Ron Luce, above, co-founder and President of Teen Mania Ministries located in Garden Valley, Texas, has announced the closure of his free-spending, multi-million dollar evangelical empire.
The closure comes shortly after Luce crowed that his organisation was going “international” with “a view toward reaching youth beyond North America”.
Teen Mania,“a mind-controlling cultish organisation”, was started by Luce in 1986 to:
Reach and inspire a generation to change the world.
And, of course, to finance his and his cohort’s lavish lifestyles.
In 1991 it established Acquire the Fire which used high-tech and high-impact worship and teaching seminars to reach teenagers and it attracted millions of followers and money.
Documents cited in a Christianity Today report note that Teen Mania recorded $23.1 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2001 and by fiscal year 2007 revenue had jumped to $35.6 million.
But a downward spiral began 2008 when revenue dipped to $20.1 million after a dissatisfied donor canceled a $6 million pledge.
In October World Magazine reported that the ministry was facing multiple lawsuits, including one from Compassion International which is seeking a $174,124.73 judgment.
The ministry had also lost half its independent board members and there was an arrest warrant for Luce for failing to appear at a Colorado state district court hearing.
Said Lucre Luce in this posting:
We [that’s him and his lady wife Katie] are grateful to the Lord for all that He has done through those who have rallied around this vision over the years. Together we have taken many risks, climbed many mountains and slayed many giants!
One person who had done very nicely, thank you, out of Teen Mania is foghorn homophobe “Bishop” T D Jakes, above, whose son, incidentally, was arrested in a gay cruising area in 2009 for approaching undercover law enforcement officers and exposing his penis to them whilst, dare we say it, bashing the bishop.
According to Luce’s former assistant Jacob Morales, the Dallas mega-church “Bishop” was signed up by Luce to be the “big name attraction” at an evangelical rally, the New York City BattleCry, at an estimated cost of around $140,000.
His honorarium was $100,000.00. Teen Mania Ministries paid every penny of that cost from the Executive Departments budget. But it didn’t end there…
Bishop Jakes also required a round trip chartered private Learjet from Texas to New York City. This would end up cost Teen Mania approximately $22,000.00.
Additionally Bishop Jakes would need to stay in the Presidential suite of the Manhattan Ritz Carlton at approximately $2,200.00 a night. This too was paid by Teen Mania Ministries.
If that weren’t enough, Bishop Jakes required TWO stretch Escalade limousines to take him to and from his hotel and the event. I do not immediately recall the cost for this expense, but I am sure the reader can use their imagination for what two stretch Escalades might cost.
I truly wish it had ended there. Ron was not satisfied with merely meeting the requirements listed in Bishop Jake’s speaking contract; he wanted to far exceed his expectations. So I was tasked with transforming his experience into something that exuded ‘world class excellence’.
At the instruction and approval of Mr Luce we spared no expense and paid many thousands of dollars to have a local florist in New York City make rare and exotic imported flower bouquets for the Presidential suite at the Ritz Carlton.
I know this because I delivered those flowers to the suite myself. We spent thousands of dollars buying rare chocolates, desserts, pastries and various imported gifts from around the world for the Bishop, his wife and his children. This included several hundred dollars of i-Tunes gift cards, i-Pods, and various expensive trinkets.