Christian group apologizes for pro-life message

Christian group apologizes for pro-life message
'We respect the separation educators need to have from the church world'

A Christian organization that provides motivational speakers to high schools has apologized to a school after one speaker made comments that could have been interpreted as opposing abortion and support heterosexual relationships.

The speaker is Tina Marie, an actress who is available for such events through Premiere Speakers. She spoke recently in several Minnesota schools under the auspices of Youth for Christ.

"The issue … was that the speaker indicated a pro-life stance when it came to the abortion issue, and when it came to homosexuality and/or the gay issue, she could have been interpreted as an anti-gay stance," Bob Poe, a spokeswoman for the YFC office, told WND.

"Although she did not say directly either one of those statements, by her examples and inference that would have been logical," he said.

Poe said he wrote to the school to address the concerns, while Willmar High School Principal Rob Anderson was writing to parents to apologize for Marie's comments, which he defined as having "crossed the line."

The actress, who has experience as an international speaker, host, reporter, author and emcee, has appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Young and the Restless," "Lizzie McQuire" and others. She worked for eight years in feature films and television shows and realized during that time how the media "twists the truth."

Now as a National Speakers Association member, she wants to share the truth with teens and their parents.

During her visit to Willmar, she asked students to listen to song lyrics, and consider their message. She also said actors and musicians often won't let their own children watch or listen to the things they are trying to sell to others' children, according to a report in the Morris, Minn., newspaper.

But the report in the Sun-Tribune said Tina Marie told the students one-third of their generation has been aborted, and she suggested boys who wear low-hanging pants may be seen as homosexuals.

YFC, which has worked for 20 years bringing motivational speakers to Minnesota schools, agrees biblically with her opposition to abortion and homosexuality. But Poe said that wasn't supposed to be the topic of the address to students.

"We have never taken speakers into the school system to deal with those issues," he told WND. "I think we would rather that the speakers we bring to schools not deal with topics that are controversial, that the school desires to remain neutral about, although as YFC, an organization, we are pro-life and pro-heterosexual."

Poe said he's never before worked with a speaker who broached such subjects in the past while they give assigned talks on issues such as racism, bullying, drug abuse and alcohol abuse.

"I know these people [in the community]. I've lived with these people for years. They have kids' best at heart. Unfortunately, we're in a system that allows one individual to cause a lot of pain," he said.

"We respect the separation the school needs to have from the church world," he said. He said he refunded the money Willmar schools paid for the program.

Many times a companion evening event is held that does include a religious component.

"We work very hard to follow the law as it applies to separation of church and state," Superintendent Kathy Leedom told the newspaper. "We're also diligent in refraining from advocating for a certain viewpoint."

Marie, calling herself a "truth catalyst," said students must think about media messages in music and television and become proactive in attempting to make changes.

Bart Graves, a volunteer with YFC, said the organization "can help find ways to reach kids when traditional methods are not as useful as they used to be."

Marie, who also has been on Alan Colmes National FOX radio show, also has served as commentator on issues such as "Brokeback Mountain" and South Dakota's legislative effort to ban abortion.

Her profile describes her as a former Wisconsin farm girl who challenges her audience "to take a stand against support violent, obscene entertainment."