36Whoever speaks up most gets to shape the culture.
02:40Suddenly, he's holding events on the steps of government buildings.
02:44Do you consider being gay a crime?
02:46Well, you know, we believe in purity.
02:48According to the Bible, it's not God's plan.
02:50The message, they say, is very divisive rather than inclusive.
02:57The message of Jesus was divisive as well.
02:59And Ron recruits a generation into holy war.
03:03Yes, Lord!
03:06Oh, God, give us this generation!
03:08Oh, God, we're going to war!
03:11The gay marriage movement is spreading.
03:25In the early 2000s, same-sex marriage was a big issue in the United States.
03:30The Christian right leaders, the Arlington Group in particular,
03:34are sitting there thinking about how do we politically organize it.
03:38Same-sex marriage was a battleground that they wanted to fight on.
03:42The most dangerous national policy being considered now, of course, is same-sex marriage.
03:52I think what's sometimes misunderstood about fundamentalism is it's not driven so much by
04:00any of the particular issues of the day.
04:03The idea that a woman has rights or the idea that your body is your own and you can be queer or whoever
04:13you are, these are all, in the fundamentalist mind, rebellions against the authority of God.
04:20The promotion of homosexuality is a deplorable reality that we cannot countenance.
04:27Something must be done.
04:28This group has seen its cultural power declining, has seen its numbers shrinking.
04:33A large majority of young people support same-sex marriage, leading some supporters to believe
04:39increasing national support is inevitable as the younger generation gains more power.
04:46These men who had been in it for a long time knew that you've got to capture these kids before it's too late.
04:52We need them because they're going to be voters in the future.
04:56They knew they needed that power.
04:58It was about cultivation, right? It was about long-term victories.
05:03They needed the army of kids.
05:07They needed Ron, and Ron's ready.
05:09The last couple years have been pretty alarming to me because we have so much to lose if we lose this generation.
05:15We could be in total moral chaos and anarchy if we don't turn this thing around.
05:19We've got to do something about it.
05:21It's Ron's chance to be the good son trying to please his father.
05:26The world lulled us to sleep and told us things like, there's no right or wrong.
05:30Why not legalize gay marriage? I mean, come on, what's wrong? It's just a different thing.
05:36Besides, you were born that way. That's what the world's told us.
05:38He desires to see a dramatic response.
05:43And he starts dreaming really big what could be done to build a massive political force of kids
05:51dedicated to a god-led nation. And so he creates Battle Cry.
05:57Teen Maniac already had the Honor Academy Global Expeditions and Acquire the Fire.
06:07Battle Cry was designed to be a bigger Acquire the Fire.
06:19Battle Cry was Acquire the Fire on steroids.
06:22I didn't hear you. Let me hear your Battle Cry tonight.
06:29These were big stadium events, really getting people pumped up.
06:32I want to say he had like seals or something propelled down from part of the stadium.
06:40But wait, there's more.
06:41We've launched this campaign called Battle Cry for a Generation.
06:44This was a movement.
06:45A call to be politically active.
06:48Battle Cry for a Generation, the book study series.
06:51The ultimate interactive website designed to launch you into battle and to help you be an intense warrior
06:57for Christ as you fight on the front lines.
07:00Everything was a military metaphor. And he'd been using that before, but he took it to a new extreme.
07:07And suddenly it was like, oh my gosh, there's news coverage of this.
07:11Let me hear your Battle Cry tonight.
07:24I'm looking at a whole army of young people who want to speak up.
07:28It's the red and the black. This was fascism in front of me on a massive scale. It goes from the idea of a Christian right that's like, we want our piece of the pie to, you know, we want, we're taking the whole thing. We're taking America back.
07:47What if we quit listening to the culture and we said, we want to shape the culture instead of being shaped by the culture?
07:53What if we said we want our voice to be heard instead of your voice to be heard?
07:57He no longer wanted the kids to turn away from the culture. Now he wanted them to take it over.
08:02It was the first time that it was very much trying to get the youth involved in political issues as opposed to just being an event to inspire them.
08:10This sounds like a message of, you know, bringing back your values, but it's actually a message of intolerance and of hate.
08:17You could say it's, it's divisive. Well, maybe it needs to be divisive. It starts gathering in support from pretty serious conservative sources of capital.
08:29The Arlington group. I want you to join the battle cry. The battle cry coalition.
08:36No, he did it. He brought them the children. Lord, as an army, we unite and we say, no, enough is enough. They're a warrior. God used them.
08:47You've narrowed Christianity down to one word. Fight. The enemy has declared war on you guys, but it's time to strike back with the love of God. Are you ready?
08:59If you build that army, eventually you have to give them their marching orders.
09:08If you're telling them that it's all high stakes, eventually you got to point them into a battle.
09:16That pivot happened very quickly.
09:18Tens of thousands of teens waving banners and saying they're taking back their generation.
09:23We won't be silent. Our voices will be heard.
09:27These big arena events are now accompanied by we're going to do a rally at some place of governance to an explicitly political end.
09:37We've got virgin teenage America being raped on the sidewalk and Americans just walk by and look at it.
09:44Ron started leading the kids in political protests and he had never done that before.
09:48And one of the very early ones is in San Francisco. He goes to San Francisco City Hall because same sex marriages had only a couple of years previous become legal there.
10:01I think he felt emboldened to go to San Francisco to the steps of City Hall in the gayest city in America and he wanted to plant himself right in the middle of the culture wars and get as many kids as he could to follow him.
10:16They said pretty explicitly we're not here because it's a heavily gay city. They said we're here because it's one of the most secular cities in the country.
10:21Well they went there because of gay marriage in part. That's what they said in their press release.
10:24We're here as teenagers just to stand up as the leaders of this cultural war that is just fighting up and saying enough is enough.
