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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of a three-part series on Smith County's Teen Mania.

By PATRICK BUTLER
Religion Editor

If there is a culture war in America, one of its warriors would without doubt be Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania. A 500-acre campus that holds an "honor academy" for up to 1,000 teens at a time, is snugly nestled in the piney woods and pastoral hills of Smith County's Garden Valley.

The type-A Luce, whose seemingly boundless energy is a distinct contrast to the slow, almost sleepy pace of North Smith County has instigated youth protests and rallies from coast to coast. He put 500 teenagers in New York's Times Square in February to raise heaven and some questions about the declination of America's ethical standards "that are destroying youth." The rally, "Recreate '08" focused on inspiring kids to create a "new culture, free from violence, drugs, Internet porn and sexuality in music," said Luce.

"We wanted to go right to the heart, where much of the media destroying this generation is located, and say, 'we want a voice in creating and shaping our generation,'" Luce told the Tyler Morning Telegraph on Wednesday. "And we're not just going to criticize by pointing the finger of condemnation, but we're going to criticize creatively."

The "exciting," but peaceful rally was covered by The Associated Press and ABC World News, said Luce, who is no stranger to media coverage and controversy. In San Francisco, under the banner of "Battle Cry for a Generation," a Luce-inspired rally was led by teenagers on the steps of City Hall in 2006. The presentation of a "Teenage Bill of Rights" generated a resolution of condemnation from San Francisco's city supervisors. The media set its sights on those supervisors, however, when a San Francisco Chronicle editorial labeled the resolution "intolerant" and the entire board as "sanctimonious."

Teen Mania and Luce were part of CNN's Christiane Amanpour's series on "God's Warriors" that aired in 2007. The New York Times ran a front-page photo of Luce praying for a teenager at an East Coast Teen Mania "Acquire The Fire" event. Time magazine has done pieces on the East Texas-based ministry. And after rejecting the condemnation resolution of its city supervisors, the Chronicle put Luce's Acquire The Fire rally - that drew about 25,000 youth - on its Sunday front page, declaring the event as "two days of rock and roll music and words of inspiration."

There may be no other youth ministry in America that draws as much attention, fire, criticism and praise concurrently as Teen Mania. And the ministry shows few signs of becoming less confrontational. An Acquire The Fire event will be held in Dallas on March 14 and 15.

PATHETIC

"Teens today are growing up in the midst of forces no other generation in America has had to grow up in," said Luce. "Every week there is another story of a school shooting. Does anyone care about this, shooting after shooting after shooting? Yet we have more and more violent video games. People just say, 'it's so sad' and shake their heads. It's not sad, it's pathetic."

According to Luce, Times Square took all the teens that could fit in the center island of the street. ABC World News and The AP interviewed the teen-something protesters and a few counter-protesters standing nearby who accused Teen Mania of encouraging kids to "throw away their brains."

"I would ask those protesters to do a bit of critical thinking themselves," Luce said. "If you're an atheist, where is your proof that God does not exist? If you're agnostic, when did you stop your search, and did you search deeply or casually? We're trying to teach people to be the most critical thinkers they can be. Think critically about the issues of the heart."

Teen Mania was in town conducting a rally at the IZOD Center, home of the New Jersey Nets, and attended by 13,000 youth. The Rev. T.D. Jakes, senior pastor the Dallas mega-church The Potters House, was a guest speaker.

Also featured was former New York gang-warlord-turned-evangelist Nicky Cruise, made famous by the Rev. David Wilkerson's 1960's saga of street evangelism, "The Cross and the Switchblade."

Wilkerson moved his Teen Challenge ministry to Garden Valley in the 1970s. A "World Challenge" facility, the evolution of Teen Challenge still stands on Highway 110, just a mile west of Teen Mania's front gates on Farm-to-Market Road 16 West.

Wilkerson left the area to pastor New York's Times Square Church, just around the corner from the "Recreate '08" rally. Wilkerson has recently moved back to East Texas.

Indelibly connected to Smith County, Teen Mania is carrying its nationwide media crusade to every corner of the country, encouraging teens to toe the line and talk back, media-wise.

COOL, CONCEPTUAL

"We want teens to use their creativity," Luce said, "to think critically and creatively. We're putting tools in their hands and inspiring them to make videos and put them on YouTube and just blast the Internet full of very creative, edgy, faith-filled video clips. Make music and get it out there, do blogging, poetry or books. Whoever thought we'd live in a day and age where your bedroom could be your studio?"

Part of "putting tools" in teen's hands is Teen Mania's Creative Media Center at the Garden Valley campus. Run by former VH-1 producer and writer Doug Rittenhouse, 47, the center strives "for excellence," Rittenhouse said.

"We're a functioning production company," said Rittenhouse on Thursday. "We handle dozens of projects at one time. We produce a broadcast television program and do another for live broadcast. We want to make the most creative, cool and conceptual videos that mean something to this generation."

An example of Rittenhouse's "cool and conceptual" directing work can be seen at MTV.com where the rock group Pillar has posted its "Frontline" video. The video was produced at Teen Mania, said Rittenhouse.

Luce said kids can think for themselves.

"We want the world to see that there are teens willing to recreate their culture," he said. "We encouraging teens to be the creative force rather than accepting and take whatever the culture shoves down their throats. We encourage them not to be what we call 'culture zombies,' just walking around to the tune of whatever the culture is telling you to wear, look at or listen to."

Visit the Web at www.recreate08 com or teenmania.com for more information.

Updated Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. CST