Friday, I had the blessing to join with several hundred fellow Maconites to publicly stand for the unborn. We were there to peacefully and prayerfully protest the pending arrival of an abortion clinic in downtown Macon. I was also pleased that several of our church members were there to take their stand with us.
Macon’s Kolbe Center for Life organized an inspiring event that featured Rev. Walter Hoye II, founder of Issues4Life. Rev. Hoye shared the story of his first child, born 4 month pre-mature, and how it impacted his perspective.
The Positive Side of Protest
As we enjoyed encouraging words from our speaker, I reflected on how we got to this point. In my mind, abortion is not a political issue or even a civil rights issue. Ultimately, it is a spiritual event.
I am not surprised that an abortion clinic wants to come to Macon. Sadly, we live in a city where the darkness of sin runs rampant. Macon abounds in the conditions that create the twisted desire for abortion.
But, why? In a town that has a church on every corner, why here? Since abortion is a spiritual issue, and since Macon has an abundant supply of churches, something is amiss.
As I thought about it, I could identify at least 3 things we churches must do better moving forward.
-
Evangelism
Foremost, we MUST do a better job of intentionally sharing the Gospel and compelling people to come to Jesus. The only remedy for a spiritual problem is a spiritual break-through.
I am not saying that only unbelievers have abortions. But a heart that is walking close to Jesus will not be in a position to consider that alternative.
We need to do a better job of getting the Gospel beyond the church’s walls. We must be more intentional to share the Gospel in our community. I don’t know about your community, but Macon-Bibb needs Jesus.
-
Discipleship
As I said above, I don’t believe for a minute that everyone who has an abortion is an unbeliever. Christians fail at a remarkably similar rate to unbelievers. Churches have gotten away from honest frank teaching to older kids and teens about Biblical sexuality.
We let the schools teach it, and we let their friends teach each other. But for some reason, we deem the topic taboo in church. Maybe it’s because we have bought the devil’s lie. The lie says they are going to be sexually active anyway, so why bother.
Also, in our discipleship we need to train believers to stand up for God’s principles of life and sexuality. The first century Church bravely existed in a hostile culture. We need to raise up brave men and women who will stand up in to today’s Christian-hostile culture.
-
Ministry
Finally, and maybe most importantly, we need to compassionately serve hurting people. A woman who feels the need to seek an abortion is a hurting woman. She feels as though abortion is her only hope. Quite possibly, she is ashamed, frustrated, scared, or possibly all of the above. Jesus had a heart of love for the harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36), and so should we.
All to often people identify us more for what we oppose than what we stand for. I am against abortion because I am for life. I am pro-woman and hate to see her life torn apart. The devil tells her a lie that baby will ruin her life. But God says that children are a heritage from the Lord. (Psalm 127:3). I believe that is true even if the child is unplanned or unexpected.
Turning Protest Into Proactivity
It is the height of hypocrisy to criticize a problem without being will to become part of the solution. I am thankful ministries in Macon like Caring Solutions are willing to meet people at their point of need. I urge you to check out their webpage and partner with them. Become part of the solution instead of merely lamenting the problem.
You might also enjoy reading Our Most Valuable Possession
My dad was a master gardener. We always had good fresh vegetables during the summer. We had a clear division of labor in our house, too. My dad grew the food, my mom cooked it, and I ate it. Soon enough I became old enough to join in the work preparing, planting, and tending the garden.