10:32There is no doubt in my mind that they were seeing this as a confrontation between church and enemy of the church.
10:41This was a movement upon San Francisco.
10:45San Francisco, God bless them, pushes back hard.
10:49Protesters were out in full force accusing the group of being anti-gay and anti-choice.
10:55Battle cry is not a harmless movement. Its program is fiercely anti-woman, anti-gay, pro-war, and pro-obedience.
11:06Battle cry is a drool to make the kids into little fascist zombies.
11:09The army of God. You guys don't see anything wrong with the army of God.
11:13They're calling us angry yet they were the ones angry.
11:15We didn't realize that it was kind of a hotbed for a very violent response to people who represent the Bible.
11:24I can't imagine that he would play ignorant. I'm like, oh, I didn't even realize.
11:28It represents a far bigger agenda, a Christian right, theocratic agenda.
11:32Joining us now from Washington, Ron Luce.
11:34I think you might want a theocracy in this country. Is that true?
11:38Absolutely not. We just want young people to have a voice.
11:41We're being drowned out by all this.
11:42Do you want the Bible to go over into public policy?
11:45We want just Judeo-Christian values that made our nation great.
11:48And it's really less about what I want. It's what these young people are voicing their own opinion.
11:52We were at war. We were an army for God.
11:58We were going to rise up with a battle cry.
12:01But the bad thing about using that sort of mindset is that you create a soldier who will follow orders in an unquestioning way
12:10because that's what you have to do when you're being shot at.
12:14And I don't know how you segment your mind to not think about the ramifications of what you are doing to kids.
12:26Honor Academy interns were behind the scenes running almost everything that you saw at these events.
12:35You're working 15-hour days. You're sacrificing yourself for this vision.
12:39Team meeting was like a giant systemic machine.
12:42We did dozens of cities in a row, sleeping on a bus as we drove through the night.
12:47We were exhausted.
12:48I got shingles from the stress.
12:53They're giving us $5 a day to eat with.
12:55We have to trust God for the rest of it.
12:58And I remember once running out of money.
13:00And I was like, okay, I'll just call it a fast.
13:03All of those young people who provide the labor that is his operation,
13:09that is absolutely exploiting these kids.
13:13At the Honor Academy, there was a monthly tuition.
13:17You pay to work.
13:18I was in the middle of the ministry team touring.
13:20They were starting to help me for money.
13:22If you ever got behind on your payments, you would get kicked out.
13:26When you don't have enough money in your accounts,
13:28they send you on what is called a fundraising trip.
13:31They told me that they were going to send me on a fundraising trip
13:34or dismiss me after I spent that entire year traveling the country,
13:38saving people for them, getting people to go on mission trips for them.
13:41Here's a book on all the different things that you can do to raise funds,
13:46one of which included going door-to-door with a carton of eggs
13:49and having someone give you a donation to crack an egg over your head.
13:54I will let you crack an egg over my head for a donation of any amount.
14:01Crack an egg over my head.
14:03Shame.
14:05Embarrassment.
14:05I think the theology of teen media is based on the impossibility of the ask.
14:13We're asking you to be something you can't be if you're going to be human.
14:18There's no point where you say, I did it.
14:20You're always failing.
14:22Well then, try more.
14:24Do more.
14:26Become more.
14:26Serve more.
14:27Submit more.
14:28These kids, they were disposable.
14:35About a quarter of the interns didn't last the whole year,
14:38whether it was they couldn't raise the money or they broke one of the rules.
14:43People who broke a rule, they would get a BV, which was a bon voyage,
14:47which was a very unceremonious exit.
14:50Within 24 hours, you were out of campus.
14:52Like, you were kicked out like that.
14:53Once they were gone, you never spoke to them again.
14:55It was like they never existed, almost.
14:58I was dismissed for kissing a boy.
15:02And it was just a kiss.
15:03So, this is the Master Team, and I would like you to see what goes on here.
15:10The people that I have grown to love and know the best,
15:13now they weren't allowed to talk to me.
15:17They had to delete my number, and I was kicked off campus.
15:21It was just like, I did not exist.
15:26Very lonely.
15:28Very, very lonely.
15:32I miss you so
15:35You don't even know
15:40You could return to the Honor Academy after you were kicked out of the program.
15:45However, we would have to humble ourselves.
15:49And once we had done all of the things that were required by Dave, by Ron,
15:56then we could reapply to come back.
16:00A lot of us wanted to go back.
16:03Nobody knew how to live out in the world anymore.
16:06I went through a really rough year, but I was able to go back.
16:13The more you get into that guilt cycle, the more committed you become to the organization.
16:17The more unworthy you are, the more grateful you are for them letting you stay there.
16:23I just made choices that I shouldn't have, knowingly.
16:27Like, knowing that it was wrong.
16:29Knowing that there would be consequences.
16:31After I came back to Teen Mania, I ended up in an Acquire the Fire video.
16:39I've been where you are and then some
16:42I know exactly what you're feeling
16:47I've been with my share of gentlemen
16:52In that video, they're supposed to mimic this story in the Bible of the adulterous woman.
16:58And he who has no sin cast the first stone.
17:01But in the video, it's this woman, me, in this room.
17:06The door opens and these three men come in.
17:11And the video was shown all across America.
17:16Every Acquire the Fire that year.
17:17I, as a woman, who was shamed for something that I had done
17:23was now in a video broadcast to the world
17:27about a woman who was shamed for what she had done.
17:33But I volunteered to do it.
17:37The indoctrination is complete now.
17:46It is inside you.
17:48You're doing it to yourself.
17:50And you're doing it willingly.
17:52And then it was my turn to be erased.
18:00I was still working as Ron's assistant.
18:03I was just getting super, super depressed.
18:06And I didn't understand why.
18:08I read my Bible every day.
18:10I had my quiet times.
18:11I prayed.
