Kirk Cameron is joined by Abby Johnson and Justin Reeder to discuss the importance of valuing and protecting life.
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#Abby Johnson
#Justin Reeder
#Kirk Cameron
#Romans 1
#Mark 12:30-31
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Takeaways with Kirk Cameron | Pro-Life | January 19, 2022
- - Life is precious, a gift from God.
- 00:00:00.256 --> 00:00:03.126
- On today's episode of "Takeaways,"
- 00:00:03.126 --> 00:00:04.961
- we're gonna discuss the importance
- 00:00:04.961 --> 00:00:06.596
- of loving and protecting life.
- 00:00:06.596 --> 00:00:09.632
- Please know that our intent
- 00:00:09.632 --> 00:00:10.867
- behind covering this sensitive topic
- 00:00:10.867 --> 00:00:13.036
- is simply to reflect and stand for what matters to God
- 00:00:13.036 --> 00:00:16.906
- as found in scripture,
- 00:00:16.906 --> 00:00:18.575
- God told both Isaiah and Jeremiah
- 00:00:18.575 --> 00:00:21.511
- that he had formed them in the womb.
- 00:00:21.511 --> 00:00:24.080
- He knew Jeremiah.
- 00:00:24.080 --> 00:00:25.648
- He called him for a special purpose before he was born.
- 00:00:25.648 --> 00:00:29.953
- And in Galatians,
- 00:00:29.953 --> 00:00:31.421
- Paul said that God had set him apart before he was born.
- 00:00:31.421 --> 00:00:35.525
- We hope that you find this episode to be insightful,
- 00:00:35.525 --> 00:00:39.095
- inspiring, and laced with the grace that God offers.
- 00:00:39.095 --> 00:00:43.266
- If, like our first guest,
- 00:00:43.266 --> 00:00:45.001
- abortion has been a part of your past,
- 00:00:45.001 --> 00:00:47.437
- our message to you is simple.
- 00:00:47.437 --> 00:00:49.706
- Romans 1 tells us that there is no condemnation
- 00:00:49.706 --> 00:00:52.976
- for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ.
- 00:00:52.976 --> 00:00:56.179
- His forgiveness is available and lasting.
- 00:00:56.179 --> 00:00:59.883
- He loves you.
- 00:00:59.883 --> 00:01:01.484
- And we love you.
- 00:01:01.484 --> 00:01:03.019
- If you're watching this and are currently experiencing
- 00:01:03.019 --> 00:01:05.922
- an unplanned pregnancy, please keep watching.
- 00:01:05.922 --> 00:01:09.225
- Our compassionate, well-informed guests
- 00:01:09.225 --> 00:01:11.528
- have information and resources
- 00:01:11.528 --> 00:01:13.163
- that are immediately available to you.
- 00:01:13.163 --> 00:01:15.532
- I'm honored to be hosting such important conversations
- 00:01:15.532 --> 00:01:18.468
- right now on "Takeaways."
- 00:01:18.468 --> 00:01:20.770
- (dramatic music) (car honks)
- 00:01:20.770 --> 00:01:25.074
- In your time there at Planned Parenthood,
- 00:01:25.074 --> 00:01:27.310
- did you really think that you were doing a good thing
- 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:30.346
- by assisting these abortions?
- 00:01:30.346 --> 00:01:32.081
- - I saw a 13-week-old baby fight and struggle for his life
- 00:01:32.081 --> 00:01:35.818
- against the abortion instruments.
- 00:01:35.818 --> 00:01:37.921
- I knew then that there was life inside the womb,
- 00:01:37.921 --> 00:01:42.192
- and I felt so stupid for believing this lie.
- 00:01:42.192 --> 00:01:47.463
- - How do you explain your stance on abortion?
- 00:01:48.331 --> 00:01:50.833
- God impressed upon your mind this idea.
- 00:01:50.833 --> 00:01:54.404
- - We wanna unite and mobilize the church
- 00:01:54.404 --> 00:01:56.539
- to create a culture of love and life
- 00:01:56.539 --> 00:01:58.174
- that would result to an end to abortion
- 00:01:58.174 --> 00:02:01.110
- because the church has mobilized over 3.500 families
- 00:02:01.110 --> 00:02:05.515
- that have made the choice for life at the abortion clinics.
- 00:02:05.515 --> 00:02:09.586
- These are people that showed up for scheduled abortion
- 00:02:09.586 --> 00:02:12.555
- and heard the hope of Jesus
- 00:02:12.555 --> 00:02:14.724
- and were offered the help of the local church.
- 00:02:14.724 --> 00:02:22.632
- - Our first guest is Abby Johnson.
- 00:02:23.399 --> 00:02:25.668
- Abby's transformational story from Planned Parenthood leader
- 00:02:25.668 --> 00:02:29.939
- to pro-life champion is documented in the movie
- 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:32.976
- and in the book "Unplanned."
- 00:02:32.976 --> 00:02:34.978
- Abby, thanks so much for joining us.
- 00:02:34.978 --> 00:02:37.013
- - Of course.
- 00:02:37.013 --> 00:02:38.281
- Thank you so much for having me on.
- 00:02:38.281 --> 00:02:39.282
- - The movie about your life.
- 00:02:39.282 --> 00:02:41.684
- It has been so inspiring to so many of us
- 00:02:41.684 --> 00:02:43.686
- and for my wife Chelsea and me,
- 00:02:43.686 --> 00:02:46.055
- our first four kids were adopted,
- 00:02:46.055 --> 00:02:47.890
- and my wife is herself an adopted child.
- 00:02:47.890 --> 00:02:51.027
- And so this subject is so important to me.
- 00:02:51.027 --> 00:02:54.364
- For those people who didn't see the movie or read the book,
- 00:02:54.364 --> 00:02:57.100
- can you just remind us a little bit
- 00:02:57.100 --> 00:02:58.768
- how did you get your position in Planned Parenthood
- 00:02:58.768 --> 00:03:03.072
- as a leader there and what was your goal?
- 00:03:03.072 --> 00:03:05.541
- - Yeah, you know, I started working there as a college kid.
- 00:03:05.541 --> 00:03:10.313
- I grew up in a pro-life home.
- 00:03:10.313 --> 00:03:11.881
- I grew up in a conservative home,
- 00:03:11.881 --> 00:03:14.217
- but we didn't talk about abortion.
- 00:03:14.217 --> 00:03:18.054
- I didn't grow up in a home
- 00:03:18.054 --> 00:03:20.089
- that was sitting around the dinner table,
- 00:03:20.089 --> 00:03:22.792
- talking about the ins and outs
- 00:03:22.792 --> 00:03:24.327
- of being pro-life or being pro-choice.
- 00:03:24.327 --> 00:03:27.163
- I think my parents, they had taught me
- 00:03:27.163 --> 00:03:29.198
- the biblical pathway to marriage.
- 00:03:29.198 --> 00:03:31.167
- And so I think they just sort of thought, well,
- 00:03:31.167 --> 00:03:34.003
- as long as Abby follows that path,
- 00:03:34.003 --> 00:03:35.972
- an abortion will never be on the table,
- 00:03:35.972 --> 00:03:37.774
- and so we don't need to talk about something so unpleasant
- 00:03:37.774 --> 00:03:41.244
- with our little girl.
- 00:03:41.244 --> 00:03:42.578
- And so, we just didn't.
- 00:03:42.578 --> 00:03:44.647
- And I went to college and met a woman
- 00:03:44.647 --> 00:03:48.084
- with Planned Parenthood and she was trying to recruit
- 00:03:48.084 --> 00:03:51.954
- college students.
- 00:03:51.954 --> 00:03:53.990
- And I tell people all the time,
- 00:03:53.990 --> 00:03:55.892
- wherever there are vulnerable women,
- 00:03:55.892 --> 00:03:57.994
- so is Planned Parenthood.
- 00:03:57.994 --> 00:03:59.996
- And there are tens of thousands of vulnerable women
- 00:03:59.996 --> 00:04:03.399
- on college campuses each and every day,
- 00:04:03.399 --> 00:04:05.868
- and so that's exactly why Planned Parenthood is there
- 00:04:05.868 --> 00:04:09.205
- trying to recruit them.
- 00:04:09.205 --> 00:04:11.341
- And she was telling me all of the talking points
- 00:04:11.341 --> 00:04:14.277
- that we have all heard
- 00:04:14.277 --> 00:04:15.745
- about how wonderful Planned Parenthood is as an organization
- 00:04:15.745 --> 00:04:18.781
- and how they're trying to help women.
- 00:04:18.781 --> 00:04:20.750
- And if we're not here helping women
- 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:23.619
- obtain safe and legal abortion,
- 00:04:23.619 --> 00:04:27.056
- which that was the talking point,
- 00:04:27.056 --> 00:04:29.759
- that was the tagline back then,
- 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:32.095
- then these women are gonna go and have unsafe,
- 00:04:32.095 --> 00:04:35.732
- back alley at home coat hanger abortions.
- 00:04:35.732 --> 00:04:40.203
- And so all of that sounded great to me as a young student.
- 00:04:40.203 --> 00:04:45.475
- And I got involved first as a volunteer,
- 00:04:46.342 --> 00:04:50.380
- and then eventually got hired there full-time
- 00:04:50.380 --> 00:04:54.550
- and rose up through the ranks and then became
- 00:04:54.550 --> 00:04:58.654
- a clinic director there and was actually running
- 00:04:58.654 --> 00:05:02.859
- the health clinic and also the abortion clinic
- 00:05:02.859 --> 00:05:06.396
- there at a facility in Texas.
- 00:05:06.396 --> 00:05:09.298
- And ended up leaving in October of 2009, after witnessing
- 00:05:09.298 --> 00:05:14.570
- a live ultrasound-guided abortion procedure,
- 00:05:15.438 --> 00:05:19.275
- where I saw a 13-week-old baby fight and struggle
- 00:05:19.275 --> 00:05:22.478
- for his life against the abortion instruments.
- 00:05:22.478 --> 00:05:25.481
- And I knew then that there was life inside the womb,
- 00:05:25.481 --> 00:05:30.686
- that there was humanity there inside the womb,
- 00:05:31.587 --> 00:05:34.357
- and I knew that if those two things were true,
- 00:05:34.357 --> 00:05:37.260
- then I was on the wrong side of this debate,
- 00:05:37.260 --> 00:05:40.129
- and so I ended up leaving.
- 00:05:40.129 --> 00:05:41.798
- - Abby, this is so fascinating to so many of us.
- 00:05:41.798 --> 00:05:45.001
- Why was there not a disconnect earlier in your time there
- 00:05:46.135 --> 00:05:50.473
- at Planned Parenthood?
- 00:05:50.473 --> 00:05:51.707
- And you said you grew up in a Christian home,
- 00:05:51.707 --> 00:05:53.810
- pro-life views being discussed around the kitchen table.
