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2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

By: The Rev. Michael Hinton

Courageous ministry occurs when we confront social evils related to delicate personal decisions. It is relatively easy to speak about world hunger or racial injustice because those are about other people. But what is more private than being behind the curtain of a voting booth, questioning your sexuality, or visiting with your doctor?
Yet this is exactly where the pro-life cause takes us.

The risk of misunderstanding and losing friends is enormous! Mark Campbell writes (CareNet, March 16, 2016) that ministers express five fears that prevent their preaching about abortion:

1. My congregation will think that I am being political.
2. I do not want to be pegged as a crazy, right-wing conservative.
3. I feel inadequate to address the issue of abortion.
4. I’m already overwhelmed, and I know if I preach on the issue of abortion, it will open the
floodgates of hurt and bondage, and I won’t be able to handle the fall out of the sermon.
5. I am afraid I will alienate and drive away women who have had abortions.

The last point is a legitimate concern, which Paul addresses in the passage above. Notice what he wrote about complete patience and doing the work of an evangelist. Those aspects of ministry proceed from a soft heart that is full of grace. It is a matter of tone, and the desired ultimate goal of healing and redemption.

In a sense, it is never out of season to offer hope and deliverance.
Altogether, an effective strategy for courageous pro-life ministry might be this:

1. Complete honesty about how difficult it is to speak about the subject.
2. Making a clear distinction between the victims of abortion vs. the perpetrators of evil, including
the religious and political enablers of death.
3. The heart-felt offer of love and forgiveness in the name of Jesus for anyone that seeks him.
4. Prayer!