Tommy Mann

Photo from our last Sunday on staff at Philippi   I walked home from church today, as I’ve done countless times over the years, but this time was different. I knew this was my final walk home. Each week I walk down the hill from Philippi to my house, two places that I view as a gift from God. I received both gifts on the same day—my 23 rd birthday—January 22 nd , 2008. Many think the house is a parsonage, but it was just a house that happened to be in foreclosure when we were hired at the church. We were voted in on a Sunday night, and agreed to buy the house the next morning before heading to the airport. The next time we would be in Union it would be to call it home. 2007 was a tough year for us. Alicia left her family in Texas, the place I called home for the previous four years. We suffered through a pair of miscarriages, and I had to come to grips with not being given the chance at what I considered to be my dream job. 2008 brought not only a new year, but a new be

Forgive me if this is a bit dramatic, but visiting Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty got me thinking… Last week Alicia and I had the privilege of spending a few days in New York. On our trip we stopped in Brooklyn, and being the history nerd that I am, I was awestruck by this quote from George Washington. The British army had amassed 10,000 Red Coats to storm New York. Understanding that losing New York was tantamount to losing the country, General Washington knew his men needed to make a stand in the Battle of Brooklyn. His words now live on, forever etched in the sidewalk and in the hearts of modern patriots. He said: “The fate of unborn millions will now depend on the courage and conduct of this army. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.” Reading those words and trying to picture Washington’s army looking at the enemy soldiers coming in the Hudson River, I felt an appreciation for the “courage and conduct” of those men—men whom I will never know.

Yes, Tommy Mann Ministries is closing down. But as I said in the last post, I will continue to write and sell books, just not on a non-profit basis. So I want to let you know about two book signings in December to help launch the release of  Asleep in Heaven's Nursery for Kids. The first is at Coffee Underground in Greenville on December 5th, from 1:00-3:00 PM. They are located at 1 East Coffee Street, 29601. The second is at The Stomping Grounds in Greer on December 19th, from 10:00-noon. They are located at 208 Trade Street, 29651. Both of these events are at coffee shops. I would love to see you out there if you can make it. You can get a gourmet cup of coffee, eat lunch, or get dessert. It is also a great place to get a signed copy of my first children's book. Hope to see you there!

Asleep in Heaven's Nursery for Kids will not be in stores until November 24th, but it is now available for pre-order. You can get it here . Even though it is a pre-order, all sales will ship this week, and shipping is FREE.  Asleep for Kids is a beautifully-illustrated poem as told by a five year old girl who is finding out that her mother is no longer pregnant. She comes to realize her little brother is asleep in heaven's nursery. This book is the perfect tool to use when having to explain child loss to young children.

This past Sunday our Bible study classes at Philippi began using Answering God’s Call for the Fall curriculum. I began writing this about a year ago, long before we knew who Kim Davis was, but I believe it was timely. This goes to show that we are not jumping on the Kim Davis bandwagon, but instead are trying to simply live out our faith the way the Bible instructs. Here is page 11 from the book: We need to obey the rules. Romans 13:1 teaches believers to “be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” It is hard to imagine how God could allow people like this Pharaoh to rise to power, but He is sovereign and nothing happens without God either authoring or allowing it. But even though we are supposed to obey the rulers placed as authorities in our lives, sometimes those leaders will command us to do something that is in opposition to God’s Word. In those cases we are to obey God instead

We are in uncharted waters in this country. We have two groups whose rights have put them on a collision course with each other, and instead of protecting both groups, the solution seems to be to prosecute one and champion the other. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion in this country, but it does so much more than that. Freedom of religion is more than just the freedom to go to church or own a Bible. Freedom of religion does us no good without her sister, the free exercise of religion. This means that, not only are we free to go to church and read the Bible, we are free to live out the principles that the church and the Bible teach. The teachings of Scripture are not to be confined to inside the four walls of the church or the home, but they are meant to be freely lived out in our places of work, schooling, and communities. These teachings make up a worldview that governs the daily actions of the Christian. They are not one part of the

Before you use the Bible to try to criticize Kim Davis, there are a few things you should know. The Bible doesn’t work like a game of Scrabble; you can’t take random letters and words and use them to suit your current needs. So here are some responses to some of the critics I have seen over the last few days. 1. Yes, Kim Davis has been married four times, divorced three times, and had children out of wedlock. By her own admission she has made many mistakes, but the aforementioned indiscretions were committed before she came to Christ four years ago. The Bible speaks strongly against divorce (although some divorces are justified) and premarital and extramarital relations. But it teaches that when a person turns to Jesus, he becomes a “new creation; the old things have passed away, and behold, all things are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).” Using her mistakes from her life without Christ to call her a hypocrite is inconsistent. Furthermore, like I said in my post about Josh