- 00:05:53.810 --> 00:05:56.979
- Did you really think that you were doing a good thing
- 00:05:56.979 --> 00:06:00.616
- by being there and assisting these abortions?
- 00:06:00.616 --> 00:06:04.187
- - Really, when I got involved,
- 00:06:04.187 --> 00:06:05.855
- I really thought abortion is sort of this necessary evil.
- 00:06:05.855 --> 00:06:11.394
- And that was really how it was sold to me
- 00:06:12.295 --> 00:06:14.997
- by Planned Parenthood, you know?
- 00:06:14.997 --> 00:06:16.966
- It's only 3% of what we do.
- 00:06:16.966 --> 00:06:20.036
- We're really trying to prevent the need for abortion.
- 00:06:20.036 --> 00:06:23.539
- And so, you know, help us.
- 00:06:23.539 --> 00:06:25.675
- Help us prevent the need for abortion by educating women,
- 00:06:25.675 --> 00:06:30.313
- by providing these preventative services to them.
- 00:06:30.313 --> 00:06:33.349
- And so I thought, okay, that's what I'll do.
- 00:06:33.349 --> 00:06:36.886
- That sounds like almost a heroic thing to do,
- 00:06:36.886 --> 00:06:42.124
- by helping to prevent abortion.
- 00:06:42.758 --> 00:06:44.393
- And you really unintentionally become a salesperson
- 00:06:44.393 --> 00:06:49.832
- for the abortion industry.
- 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.202
- And you start selling abortions,
- 00:06:53.836 --> 00:06:56.038
- just like you would be selling a car
- 00:06:56.038 --> 00:06:59.909
- to someone if you worked on a car lot.
- 00:06:59.909 --> 00:07:02.945
- And women would come in,
- 00:07:02.945 --> 00:07:05.181
- and even if they were happy about being pregnant,
- 00:07:05.181 --> 00:07:10.520
- and they would say, "Oh, you know, yeah,
- 00:07:11.387 --> 00:07:12.822
- okay, I'm pregnant.
- 00:07:12.822 --> 00:07:13.990
- I had a positive pregnancy test.
- 00:07:13.990 --> 00:07:16.025
- You know, I can do this.
- 00:07:16.025 --> 00:07:17.260
- I can have a baby."
- 00:07:17.260 --> 00:07:18.995
- Then our job became to wreck their plan.
- 00:07:18.995 --> 00:07:24.333
- Planned Parenthood and other organizations like them,
- 00:07:25.401 --> 00:07:28.004
- they are built on killing innocent children.
- 00:07:28.004 --> 00:07:33.342
- So of course, they are that sinister.
- 00:07:34.143 --> 00:07:37.213
- And there there's two reasons.
- 00:07:37.213 --> 00:07:40.883
- One is because child sacrifice is child sacrifice.
- 00:07:40.883 --> 00:07:45.454
- Abortion has always been child sacrifice.
- 00:07:45.454 --> 00:07:48.658
- Human beings have been sacrificing children
- 00:07:48.658 --> 00:07:50.826
- since biblical times, right?
- 00:07:50.826 --> 00:07:53.563
- We just call it something more palatable today.
- 00:07:53.563 --> 00:07:55.765
- We call it reproductive rights,
- 00:07:55.765 --> 00:07:58.267
- or we call it women's rights, or reproductive justice.
- 00:07:58.267 --> 00:08:02.672
- But also, they're so fervent in their fight for abortion,
- 00:08:02.672 --> 00:08:07.343
- because it is such a money-making industry.
- 00:08:07.343 --> 00:08:11.581
- - If someone had said those things to you
- 00:08:11.581 --> 00:08:13.416
- early on in your time there,
- 00:08:13.416 --> 00:08:15.217
- you probably even heard those things from some people,
- 00:08:15.217 --> 00:08:18.688
- but that didn't really sway you or turn you away.
- 00:08:18.688 --> 00:08:22.525
- It was when you witnessed with your own eyes,
- 00:08:22.525 --> 00:08:26.829
- the struggle of a baby
- 00:08:26.829 --> 00:08:28.097
- against the abortion instruments, right?
- 00:08:28.097 --> 00:08:30.733
- - That's right.
- 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:32.602
- And that was not something that was typical for me.
- 00:08:32.602 --> 00:08:35.338
- I'm not a nurse. I'm not a doctor.
- 00:08:35.338 --> 00:08:38.140
- I was not typically in the room during abortion procedures.
- 00:08:38.140 --> 00:08:43.045
- So I was an administrator.
- 00:08:43.045 --> 00:08:44.914
- So I was over personnel.
- 00:08:44.914 --> 00:08:49.285
- I looked at our budgets.
- 00:08:49.785 --> 00:08:51.887
- I was over the money part of the business.
- 00:08:51.887 --> 00:08:55.625
- So being called into the room during an abortion,
- 00:08:55.625 --> 00:08:59.395
- that was not typically something that I was a part of.
- 00:08:59.395 --> 00:09:03.733
- And using an ultrasound during an abortion
- 00:09:03.733 --> 00:09:07.470
- is not traditionally something that is done
- 00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:10.373
- inside of an abortion clinic.
- 00:09:10.373 --> 00:09:12.508
- But we had a visiting physician that day,
- 00:09:12.508 --> 00:09:15.244
- and so he wanted to sort of show us
- 00:09:15.244 --> 00:09:17.279
- what this would look like,
- 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:19.115
- and he thought it would be a good
- 00:09:19.115 --> 00:09:20.249
- learning opportunity for us.
- 00:09:20.249 --> 00:09:22.885
- And so that's why I was called in
- 00:09:22.885 --> 00:09:24.854
- because he literally needed someone
- 00:09:24.854 --> 00:09:26.889
- to hold the ultrasound in place
- 00:09:26.889 --> 00:09:29.592
- while he committed this abortion,
- 00:09:29.592 --> 00:09:31.927
- and he needed an extra set of hands,
- 00:09:31.927 --> 00:09:34.330
- and so my hands were the ones that were used.
- 00:09:34.330 --> 00:09:37.867
- And I have to say, it was horrifying.
- 00:09:37.867 --> 00:09:43.506
- It was shocking.
- 00:09:43.873 --> 00:09:45.574
- I felt so stupid
- 00:09:45.574 --> 00:09:49.578
- for believing this lie for eight years
- 00:09:49.578 --> 00:09:53.883
- and really eagerly believing the lie.
- 00:09:53.883 --> 00:09:56.952
- Because if I just would've done a little bit of digging,
- 00:09:56.952 --> 00:10:00.222
- if I just would've opened my mind up to this
- 00:10:00.222 --> 00:10:03.826
- just a little bit, I would have been able to see the lie.
- 00:10:03.826 --> 00:10:08.664
- But when you're in this evil,
- 00:10:08.664 --> 00:10:11.000
- when you're living in this evil,
- 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:13.302
- you don't wanna open your mind up to it.
- 00:10:13.302 --> 00:10:15.871
- You don't want to see the truth
- 00:10:15.871 --> 00:10:18.007
- because if you see the truth,
- 00:10:18.007 --> 00:10:20.109
- then you have to make a decision
- 00:10:20.109 --> 00:10:22.645
- whether you continue living the lie
- 00:10:22.645 --> 00:10:25.748
- or whether you flee from it.
- 00:10:25.748 --> 00:10:28.617
- And I had been living it for so long,
- 00:10:28.617 --> 00:10:32.154
- I think it was terrifying for me to actually open up
- 00:10:32.154 --> 00:10:36.592
- and to say, "Okay, is what I'm believing a lie,
- 00:10:36.592 --> 00:10:39.962
- or is it really true?"
- 00:10:39.962 --> 00:10:41.764
- You know, I went to church
- 00:10:41.764 --> 00:10:43.699
- the entire eight years that I worked at Planned Parenthood,
- 00:10:44.900 --> 00:10:49.405
- and I have to say, though, I never prayed
- 00:10:49.405 --> 00:10:52.942
- because there was a part of me that I believe knew
- 00:10:52.942 --> 00:10:56.679
- that what I was doing was wrong.
- 00:10:56.679 --> 00:10:58.547
- - You weren't just wrestling with ideas
- 00:10:58.547 --> 00:11:00.349
- or worded arguments.
- 00:11:00.349 --> 00:11:01.650
- It changed everything for you.
- 00:11:01.650 --> 00:11:02.852
- And then you were faced with that decision,
- 00:11:02.852 --> 00:11:04.553
- what do I do now?
- 00:11:04.553 --> 00:11:06.055
- I'm curious when you went to your boss and you said, "Hey,"
- 00:11:06.055 --> 00:11:11.060
- what did you tell them?
- 00:11:11.560 --> 00:11:12.361
- Did you say, "I quit?"
- 00:11:12.361 --> 00:11:13.295
- Or did you say, "Wait..."
- 00:11:13.295 --> 00:11:14.697
- How did you explain to them?
- 00:11:14.697 --> 00:11:16.365
- - It actually took me a week to leave.
- 00:11:16.365 --> 00:11:19.401
- So I really tried to
- 00:11:19.401 --> 00:11:22.905
- justify what I had seen on the ultrasound monitor.
- 00:11:23.939 --> 00:11:29.011
- And I tried to think to myself,
- 00:11:29.645 --> 00:11:33.549
- "Okay, maybe I was seeing something else."
- 00:11:33.549 --> 00:11:37.453
- - Maybe I'm just overreacting.
- 00:11:37.453 --> 00:11:38.621
- Maybe this isn't a problem.
- 00:11:38.621 --> 00:11:40.022
- Maybe I don't have to change everything
- 00:11:40.022 --> 00:11:42.124
- that I've been doing for the last eight years.
- 00:11:42.124 --> 00:11:44.059
- - Right, because I thought, "Okay..."
- 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:46.829
- Let me also say this.
- 00:11:47.329 --> 00:11:48.264
- I have had two abortions.
- 00:11:48.264 --> 00:11:50.633
- So I thought, "Okay,
- 00:11:50.633 --> 00:11:53.736
- is that really what happened to my babies?"
- 00:11:54.603 --> 00:11:57.072
- I mean, if I'm admitting that abortion
- 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:01.343
- is a heinous murder of innocent children,
- 00:12:01.343 --> 00:12:06.682
- then I'm having to admit
- 00:12:07.183 --> 00:12:09.185
- that I've murdered my own two children,
- 00:12:09.185 --> 00:12:12.321
- and that's a big admission of guilt.
- 00:12:13.122 --> 00:12:18.627
- And so I thought,
- 00:12:19.061 --> 00:12:20.496
- I don't know if I have the courage to actually admit that.
