The following is part 2 of our Pro-Life 201 for Pastors article. Be sure to read part 1 first.
If the things I have shared are true, then the Church—moreover Pastors—should certainly address abortion head on! We desperately need Pastors who are willing to stand up and speak out about life!
Are you, as a Pastor, = squarely addressing the issues of our day? The Church is watching, the world is waiting, hell dreads it, and the God of Heaven demands it! Can He count on you, or must He look for another?
We need men and women of God like the 500+ Pastors who have signed up and are standing with the Douglass Leadership Institute’s Jeremiah 1:5 Project. They are praying for an end to abortion. They are preaching that life is precious and must be protected, and they’re promoting this project by recruiting their pastoral peers. Will you join with us? Learn more and sign up now! We need you!
Maybe the reason you haven’t spoken out is because you have abortion in your own background. Well, I’ve got news for you! You’re not alone! I plan to address this extensively in future Pro-Life for Pastors articles. In the meantime, please contact us at the Douglass Leadership Institute. We have an army of post-abortive pastors ready to help!
Many Pastors fear abortion is too touchy a topic for young people to handle. Today’s youth know far more than we realize. In fact, the world exposes them to much more than we were exposed to at their ages. Times have changed!
If parents and pastors are not equipping youth with a Biblical worldview concerning life, then they are left exposed. When we allow our fears to prevent us from addressing tough topics, real problems emerge. Our silence leaves them exposed to opinion, conjecture, error, fear, and sometimes leads them to abortion. Our avoidance leaves them vulnerable to the very things we want to protect them from.
In my travels, I’ve learned that these same young people have friends who have had abortions. Sometimes, unbeknownst to parents, so have they. Some of their previous abortion-related experiences may have happened not long ago. Some of them are right in your church’s youth group, but they may never admit it to you. I wonder if they feel it’s safe to talk to you?
There’s an urgent and ongoing need to teach people about their value in the eyes of God. There is beauty and a God-ordained purpose for their bodies. Saving sex until marriage (between a man and woman) is God’s plan. It’s a wonderful plan that provides a platform to talk about God’s purpose for sex, clearly contained in scripture. People say that abstinence education doesn’t work, but it absolutely works IF those that receive it, work it!
Utilize the age-old strategy of small groups for meaningful and candid life-affirming discussions in your church. One practical strategy when leading groups is to separate the girls and boys/women and men periodically. Occasionally coordinate co-ed groups, but by all means facilitate conversation.
My friends Sheila and Jack Harper co-founded a ministry called SaveOne to help with group discussions. SaveOne’s Bible-based curriculum is specifically designed to help and heal the entire family unit. You don’t have to re-create the wheel. They have readily available resources.
Another elephant in the room is the fact that men are intentionally and frequently excluded from abortion-related conversations.
Abortion is not just a woman’s issue. It always also involves a man. Sometimes it’s the man who pressures the woman into an abortion. In other cases, it’s the man who begs the woman not to have an abortion. Sometimes the woman never tells the man that she has aborted his child. And, in still other cases, a man may be in a relationship with a post-abortive woman but has never been involved in an abortion himself. The latter is my testimony, which I will share in detail in the next article in this Pro-Life for Pastors series.
Basic Biology teaches us that women are the bearers of eggs, and men are the carriers of seed. When an egg and a seed combine, we have life. Therefore, if men are the carriers of the seed, then abortion has everything to do with us, too. The task before us is to train men to superintend their seed properly. Men should only discharge that precious seed in the context of a committed marriage with his wife. When men maintain relationships of accountability with other men, this noble task is achievable. Our son did not engage in sexual intercourse until his wedding night with our beautiful daughter-in-law. I will share more about that in the next article.
There is so much more I want to share with you, but we’ll continue our conversation in “Pro-Life 301 for Pastors.”
Until then, let’s rejoice in the fact that our loving, heavenly Father adopted each of us!
(Romans 8:14-16)
The post Pro-Life 201 for Pastors, Part 2: Stand up and Speak Out about Life appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...
Will you stand up and speak out about life?
