Clearly, Mrs. Parks was bigger than her natural family. She was bigger than her church family. She belonged to the whole world,

Church has believed that parents probably wont' assume responsibility for their own children's growth, so they have tried to become a parent substitute. This in turn ha s fostered parents to adopt a "drop-off" mentality. Maybe the greatest gift a church can give parents is the confidence and courage to do what God has wired them to do.

Our fights should really be for the mission of the church and the mission of the family instead of trying to have bigger churches or better families. When it comes to entities that god has created specifically to make disciples and accomplish His mission (of influencing a generation to have a stronger, deeper, and more authentic relationship with God), there is the church...the family...and nothing else.

Church and family are both primary influences designed by God for a purpose and when they work together, they are orange. Both are systems comprised of imperfect people—that’s why God desires to use them as a platform to tell his story of restoration and redemption to the world.

[Mann has not been the family’s only benefactor. Members of Talladega Creek Baptist Church and Pastor Ivan Fuller have brought food, and Terry Ferguson and Martha Sherbert have brought whole prepared meals.] Everyone has been so nice, ... They’ve brought us so much we haven’t wanted for anything. It’s all just a miracle to me.

When I first came back to go to church, my family told me not to discuss politics or my views there. They were worried people would think bad of me. They viewed my beliefs as a really bad thing at first because [they were] so different from their own.