18:11I only hung out with Christian people.
18:13I didn't date.
18:14You know, I served God.
18:15I was on fire for God.
18:16I thought that doing all of the right things
18:20would lead to, like, the right outcome.
18:22And so why am I so depressed?
18:24Why am I suicidal?
18:25You know, why do I feel so much guilt and shame
18:27and condemnation all the time?
18:29I must be doing it wrong.
18:31I must have sin.
18:33There must be something bad about me
18:35that's just irredeemable and broken.
18:40Every day they tell you, you're elite.
18:42You're changing the world.
18:43So they're pumping you up all the time.
18:44They're also breaking you down.
18:46Sin, guilt, shame, you're bad.
18:48All of these things.
18:49And to the point that you're in a prison,
18:51nobody else can see it,
18:52but the prison is in your mind.
18:56This whole teen mania thing has had me way down.
19:00All this depression crap and this low self-esteem,
19:03always thinking the most negative thing,
19:04always just wallowing in self-pity and depression.
19:08I just can't live like this anymore.
19:10That's where I'm at right now.
19:12Finally, I met with Dave Haas.
19:14I was like, I need help.
19:17I remember sitting across from him in his office.
19:20You know, he looked at me and said,
19:21well, you just need to go to church more.
19:23I couldn't be doing more Christian stuff if I tried.
19:27I mean, I couldn't have done anymore.
19:29And that was the moment where I was like,
19:30no, I'm leaving.
19:32Like, this is, I'm not going to survive if I stay here.
19:35But it's scary to leave.
19:40In that kind of an environment,
19:41there's such a feeling of belonging and community.
19:49That's what keeps people there a lot.
19:52People construct an identity in that space of who they are.
20:04To leave is to separate from that identity.
20:07So to move on to a new space
20:10was to leave that sense of self behind.
20:15I think that makes almost an impossible choice.
20:17This life that you're like so deeply entrenched in
20:20is gone.
20:23I was caught in this in-between space.
20:26The stuff that really
20:28caused the most trauma
20:32is stuff that is a lot harder to put on video.
20:36It took a while for me to
20:39actually talk about
20:41everything that happened
20:43because I thought it was normal.
20:45I left Teen Mania feeling
20:48something was wrong with me.
20:49I internalized a lot of that.
20:51I excused a lot of
20:53what went on there
20:55because it's like
20:56you must protect your authority figures.
20:59Even when we were grown up
21:01and adults and married with kids,
21:02we still didn't talk about it.
21:05I never planned to be
21:07the demise of Teen Mania.
21:10I just thought
21:11I want to help somebody
21:12and give them the advice
21:13that I wish somebody gave me.
21:15Teen Mania has an alumni bulletin board
21:19and people would have threads
21:20talking about current events
21:22but there started to be people
21:24who had beef
21:25and wanted to talk about it.
21:27Teen Mania was like
21:28stopping that discourse.
21:30Well, if you don't like this,
21:32this is a Teen Mania paid for space
21:33so you can pay for your own space
21:37which Micah took very seriously.
21:40It was about ten years
21:45after I left
21:46when I started the blog.
21:52At that time,
21:53Teen Mania
21:54was really at the peak
21:55of, you know,
21:56their popularity.
21:57You're just showing your city
22:02that there are young people
22:03that love God
22:04that you don't want
22:05to be manipulated
22:06by a bunch of old people
22:07making money
22:07off of destroying you.
22:10Teen Mania was raking in
22:11$20 million a year.
22:14Even George W. Bush
22:15endorsed Teen Mania.
22:20I started the blog
22:21as an outlet for people
22:23to share their stories
22:24and to tell the truth
22:26about what Teen Mania
22:27actually is like
22:28and find healing.
22:30I wrote the blog
22:31anonymously at the beginning
22:33because it was really
22:33important to me
22:34that people contend
22:35with the arguments
22:36that I was making
22:37and not with who I was
22:38as a person.
22:41I think the fact
22:42that it had been
22:43so repressed
22:44as soon as a little
22:46opening came
22:47like people were ready
22:48to rush through the door.
22:49Nobody knew
22:56who was behind the blog
22:57but I reached out
22:59to the person
22:59and just said
23:01hey, thank you
23:02for saying this.
23:04You are now validating
23:06everything that I already knew.
23:10When Micah started
23:12the Recovering Alumni blog
23:13she sent it to me
23:14and said
23:15hey, I'm starting this.
23:17I invite you
23:17to be a part of it.
23:18And I was like
23:18I love this.
23:19I love this engagement.
23:21Like this is fun.
23:23We had like
23:23a really lively
23:24comment section
23:25just trying to like
23:26validate each other
23:27like yeah
23:28you did go through that
23:29and that was heinous.
23:31There started to be threads
23:33and more and more threads.
23:34Hey, what about this?
23:36Hey, did anybody
23:36like little pieces?
23:39And I start reading it
23:40every day.
23:41It was very shocking
23:42over the top
23:43over the line abusive.
23:45They would take a team
23:46of us to an abandoned well
23:47and make them crawl
23:48down the hole
23:49and through a pipe.
23:49Riding around
23:50in four wheelers
23:51shooting at us
23:52with paintball guns.
23:54They have people
23:54actually eating cat food.
23:56One of the people
23:57in my company
23:57lost consciousness
23:58and the other
23:59was finally released
24:00when her temperature
24:00reached 100.
24:01Permanent physical injuries.
24:03Permanent trauma.
24:05Real life torture.
24:06I was actually locked
24:08in a coffin twice
24:08during my easel
24:09with mice
24:10and Madagascar
24:12hissing cockroaches.
24:13They were publishing
24:14stories from survivors
24:16who detailed
24:17their experiences
24:18of abuse.