- 00:12:20.496 --> 00:12:24.233
- And so it would be a lot easier for me
- 00:12:25.067 --> 00:12:28.404
- to just sort of try to justify away
- 00:12:28.404 --> 00:12:32.408
- what I had seen on that screen.
- 00:12:32.408 --> 00:12:34.109
- So I thought, "Did I really see that baby
- 00:12:34.109 --> 00:12:37.546
- fighting for his life?"
- 00:12:37.546 --> 00:12:39.448
- So I tried to make it okay in my head for a few days,
- 00:12:40.516 --> 00:12:44.987
- but I just couldn't.
- 00:12:44.987 --> 00:12:45.855
- I knew what I had seen.
- 00:12:45.855 --> 00:12:47.556
- I could not stop seeing that image in my head.
- 00:12:47.556 --> 00:12:53.262
- And then I thought,
- 00:12:53.729 --> 00:12:56.899
- "You know what? I can change Planned Parenthood."
- 00:12:56.899 --> 00:13:00.402
- I thought I can
- 00:13:00.402 --> 00:13:04.373
- maybe help them see
- 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:06.742
- that we don't need to do abortions anymore.
- 00:13:06.742 --> 00:13:09.011
- - And now this is like a David and Goliath story.
- 00:13:09.011 --> 00:13:12.514
- Now it's you up against the Giant.
- 00:13:12.514 --> 00:13:16.318
- And Abby, I wanna hear about all of this and so much more.
- 00:13:16.318 --> 00:13:19.788
- We need to take a break, and when we return,
- 00:13:19.788 --> 00:13:21.857
- I wanna dig a little bit deeper into your story
- 00:13:21.857 --> 00:13:23.859
- and talk about how this experience has changed your life
- 00:13:23.859 --> 00:13:28.130
- and how God is using your life to change others.
- 00:13:28.130 --> 00:13:31.000
- We'll be right back.
- 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.334
- (bright music)
- 00:13:32.334 --> 00:13:37.009
- (bright music)
- 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:42.888
- We're still talking with Abby Johnson
- 00:13:43.722 --> 00:13:45.758
- and hearing more about her story
- 00:13:45.758 --> 00:13:47.259
- from Planned Parenthood leadership to pro-life champion.
- 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:51.330
- Abby, you talked about how once you saw that image
- 00:13:51.330 --> 00:13:54.233
- on the ultrasound of that baby fighting
- 00:13:54.233 --> 00:13:56.302
- for his life, her life,
- 00:13:56.302 --> 00:13:58.103
- that's something that you just couldn't unsee,
- 00:13:58.103 --> 00:14:00.406
- and you thought, "Well, maybe I was just misunderstanding
- 00:14:00.406 --> 00:14:04.209
- what I saw or no, I wasn't.
- 00:14:04.209 --> 00:14:06.312
- Maybe I can change the way
- 00:14:06.312 --> 00:14:07.846
- that the abortion clinic views this,
- 00:14:07.846 --> 00:14:11.016
- and they'll see what I saw."
- 00:14:11.016 --> 00:14:12.484
- And when that didn't work, you ended up having to leave.
- 00:14:12.484 --> 00:14:15.554
- Did they try to keep you there?
- 00:14:15.554 --> 00:14:16.956
- Did they try to change your mind?
- 00:14:16.956 --> 00:14:18.891
- Did you get into a big fight with them?
- 00:14:18.891 --> 00:14:20.592
- Or was it like, "Hey, you do you and we'll do us
- 00:14:20.592 --> 00:14:23.662
- and we'll just agree to disagree."
- 00:14:23.662 --> 00:14:26.732
- - I turned in my resignation.
- 00:14:26.732 --> 00:14:28.968
- I faxed it in at five o'clock on October 6th
- 00:14:28.968 --> 00:14:34.273
- and I thought, "Okay, they're pro-choice, right?"
- 00:14:35.307 --> 00:14:38.510
- And I've been with them for eight years.
- 00:14:38.510 --> 00:14:41.113
- They had just given me their employee of the year
- 00:14:41.113 --> 00:14:43.749
- a few months before.
- 00:14:43.749 --> 00:14:45.017
- And so I thought they're pro-choice.
- 00:14:45.017 --> 00:14:47.486
- They are going to respect my choice to no longer be here,
- 00:14:47.486 --> 00:14:52.758
- to no longer be a champion of abortion,
- 00:14:53.625 --> 00:14:56.328
- and that's really what I believed.
- 00:14:56.328 --> 00:14:59.431
- I really, really did naively believe that.
- 00:14:59.431 --> 00:15:03.869
- And so, I left, I thought that was sort of it.
- 00:15:04.837 --> 00:15:09.274
- And then three weeks later on October 31st,
- 00:15:09.274 --> 00:15:14.680
- I was served court papers from Planned Parenthood
- 00:15:15.714 --> 00:15:19.885
- and they were taking me to court
- 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:22.855
- and they were trying to get
- 00:15:22.855 --> 00:15:24.323
- a permanent gag order against me
- 00:15:24.323 --> 00:15:28.327
- so that I would not be able to tell my story.
- 00:15:28.327 --> 00:15:31.130
- And I would not be able to talk about things
- 00:15:31.130 --> 00:15:33.699
- that had happened inside of Planned Parenthood,
- 00:15:33.699 --> 00:15:36.268
- like instituting abortion quotas,
- 00:15:36.268 --> 00:15:40.105
- a certain number of abortions that we had to sell
- 00:15:40.105 --> 00:15:43.409
- to women coming in,
- 00:15:43.409 --> 00:15:45.344
- the large donors that give to Planned Parenthood,
- 00:15:46.345 --> 00:15:49.515
- different things like that.
- 00:15:49.515 --> 00:15:51.050
- The number of cases that we had settled outside of court
- 00:15:51.050 --> 00:15:54.820
- because we had injured women on the table,
- 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:57.790
- just different things like that
- 00:15:57.790 --> 00:15:59.224
- that they were trying to silence me about.
- 00:15:59.224 --> 00:16:02.461
- And so we ended up going to court
- 00:16:02.461 --> 00:16:05.864
- the first part of November, and they lost obviously.
- 00:16:05.864 --> 00:16:11.270
- And so ever since then, I've really been telling my story.
- 00:16:12.438 --> 00:16:15.374
- But what that did was it created
- 00:16:15.374 --> 00:16:18.877
- media interest in my story.
- 00:16:18.877 --> 00:16:20.846
- So when they sued me,
- 00:16:20.846 --> 00:16:23.849
- then all of a sudden the media was like,
- 00:16:23.849 --> 00:16:25.517
- "Well, what don't they want her to say? We want to know."
- 00:16:25.517 --> 00:16:30.222
- And so that really created a lot of interest in my story.
- 00:16:30.222 --> 00:16:34.560
- And I've just been going around
- 00:16:34.560 --> 00:16:36.595
- and speaking and telling my story
- 00:16:36.595 --> 00:16:39.264
- and really trying to bring
- 00:16:39.264 --> 00:16:41.900
- a lot of healing for those who have been hurt by abortion
- 00:16:41.900 --> 00:16:47.172
- in any way as well.
- 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:49.141
- And even those who have worked in the industry like myself,
- 00:16:49.141 --> 00:16:54.379
- they need a tremendous amount of healing as well.
- 00:16:55.380 --> 00:16:58.517
- - Abby, there's people who are watching us
- 00:16:58.517 --> 00:17:00.018
- and they're listening to you
- 00:17:00.018 --> 00:17:02.888
- and they're fascinated by your story.
- 00:17:02.888 --> 00:17:05.824
- And yet, they may, like you, have had abortion
- 00:17:05.824 --> 00:17:09.795
- as part of their past, part of their story,
- 00:17:09.795 --> 00:17:12.831
- and they're wrestling with how to process all of this.
- 00:17:12.831 --> 00:17:17.336
- Maybe they're still where you were, saying,
- 00:17:17.336 --> 00:17:20.572
- "This is good.
- 00:17:20.572 --> 00:17:21.974
- This was right for me, considering my circumstances."
- 00:17:21.974 --> 00:17:23.976
- Or maybe somebody is saying "I'm really torn
- 00:17:23.976 --> 00:17:26.445
- because I'm experiencing things now
- 00:17:26.445 --> 00:17:29.848
- that I was never told that I would experience.
- 00:17:29.848 --> 00:17:31.850
- I was told this would fix a problem,
- 00:17:31.850 --> 00:17:33.185
- and it seems to have created new problems."
- 00:17:33.185 --> 00:17:34.920
- What would you like to say to them right now?
- 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:39.458
- - You and I are in a similar boat.
- 00:17:40.225 --> 00:17:41.927
- You have six kids, I have eight,
- 00:17:41.927 --> 00:17:43.962
- and we're both familiar with animated films, I'm sure.
- 00:17:43.962 --> 00:17:49.668
- And one day,
- 00:17:50.002 --> 00:17:53.105
- I was watching the film "Kung Fu Panda"
- 00:17:53.939 --> 00:17:56.475
- with my daughter Grace.
- 00:17:56.475 --> 00:17:58.010
- She was young, I had not been out of the clinic that long,
- 00:17:58.010 --> 00:18:03.515
- and I was really struggling.
- 00:18:04.116 --> 00:18:05.784
- I was really struggling with my own two abortions.
- 00:18:05.784 --> 00:18:08.620
- I was really struggling with
- 00:18:08.620 --> 00:18:11.857
- the 22.000 abortions
- 00:18:12.324 --> 00:18:15.961
- that I had been a part of while working at the clinic,
- 00:18:15.961 --> 00:18:19.898
- and just was like, "How can God forgive me of that?"
- 00:18:19.898 --> 00:18:25.204
- And if I'm honest, I was.
- 00:18:25.771 --> 00:18:27.906
- - I was drinking a lot.
- 00:18:28.407 --> 00:18:30.542
- I was really just wallowing
- 00:18:30.542 --> 00:18:34.413
- in heartache and just grief,
- 00:18:34.413 --> 00:18:42.988
- and I just didn't know how to move past it.
- 00:18:43.889 --> 00:18:47.459
- And I was watching this film with my daughter,
- 00:18:48.360 --> 00:18:51.730
- and there's this part in the film
- 00:18:52.397 --> 00:18:54.933
- where this old turtle is dying.
- 00:18:54.933 --> 00:18:59.371
- And he says, "Do you know why today is called the present?"
- 00:18:59.371 --> 00:19:04.676
- And he says, "Because it's a gift."
- 00:19:05.477 --> 00:19:07.446
- And I'd probably watched that movie.
- 00:19:08.247 --> 00:19:10.315
- I don't know, 100 times.
- 00:19:10.315 --> 00:19:11.850
- You know how kids are, they watch it over and over again.
- 00:19:11.850 --> 00:19:14.486
- But right in that moment, it just struck me.
