Pastors must diligently be about the business of building a pro-life foundation in the Church. This is the second in a series of articles on the subject of the sanctity of human life. The series contains practical tips and tools to help equip Pastors to accomplish this momentous mandate.
Before we dive into Pro-Life for Pastors 201, please take a moment and read my Pro-Life for Pastors 101 article first. It will help prepare you for what I will address in this article.
To swim or not to swim
During my high school years, I was on the school’s diving team. Before a person dives into a swimming pool, there must be prior preparation. Fully engaging in this Pro-Life for Pastors series can be compared to swimming.
For nearly two decades, I’ve traveled this nation trumpeting the truth about abortion, and equipping audiences with life-affirming strategies. Pastors are uniquely positioned to lead the way in matters of life for the born and pre-born alike. Unfortunately, however, most Pastors are woefully deficient concerning these matters. As a result, the people in our pews must frequently fend for themselves. Things don’t have to stay this way, and now is the time to make that change. God has called us for such a time as this!
Will you dive in with me? Before you do, first assess whether you are adept at swimming in these waters. Think about this article like a swimming lesson.
Each week the following people populate Church pews around the world:
- Married couples
- Virgins who have never had sex
- People intentionally engaging in sexual sin
- Pregnant mothers currently choosing life or death for their child
- Women and men who have had abortions
- Etc., etc., etc.
Swimming is necessary, but not mandatory
It’s up to you to decide if you will dive into this information and activation, or simply catch some rays of sun poolside. If you refuse to engage, the current climate of our culture will likely burn you.
Will you stay safe in the shallow end, or will you dive into the deep with me? The risk from the deep is greater, but there are also greater rewards: protecting the sexually pure, courageously confronting the promiscuous, and dressing the wounds of the post-abortive.
This series will equip you to play your part in the ongoing ministry mantle of Jesus…
Denial is not a river in Northeast Africa
Whether we admit it or not, the people who populate church pews fall into each of the categories referenced above.
Is the church you lead healthy, well-equipped, and protected? Does life matter for the born and pre-born? People need you to choose wisely, and to choose now. Destinies depend on it!
This series contains tools intended to teach you how to skillfully swim in the mirky waters of life issues. God has called you and wants to systematically equip you. So, let’s go swimming!
PARALYSIS IN THE PULPIT
Satan uses an array of tricks and traps to polarize and paralyze the church concerning life issues.
This list contains a few of the evil one’s most effective weapons:
Fear suffocates
Let’s address the largest elephant in the room first. This enormous, smelly, trumpeting, bullying, defecating, lingering elephant’s name is Fear. Fear of addressing the issue of abortion is wreaking havoc in the Church, and a mounting death toll proves it.
To gain perspective on abortion’s impact, read my Pro-Life 101 for Pastors article.
Fear is the overarching issue, and it has many tentacles. These tentacles have a death-grip on many in our nation’s pulpits. These tentacles muzzle our mouths, snuff out the truth, and hold us and the people we serve hostage.
Silence is not golden
Silence is often a direct result of fear. People need to hear the value of life and the truth about abortion taught by their Pastor. Many post-abortive people say they may have made chosen differently if they’d heard life preached about by their Pastor.
I’m happy to report that at Peoples Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I serve, they do! Do you preach a whole-life, pro-life gospel frequently at your church?
A Pew Research Center statistic revealed that in 2019, a measly 4% of sermons shared on U.S. church websites discussed abortion even once.
Remember, silence is often a direct result of fear. Silence is a problem, and people typically interpret the silence of our pulpits as an endorsement or consent. You have the power to break this silence.
Perceived Protection
Many Pastors mistakenly believe that if they preach about abortion, it will only open their congregants’ old wounds. That may be the case, but when done lovingly and compassionately, it helps to promote additional healing. When triggers arise, it often indicates trauma remains and deeper healing is needed.
May I offer a few strategies that work well? When sharing pro-life messages, avoid asking people to come up front, and always offer free resources on the spot. Be sure to include ways for people to respond privately, afterwards. Work to create such a safe and richly resourced setting that it’s nearly impossible for people to remain bound.
As Pastors, we address a myriad of issues, sins, and areas of trauma. When we address issues with the word of God, drenched in the love of God, we help people to heal. Therefore, stop robbing the post-abortive in the pews of the hope and healing they desperately need. If we allow fear and silence to remain, we are helping to keep our congregants captive.
Hope for the hurting
Reassure those hurt by abortion. If they’ve confessed their sins to God and asked Him to forgive them, then He has! If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). Every time a trigger rises, it is an opportunity to surrender it to our heavenly father, and let it go. No matter how many times it takes, encourage them to do it again until it weakens its grip. Every time they do this, they’re accepting God’s invitation to Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Invite them to contact Support After Abortion, a national hotline with trained representatives ready to help 24/7. Their trained counselors are happy to help, and many of them have seen the impact of abortion themselves.
The power of politics
One of the devil’s most effective strategies to paralyze Pastors concerning pro-life issues is the political side of it. Pastors most frequently site politics as one of the reasons they are silent on abortion from their pulpits.
Is abortion a political issue?
I frequently challenge my pro-life colleagues to stop saying abortion is not political. Didn’t the Supreme Court of the United States pass Roe v. Wade by a 7-to-2 decision in 1973? That made it political! If abortion were not political, why do we work so hard to elect pro-life politicians to office? If abortion were not political, why do we pray so hard for a favorable ruling from the SCOTUS regarding the Dobbs v. Jackson case? This current case has the long-overdue potential of overturning Roe v. Wade. If abortion is not political, why are we fighting to overturn Roe v. Wade RIGHT NOW?!?
Remember pie graphs?
Remember pie charts from math class? A pie graph consists of different-sized slices, each representing varying percentages of the whole.
The Bible reveals that our Great God is the Creator of all things living, including human beings. Genesis 1:1-2:6 teaches that after God created the world, plants, animals, etc., He then created humanity.
As clearly established in scripture, God is the Creator of Life. Life comes from Him! As a result, life is sacred, and it must be protected.
Therefore, the largest slice of the abortion pie graph is Biblical. As true as this may be, a political piece of the pie graph still exists. Stop saying abortion is not political. A significant slice of this controversial and multifaceted pie most certainly is.
Please come back to us next week for part 2 of Pro-Life 201 for Pastors.
The post Pro-life 201 for Pastors, Part 1: Will You Dive in to the Pro-Life Waters? appeared first on Focus on the Family.
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