Tommy Mann

     To listen to some Christians talk one would have to come to the conclusion that the Old Testament is obsolete. If I were to quote a Minor Prophet, for example, I can almost here someone’s thought: But that’s Old Testament. Where do we get this idea that the first 39 books of the Bible lost their value once Paul picked up his pen?      Consider some of the wonderful truths that the first testament brought us: *The beginning. Genesis 1:1 boldly declares that God, not Darwin or chance, is responsible for the universe. *The Messiah. Isaiah and the Psalms paint vivid pictures of the first coming of the Messiah. Jesus in the New Testament is recognized as the Messiah (instead of just a teacher or prophet) because He met the descriptions written centuries before. *Wisdom. Where would we be without the poetic book of Proverbs? Whether Old Testament or New, “the fear of the Lord” is still “the beginning of wisdom.” *The end....

Michael John Cusick’s book Surfing for God operates on the premise that “every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God (a quote attributed to G.K. Chesterton).” Cusick’s premise is that every person struggling with lust or pornography addictions are really searching for something else. Each person, he says, must examine himself and find out where his urges to lust come from. It is only then they can begin dealing with it. The author is a licensed professional counselor, and he uses a lot of psychological techniques. Personally, I am a nouthetic counselor, meaning that I believe the Bible is a sufficient source of information, and that Jesus is stronger than any addiction. Cusick is not nouthetic, as evidenced by his techniques and his quoting of Carl Jung (p.84). In chapter 3 the author mocks his pastor for saying, “If we can just align our desires with God’s, then and only then will we win the battle over the sins and struggles that en...

I recently wrote about abstinence education , and I explained how Union County’s Comprehensive Health Committee helped keep contraception out of our schools. If you read that you might have pictured some school administrators, professionals, or beaurocrats sitting in a room making these decisions. Perhaps you even thought, “I wish I could make a difference like that.” The reality is that you can make a difference. When I first heard that the committee was being formed I decided to show up at the first meeting. Initially against my will I was elected as chairmen of that board, and it has been a pleasure to hold that position for all three years of the board’s existence. There are professionals on the board: there are members from the county office, teachers, coaches, counselors, and nurses on the board. But there are also members of the faith-based community: pastors, church leaders, and volunteers from the crisis pregnancy center have spent time on the board. There have ev...

In July of 2010 I released my 2 nd book Who is God? , and then in December there was a follow up book called Who is God? Book 2. Those books were for sale for $10 each, but now they are discontinued. There is now a 2 nd addition release of Who is God? , which is both books combined together. If you are not already familiar with this book, here is the pitch: People don't know who God is anymore. That sad truth is what led to this book. Who is God? shows some of things that make the God of the Bible unique from the gods of other religions. Who is God? shows the reader that God is sovereign, love, wrath, wise, eternal and immutable, and jealous. Part 2 of this book introduces the reader to God the Comforter, Deliverer, Justifier, Counselor, Rewarder, and Creator. This 2 nd edition book is still just $10, and is available at www.tommymannministries.com or by clicking the Shop tab on this blog. When you order the paperback you will also get a PDF dow...

I want to let you know about a TV show your kids may be watching. But before I begin let me give a disclaimer. Some of you might get annoyed when I “tell you what you can and cannot watch.” If that is you then please never mind this. This is written to those parents who don’t want their children watching anything ungodly. The show is called Secret Life of the American Teenager, and it comes on ABC Family Channel (whose slogan is “A new kind of family”). To call this show awful would be a compliment. The show follows the lives of several teenagers in their high school, and most of the characters are just 16. One of those 16 year olds has a toddler and one is currently pregnant. There is a guy on the show who is known for being “the bad boy” who has slept with almost every girl in the school. The parents speak bluntly to their children about the kids’ sex lives, but only as a means of keeping up, not for the sake of putting a stop to it. And how could they? The parents are a...

With Sex Education being a part of our public school system, each county or district has to decide how they will teach it. Some have abstinence education, while others teach “safe sex” and give out taxpayer-funded contraception. In Union County where I reside we are abstinence only in our approach. The fact that as recently as three years ago we led South Carolina’s counties per capita in pregnancies among 15-19 year olds was a black eye on the abstinence approach. Was it time to introduce “safer choices”? Is abstinence a failing system? Do desperate times call for desperate measures?  For starters, the real problem was our county’s approach; the only thing we were abstinent from was a curriculum. It was discovered that with budget cuts and busy days many teachers didn’t have time to get around to what they were supposed to teach, and there was little to no oversight from the county. That led the county to form a Comprehensive Health Committee that was tasked with ...