- 00:19:14.486 --> 00:19:18.156
- It was like the Lord sorta thumped me on the head, you know?
- 00:19:18.156 --> 00:19:21.627
- And I heard it in a way that I had not heard it before.
- 00:19:22.728 --> 00:19:26.565
- And I thought, gosh, this is a gift that I have been given.
- 00:19:27.733 --> 00:19:33.772
- The Lord has given me a gift.
- 00:19:34.406 --> 00:19:37.276
- And I thought I'm wasting it.
- 00:19:37.909 --> 00:19:43.248
- Not only is it a gift, but he's given me this testimony
- 00:19:44.349 --> 00:19:48.720
- that I do have a desire to use,
- 00:19:49.354 --> 00:19:54.359
- and that alone is a gift.
- 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:57.796
- This testimony that he's given me is a gift,
- 00:19:57.796 --> 00:20:01.300
- and I was sort of just throwing it away.
- 00:20:01.300 --> 00:20:04.636
- And I felt like I was just in bondage because of my past.
- 00:20:05.804 --> 00:20:10.976
- And you know our past is the place,
- 00:20:11.743 --> 00:20:14.646
- that is Satan's playground.
- 00:20:14.646 --> 00:20:16.815
- It's the place that we can't change.
- 00:20:16.815 --> 00:20:20.218
- It's the place that we can't go back to,
- 00:20:20.218 --> 00:20:22.187
- no matter how much we want to.
- 00:20:22.187 --> 00:20:24.489
- It's a place that we can't change,
- 00:20:24.489 --> 00:20:25.824
- and that's where Satan wants us to live.
- 00:20:25.824 --> 00:20:27.926
- He wants us desperately to live in our past,
- 00:20:27.926 --> 00:20:31.730
- but God says, I want you here,
- 00:20:31.730 --> 00:20:35.801
- right here in the present with me.
- 00:20:35.801 --> 00:20:38.537
- And so I had to really embrace that.
- 00:20:39.338 --> 00:20:43.308
- And I had to embrace this gift
- 00:20:43.308 --> 00:20:46.244
- that he was giving me every day,
- 00:20:46.244 --> 00:20:47.813
- and if I'm honest, it took practice.
- 00:20:47.813 --> 00:20:50.849
- It took practice waking up every day
- 00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:53.652
- and saying, thank you Lord for the gift of today.
- 00:20:53.652 --> 00:20:57.189
- Thank you Lord, for taking my past
- 00:20:57.189 --> 00:21:00.158
- and using it for your glory today, right now.
- 00:21:00.158 --> 00:21:04.229
- And eventually I just would wake up,
- 00:21:04.229 --> 00:21:08.767
- and after some time of practicing
- 00:21:08.767 --> 00:21:10.869
- and giving my day to God,
- 00:21:10.869 --> 00:21:13.338
- and accepting the gift that he had given me,
- 00:21:13.338 --> 00:21:16.174
- eventually after practicing that for awhile,
- 00:21:16.174 --> 00:21:18.944
- I would wake up and I didn't even have to think about it.
- 00:21:18.944 --> 00:21:21.913
- I just so desired to live in that grace.
- 00:21:21.913 --> 00:21:27.319
- I just so desired to live in that gift.
- 00:21:28.153 --> 00:21:31.523
- I couldn't even think about going back
- 00:21:31.523 --> 00:21:34.259
- and living in my past.
- 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:35.961
- And that's what God wants for all of us.
- 00:21:35.961 --> 00:21:39.297
- He wants us to break free from our past.
- 00:21:39.297 --> 00:21:42.100
- He wants us to break free from that bondage,
- 00:21:42.100 --> 00:21:44.770
- and just live in that gift that he's given us.
- 00:21:44.770 --> 00:21:47.372
- - Abby, I'm thinking now of the young lady out there,
- 00:21:47.372 --> 00:21:51.076
- or the older lady out there whoever might know
- 00:21:51.076 --> 00:21:55.447
- that hey, I love your testimony.
- 00:21:55.447 --> 00:21:58.350
- I love that you're using the past as a platform
- 00:21:58.350 --> 00:22:03.955
- to launch a ministry, to help other people.
- 00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:07.659
- And in fact, I'd love to be like that.
- 00:22:07.659 --> 00:22:09.461
- The problem is I'm pregnant right now,
- 00:22:09.461 --> 00:22:13.865
- and she's saying I have this real crisis on my hands.
- 00:22:13.865 --> 00:22:17.102
- And so I could just get an abortion and be like you
- 00:22:17.102 --> 00:22:20.305
- and have a movie made about my life.
- 00:22:20.305 --> 00:22:21.807
- And then I'd have this great ministry
- 00:22:21.807 --> 00:22:23.074
- and use the past as a testimony
- 00:22:23.074 --> 00:22:25.043
- for helping people in the future.
- 00:22:25.043 --> 00:22:27.612
- What would you say to her right now?
- 00:22:27.612 --> 00:22:29.448
- She's saying, but you didn't have to go through
- 00:22:29.448 --> 00:22:31.650
- what I went through, because you didn't choose life.
- 00:22:31.650 --> 00:22:35.220
- You chose the abortion.
- 00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:37.255
- That was easier than what you're asking me to do right now.
- 00:22:37.255 --> 00:22:39.624
- What would you say to her?
- 00:22:39.624 --> 00:22:40.692
- - Yeah.
- 00:22:40.692 --> 00:22:42.227
- This is not a story that you want.
- 00:22:42.227 --> 00:22:44.663
- My story is not a story that you want.
- 00:22:44.663 --> 00:22:47.032
- And I tell young people that all the time.
- 00:22:47.032 --> 00:22:50.569
- I stand up on a stage in front of them,
- 00:22:50.569 --> 00:22:52.504
- and I tell them, man, this conversion story that I have,
- 00:22:52.504 --> 00:23:00.912
- you don't want to stand up on a stage
- 00:23:01.746 --> 00:23:04.249
- and expose your greatest sins to the public.
- 00:23:04.249 --> 00:23:09.521
- I do it because God has compelled me to do it,
- 00:23:10.422 --> 00:23:13.758
- but it has not been easy.
- 00:23:13.758 --> 00:23:18.597
- Living with the burden of knowing
- 00:23:19.364 --> 00:23:22.133
- what I have done to my own children.
- 00:23:22.133 --> 00:23:25.537
- It is not an easy road to take.
- 00:23:26.171 --> 00:23:29.641
- It's not an easy burden to carry.
- 00:23:29.641 --> 00:23:32.811
- And you know, it's a much better life
- 00:23:33.612 --> 00:23:38.583
- to say that I have always followed God's path for my life,
- 00:23:39.684 --> 00:23:43.989
- than to say I walked away from God and I refused God,
- 00:23:45.090 --> 00:23:50.262
- and then I had to come back to him,
- 00:23:51.062 --> 00:23:53.331
- because the years that you refuse God,
- 00:23:53.331 --> 00:23:57.435
- will be the most difficult years of your life.
- 00:23:58.403 --> 00:24:01.339
- And they will be years that you make
- 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:06.244
- tremendous mistakes in your life,
- 00:24:06.244 --> 00:24:08.980
- and mistakes that you will carry with you
- 00:24:08.980 --> 00:24:10.615
- for the rest of your life.
- 00:24:10.615 --> 00:24:12.250
- And anyone watching who is possibly pregnant
- 00:24:12.250 --> 00:24:15.887
- and in a crisis, I would say to you
- 00:24:15.887 --> 00:24:17.589
- that I do have a ministry that can help you.
- 00:24:17.589 --> 00:24:21.426
- I would love to help you.
- 00:24:21.426 --> 00:24:23.228
- You aren't alone in this journey,
- 00:24:23.228 --> 00:24:26.298
- and it's a national ministry.
- 00:24:26.298 --> 00:24:29.367
- We can plug you into local places.
- 00:24:29.367 --> 00:24:32.070
- You can go to loveline.com.
- 00:24:32.070 --> 00:24:35.140
- We're here to help you 24 hours a day,
- 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:37.776
- no matter what the need is.
- 00:24:37.776 --> 00:24:39.110
- If you need rent assistance,
- 00:24:39.110 --> 00:24:41.112
- if your car's about to get repossessed,
- 00:24:41.112 --> 00:24:43.048
- if you need diapers, whatever it is,
- 00:24:43.048 --> 00:24:45.984
- if you're a single mom and you're struggling,
- 00:24:45.984 --> 00:24:47.886
- if you're pregnant, if you're a single dad,
- 00:24:47.886 --> 00:24:50.555
- if you're a victim of domestic violence, whatever it is,
- 00:24:50.555 --> 00:24:53.792
- if you are a person in crisis right now,
- 00:24:53.792 --> 00:24:56.761
- I want to help you.
- 00:24:57.228 --> 00:24:58.663
- And you can go to loveline.com right now.
- 00:24:58.663 --> 00:25:01.733
- You can text us, you can call us, you can email us.
- 00:25:01.733 --> 00:25:04.936
- And we want to be able to accompany you
- 00:25:04.936 --> 00:25:08.640
- on this journey that you're on.
- 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:10.508
- - Abby, that's awesome.
- 00:25:10.508 --> 00:25:12.811
- Is this counsel and this help
- 00:25:12.811 --> 00:25:15.313
- that that you're offering through this ministry,
- 00:25:15.313 --> 00:25:17.048
- is it confidential?
- 00:25:17.048 --> 00:25:18.583
- Can anyone call?
- 00:25:18.583 --> 00:25:20.285
- - It's 100% confidential.
- 00:25:20.852 --> 00:25:23.822
- Absolutely.
- 00:25:24.122 --> 00:25:25.624
- And you know we are able to provide full case management.
- 00:25:25.624 --> 00:25:31.296
- So it's whatever someone needs.
- 00:25:31.930 --> 00:25:34.499
- We want to walk with you for life, if you'll allow us.
- 00:25:34.499 --> 00:25:38.737
- So it's not just, you know, oh, we're going to help you
- 00:25:38.737 --> 00:25:41.306
- have your baby, and then we're sort of done with you.
- 00:25:41.306 --> 00:25:45.276
- We want to walk with you
- 00:25:45.777 --> 00:25:47.212
- for the rest of your life, if you'll allow us.
- 00:25:47.212 --> 00:25:49.280
- We want to become your friend.
- 00:25:49.280 --> 00:25:51.349
- We want to become your advocate.
- 00:25:51.349 --> 00:25:54.085
- Whatever it is that you need,
- 00:25:54.719 --> 00:25:57.122
- we want to be there to support you.
- 00:25:57.122 --> 00:25:59.324
- And everything is 100% confidential.
- 00:25:59.324 --> 00:26:02.460
- Everything is 100% no cost
- 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:05.830
- to the women and men that we serve.
