Tommy Mann

My hometown has ejected God from the football field. Orange County, which includes Orlando, made a decision this season to not allow Christian chaplains to minister to student athletes. Chaplains, which are a staple on almost every sideline, typically lead players in voluntary pre- and post-game prayers, and are there for players in time of crisis. The public school system went a step further, banning Bible verses and references to the Bible from campuses. The decisions came after a threat was made by the Freedom From Religion organization. The very name of this organization is unconstitutional. The Bill of Rights guarantees us freedom of religion, not freedom from it. If people do not want religion, they have freedom from it, but the State cannot infringe upon the rights of those who do want religion. Liberals are quick to cry, “ Separation of church and State !” But they fail to see that the line of separation goes both ways. The Founders’ fear was not that the Ch...

The Senate will vote this week on President Obama’s appointment to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Members of the pro-life community have labeled this nominee “the most liberal judicial appointment ever.” Ms. Pillard is staunchly pro-abortion and anti-abstinence education, and she is close to receiving a lifetime job on the second most powerful bench in the world. Here are some of her more radical comments: Nina Pillard seems to hate the idea of pregnancy itself, as she has suggested that pregnancy can make women “a class of presumptive breeders rather than reliable breadwinners and citizens.” She said that people who are “anti-choice” (pro-life) are guilty of “sex discrimination.” She maintains that abortion should be legal because the Constitution “declares our liberty to protect our own life and health.” That is a horrible understanding of the Constitution, which is why she does not need the power to interpret the Constitution as a judge. That document never grants...

In 2009 UnKommon Media and Interlinc published a book by Pastor Rick Bundschuh (Kauai Christian Fellowship, Kauai, Hawaii) called Surviving Middle School (A Hilarious Guide That Will Help You Avoid Being A Dork). I received the book from Interlinc because, at the time, I was a member of their organization that sends CDs, books, and other media-related resources to people in student ministry.      I read the book in 2009, and I was so appalled by what I read that I cancelled my membership. The book got shuffled around and eventually lost in my junk drawer, and I just recently re-discovered it. When I did, I was reminded about the book’s content, and wanted to share a quick reason why I think books like this are killing some ministries.      While the book doesn’t say this, I assume that the purpose is for me to use it in student ministry. The author says that he is writing to middle schoolers (or junior high students), but the book is being...

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...

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 ...