Teen Mania Ministries. From the very start it’s been a through-line of our survey of Fire By Nite, and one that will be there til the bitter end of FBN’s run in 1994.
 
In light of a certain recent docuseries, we felt there was no better time to have our first (but certainly not last) conversation focusing on Teen Mania’s influence on the broader Gen-X/Millennial Youth Group culture; and what better place to start than with someone who back in the 1990s was a regular attendee of Acquire the Fire and Teen Mania affiliated events - our sister from another mister (and very first guest) Molly!

Join us for a candid conversation about growing up, and growing out, of the evangelical world in the 90s, set against the backdrop of Ron Luce’s expanding empire of teen warriors for Christ. 

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This Fire is taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic.
 
Subscribe NOW wherever you find your podcasts, or on AcquireThisFire.com

This week, it’s a whole NEW YEAR as Steve and Alec take a look at the January 1989 episode of Fire By Nite, titled “In the World, Not of the World”.
 
About 10 years before NOTW would become a clothing brand that defined fashion for a generation of adolescent believers, Blaine and crew would reveal the SHOCKING truth of our extra-terrestrial origins, letting FBN’s teen audience know that when you are a Christian, you truly are 'Not Of This World'. You are an alien ambassador sent by President Jesus to reach out to the people of Earthrealm, and offer them eternal life. All you need to do is prepare for the return of the comet Hale-Bopp and…..wait, sorry, wrong video for that last one.

PLUS, the sounds of CCM chanteuse Renee Garcia, as she debuts the video for her end times pop anthem “Jerusalem”!


This Fire is taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic.

We’re back with another break from our regularly scheduled programming as we take a look at the state of pop music in 2025, and how the CCM industry has struck back, influencing the very mainstream it used to so desperately ape. With the dulcet tones of KLOVE all over the Billboard Hot 100, Steve and Alec are here to make sense of it all and figure out why all of a sudden mainstream audiences are so enthusiastically embracing the not quite country, not quite hip-hop, not quite pop mélange that has become a staple of Christian contemporary music over the past decade.

PLUS, we take a look back at our This Fire mixtape in progress, and compare the Fire By Nite featured CCM hits of the 80s, to what’s going on in the scene today. Which era comes out on top? You’ll have to listen and see!

All this and more, on this accidentally SUPER-SIZED bonus episode of This Fire!

It’s a real Family Feud on today’s episode of This Fire, as the Fox Bros. take a look at 2 chilling tales of interpersonal conflict, watching the December 1988 episode of Fire By Nite: “Strife! Who Needs It?!”

It’s Family vs Family. Friend vs. Friend. The Church vs. Itself!
 
Ever wondered why the evangelical world can be SO good at suppressing anything remotely resembling conflict in the church body, that it lets it fester until inevitably erupting into a massive scandal? Boy do we have some bible verses for YOU!
 
All this, plus the dulcet tones of CCM soft metal band Whitecross! Also, this is apparently a Christmas episode?
 
You don’t wanna miss this one!

We’re channel surfing this week as we take a break from our usually scheduled programming, and find ourselves in late October of 1988, as we watch The Geraldo Rivera Special: Devil Worship - Exposing Satan’s Underground.
 
While Fire By Nite was serving up the Satanic panic to teens already in the fold, we discover what the panic looked like to a mainstream audience, broadcast in PRIMETIME on NBC.
 
Folks - this special was seen in the homes of over 19 million Americans when it broadcast. So if all of a sudden your otherwise secular parents took away your heavy metal music and D&D monster manuals in late 1988? There’s a pretty good shot this special was the reason why!

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and we feel......well, not great tbh……thanks for asking!
 
This month we time travel to November of 1988, and return to the battlefield of the end times, as Blaine and crew decide to turn up the rapture anxiety dial to 11, on this very special episode of Fire By Nite - ‘These Last Days’.
 
This episode’s got it all! DeGarmo & Key! Live (well…in 1988) updates from Israel! A wild, non-canonical installment of Family First!
 
Hit that download button now! You never know if you’ll have the chance tomorrow…

On today’s episode of This Fire, we’re switching things up a bit, and profiling the blondest grifter on the block. That’s right it’s our new White House Faith Office head, Paula White!
 
Join us as we chart Paula’s rise to political prominence. From her humble beginnings preaching out of a tent, all the way to her political zenith as a hyper-wealthy property gospel televangelist that now finds herself working out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…or should we call it: The Paula White House?
 
PLUS, learn how Paula was INSTRUMENTAL in laundering billionaire playboy Donald John Trump’s own personal brand into the Christian zeitgeist, setting the stage for the political hellscape we see before us today!
 
All this, and we’re not even asking you to sow a financial seed in ANY amount. Aren’t we generous?

On this month’s This Fire, it’s all about putting those hands together and leaving them locked in a secure, upright position until the big man in the sky gives you what you asked for, as  Steve and Alec watch the October 1988 episode of Fire By Nite - The Power of Prayer.
 
Learn all sorts of neat tricks to maximize the effectiveness of YOUR prayers! From prayers of worship and praise, to prayers of intercession on behalf of your country, that one day enables a fascist coup that transforms the very fabric of modern society!…Sorry, we’re clearly working through some things…
 
We PRAY, that you press play, and join us for this very special, very introspective episode of This Fire!

Looking for an escape from your relatives this week? Why not spend the holiday with This Fire, as Steve & Alec go on a little bit of a detour, and take an in depth look at the legendary Satanic Panic book: Turmoil in the Toybox.
 
That’s right! It’s finally time to expose the demonic influence of He-Man, Star Wars, GI Joe, the CareBears…(wait, that can’t be right. The CareBears?), The Smurfs…ET…..ok, so they literally just hated everything going on in 1980s pop culture. Got it.
 
So join us! On this nostalgic look back at the ruined childhoods of evangelical children in the 1980s, on this very special holiday episode of This Fire!

Today on This Fire, it’s a road show! As the Fox Bros. take a look at the September 1988 episode of Fire By Nite, “Are We Not All Missionaries?”, coming to you LIVE from sunny Guatemala!
 
Well…I mean, WE’RE not in Guatemala, but Blaine and crew sure are; & no impoverished neighborhood is left un-evangelized to (or un-videotaped!) as we learn how teenagers should go about expanding God’s kingdom in these last days.

All that, PLUS the debut of one of the most iconic praise and worship songs of all time (not even being sarcastic here), brought to us by musical guest Rich Mullins!
 
Does The End Times© + neocolonialism x CCM artists on a fact finding mission  = fun and (spiritual) profit for the 80s? Find out on this very special episode of This Fire!