- 00:26:05.830 --> 00:26:08.333
- We do it because we love you.
- 00:26:08.333 --> 00:26:09.868
- We do it because we have been called by God
- 00:26:09.868 --> 00:26:13.138
- to serve women and men in this way.
- 00:26:13.138 --> 00:26:16.007
- - Abby, I love that because it sounds like
- 00:26:16.007 --> 00:26:17.842
- what you're offering is what these other
- 00:26:17.842 --> 00:26:19.544
- big organizations should be offering.
- 00:26:19.544 --> 00:26:22.080
- And that is real help, real friendship.
- 00:26:22.080 --> 00:26:25.884
- I'm so grateful for the work that you're doing.
- 00:26:25.884 --> 00:26:27.652
- I'm so grateful for all those out there
- 00:26:27.652 --> 00:26:29.854
- who are doing that kind of work,
- 00:26:29.854 --> 00:26:32.757
- and so many of them have been helped and inspired
- 00:26:32.757 --> 00:26:35.093
- by the movie that is all about your life.
- 00:26:35.093 --> 00:26:38.363
- We talked earlier that my whole family
- 00:26:38.363 --> 00:26:40.532
- has been made up of people who are in existence today
- 00:26:40.532 --> 00:26:45.103
- because of the work of people like you,
- 00:26:45.103 --> 00:26:47.205
- who are talking to these moms and helping them choose life.
- 00:26:47.205 --> 00:26:50.442
- Our first four kids were adopted.
- 00:26:50.442 --> 00:26:51.876
- My wife is an adopted child,
- 00:26:51.876 --> 00:26:53.411
- and if my wife who was this close to not existing,
- 00:26:53.411 --> 00:26:57.515
- if she had not been born,
- 00:26:57.515 --> 00:26:58.750
- either would our are two natural born children,
- 00:26:58.750 --> 00:27:00.285
- and so my whole family is here,
- 00:27:00.285 --> 00:27:02.187
- and I'm so grateful for the work that you're doing.
- 00:27:02.187 --> 00:27:05.457
- Thanks so much for talking with me,
- 00:27:05.457 --> 00:27:06.991
- and when we come back,
- 00:27:06.991 --> 00:27:08.460
- we're going to talk with the founder
- 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.794
- of the organization Love Life, Justin Reeder.
- 00:27:09.794 --> 00:27:13.098
- (upbeat music)
- 00:27:13.098 --> 00:27:19.011
- (upbeat music)
- 00:27:19.011 --> 00:27:25.009
- I'm really excited for you to meet our next guest.
- 00:27:26.044 --> 00:27:28.513
- His name is Justin Reeder,
- 00:27:28.513 --> 00:27:29.714
- and Justin and I have become friends
- 00:27:29.714 --> 00:27:31.182
- because we share a passion for the value of life.
- 00:27:31.182 --> 00:27:35.787
- Justin has been doing some amazing work
- 00:27:35.787 --> 00:27:37.689
- with an organization that he started called Love Life.
- 00:27:37.689 --> 00:27:40.325
- It's spreading all across the country.
- 00:27:40.325 --> 00:27:41.960
- It's taking churches by storm.
- 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:44.028
- And by that, I mean, we're seeing revival in places
- 00:27:44.028 --> 00:27:47.832
- where churches were more or less inactive
- 00:27:47.832 --> 00:27:50.568
- in this area of pro-life.
- 00:27:50.568 --> 00:27:51.836
- Justin, thanks for joining us.
- 00:27:51.836 --> 00:27:53.538
- - Kirk, thanks so much for having me on.
- 00:27:53.538 --> 00:27:55.673
- - So Justin, talk to everybody a little about Love Life.
- 00:27:55.673 --> 00:27:59.644
- What is Love Life?
- 00:27:59.644 --> 00:28:01.446
- We don't want to know about your love life,
- 00:28:01.446 --> 00:28:02.981
- we want to know about the ministry called Love Life
- 00:28:02.981 --> 00:28:06.117
- and what you're doing.
- 00:28:06.117 --> 00:28:07.519
- - Yeah, so the whole ministry
- 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:09.420
- is geared towards the local church.
- 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:11.322
- We want to unite and mobilize the church
- 00:28:11.322 --> 00:28:13.658
- to create a culture of love and life
- 00:28:13.658 --> 00:28:15.293
- that would result to an end to abortion
- 00:28:15.293 --> 00:28:17.829
- and the orphan crisis.
- 00:28:17.829 --> 00:28:19.063
- We believe the church is the greatest organism
- 00:28:19.063 --> 00:28:21.099
- on the face of the planet,
- 00:28:21.099 --> 00:28:22.667
- and when we see the church activated,
- 00:28:22.667 --> 00:28:24.836
- we see the church stirred.
- 00:28:24.836 --> 00:28:26.638
- - Stronghold starts to come down.
- 00:28:27.405 --> 00:28:28.973
- People stop running to the abortion clinics for the answer,
- 00:28:28.973 --> 00:28:31.843
- and they start running to the local church.
- 00:28:31.843 --> 00:28:33.478
- So "Love Life" is simply a tool.
- 00:28:33.478 --> 00:28:35.346
- It's a mechanism to come alongside of pastors,
- 00:28:35.346 --> 00:28:38.383
- to come alongside of the church,
- 00:28:38.383 --> 00:28:39.784
- to see the church be activated in our city.
- 00:28:39.784 --> 00:28:42.453
- - You were a businessman,
- 00:28:42.453 --> 00:28:45.390
- you've got this truck washing business,
- 00:28:45.390 --> 00:28:48.493
- and then you become a pro-life champion.
- 00:28:48.493 --> 00:28:52.163
- Take us through that journey.
- 00:28:52.797 --> 00:28:55.066
- - My background is the marketplace,
- 00:28:55.066 --> 00:28:56.901
- I've been in business for 16 years.
- 00:28:56.901 --> 00:28:58.503
- I started a company when I was 20 years old.
- 00:28:58.503 --> 00:29:01.339
- We've been doing discipleship training in the marketplace.
- 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:04.209
- I believe there is no separation
- 00:29:04.209 --> 00:29:05.510
- between ministry and the marketplace.
- 00:29:05.510 --> 00:29:07.712
- When you have Jesus in your heart,
- 00:29:07.712 --> 00:29:08.880
- it's all full-time ministry.
- 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:10.615
- And so we were doing a lot of things in the marketplace,
- 00:29:10.615 --> 00:29:13.818
- you know, with ministry, but a lot changed for me
- 00:29:13.818 --> 00:29:17.322
- when our friends invited me out to our local abortion clinic
- 00:29:17.322 --> 00:29:21.025
- and exposed me to the reality
- 00:29:21.025 --> 00:29:22.894
- of what was happening in our backyard.
- 00:29:22.894 --> 00:29:24.829
- And one of the first things I noticed, Kirk,
- 00:29:24.829 --> 00:29:26.898
- is that I've been doing business with a company
- 00:29:26.898 --> 00:29:29.334
- right down the street for almost 10 years
- 00:29:29.334 --> 00:29:31.936
- and I never even knew this abortion clinic existed
- 00:29:31.936 --> 00:29:34.839
- in my city, which is exactly part of Satan's plan
- 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:38.009
- to keep them out of sight out of mind.
- 00:29:38.009 --> 00:29:40.545
- But when I stood in front of that abortion clinic,
- 00:29:40.545 --> 00:29:42.947
- it was no longer a political talking point.
- 00:29:42.947 --> 00:29:46.251
- It was no longer something that you would
- 00:29:46.251 --> 00:29:47.719
- just hear about on CNN or Fox News.
- 00:29:47.719 --> 00:29:50.221
- It became personal.
- 00:29:50.221 --> 00:29:51.589
- It was real.
- 00:29:51.589 --> 00:29:52.590
- It was right in front of me.
- 00:29:52.590 --> 00:29:54.425
- As I saw moms walking into the abortion clinic.
- 00:29:54.425 --> 00:29:57.962
- Some that were visibly pregnant.
- 00:29:57.962 --> 00:30:00.365
- You know, maybe 20 weeks pregnant.
- 00:30:00.365 --> 00:30:02.467
- We do abortions all the way up to 20 weeks
- 00:30:02.467 --> 00:30:04.269
- here in North Carolina.
- 00:30:04.269 --> 00:30:06.004
- Visibly pregnant walking into these places
- 00:30:06.004 --> 00:30:09.207
- with tears running down their face,
- 00:30:09.207 --> 00:30:11.342
- and then walking back out a few minutes later
- 00:30:11.342 --> 00:30:14.045
- to their car, sitting in their car.
- 00:30:14.045 --> 00:30:16.247
- And we're just out there praying.
- 00:30:16.247 --> 00:30:17.749
- And I'm just broken over what I'm seeing in our city.
- 00:30:17.749 --> 00:30:21.019
- Having no idea that this reality
- 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:22.720
- even took place in our city.
- 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:24.222
- For whatever reason, I just didn't know about it,
- 00:30:24.222 --> 00:30:27.292
- Kirk, until I stood there in front of that place.
- 00:30:27.292 --> 00:30:29.861
- And then the mom would go back in,
- 00:30:29.861 --> 00:30:31.629
- and then she would go back out,
- 00:30:31.629 --> 00:30:33.564
- and it was this intense, spiritual battle
- 00:30:33.564 --> 00:30:36.467
- that you could feel, but it was literally
- 00:30:36.467 --> 00:30:39.037
- manifesting itself in the physical right before me,
- 00:30:39.037 --> 00:30:42.240
- as I saw the struggle of life and death
- 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:45.043
- play out right before my eyes.
- 00:30:45.043 --> 00:30:46.744
- And this mom was not the only one there,
- 00:30:46.744 --> 00:30:49.180
- there was about 30 moms there for an abortion that day.
- 00:30:49.180 --> 00:30:52.650
- And I just was broken over the reality of what was happening
- 00:30:52.650 --> 00:30:56.821
- in our own backyard and how we were doing nothing about it.
- 00:30:56.821 --> 00:31:00.558
- So I had to go through my own repentance journey
- 00:31:00.558 --> 00:31:03.628
- and letting the Lord deal with me
- 00:31:03.628 --> 00:31:05.763
- and break my heart for what breaks his
- 00:31:05.763 --> 00:31:07.966
- 'cause the reality is I had become numb.
- 00:31:07.966 --> 00:31:10.168
- I had become callous like many of us
- 00:31:10.168 --> 00:31:12.103
- to the reality of abortion in our city.
- 00:31:12.103 --> 00:31:13.871
- But it was when I stood there,
- 00:31:13.871 --> 00:31:15.340
- it became real, became personal for me.