If the things I have shared are true, then the Church—moreover Pastors—should certainly address abortion head on! We desperately need Pastors who are willing to stand up and speak out about life!
Are you, as a Pastor, = squarely addressing the issues of our day? The Church is watching, the world is waiting, hell dreads it, and the God of Heaven demands it! Can He count on you, or must He look for another?
We need men and women of God like the 500+ Pastors who have signed up and are standing with the Douglass Leadership Institute’s Jeremiah 1:5 Project. They are praying for an end to abortion. They are preaching that life is precious and must be protected, and they’re promoting this project by recruiting their pastoral peers. Will you join with us? Learn more and sign up now! We need you!
Abortion in the pulpit
Maybe the reason you haven’t spoken out is because you have abortion in your own background. Well, I’ve got news for you! You’re not alone! I plan to address this extensively in future Pro-Life for Pastors articles. In the meantime, please contact us at the Douglass Leadership Institute. We have an army of post-abortive pastors ready to help!
For mature audiences only
Many Pastors fear abortion is too touchy a topic for young people to handle. Today’s youth know far more than we realize. In fact, the world exposes them to much more than we were exposed to at their ages. Times have changed!
If parents and pastors are not equipping youth with a Biblical worldview concerning life, then they are left exposed. When we allow our fears to prevent us from addressing tough topics, real problems emerge. Our silence leaves them exposed to opinion, conjecture, error, fear, and sometimes leads them to abortion. Our avoidance leaves them vulnerable to the very things we want to protect them from.
Abortion in the Church
In my travels, I’ve learned that these same young people have friends who have had abortions. Sometimes, unbeknownst to parents, so have they. Some of their previous abortion-related experiences may have happened not long ago. Some of them are right in your church’s youth group, but they may never admit it to you. I wonder if they feel it’s safe to talk to you?
Talk about sex
There’s an urgent and ongoing need to teach people about their value in the eyes of God. There is beauty and a God-ordained purpose for their bodies. Saving sex until marriage (between a man and woman) is God’s plan. It’s a wonderful plan that provides a platform to talk about God’s purpose for sex, clearly contained in scripture. People say that abstinence education doesn’t work, but it absolutely works IF those that receive it, work it!
The power of groups
Utilize the age-old strategy of small groups for meaningful and candid life-affirming discussions in your church. One practical strategy when leading groups is to separate the girls and boys/women and men periodically. Occasionally coordinate co-ed groups, but by all means facilitate conversation.
Save one
My friends Sheila and Jack Harper co-founded a ministry called SaveOne to help with group discussions. SaveOne’s Bible-based curriculum is specifically designed to help and heal the entire family unit. You don’t have to re-create the wheel. They have readily available resources.
Men matter
Another elephant in the room is the fact that men are intentionally and frequently excluded from abortion-related conversations.
Abortion is not just a woman’s issue. It always also involves a man. Sometimes it’s the man who pressures the woman into an abortion. In other cases, it’s the man who begs the woman not to have an abortion. Sometimes the woman never tells the man that she has aborted his child. And, in still other cases, a man may be in a relationship with a post-abortive woman but has never been involved in an abortion himself. The latter is my testimony, which I will share in detail in the next article in this Pro-Life for Pastors series.
Basic Biology teaches us that women are the bearers of eggs, and men are the carriers of seed. When an egg and a seed combine, we have life. Therefore, if men are the carriers of the seed, then abortion has everything to do with us, too. The task before us is to train men to superintend their seed properly. Men should only discharge that precious seed in the context of a committed marriage with his wife. When men maintain relationships of accountability with other men, this noble task is achievable. Our son did not engage in sexual intercourse until his wedding night with our beautiful daughter-in-law. I will share more about that in the next article.
Stay tuned
There is so much more I want to share with you, but we’ll continue our conversation in “Pro-Life 301 for Pastors.”
Until then, let’s rejoice in the fact that our loving, heavenly Father adopted each of us!
(Romans 8:14-16)
The post Pro-Life 201 for Pastors, Part 2: Stand up and Speak Out about Life appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...