24:20I think everybody
24:22felt like
24:23somebody's finally
24:24hearing it
24:25because it's a really
24:27particular kind
24:28of loneliness
24:28to go through
24:30something
24:30and then to have
24:32nobody believe you
24:33about what you went through.
24:34This is Dave Oz
24:48joining you
24:49from Garden Valley, Texas.
24:51I had some people
24:51telling me about
24:52a particular website
24:54where there were
24:54some alumni
24:55that had some frustrations
24:56about the ministry.
24:57There are stories
24:58on that site
24:59that sometimes are true
25:00and then there's
25:01sometimes there's stories
25:02that are not true.
25:04Once the blog took off
25:06and a lot of people
25:07were sharing stories
25:08I realized that
25:09this was widespread enough
25:12it needed to be addressed
25:13and so I gathered
25:1720 pages of stories
25:19I FedExed it
25:22to each and every
25:23board member's
25:24home or business
25:25and contacted Dave Oz
25:27who was in charge
25:28of the Honor Academy
25:29had gone through
25:30all the levels
25:31of leadership
25:31and expected
25:33or hoped
25:34that they would
25:36read this and go
25:36oh man
25:37I had no idea
25:39this was going
25:39we got to get on this
25:40we got to fix this
25:41this is awful
25:41that is not the response
25:43that we got.
25:45Hey well this is
25:46Recovering Alumni
25:47and Dave I've got
25:48a few questions for you
25:49earlier you said
25:50that ESOL has changed
25:51a lot
25:52I wanted to read you
25:53a few of the things
25:53that have been reported
25:54in the last three years
25:55we've got hypothermia
25:56leg, knee, ankle injuries
25:58people that were
25:59having panic attacks
26:00were told that
26:01they were just
26:01fighting their flesh
26:02people that were
26:04type 2 diabetic
26:05told to eat
26:05without their insulin
26:06people who became
26:07suicidal
26:08how do you justify
26:09an event that
26:10causes so many injuries?
26:12My turn
26:13I think anytime
26:15you get 500 teenagers
26:16and you go outside
26:17and you run around
26:18for five straight days
26:19there is no possible
26:21chance you're going
26:22to do that
26:22not dislocate a kneecap
26:24sprained an ankle
26:25there are stories
26:27you're telling there
26:27that I've never heard of
26:28I never had anyone
26:30in the Honor Academy
26:31come tell me about them
26:31I mean what's
26:33what is your
26:34what would you say
26:36is your heart intent
26:36what are you hoping
26:37to accomplish
26:38both in this call
26:39with your sight
26:39to me
26:41you're just out
26:42to get me
26:42or something I guess
26:43I would love
26:45for you to understand
26:46the complete
26:48devastation
26:49you have wreaked
26:49on many people's lives
26:50for years and years
26:52in the core of their being
26:53and I don't think
26:54you're really getting that
26:55if they had just apologized
26:58there were so many people
27:00who would have never
27:01continued telling their stories
27:03and there was no willingness
27:04to do that
27:05and that solidified into
27:07oh really
27:08you're going to deny
27:09that this happened to me
27:10this isn't coming from
27:12Satanists
27:13or people that hate Jesus
27:14or hate the church
27:16this is people
27:17that are part of the church
27:18you know
27:19we followed all
27:19the confrontation rules
27:20we came to you
27:21with our grievances privately
27:23you didn't listen
27:24so now we go
27:24to the press
27:25crawling through the mud
27:27and rolling down a hill
27:28until you vomit
27:29all in the name of Jesus
27:30teenagers are put
27:31through strenuous exercises
27:33and sleep deprivation
27:34to as their website says
27:36learn to rely
27:37on God's strength
27:38if we weren't doing it correctly
27:39besides getting punished
27:40they'd say
27:41it pays to be a winner
27:42and you're a loser
27:43pays to be a winner
27:44you're a loser
27:44injuries range
27:46from cuts and bruises
27:47to more serious
27:48sprains and infections
27:49last year we had
27:50the bus come by
27:53and drop about
27:5410 patients off
27:55Micah Marley started
27:56my teen mania
27:57experience blog
27:58it's absolutely shocking
28:00that you could
28:01brainwash a young adult
28:02to roll down a hill
28:03through other people's vomit
28:05and somehow think
28:06that's a spiritual activity
28:07it just blows my mind
28:08a Facebook group
28:09called
28:09I Rolled the Hill
28:11discusses an ESOL
28:12rite of passage
28:13rolling down a hill
28:15to the point of sickness
28:16parents that are sending
28:19their kids
28:19have no idea
28:21what is actually going on
28:23in those woods back there
28:24it was really exciting
28:27to see that there were
28:28some other people
28:29who were trying
28:30to kind of raise the alarm
28:31that this group's
28:32up to something weird
28:33teen mania suspended
28:34the ESOL program
28:35after the in-depth look
28:37and then to counter
28:40the bad press
28:41teen mania went into
28:42full damage control
28:44they were just not
28:48in a good place
28:49to help fight
28:50what the people
28:50of recovering alumni
28:51were doing
28:52and so I was brought in
28:54to help fight
28:54that directly
28:55I had a background
28:57in conservative politics
28:59and I had been at
29:00Americans for Prosperity
29:01which focused on
29:03the fight to get
29:04conservative influence
29:05at the highest offices
29:06whether I was working
29:07for a campaign
29:08my job was to represent
29:09Christ
29:10and ultimately
29:11to speak boldly
29:12and live boldly
29:13for Christ
29:14the first time
29:16I went to
29:17teen mania campus
29:18I was impressed
29:22as hell
29:23the idea of
29:24raising up an army