- 00:31:15.340 --> 00:31:17.375
- - Yeah, and I think it's so easy for that to happen
- 00:31:17.375 --> 00:31:19.444
- because our culture uses phrases like women's health care
- 00:31:19.444 --> 00:31:23.114
- and reproductive rights and these kinds of acceptable terms
- 00:31:23.114 --> 00:31:26.784
- that really whitewash what the issue really is.
- 00:31:26.784 --> 00:31:30.288
- But you've talked to me about how God
- 00:31:30.288 --> 00:31:33.391
- sort of impressed upon your mind this idea
- 00:31:33.391 --> 00:31:37.195
- that if this was a school with young children
- 00:31:37.195 --> 00:31:41.032
- and maybe they weren't infants in the womb,
- 00:31:41.032 --> 00:31:43.735
- but maybe two or three years old, that that would,
- 00:31:43.735 --> 00:31:47.438
- perhaps, invoke a different response from people.
- 00:31:47.438 --> 00:31:50.775
- - Yeah, it really all starts with the question,
- 00:31:50.775 --> 00:31:53.044
- and this is the question that the Lord asked me
- 00:31:53.044 --> 00:31:55.246
- when I was standing in front of the abortion clinic,
- 00:31:55.246 --> 00:31:57.648
- do you really believe it's a life?
- 00:31:57.648 --> 00:32:00.518
- Do I believe that the value of the life
- 00:32:01.386 --> 00:32:03.688
- is the same in the womb as it is outside of the womb?
- 00:32:03.688 --> 00:32:07.358
- I have four kids.
- 00:32:07.358 --> 00:32:08.626
- I have an eight year old, a six year old,
- 00:32:08.626 --> 00:32:10.161
- a three-year-old, and a one-year-old.
- 00:32:10.161 --> 00:32:12.030
- And the Lord has started asking me, you know,
- 00:32:12.030 --> 00:32:13.798
- do you believe that the value of the life
- 00:32:13.798 --> 00:32:16.067
- at 10 weeks is the same value of the life
- 00:32:16.067 --> 00:32:19.237
- at 10 months outside of the womb?
- 00:32:19.237 --> 00:32:21.906
- And, if it is, if the value is the same,
- 00:32:21.906 --> 00:32:25.176
- then this is no different than a school shooting.
- 00:32:26.210 --> 00:32:28.713
- This is no different than any other terrorist attack.
- 00:32:28.713 --> 00:32:31.916
- Moms are walking in there with two hearts beating
- 00:32:31.916 --> 00:32:35.420
- and only one walking out.
- 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:38.756
- And the Lord has started to make these connections for me.
- 00:32:38.756 --> 00:32:41.859
- If this was a school shooting, what would be our response?
- 00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:44.829
- Well, FBI, the SWAT, the police,
- 00:32:44.829 --> 00:32:47.398
- everybody would be running to the scene,
- 00:32:47.398 --> 00:32:49.100
- including the church would be running to the scene, right?
- 00:32:49.100 --> 00:32:51.903
- To offer help, to offer counseling
- 00:32:51.903 --> 00:32:54.405
- and comfort and prayer and support to those families
- 00:32:54.405 --> 00:32:57.442
- that were involved in a school shooting.
- 00:32:57.442 --> 00:32:59.744
- And so I started to ask the question, well,
- 00:32:59.744 --> 00:33:01.245
- where is the church then at abortion centers in our city?
- 00:33:01.245 --> 00:33:05.349
- Do we really believe it's a life?
- 00:33:05.349 --> 00:33:06.784
- Do we really believe the value of the life is the same?
- 00:33:06.784 --> 00:33:10.354
- And, if it is, then my life has to look
- 00:33:10.354 --> 00:33:13.224
- drastically different after today.
- 00:33:13.224 --> 00:33:15.993
- And that's the question I had to ask.
- 00:33:15.993 --> 00:33:18.396
- And I came to the conclusion that God sees
- 00:33:18.396 --> 00:33:20.264
- zero difference between the life in the womb
- 00:33:20.264 --> 00:33:23.000
- and the life outside of the womb.
- 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:25.269
- And you see this in scripture, you see it in science,
- 00:33:25.269 --> 00:33:27.472
- but just one place to point it out to in scripture,
- 00:33:27.472 --> 00:33:30.007
- Luke, Chapter One and Luke, Chapter Two.
- 00:33:30.007 --> 00:33:32.376
- Luke, Chapter One describes the baby
- 00:33:32.376 --> 00:33:34.512
- leaping in Elizabeth's womb,
- 00:33:34.512 --> 00:33:36.647
- John the Baptist leaping in Elizabeth's womb.
- 00:33:36.647 --> 00:33:39.217
- The very next chapter, it describes Jesus,
- 00:33:39.217 --> 00:33:42.153
- the baby, lying in the manger.
- 00:33:42.153 --> 00:33:44.322
- And, Kirk, the key is that the same word is used
- 00:33:44.322 --> 00:33:48.392
- in Luke, Chapter One as used in Luke, Chapter Two.
- 00:33:48.392 --> 00:33:52.363
- (indistinct)
- 00:33:52.363 --> 00:33:53.798
- The same word to describe the baby in the womb
- 00:33:53.798 --> 00:33:56.134
- is the same word to describe Jesus outside of the womb.
- 00:33:56.134 --> 00:33:59.770
- In other words, God sees zero difference between the two.
- 00:33:59.770 --> 00:34:02.740
- - You talked about how once this became so personal to you,
- 00:34:02.740 --> 00:34:05.376
- and of course this is a really difficult issue
- 00:34:05.376 --> 00:34:07.278
- because you talk about the SWAT team and the FBI,
- 00:34:07.278 --> 00:34:10.681
- and yet, my goodness, this is also also wrapped
- 00:34:10.681 --> 00:34:13.784
- in tremendous amount of fear and a sense of maybe
- 00:34:13.784 --> 00:34:17.522
- hopelessness and no other options in the mind of the mom
- 00:34:17.522 --> 00:34:20.858
- who has to make this difficult, difficult decision.
- 00:34:20.858 --> 00:34:24.328
- You brought some friends down to the clinic.
- 00:34:24.328 --> 00:34:26.197
- You wanted to bring other people into this experience.
- 00:34:26.197 --> 00:34:28.466
- You brought your pastor, you brought your employees
- 00:34:28.466 --> 00:34:30.701
- from your business there to pray.
- 00:34:30.701 --> 00:34:32.970
- And, as you guys began to pray,
- 00:34:32.970 --> 00:34:35.907
- people began to personalize this whole issue
- 00:34:35.907 --> 00:34:38.809
- and you saw Christians coming to life in a brand new way.
- 00:34:38.809 --> 00:34:42.313
- Talk about that.
- 00:34:42.313 --> 00:34:43.814
- - Yeah, the solution for this is the family of God.
- 00:34:43.814 --> 00:34:47.051
- It's the church.
- 00:34:47.051 --> 00:34:48.586
- And so, you know, it had to start in my own heart first.
- 00:34:48.586 --> 00:34:51.189
- God convicted me to go through my own repentance journey.
- 00:34:51.189 --> 00:34:54.125
- And then I went to my office, went back to my office,
- 00:34:54.125 --> 00:34:56.761
- I called a staff meeting, I told our staff
- 00:34:56.761 --> 00:34:59.664
- about what I encountered that day and then
- 00:34:59.664 --> 00:35:01.499
- I invited them down to the abortion clinic
- 00:35:01.499 --> 00:35:03.467
- for them to see it for themselves.
- 00:35:03.467 --> 00:35:05.102
- My pastor, my family, my friends, so on and so on.
- 00:35:05.102 --> 00:35:08.606
- And through that process through a couple of years of just
- 00:35:08.606 --> 00:35:12.476
- getting activated with different pregnancy care centers,
- 00:35:12.476 --> 00:35:15.780
- I was in a season of prayer and fasting,
- 00:35:15.780 --> 00:35:17.515
- and the Lord spoke to me in my prayer closet.
- 00:35:17.515 --> 00:35:20.351
- I've called you to the least of these
- 00:35:20.351 --> 00:35:22.220
- and have called you to be a voice for the voiceless.
- 00:35:22.220 --> 00:35:25.156
- And over the course of about a week,
- 00:35:25.156 --> 00:35:26.657
- God has started waking me up in the middle of the night
- 00:35:26.657 --> 00:35:28.659
- downloading a strategy and a plan of how to mobilize
- 00:35:28.659 --> 00:35:32.630
- the church in our city to offer the help
- 00:35:32.630 --> 00:35:35.533
- that you just talked about, Kirk.
- 00:35:35.533 --> 00:35:36.801
- To offer the solutions that are needed.
- 00:35:36.801 --> 00:35:39.804
- To come alongside of these moms,
- 00:35:39.804 --> 00:35:41.239
- to come alongside of these dads,
- 00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:42.940
- to get Christians out to these dark places,
- 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:45.810
- these mission fields in our city to offer
- 00:35:45.810 --> 00:35:49.146
- the hope of the gospel and the help of the local church.
- 00:35:49.146 --> 00:35:52.783
- And we launched in 2016, we call
- 00:35:52.783 --> 00:35:55.453
- the ministry "Love Life" 'cause we love life.
- 00:35:55.453 --> 00:35:58.389
- Jesus loves life, all life.
- 00:35:58.389 --> 00:36:00.524
- Life in the womb, the life outside of the womb.
- 00:36:00.524 --> 00:36:02.927
- And since we launched in 2016, we've seen
- 00:36:02.927 --> 00:36:05.162
- over 500 churches now come together
- 00:36:05.162 --> 00:36:07.331
- across denominational lines.
- 00:36:07.331 --> 00:36:09.533
- Over a hundred thousand people that have now
- 00:36:09.533 --> 00:36:12.003
- come out to the abortion clinics to do prayer walks,
- 00:36:12.003 --> 00:36:14.972
- to get exposed to the reality of what's happening
- 00:36:14.972 --> 00:36:17.942
- in our city just like I got exposed to.
- 00:36:17.942 --> 00:36:20.711
- And we now have seen, because of the churches
- 00:36:20.711 --> 00:36:22.813
- that mobilized, over 3.500 families that have made
- 00:36:22.813 --> 00:36:26.851
- the choice for life at the abortion clinics.
- 00:36:26.851 --> 00:36:30.288
- These are people that showed up for scheduled abortions
- 00:36:30.288 --> 00:36:33.491
- and heard the hope of Jesus and were offered
- 00:36:33.491 --> 00:36:37.028
- the help of the local church.
- 00:36:37.028 --> 00:36:38.763
- For us to come alongside them,
- 00:36:38.763 --> 00:36:40.531
- to disciple them, to mentor them, and so on.
