Inside Teen Mania – A “Stretching of A Lifetime”

13 November 2010

Nathan Weibe, 19-years-old, of Canada practices his guitar in the main Hall of Teen Mania's Honor Academy in October. The second-year intern attends Teen Mania's School of Worship, and is a "facilitator" at Teen Mania's Life Transforming Events.

EDITORS NOTE: Part One of “Inside Teen Mania” ran Nov. 6 at ResonateNews.com.

This is the final part in the series.

“You couldn’t tell who won my race that day without a photo to look at. It turned out that I came in fourth. But I know to this day, that if I hadn’t let up, I could have been first in that race.” – David Hasz, director of Teen Mania’s Honor Academy

By PATRICK BUTLER
ResonateNews.com

Is it right that Christian ministries ask young people to be physically
challenged in any way?  Is it going too far to simulate stressful environments —
such as living under a government hostile to faith in God — forcing feelings to
the surface so students may deal with them?

Teen Mania focuses on academic classroom-style learning for most of the academic
year, said David Hasz, director of Teen Mania’s Honor Academy, in an October
interview.  But about four to six times a year, there are programs, said a
second-year “intern,” a student, called Life Transforming Events that challenge
the bejeebers out of the teenage participants.

A local pastor said no matter how difficult any physical program is — regardless
of what adjustments are made to make it more palatable — there are those who
certainly will find them ill-fitting. The key is to receive program
participation based on personal choices — and rooted in adequate information,
said the Rev. David Hickey, pastor of Community Christian Fellowship in Garden
Valley. About 900 people attend Hickey’s church on any given Sunday.

The church is located just a few miles from the 500-acre Garden Valley, Texas,
campus of Teen Mania and often hosts more than 100 “interns” during weekend
services, Hickey said.


WARNING

Hickey said that physically demanding programs at Christian ministries are a
legitimate tool for spiritual growth.

“As long as any program represents itself on the front side as, ‘this is who we
are, these are the requirements you’ll have to meet while you are here,’ I think
(ministries) have every right to develop that program and offer it,” said
Hickey. “Can you imagine going into the military and saying, ‘You know, I’m
really not an early-rising person, so I don’t want to get up early in the
morning; and I don’t like a lot of physical exercise, I’d rather prepare for a
desk job’?  If you know on the front side that (participation) will require some
physical and mental agility, they have warned you up front what you’re getting
into.”

If a mistake has been made and the program is not a good fit, back out
gracefully if you can, said Hickey.

“If you feel like the vision of the organization is different from your vision,
then there needs to be a separation,” he said.  “You need to be able to leave,
and yet, not do so bitterly. Just realize, ‘what I’m looking for, and what their
goal is, is different,’ and it’s not a good fit. But try to forgive, try to
release and try to step away from it before you step into bitterness.”

Just what does a Life Transforming Event at Teen Mania entail?  Who can get
through it, and why?


VALDICTORIAN

Nathan Weibe, 19, a high-school valedictorian from Canada, sat pensively
strumming an unplugged electric guitar in Teen Mania’s wide, sunlit foyer, when
approached by a lone reporter unannounced. He showed no hesitation to speak when
questioned, nor deferred to any higher authority. Weibe’s blond shoulder-length
hair bounced along to the rhythm of the songs he was preparing for youth worship
at a local church as he answered questions.

As a second-year intern at the Honor Academy, Weibe said he had been through the
Emotionally Stretching Opportunity of A Lifetime course (ESOAL) and also some
other Life Transforming Events, nicknamed LTEs by interns.

“There are a couple of fasting LTEs,” Weibe said, ticking off names. “An
Endurance LTE, a Mountain LTE, an unreached People Group LTE and a World
Awareness LTE.”

The purpose of a Teen Mania Life Transforming Event — of which ESOAL is
voluntary, he said — is to make it impossible to solve the situation alone.

“It’s gotta be done by a team,” he said. “I personally like LTEs because they
brought up so much stuff — so many feelings I never knew were in me — that I
learned a lot about myself. I also learned how to depend on others.”

While the ESOL is an optional exercise, four LTEs are mandatory, Weibe said. And
they are closely supervised by a team of “facilitators” who carefully monitor
students for any negative effects.


DEMANDING

“Probably one of the most demanding LTEs simulates what it would be like to have
your country taken over by a foreign power refusing to let you worship,” Weibe
said. That is the World Awareness LTE.

“You live in the back woods here on campus for two or three days,” he said. “The
people in charge who are the ‘government’ over you are rude, not friendly and
they don’t like your faith.”

There was never a “correct” response given the students to emulate, Weibe said.
Even his teammates held a variety of opinions regarding how to handle the
simulated pressure of being part of a persecuted church.

“You have to form your own opinions based on what the Bible says and your own
convictions,” he said. “No one tells you what to think. You have to make a
choice. Are you going to react hatefully to them, or are you going to love them
the way Christ loves them? It’s a hard decision. Different people have different
reactions.”

Now involved in Teen Mania’s School of Worship, Weibe said he helped in the role
of “facilitator” at September’s ESOAL. He is still participating in LTEs, he
said Thursday.