29:25of young people
29:26for God
29:26was part and parcel
29:27of my beliefs
29:28I immediately started
29:30looking at the
29:31Recovering Alumni website
29:32the story sounded
29:34so extreme
29:35and bizarre
29:36I thought
29:37there's no way
29:38this is real
29:39I thought
29:40this is a typical
29:41left wing
29:42exaggeration
29:43of a Christian organization
29:45I was going to come in
29:47and help
29:48quell this
29:49attack from Satan
29:50to help a ministry
29:52that has been
29:52so effective
29:53and helping
29:54so many thousands
29:55of teenagers lives
29:56over the decades
29:57I said
29:59I can help you
30:00fight this
30:01effectively persecution
30:03that you're facing
30:04I learned about
30:07Micah early on
30:09here we are
30:10in Texas
30:10in the rain
30:11in camouflaged ponchos
30:12carrying a cross
30:13down the side
30:14of the road
30:15okay
30:15if that doesn't
30:16look like a cult
30:17I don't know
30:17what does
30:18Micah was public
30:21enemy number one
30:22I'd come up with
30:25a crisis communications
30:26plan
30:27my strategy was
30:30to go on this
30:32blitz
30:33to bury
30:34recovering alumni
30:35with positive messages
30:37about teen mania
30:38so having a
30:39passionate Christianity
30:40can be a little bit
30:42unusual
30:42it's not the most
30:43popular thing
30:44and we know
30:45that because of that
30:46it being a little
30:47unusual
30:47that can also be
30:48misunderstood
30:49ESOL was a
30:51very positive
30:52and a
30:53very lasting
30:55experience
30:55experience
30:56you have medical
30:57people there
30:57you have EMTs
30:58you have the staff
30:59that are constantly
31:00asking you
31:00are you okay
31:01the honor academy
31:02cultivates a protected
31:04safe environment
31:05former interns
31:07influential people
31:09connect to the ministry
31:10we just looped
31:11everybody in
31:12who had a positive
31:12experience with
31:13teen mania
31:13you know whenever
31:14someone asks me
31:15what organization
31:16is making the
31:18greatest impact
31:19upon students
31:19in the United States
31:20my answer is
31:22teen mania
31:23led by Ron Luce
31:2425 years of spreading
31:26light and life
31:27to teenagers
31:28you are making
31:29an impact
31:30in America
31:32on young people
31:33that you cannot
31:33measure
31:34influential mega
31:35pastors
31:36or Christian authors
31:37God bless you
31:38he was trying to
31:38get credibility
31:39from all of these
31:40other people
31:41and they were
31:41lending it to him
31:42we had a very
31:44internet focused
31:46effort
31:46with the intent
31:48that recovering
31:49alumni would not
31:50see the light of day
31:51on page one of Google
31:52I even had people
31:53writing reviews
31:53on Yelp
31:54on all of Ron's
31:59books on Amazon
32:00you could write
32:02as many good
32:03press releases
32:03as you want
32:04but if you've got
32:0450 or 100 kids
32:06pouring out their
32:07guts to you
32:07and telling you
32:08I went and I loved
32:09God and I was
32:10abused in this way
32:11I have nightmares
32:12every night
32:12how many stories
32:13can you read
32:14before you go
32:15okay there might
32:16be something wrong
32:16there
32:17parents were
32:18reading my blog
32:19and once they
32:19were reading my blog
32:20they were not
32:21sending their children
32:21the spiral was
32:25starting and
32:26they saw it
32:27we were ready
32:29to do anything
32:30to stop
32:31the dwindling
32:32numbers of
32:33Honor Academy
32:34attendance
32:35let me ask you
32:37how many of you
32:38guys have a voice
32:39you just gotta
32:43use your voice
32:44there's thousands
32:46of people that
32:46have been through
32:47the program
32:47and a lot
32:48remain loyal
32:49to Teen Mania
32:50they've all been
32:52trained for battle
32:53and they all think
32:53I'm the enemy
32:54people would
32:55harass her
32:55harass her dogs
32:57she suffered
32:58death threats
32:58she was the one
33:00who took the
33:01bulk of the hate
33:02I know it took
33:03a toll on her
33:04she did so much
33:07for us
33:08by 2012
33:12my blog was on
33:14the very front page
33:14of Google
33:15if you searched
33:15Teen Mania
33:16and I was hurting
33:17their numbers
33:18quite a bit
33:19and if they don't
33:19get new interns
33:20they're not getting
33:21new labor
33:21and if they're not
33:22getting new labor
33:23they can't keep
33:24putting on
33:24the amount of events
33:25that they're putting on
33:26and that was
33:27money in Teen Mania's
33:28pocket
33:29listen
33:29we're in an urgent
33:30moment right now
33:32in the history
33:32of Teen Ministry
33:33give us the name
33:35and help us get
33:35connected with a young
33:36person
33:36we'll give you a
33:37certificate you can
33:38hand to them
33:39there are rumors
33:40they're saying
33:40what is this
33:41is Teen Mania
33:42in bankruptcy
33:42no we're not
33:43in bankruptcy
33:43if we're in bankruptcy
33:44we'd be having
33:45a whole different
33:45conversation
33:46you may have
33:47already given
33:48already so thank
33:48you very much
33:49for that
33:50but if anything
33:51you could possibly
33:51do a small gift
33:52a large gift
33:53together we're
33:54going to do
33:54something just
33:55amazing
33:55and then
33:57Ron
33:57very excitedly
33:59announced
33:59good news
34:00we're going to
34:01give the campus
34:02back to the bank
34:03but this is a good
34:03thing because
34:04we're going to
34:04move to Dallas
34:05and of course
34:06people were asking
34:07about the finances
34:08like is this
34:09related finances
34:10and he said
34:10well no
34:11this is for us
34:12to streamline
34:14be closer to
34:15the DFW airport
34:16and we've got
34:16a press release
34:17that we're going
34:18to send out