- 00:36:40.531 --> 00:36:43.501
- - Justin, I love the strategy that you use
- 00:36:43.501 --> 00:36:45.636
- by calling shepherds and pastors to really
- 00:36:45.636 --> 00:36:48.839
- step up and lead the way for the family of faith.
- 00:36:48.839 --> 00:36:52.310
- And talk about the "Adopt a Week" program.
- 00:36:52.310 --> 00:36:55.279
- I think that's particularly interesting.
- 00:36:55.279 --> 00:36:57.148
- - The Lord gave us a strategy to bring the church
- 00:36:57.148 --> 00:36:59.884
- along on a journey and it comes right
- 00:36:59.884 --> 00:37:01.686
- out of Nehemiah, Chapter One through Three.
- 00:37:01.686 --> 00:37:04.055
- This is where the Lord had me in my Bible reading
- 00:37:04.055 --> 00:37:06.324
- when he started to download the strategy.
- 00:37:06.324 --> 00:37:08.659
- And, again, it comes right out of Nehemiah,
- 00:37:08.659 --> 00:37:10.227
- Chapter One through Three.
- 00:37:10.227 --> 00:37:11.729
- How did Nehemiah begin the rebuilding of the city?
- 00:37:11.729 --> 00:37:14.632
- Well, he had to hear about it first.
- 00:37:14.632 --> 00:37:16.901
- He had to understand that the walls were broken down
- 00:37:16.901 --> 00:37:19.337
- and the gates were burning with fire.
- 00:37:19.337 --> 00:37:21.472
- So it all begins with this education, this hearing.
- 00:37:21.472 --> 00:37:24.608
- And that's what we asked pastors to do
- 00:37:24.608 --> 00:37:27.011
- with their congregation on Sunday morning.
- 00:37:27.011 --> 00:37:28.879
- To educate your people about the reality of our city,
- 00:37:28.879 --> 00:37:32.083
- the condition of our city,
- 00:37:32.083 --> 00:37:33.984
- and what does God's word say about life?
- 00:37:33.984 --> 00:37:35.886
- What does God's word say about the value of life?
- 00:37:35.886 --> 00:37:39.323
- And then we move them to prayer and fasting, right?
- 00:37:39.323 --> 00:37:42.326
- Which is the same journey on Wednesday.
- 00:37:42.326 --> 00:37:44.595
- That's right, of their adoption week,
- 00:37:44.595 --> 00:37:47.665
- when they're partnering with "Love Life.
- 00:37:47.665 --> 00:37:49.600
- Just like Nehemiah did.
- 00:37:49.600 --> 00:37:51.035
- He turned to prayer and fasting, weeping and mourning.
- 00:37:51.035 --> 00:37:53.637
- It begins with that.
- 00:37:53.637 --> 00:37:54.972
- It's a spiritual battle that must
- 00:37:54.972 --> 00:37:56.841
- be fought with spiritual weapons.
- 00:37:56.841 --> 00:37:58.609
- And then, on Saturday, they come out to a prayer walk.
- 00:37:58.609 --> 00:38:01.245
- It's an hour and a half prayer walk
- 00:38:01.245 --> 00:38:03.414
- out at the abortion clinic.
- 00:38:03.414 --> 00:38:04.815
- We operate under a code of conduct.
- 00:38:04.815 --> 00:38:06.817
- Not asking people to go out there
- 00:38:06.817 --> 00:38:08.586
- and storm the abortion clinics.
- 00:38:08.586 --> 00:38:10.554
- We're there to pray.
- 00:38:10.554 --> 00:38:11.422
- We're there to worship.
- 00:38:11.422 --> 00:38:12.423
- We're there to give testimonies.
- 00:38:12.423 --> 00:38:14.558
- But expose them to the reality
- 00:38:14.558 --> 00:38:16.360
- of what's happening in their backyard.
- 00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:18.362
- That's the go piece.
- 00:38:18.362 --> 00:38:20.064
- Which is, again, same thing Nehemiah did.
- 00:38:20.064 --> 00:38:21.999
- He didn't stay in his palace and pray.
- 00:38:21.999 --> 00:38:25.469
- What did he do, he left the palace and he went.
- 00:38:25.469 --> 00:38:27.972
- - To the brokenness.
- 00:38:27.972 --> 00:38:29.106
- He went to Jerusalem to examine the walls personally
- 00:38:29.106 --> 00:38:31.609
- for himself and we're just giving the church
- 00:38:31.609 --> 00:38:33.744
- an opportunity to get on a mission trip,
- 00:38:33.744 --> 00:38:35.513
- to leave the palace, get into the ditch,
- 00:38:35.513 --> 00:38:38.082
- to get into the brokenness of our city
- 00:38:38.082 --> 00:38:40.351
- and to begin doing ministry.
- 00:38:40.351 --> 00:38:41.685
- And at the end of the prayer walk,
- 00:38:41.685 --> 00:38:43.220
- we just simply say, "What is God calling you to do?
- 00:38:43.220 --> 00:38:45.122
- Is he calling you to mentor a mom or dad
- 00:38:45.122 --> 00:38:47.224
- who makes the choice for life,
- 00:38:47.224 --> 00:38:48.392
- to get involved in foster care or adoption,
- 00:38:48.392 --> 00:38:51.128
- or become a sidewalk counselor,
- 00:38:51.128 --> 00:38:52.897
- whatever it is we want to come alongside you
- 00:38:52.897 --> 00:38:54.732
- to see the church activated in this city."
- 00:38:54.732 --> 00:38:56.901
- - Everybody can do something and you provide so many ways
- 00:38:56.901 --> 00:38:59.804
- for people within churches to find a way to exercise
- 00:38:59.804 --> 00:39:02.640
- their gifts and their talents who have this passion
- 00:39:02.640 --> 00:39:06.744
- for seeing a culture of life come about.
- 00:39:06.744 --> 00:39:09.647
- I also wanted you to share the story about one young mom
- 00:39:09.647 --> 00:39:14.919
- who made that decision for life and how that one decision
- 00:39:16.053 --> 00:39:19.590
- began to affect others.
- 00:39:19.590 --> 00:39:21.158
- Tell a little bit about Alicia's story.
- 00:39:21.158 --> 00:39:23.694
- - So Alicia showed up to Planned Parenthood there
- 00:39:23.694 --> 00:39:26.931
- in Southern California, was there for an abortion,
- 00:39:26.931 --> 00:39:30.534
- but she was met by a sidewalk counselor named Anna,
- 00:39:30.534 --> 00:39:34.004
- who was offering her help.
- 00:39:34.004 --> 00:39:35.673
- She was offering her the hope of the gospel
- 00:39:35.673 --> 00:39:38.242
- and the help of a local church and she just simply said,
- 00:39:38.242 --> 00:39:40.744
- "Your baby has 10 fingers and 10 toes
- 00:39:40.744 --> 00:39:42.947
- and we are here to help you.
- 00:39:42.947 --> 00:39:44.415
- Please don't kill your baby today."
- 00:39:44.415 --> 00:39:46.917
- And she began to have conversation with her.
- 00:39:46.917 --> 00:39:49.687
- She makes the choice for life.
- 00:39:49.687 --> 00:39:51.922
- She gets connected with her relationally and says,
- 00:39:51.922 --> 00:39:54.725
- "Hey, we wanna come alongside you.
- 00:39:54.725 --> 00:39:56.327
- We want to disciple you,
- 00:39:56.327 --> 00:39:57.928
- bring you into the family of God."
- 00:39:57.928 --> 00:39:59.964
- Well, she invites her to Easter service
- 00:39:59.964 --> 00:40:02.967
- that was happening that week.
- 00:40:02.967 --> 00:40:04.468
- This was at a Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.
- 00:40:04.468 --> 00:40:07.171
- Alicia comes to church with Anna.
- 00:40:07.171 --> 00:40:10.407
- Pastor Jack gives an invitation at the end for people
- 00:40:10.407 --> 00:40:14.044
- to begin following Jesus.
- 00:40:14.044 --> 00:40:16.247
- She stands up, runs to the alter, gives her life to Jesus,
- 00:40:16.247 --> 00:40:19.884
- and then gets baptized a few months after that.
- 00:40:19.884 --> 00:40:23.120
- God's doing amazing things in her life.
- 00:40:23.120 --> 00:40:25.022
- Her baby girl was just born a few weeks ago
- 00:40:25.022 --> 00:40:28.659
- and the church is surrounding this family, discipling her,
- 00:40:28.659 --> 00:40:32.329
- walking with her on her journey
- 00:40:32.329 --> 00:40:34.465
- and now Alicia is even going out to the prayer walk
- 00:40:34.465 --> 00:40:38.235
- in Southern California.
- 00:40:38.235 --> 00:40:39.503
- She was just there a couple of weeks ago
- 00:40:39.503 --> 00:40:41.171
- and God is even using her to minister to other moms
- 00:40:41.171 --> 00:40:44.742
- that are showing up for abortion.
- 00:40:44.742 --> 00:40:46.443
- This is what happens when the church shows up.
- 00:40:46.443 --> 00:40:49.380
- This is what happens when the church shows up
- 00:40:49.380 --> 00:40:52.149
- to the dark places of our city and lets the light shine.
- 00:40:52.149 --> 00:40:55.319
- It touches so many.
- 00:40:55.319 --> 00:40:56.787
- It's not this the baby, it's not even just the mom,
- 00:40:56.787 --> 00:40:59.757
- it's the Annas, it's the church that's living on mission
- 00:40:59.757 --> 00:41:04.995
- and getting to disciple people
- 00:41:05.629 --> 00:41:07.431
- that they maybe never would have encountered otherwise.
- 00:41:07.431 --> 00:41:09.967
- - Listen, when we come back,
- 00:41:09.967 --> 00:41:11.201
- we're gonna talk with Justin a Little bit more
- 00:41:11.201 --> 00:41:12.770
- about what all of us can do right now to help women
- 00:41:12.770 --> 00:41:15.906
- who are considering abortions.
- 00:41:15.906 --> 00:41:18.175
- (upbeat music)
- 00:41:18.175 --> 00:41:23.016
- (upbeat music)
- 00:41:23.016 --> 00:41:29.898
- Justin, here at Takeaways we're passionate
- 00:41:30.799 --> 00:41:32.500
- about having conversations with bright, articulate,
- 00:41:32.500 --> 00:41:36.271
- compassionate guests like you that are action-oriented
- 00:41:36.271 --> 00:41:39.274
- because we don't wanna just talk about stuff,
- 00:41:39.274 --> 00:41:41.042
- we wanna do things that actually make a difference.
- 00:41:41.042 --> 00:41:44.179
- So let me ask you this question.
- 00:41:44.179 --> 00:41:45.847
- How do you explain your stance on abortion,
- 00:41:45.847 --> 00:41:48.450
- something that is very politically charged these days.
