Tommy Mann

I remember watching a Florida Gators football game on TV when I was a child, and the running back broke through the line and was headed for the end zone. He blew right through the defense, and there was no one in between him and six points. As he was sprinting forward one of the defenders was closing the gap. My dad began to yell at the television (because that's what we do when we watch sports), "Don't look back! Don't look back! Don't look back!" Sure enough, the ball carrier looked over his shoulder to see where the defensive player was, and he stumbled ever so slightly, allowing himself to be tackled just shy of scoring a touchdown.  There is no reason for a player to look back. He had already passed everyone, so he only needed to worry about what was in front of him. Paul used a similar analogy in his instructions to the church at Philippi. In Philippians 3:13-14 he spoke about someone running a race: "...But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behi...

Have you ever seen a bread tree? It would be nice if loaves of bread grew right on their branches, and all we had to do was pluck them and eat. In their book The Shaping of Things to Come , Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch address the question of why God didn't just create a bread tree. They wrote, "He prefers to offer us a grain and invite us to buy a field and plant the seed. He prefers that we till the soil while He sends the rain. He prefers that we harvest the crop while He sends sunshine. He prefers that we grind the crop and knead it and bake it while He gives us air in our lungs and strength in our arms. Why? Because He would rather that we become partners with Him in creation."  I agree with those authors, and believe we can apply that same way of thinking to our money. Most churches probably have a wish list, things they would love to do if only they could afford it. We dream about doing things, and say, "If someone gave us a million dollars, I would use the m...

  The birth of Jesus is a story of paradox, where the incarnation demonstrates the humiliation of the greatest person in history. This is where Jesus “humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:8).”  The God from eternity past was born. In that moment Immanuel became an infant. The Creator was crying. The Savior was swaddled. The Messiah was in a manger. The Healer was helpless. The Divine was dependent.  The God from eternity past was born. The Omnipotent One who spoke the universe into existence would not say His first word for another year. He would nurse from the breast of a woman He made. Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Emanuel.    Jesus was exactly what the world needed. If the world needed a soldier, God would have sent a five-star general.  If the world needed a monarch, God would have sent a dynastic king. If the world needed a fighter, God would have sent a heavyweight champion.  If...

What do you think of when you hear the word gentleness? It might not be what some guys strive for, but it is a good quality to possess; in fact, it is listed among the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.    Did you know the Bible equates gentleness in the life of a Christian with the presence of God? The NIV translates Philippians 4:5 this way: “Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.”      That word gentleness appears as moderation in the King James, as reasonableness in the ESV, and as forbearance in the American Standard. It is a difficult word to translate, but it seems to be associated with meekness and humility. Gentleness, by definition, means to be kind, and is the antonym of severity.    Some people seem to think this conduct is optional for believers, as if they do not have to model this kind of behavior. “That is great for you, but I’m just not wired that way.”  But in the verse above Paul tied together gen...

  I recently heard that there is an annual survey conducted to determine the most annoying word of the year. For multiple years running (I didn’t catch how many) the people have spoken and deemed “whatever”as the word they least like to hear.    People don’t like this word because it is usually said with a bad attitude. When two people get into an argument and one has run out of things to say, they just sigh loudly and say, “whatever.” It is a word of indifference; rather than thinking of something even remotely clever, we just shrug and utter this tired cop out.    But whatever doesn’t have to be an annoying word. It has the potential to do the opposite; it can lead us to rejoice. It can be freeing rather than frustrating. Consider how Paul used the word.   Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there i...

  Do you find yourself constantly wishing you had more? You wish you had more or better clothes, more money in the bank, a newer car, or a larger house. When we look around at other people, especially pictures we see posted to social media, it is easy to fall into the trap of wishing we had what other people have.   In Christianity we try to walk a delicate balance as it relates to our material possessions. We must learn to avoid the two extremes. On the one hand some say that the best way to demonstrate humility is to give up everything and live in poverty. On the other extreme are those who say that if you are really living the Christian life then God would be showering you with every blessing imaginable. Some people in poverty think that is proof that they love God more, while some in prosperity think that is proof that God loves them more. The truth is there are godly people that are both haves and have nots.   The goal of the Christian should be to learn contentment....

  It seems every week NFL quarterback Tom Brady sets a new record. The forty-four year old has been excelling at his position for more than two decades, and the accolades have really begun to pile up. Most recently, Brady became the first player to ever throw for 600 touchdowns (pre- and postseason not included). When his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammate Mike Evans caught the historic pass, he tossed the ball to a fan in the front row.    The obvious problem is this was a ball Brady would have liked to have. As the old adage goes, possession is nine-tenths of the law, and this lucky fan suddenly had the upper hand in intense in-game negotiations. During the timeout a representative from the Buccaneers went over and approached the fan to see what it would take to get the ball back to Brady. Viewers on TV could see the conversation take place, then a handshake, and finally, the return of the football. The commentators even speculated as to what all he would receive for returni...

  Did Jesus have an unfair advantage over us? We sometimes speculate as to what it was like for Jesus when He was being raised by Mary and Joseph. Even the concept of Jesus being raised is hard to grasp; did the one who raised the dead need to be raised?    We know He was perfect. Scripture makes that clear, for He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).” But did Jesus emerge from the womb with divine awareness of all things, or was He closer to ordinary? When talking about his Christmas hit song “Mary Did You Know?” Mark Lowry said, “The one who spoke the world into existence was now uttering unintelligible baby noises.” As much fun as it is to daydream about God in the flesh using his divine abilities in His adolescence, we have no reason to believe that Jesus was anything other than a normal child developmentally as He learned to crawl, then walk, then run. He fell and cried, He skinned His knee, and sometimes He didn’t like His dinner....