34:19about this
34:20some exciting news
34:22we're moving
34:23our headquarters
34:23from Garden Valley
34:24Texas
34:25right to the
34:26middle of
34:27a world-class city
34:28in Dallas
34:29Texas
34:29you know the one
34:30great thing
34:31when you go to
34:32a population mass
34:32like Dallas
34:33there's hurting
34:33people everywhere
34:34and we're going
34:35to get lots
34:35of practice
34:36reaching out to
34:36them
34:36to Jesus
34:37we just
34:37are so very
34:40grateful
34:40I saw the bank
34:42statement
34:42and it said
34:44foreclosure
34:44because of
34:47failure to pay
34:48Ron was trying
34:50to salvage
34:51a sinking ship
34:51it was my job
34:54to send out
34:54this press release
34:55what's in this
34:56press release
34:56is a lie
34:57Ron denied
34:58that they were
34:59in foreclosure
35:00saying that
35:00they were
35:01returning the
35:02property
35:03to the bank
35:05instead of
35:06we're broke
35:07the Ten Commandments
35:08say do not tell
35:09lies
35:09like God cares
35:10about telling
35:11the truth
35:11I pleaded with
35:12Ron to please
35:13tell the truth
35:14I believe in
35:15Teenvania
35:16I believe in
35:16you
35:16please tell the
35:17truth
35:17and he wouldn't
35:19and then I had
35:22a meeting
35:23to discuss
35:24recovering alumni
35:25a new post
35:27had come out
35:28about someone
35:28who had
35:29been exorcised
35:31and I said
35:36in this meeting
35:37this is so absurd
35:39of course
35:39this didn't happen
35:40they looked at me
35:43didn't say a word
35:45and I was like
35:47it didn't happen
35:48right
35:48and they didn't
35:49say anything
35:50but switch topic
35:51I was just like
35:56oh my god
35:56it's true
35:57to me that was
36:01the telltale sign
36:02that that did happen
36:04and probably many
36:05other things
36:05on the recovering
36:06alumni website
36:07happened
36:07and I was just
36:08stunned
36:08I just felt
36:10this like
36:10cold shudder
36:11go through my body
36:12when you know
36:13the truth
36:14you can't go back
36:14at the same time
36:19the choir of the fire
36:21events were being
36:22cancelled
36:22youth groups
36:23did not get
36:24their money back
36:24when global
36:25expeditions trips
36:26were being cancelled
36:27these teen missionaries
36:29did not get
36:29their money back
36:30they're not
36:31wealthy kids
36:32these are kids
36:33who did car washes
36:34fake sales
36:35fundraised
36:37like crazy
36:37and Ron stole
36:39their money
36:40my mission
36:41at that time
36:42became to
36:43expose the truth
36:44I worked with
36:47other internal
36:48and external
36:48folks at
36:49teen mania
36:50and with alumni
36:51I had a friend
36:52who worked
36:53in world magazine
36:54and I just
36:56called him up
36:56I'm like
36:57hey I've got
36:57a story for you
36:58and he's like
36:59okay are you sure
37:00you want to do this
37:01I'm like yes
37:01this needs to get
37:02out there
37:03Ron is stealing
37:03money from
37:04kids
37:05and then
37:22the announcement
37:23of the shutdown
37:24came out
37:24they never
37:33restarted the
37:33internship again
37:34it was
37:36over
37:36I remember
37:38thinking
37:39that was crazy
37:40I didn't really
37:42think that that
37:42was going to happen
37:43I'm like well
37:43that'd be crazy
37:44when we started
37:45the blog
37:46teen mania
37:47was the biggest
37:48Christian youth
37:49organization
37:50in America
37:51and the idea
37:51that they would
37:52just go out
37:53of business
37:53that was never
37:54even a possibility
37:56in my mind
37:57it was certainly
37:57never the goal
37:58the goal was just
37:58to help people
37:59who had been
37:59through the program
38:00a brave group
38:03of survivors
38:03were the ones
38:05that eventually
38:06caused teen mania's
38:08demise
38:09I was so happy
38:11they took advantage
38:14of a lot
38:15of very sincere
38:17kids
38:17and that genuinely
38:19makes me angrier
38:20now
38:21makes me a lot
38:30angrier now
38:30than I ever
38:31was when I was
38:32young
38:32but when you
38:38die to yourself
38:39that's when he
38:40breathes real life
38:41in you
38:41and we've been
38:45talking about
38:46you know
38:46there's a battle
38:46going on for your
38:47generation
38:47and this morning
38:48we're talking
38:49we're talking
38:49about the battle
38:50for your mind
38:51and for your dollars
38:52and for your identity
38:53but God wants you
38:55to be a warrior
38:56that's known
38:56only as a follower
38:57of Christ
38:58it took me
39:00many years
39:02to get that voice
39:04out of my head
39:04there's a lot
39:09of things
39:10that stem back
39:10to teen mania
39:11that are
39:11still traumatic
39:12that I hold
39:13in my body
39:13thinking
39:15if I make
39:16any type
39:16of a mistake
39:17I'm going
39:17to lose everyone
39:18I'm thankful
39:20that teen mania
39:20is not around
39:21anymore
39:22even though Ron's
39:25trying to start
39:26a new thing
39:26somewhere
39:27after teen mania
39:29went bankrupt
39:30in 2015
39:31Ron has been
39:33trying to get
39:34other ministries
39:34going
39:35and so
39:36he's gone
39:37overseas
39:38Ron is
39:40trying to
39:41kind of replicate
39:42what he did
39:43with teen mania
39:43this week
39:44we're praying
39:45that God
39:45will infect
39:46and invade
39:46the hearts
39:47of thousands
39:47of Burmese
39:48people
39:49that are
39:49Buddhists
39:49he's toured
39:50around Africa
39:51to support
39:52and train
39:53pastors
39:54he doesn't
39:56call it
39:57teen mania
39:57but the talking
39:58points are
39:59all the same
40:00and his methods
40:00from what I've
40:01seen are
40:02all the same
40:02why not
40:03we give
40:04a big hand
40:05to our
40:06beloved
40:07pastor
40:08Ron Loon
40:09I think
40:15Ron really
