How churches can treasure the Unborn
Over the summer, I’ve been preaching through the Ten Commandments. One of the lessons that the Holy Spirit has taught me is how much kindness God demonstrated in the two tablets, inscribed by his own finger. Given to an already-rescued people, God provides for them the way of human flourishing. These weren’t rules to follow […]
How We Should Talk About Abortion
The older I get the more upset I become at all of the injustice taking place in our world. Racial discrimination, sexual harassment, school shootings, religious persecution, abortion, and so much more seems to happen more now, than ever. As Christians, we must be firm in our pro-life values, from womb to tomb. So how […]
What 10 Years of Sidewalk Counseling Taught Me
I will never forget the first time I stepped onto the sidewalk. I was a 22-year-old seminary student with no experience in pro-life ministry. In fact, I had very little “ministry” experience at all! I certainly was not accustomed to waking up at 6 am on a Saturday. Nevertheless, I committed to serve with a […]
How the Church Can Care for Post-Abortive Women
(Written by Patti Withers, Women’s Ministry Leader at Immanuel Baptist Church) In my mid-twenties I became pregnant. At the time I was unsaved and unmarried, and I had grown up in a church that taught that babies weren’t human until they were born. Many of my friends had abortions, so the solution to my dilemma […]
Who Is My Neighbor: Immigration And The Image Of God
When it comes to Immigration, many evangelical Christians fail to view this topic from a truly biblical perspective. In 2015, Lifeway Research asked evangelicals to list which factor has most influenced their beliefs about immigration. About one in ten (12%) said the Bible was the primary factor. In other words, only 12% of evangelical Christians […]
As You Go: 12 Ways to Engage Kids in Whole-Life Worship
When I lived in North Carolina, I often rode to church gatherings with my friends and their family. I also sat with them in worship—yes, because they were my friends, but mostly because I really loved the way their oldest child would sing along with the music (especially if we were singing his favorite song, […]
A Home for Little Hearts: Foster Care and the People of God
Four years ago my son was growing in the womb of another woman. This woman, or perhaps young girl would be a better description, was likely afraid. Her life was unstable, the pregnancy was her first and unexpected. She hadn’t made all the best decisions up to that point and some of her decisions would […]
My Brother’s Down Syndrome Is Not a Burden
As Christians, we believe that every single person is precious and valuable, regardless of ability or disability. Yet, abortion rates rise when the unborn child is diagnosed with a disability. In fact, Iceland has seen a drastic decline in people with Down syndrome through their horrific practice of aborting all babies who are diagnosed with […]
Singles in the Church: When Labels Hinder Gifts
We live in a world of assumptions. We assume that if it is raining the morning commute to work is going to be terrible. We assume that if someone get’s engaged at the end of a season of the Bachelor they are going to eventually break up. We assume that The University of Alabama is […]
The Sanctity of Life and Pastoral Ministry: An Interview with Garrett Kell
Recently, our Executive Director, Andrew King, had the opportunity to sit down with Garrett Kell, Pastor at Del Ray Baptist Church, to talk about sanctity of life issues. Andrew King: First, will you tell us a little about your testimony and how it intersects with sanctity of life issues? Garrett Kell: I grew up in […]
The Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:11-21 [11] Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. [12] We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able […]
The First Step To Building An Adoption Culture
A young couple in our church recently approached me about their adoption from India. Over coffee, we talked about things like fundraising and timing and prayer. We discussed Russell Moore’s excellent book Adopted For Life (2009). They opened up about the agony of re-starting the adoption process after Ethiopia halted its foreign adoptions. But they […]