“I just went through a fasting LTE, Weibe. “We fasted for three days, drinking
water.”

Fasting for three days was actually helpful, he said — if you drink lots of
water.

“Somewhere in the second day, the blood used in your stomach all the time to
digest, goes to your brain and thinking actually becomes clearer,” the
high-school valedictorian said.

In last Sunday’s service at Community Christian Fellowship, Hickey made a
passing reference to the fast, and Teen Mania interns in the congregation
cheered loudly.

During his October interview, Weibe reiterated that students must make their own
choices during Life Transforming Events.

“Some of us in our group (in the World Awareness LTE) thought they should
resist,” he said. “Others said ‘love them.’ That’s the whole point of an LTE; to
show you options, the way you’re leaning or feeling inside, and how you might
react before you get into such a situation. You have to make your own decision.”


RINGING OUT

Asked if he would again go through any LTE or the optional Emotionally
Stretching Opportunity of A Lifetime course, Weibe laughed and looked down at
his fingers, strumming his guitar. After a moment, he looked up.

“I’d consider it,” he said, laughing again, “because of what it revealed in me.
I got angry at times. I hated the people in charge sometimes. I was surprised I
had those reactions. But, yeah … I’d do it again.”

Strong criticism by some outside Teen Mania concerning these stressful exercises
almost conjures up the image that only the very strong can endure. But Weibe is
5–foot-11 inches, weighs 159 pounds and slender, not athletically so. How can he
be a candidate to succeed at ESOAL or LTEs?

“Actually, it’s the jocks who ‘ring out’ most often,” said Weibe, referring to
the practice of ringing a bell when any participant has had enough and desires
to end their involvement. “It’s surprising, but (athletic types) are the ones
who think they can do it on their own strength. When they find they can’t, they
will sometimes drop out because they don’t turn to God or to a team to get them
through it.”

He added after some thought, “Turning to a team is always secondary to turning
to God for strength. The LTEs taught me that God is always with me; he won’t
fail me or forsake me. I don’t have to ‘ring out’ in life no matter what I
face.”

Those he is aware of who do “ring out” in LTEs are not made to feel like
failures, Weibe said.

“It depends how they ring out, actually,” he said. “I think it’s more of a
feeling, ‘I could have done more, I could have gone further,’ not, ‘I’m
useless.’  Everyone gets a ‘good job’ encouragement just for being part of one,
because the average person will not even participate (in something like an LTE)
on their own, so even participating is an accomplishment.”


PHOTO-FINISH

Hasz, the Honor Academy director, said his own seminal experience as a high
school track athlete taught him a vital lesson he will carry for a lifetime:
don’t give up.

“In high school, I was in a meet, running and when I came around the turn I
realized I was in third place,” he said. “I thought, ‘Third place is good
enough’ and I let up for just a moment. Then I realized, ‘Hey, I could win this’
and I turned up the speed.”

It was a four-way photo finish, Hasz said.

“You couldn’t tell who won my race that day without a photo to look at,” he
said. “It turned out that I came in fourth. But I know to this day, that if I
hadn’t let up, I could have been first in that race.”

Hasz shrugged his shoulders.

“Does that make me a failure? No. It makes me a learner. I learned in that
situation what I could and could not do, and where I needed to improve.”

The key to the success of ESOAL and LTEs for so many interns — many of whom
voluntarily repeat the courses — said Hasz, is the idea to challenge, create
strong character, be persistent and, yes, build endurance.

Parents or pastors concerned about the programs their children or charges are
facing are welcomed at any time to visit Teen Mania, Hasz said, to observe or
even join in an LTE.

“Any parent who is concerned about their children as they go through the Honor
Academy, he said, “can come, visit their son or daughter, sit in the classes,
eat with the interns, see what they are doing, go where they are going, hear
exactly what they are learning — anything. Parents are welcome here.”

Pastors are likewise welcome with an open door, he said.

“Any pastor who has members of their congregation attending can do the same. We
welcome all parents and all pastors to come at any time, and they do. In fact,
I’m trying to remember a recent time when we didn’t have parents with us.”

And for those interns who came away from Teen Mania hurt, wounded or displeased,
Hasz made an appeal.

“Would you please forgive us?” he said. “Would you forgive us for hurting you in
any way? Would you please forgive us for even the appearance of doing anything
that would hurt you or take away from your life? It’s definitely not what we
intended to do.”

As a longtime pastor at Community Christian, Hickey reflected on the dangers of
hanging on to hurt, and refusing to reconcile.

“If anyone has problems (with any Christian program) I think they should
immediately approach those in authority and voice their concerns,” he said. “If
that doesn’t bring satisfaction take it up the chain of command as far as you
can. Voice your concerns.”

Avoid bitterness at all costs, Hickey said.

“Anytime you do something physical and push kids beyond the limit, you are going
to get kids who can’t, or won’t, do it,” he said. “But bitterness ruins all
relationships, it really does, sadly. It affects every human relationship we
have. Jesus talked quite a bit on that. When we refuse to forgive, we open
ourselves up to the tormentors.”

Teen Mania's Center For Creative Media is run by interns, who plan, produce and tour with the media driven event, Acquire The Fire, now in it's 21st year.