40:15believed
40:16he was
40:16called
40:17by God
40:18to share
40:19the gospel
40:20with teenagers
40:20I think
40:21there's this
40:21undercurrent
40:22of the ends
40:23justify the
40:24means
40:24I think
40:24he sincerely
40:25doesn't know
40:26any other way
40:26of doing things
40:27I do think
40:29Ron and Dave
40:31are victims
40:33as much as
40:34they are also
40:35perpetrators
40:36they also have
40:39to live
40:39in this
40:40narrow
40:40prescribed
40:42rigid
40:42way
40:43of living
40:44if you're
40:47telling other
40:47people that
40:48they're bad
40:48they're evil
40:49they're shameful
40:49you also believe
40:50that about yourself
40:51it's so hard
40:52not to
40:52psychoanalyze
40:53Ron Loon
40:54this man
40:56who went
40:56looking for a father
40:57his whole life
40:59if he could have
41:01just accepted
41:02that the wounds
41:03of his youth
41:03lived with him
41:04instead he had to
41:06find a whole
41:06political apparatus
41:08and then he had to
41:09drag all these
41:10other young people
41:12into it
41:13instead of
41:14contending with it
41:15he had to
41:15spread it around
41:16to other young people
41:17who were just
41:18trying to grow up
41:19it's like he wanted
41:19to lock them in
41:21to that same
41:22angry moment
41:23he couldn't get past
41:24I think
41:26Ron Loon
41:27taught them
41:28that to be a
41:29Christian
41:29was to be angry
41:30took a lot
41:32of young people
41:33had a lot
41:33of intense emotions
41:35and he told them
41:36that your anger
41:37your fury
41:38which can curdle
41:39into hate
41:40that's the one
41:41that matters most
41:42some kids
41:45got out of
41:46teen mania
41:46but most
41:47did not
41:48the army
41:49Ron trained
41:50is still out there
41:51teen mania
41:52was part
41:53of a movement
41:53to blow up
41:54the order
41:55as it is
41:55and to build
41:56the new kingdom
41:57it's not done yet
41:59welcome to the end
42:00of democracy
42:01we're here to overthrow
42:03it completely
42:04we didn't get all the way
42:04there on january 6
42:05but we will
42:06we will endeavor
42:07to get rid of it
42:09and replace it
42:10amen
42:10that's right
42:11because all glory
42:12all glory is not
42:13to government
42:14all glory to god
42:16this whole democracy
42:20thing
42:21how important
42:21is that
42:22you know what
42:23let's just rewrite
42:23the constitution
42:24so now comes
42:25this idea
42:26called convention
42:27of states
42:28there is something
42:29called convention
42:30of states
42:30article 5
42:31in our constitution
42:32it's gathering
42:32momentum
42:33there's an intensity
42:34around the convention
42:36of states
42:36as an idea
42:37that is really
42:38noticeable
42:39there's a reason
42:40for that
42:40the convention
42:41of states
42:41is an effort
42:42in essence
42:43to amend
42:43the constitution
42:44shred the bill
42:45of rights
42:46first amendment
42:47separation of church
42:49and state
42:50the convention
42:50of states
42:51has been endorsed
42:51by a number
42:52of influential
42:53evangelical leaders
42:54including
42:55James Dobson
42:56remember those words
42:57convention of states
42:59and also house speaker
43:00mike johnson
43:01an amendment
43:02may be proposed
43:02by two-thirds
43:03of the states
43:04in a convention
43:04and many many others
43:06that have played
43:06an important role
43:07in the religious right
43:08for many years
43:09they say
43:10it's about
43:11states rights
43:12states rights
43:14the battle cry
43:15of segregation
43:16the battle cry
43:18of the confederacy
43:19it's about
43:19decentralizing power
43:20and letting
43:21california be california
43:23letting idaho be idaho
43:24let alabama be alabama
43:26and that is not
43:27by any stretch
43:28of the imagination
43:29a united states
43:30i spent a lot
43:33of my teen years
43:33on the campaign trail
43:35laying the groundwork
43:36for the tea party movement
43:37i was a true believer
43:39i put my heart
43:40and soul
43:41into this movement
43:41it is
43:43an existential threat
43:45to democracy
43:46the convention of states
43:48is a way to
43:49amend the constitution
43:50without using
43:52the normal federal congress
43:53they want to do it
43:54a different way
43:55that they are legally
43:56allowed to do
43:56and they only need
43:5834 states
43:59they call a meeting
44:00to write amendments
44:01to the constitution
44:02once they get in there
44:03and open the constitution
44:05up they can basically
44:05do whatever they want
44:06they just need
44:08their army
44:08to vote
44:09for their state
44:10politicians
44:11in order to succeed
44:13this is not going
44:17to be put to a vote
44:18by the people
44:19except for the fact
44:20that the people
44:21elect the legislators
44:22you don't have to deal
44:25with the low
44:27information voters
44:29they've gone so much
44:30further than
44:30you would expect
44:31we're in 19 states
44:33so past halfway
44:34we have 15 states to go
44:36i'm telling you
44:37it has the possibility
44:39of becoming
44:40the law
44:41they are actually
44:42doing model
44:43conventions now
44:44they're larping it
44:45it appears that
44:46they will be
44:46satisfied by nothing
44:48less than the
44:49complete destruction
44:50of our american
44:51liberty
44:51must we not then
44:53do something
44:53secure
44:54those very liberties
44:56they role play
44:57the convention of states
44:58so that they'll be ready
45:00alabama votes yes
45:01what god has commanded
45:04you to do is to take
45:05the kingdom
45:06you take it
45:09by force
45:10and now
45:11the push to put
45:12the lord's scripture
45:13into florida public schools
45:14the word in god we trust
45:16will be required
45:17reading in louisiana schools
45:18this year
45:18republicans today
45:19blocked legislation
45:20designed to protect
45:21access to in vitro
45:23fertilization
45:24or the new state guidelines
45:25sent out today
45:26requiring teaching
45:27from the bible
45:29texas saw a 56% rise
45:31in maternal mortality
45:32in fact i think divorce
45:32should basically be
45:33outlawed
45:34wave your christian
45:35nationalist wand
45:36will women have the
45:37right to vote tomorrow
45:37no
45:38we own the country
45:39not them
45:40they are aiming
45:41for a complete
45:43structural transformation
45:44this is the project
45:46to rewire america
45:48it's fine
45:54i'm safe
45:55complete the stress cycle
45:58evangelical culture
46:02is very much
46:03a binary
46:04there is no
46:06nuance
46:07you have to pick
46:08one side or the other
46:09it's the
46:11black and white
46:12thinking
46:12my books
46:14have been a part
46:15of putting these
46:16heavy burdens
46:17and rules on people
46:18that weren't in the bible
46:19and i'm very sorry
46:21for that
46:22and i think
46:24this is something
46:25that a lot of
46:26people who grew up
46:27in this movement
46:28and are now adults
46:29have to reflect on
46:30to one degree or another
46:31you know
46:31what was i involved in
46:33what did i do
46:35and who did i hurt
46:36my own
46:39ignorant
46:42and small-minded
46:43beliefs allowed me
46:45to dismiss the harm
46:46that happened to these kids
46:47and i was wrong
46:48that was wrong
46:49and i know how many
46:53victims of abuse
46:55spiritual
46:56physical
46:56sexual
46:57are not believed
46:59and how the systems
47:00that we have in place
47:01cause
47:03harm
47:06at a huge scale
47:08i'm sorry that i caused
47:09that harm
47:10and i was a part of a system
47:11that
47:11continued to perpetuate harm
47:13against people who were abused
47:14there was a lot rooted in me
47:22that i had to dig out
47:23from this kind of experience
47:25there was a lot of prejudice
47:26i didn't know that i had
47:28uh towards just people
47:31living their lives
47:32because even if you say
47:34that you love everybody equally
47:36if they don't line up
47:37with what you believe
47:38or what you say is true
47:40there will always be something
47:42wrong with them
47:43and in some part of your mind
47:45you're probably not even aware
47:46of it
47:47but you're being judgmental
47:48of them
47:49and you are
47:50telling them
47:52in a million
47:53non-verbal ways
47:55that you're doing it wrong
47:56and you're not good enough
47:58we were complicit
48:01and we were also victims
48:04but there's tremendous grace
48:07for anyone who went through it
48:10anyone who
48:12had a good experience
48:13and some people did have
48:14a good experience
48:15like genuinely had
48:16a positive experience
48:17but this isn't for them
48:21the ring represents
48:26hard things
48:29things that i went through
48:30and things that i accomplished
48:32trauma
48:33and loss
48:34and grief
48:35and pain
48:36i have nothing
48:38left of that life
48:39i have nothing
48:40left to hold
48:42of that experience
48:43i burned it all
48:45and i'm glad
48:46that it's gone
48:47so for almost
48:49two and a half decades
48:50i have been
48:51really taking the time
48:52to be honest
48:53about who i was
48:54what i really
48:55really wanted
48:55i want to be
48:57the person
48:57that that
48:5818 year old
48:59would be proud of
49:00and look at me
49:01and go
49:01thank you for healing me
49:03thank you for doing
49:06we all get together
49:12all the time
49:13our mom and our dad
49:14our dad's husband
49:15we go on vacations
49:17together
49:17yeah it's great
49:18it's great
49:18and so all the
49:20his feeling of
49:21i'm going to lose
49:22my family
49:22yeah
49:23now we have
49:24this huge family
49:25and all these kids
49:25and grandkids
49:26and we all rejected
49:28kind of that narrative
49:28of like this is what
49:29it's supposed to look like
49:30coming to terms
49:31with the fact
49:32that this jesus
49:33that's been sold
49:33to me for the
49:34longest time
49:34is not my jesus
49:36it's a journey
49:39for sure
49:41i still identify
49:42as a christian
49:43the jesus kind
49:45i think that
49:47that little voice
49:49in the the back
49:50of your mind
49:51that sometimes goes
49:52wait a minute
49:54and you start
49:55like that's you
49:57that's your conscience
49:58and it's okay
50:00to listen to that
50:01voice
50:01that voice
50:03is not evil
50:03it is not going
50:04to lead you
50:04astray
50:05what are you
50:07hoping
50:08might come
50:09of this
50:10for people
50:10hearing your story
50:12you have to
50:15stand for the truth
50:17and you have to
50:17stand for what's right
50:18or else we're going
50:19to lose everything
50:19at the end of the day
50:20we cannot let these
50:21people silence us
50:22they are plotting
50:23they are strategizing
50:25while everybody else
50:26is out there
50:26living their life
50:27not trying to control
50:28everybody
50:28guess what
50:30all the authoritarian
50:30people got together
50:31and they're all
50:32coming after you
50:33coming after Halloween
50:38and they're all
50:38coming for you
50:39what do you think
50:40is that
50:43when you're looking
50:43at the beginning
50:44they're still
50:46in a way
50:46they're always
50:47trying to control
50:48each other
50:48and they're not
50:48in a way
50:49they're gonna control
50:50everything
50:50and they're not
50:51in a way
50:52they're gonna go
50:53and they're not
50:54they're not
50:55they're not
50:56they're not
50:57going to be
50:57anything
50:58but they're not
50:59they're already
51:00Transcription by CastingWords
51:30CastingWords
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