- 00:41:48.450 --> 00:41:51.653
- - Yeah, so we kind of reshape the whole conversation.
- 00:41:51.653 --> 00:41:54.623
- We don't believe this is pro-life, pro-choice
- 00:41:54.623 --> 00:41:58.159
- or pro-life, pro-death, however you want to call it.
- 00:41:58.159 --> 00:42:00.929
- For followers of Jesus, we just believe that this
- 00:42:00.929 --> 00:42:03.765
- is loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
- 00:42:03.765 --> 00:42:07.769
- And so we really, that's the conversation that we have
- 00:42:07.769 --> 00:42:10.672
- when we approach pastors and we approach other individuals.
- 00:42:10.672 --> 00:42:14.075
- This is our neighbor, this is a human and we are called
- 00:42:14.075 --> 00:42:17.712
- to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
- 00:42:17.712 --> 00:42:20.248
- And so this is really the great commandment.
- 00:42:20.248 --> 00:42:22.083
- It's about loving God and loving people.
- 00:42:22.083 --> 00:42:24.352
- It's really that simple for us.
- 00:42:24.986 --> 00:42:27.522
- We believe that, you know, it's a life in the womb.
- 00:42:27.522 --> 00:42:30.692
- Humans never have produced a dog or a cat from the womb.
- 00:42:30.692 --> 00:42:35.230
- It's always a human being.
- 00:42:35.230 --> 00:42:37.332
- We know that it's a life in there.
- 00:42:37.332 --> 00:42:38.933
- We have 3D ultrasound that proves it.
- 00:42:38.933 --> 00:42:40.935
- We have the heartbeat that's only at a couple of weeks
- 00:42:40.935 --> 00:42:43.705
- after conception, but we kind of get away from, honestly,
- 00:42:43.705 --> 00:42:47.409
- even a lot of those things.
- 00:42:47.409 --> 00:42:48.843
- We just say that this is our neighbor,
- 00:42:48.843 --> 00:42:52.180
- this is a human being, and as a follower of Jesus,
- 00:42:52.180 --> 00:42:54.549
- we were called to love God and to love people
- 00:42:54.549 --> 00:42:57.519
- and that's where we stand.
- 00:42:57.519 --> 00:42:59.387
- - I love the way that you put this.
- 00:42:59.387 --> 00:43:00.588
- You say Love Life is really not so much about
- 00:43:00.588 --> 00:43:03.324
- pro-life ministry as much as it is just Christianity 101.
- 00:43:04.459 --> 00:43:08.730
- This is just loving your neighbor as yourself
- 00:43:08.730 --> 00:43:11.800
- and what I also love is that we're not just loving
- 00:43:11.800 --> 00:43:16.171
- these moms and these dads who are coming to the clinic
- 00:43:16.171 --> 00:43:19.741
- with this very difficult situation,
- 00:43:19.741 --> 00:43:21.509
- and not just loving the babies,
- 00:43:21.509 --> 00:43:23.078
- but actually giving our brothers and sisters
- 00:43:23.078 --> 00:43:25.647
- inside the church a way to activate their faith,
- 00:43:25.647 --> 00:43:29.784
- to put feet to their faith and actually experience
- 00:43:29.784 --> 00:43:32.821
- a personal revival, enabling them to begin to show people
- 00:43:32.821 --> 00:43:38.059
- a little bit of heaven on earth.
- 00:43:38.693 --> 00:43:40.128
- - That's exactly right, Kirk.
- 00:43:40.128 --> 00:43:41.529
- We always say if we can boil down what we do
- 00:43:41.529 --> 00:43:44.466
- into one word, it's repentance.
- 00:43:44.466 --> 00:43:47.836
- We're calling the church to live out repentance.
- 00:43:47.836 --> 00:43:51.206
- We're giving them a vehicle to live it out.
- 00:43:51.206 --> 00:43:55.176
- You know, repentance is not just a prayer.
- 00:43:55.176 --> 00:43:58.580
- It might begin with a prayer.
- 00:43:58.580 --> 00:44:00.381
- It might begin with a confession,
- 00:44:00.381 --> 00:44:02.517
- but true repentance never ends with a prayer.
- 00:44:02.517 --> 00:44:05.954
- 1 John 3:16 and 18 says,
- 00:44:05.954 --> 00:44:08.423
- "This is how you know what love is.
- 00:44:08.423 --> 00:44:10.592
- Jesus laid down his life for us
- 00:44:10.592 --> 00:44:13.328
- and we also lay down our lives for our brothers
- 00:44:13.328 --> 00:44:16.464
- and our sisters, not just with words,
- 00:44:16.464 --> 00:44:19.467
- but with action and in truth."
- 00:44:19.467 --> 00:44:22.570
- We're just giving the church a vehicle
- 00:44:22.570 --> 00:44:24.839
- to live out repentance, to live out love in action
- 00:44:24.839 --> 00:44:28.610
- and it's amazing what happens when believers
- 00:44:28.610 --> 00:44:31.780
- start doing this, personal revival starts coming to them.
- 00:44:31.780 --> 00:44:35.683
- Revival starts coming into their family.
- 00:44:35.683 --> 00:44:37.986
- Revival starts coming into their church family
- 00:44:37.986 --> 00:44:40.355
- and so on and so on.
- 00:44:40.355 --> 00:44:42.023
- We are seeing revival take place in our cities
- 00:44:42.023 --> 00:44:44.926
- because the church is coming alive.
- 00:44:44.926 --> 00:44:46.895
- What we hear all the time is from pastors
- 00:44:46.895 --> 00:44:49.164
- is the congregation that I brought out to the prayer walk
- 00:44:49.164 --> 00:44:53.001
- is a completely different congregation
- 00:44:53.001 --> 00:44:54.869
- that I brought back with me.
- 00:44:54.869 --> 00:44:56.871
- We're seeing their young people get activated and stirred
- 00:44:56.871 --> 00:45:00.241
- in every way, not just over the issue of life,
- 00:45:00.241 --> 00:45:03.344
- over the issue of just loving God and loving what he loves
- 00:45:03.344 --> 00:45:06.714
- and hating what he hates.
- 00:45:06.714 --> 00:45:08.116
- It's not just over the issue of abortion.
- 00:45:08.116 --> 00:45:10.084
- It's really a true following of Jesus is what we're seeing
- 00:45:10.084 --> 00:45:14.455
- awaken in people, young and old and everybody in between.
- 00:45:14.455 --> 00:45:18.793
- We've seen churches that have literally been next door
- 00:45:18.793 --> 00:45:22.096
- to abortion clinics for a decade that weren't involved,
- 00:45:22.096 --> 00:45:25.466
- that weren't engaged at all, that now are fully activated,
- 00:45:25.466 --> 00:45:28.903
- pastors that have stood up in front of their congregation,
- 00:45:28.903 --> 00:45:31.506
- publicly repented for their lack of action
- 00:45:31.506 --> 00:45:34.709
- and have led their people to take action in their city.
- 00:45:34.709 --> 00:45:38.880
- It's really amazing.
- 00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:40.148
- We have to reframe the conversation.
- 00:45:40.148 --> 00:45:42.317
- These are mission fields in our city.
- 00:45:42.317 --> 00:45:44.919
- There's 700, about 700 abortion centers
- 00:45:44.919 --> 00:45:47.689
- in America right now.
- 00:45:47.689 --> 00:45:49.190
- These are 700 mission fields
- 00:45:49.190 --> 00:45:51.659
- and there's only a Christian witness
- 00:45:51.659 --> 00:45:53.628
- at about two to 300 of those currently.
- 00:45:53.628 --> 00:45:56.598
- We only know where innocent humans are scheduled to die
- 00:45:56.598 --> 00:46:00.134
- at abortion clinics, therefore we should be there.
- 00:46:00.134 --> 00:46:03.238
- - Absolutely and what I love is that when
- 00:46:03.238 --> 00:46:05.707
- the light shows up, the darkness has to flee.
- 00:46:05.707 --> 00:46:09.277
- You can try that little experiment in your own home,
- 00:46:09.277 --> 00:46:12.347
- just go into a dark room and turn on the light
- 00:46:12.347 --> 00:46:14.249
- and the darkness cannot extinguish it.
- 00:46:14.249 --> 00:46:16.451
- And what I've learned from you is that when
- 00:46:16.451 --> 00:46:19.554
- the family of faith shows up in places
- 00:46:19.554 --> 00:46:22.390
- like Charlotte, North Carolina, at an abortion clinic,
- 00:46:22.390 --> 00:46:25.994
- that abortions decreased as much as 70%
- 00:46:25.994 --> 00:46:30.365
- just because there is a Christian witness there.
- 00:46:30.365 --> 00:46:33.101
- That's amazing and it makes sense because you've
- 00:46:33.101 --> 00:46:36.371
- also pointed out that sometimes you talk to these moms
- 00:46:36.371 --> 00:46:39.908
- and they say, "You know, I was praying before I came here
- 00:46:39.908 --> 00:46:42.944
- that if God wants me to keep my baby,
- 00:46:42.944 --> 00:46:44.913
- he would give me a sign.
- 00:46:44.913 --> 00:46:46.381
- Just show me a sign and then here you guys are
- 00:46:46.381 --> 00:46:49.150
- and you want to pray with me and you want to talk with me
- 00:46:49.150 --> 00:46:51.419
- and you want to give me options."
- 00:46:51.419 --> 00:46:53.221
- - We have the hope.
- 00:46:53.221 --> 00:46:54.656
- The issue is not the darkness.
- 00:46:54.656 --> 00:46:56.991
- The issue has been the absence of light.
- 00:46:56.991 --> 00:47:00.028
- And that is what Love Life is geared towards
- 00:47:00.028 --> 00:47:02.163
- is just helping turn the lights on in our city.
- 00:47:02.163 --> 00:47:05.233
- - So if people want to get involved
- 00:47:05.233 --> 00:47:06.701
- with Love Life Ministries, how can they do that?
- 00:47:06.701 --> 00:47:09.938
- - LoveLife.org is the best way, go to our website.
- 00:47:09.938 --> 00:47:12.740
- We got ways for you to connect with us.
- 00:47:12.740 --> 00:47:14.876
- We're in 14 cities across the nation.
- 00:47:14.876 --> 00:47:17.011
- We're planning to launch 14 more next year.
- 00:47:17.011 --> 00:47:20.515
- You can help us do that.
- 00:47:20.515 --> 00:47:21.983
- Go to our website, all the information is on our website.
- 00:47:21.983 --> 00:47:24.786
- - You have kids and I have kids.
- 00:47:24.786 --> 00:47:26.888
- What do you think is the best way for us to sort of instill
- 00:47:26.888 --> 00:47:30.858
- this value for life in the hearts and minds of our kids?
- 00:47:30.858 --> 00:47:34.495
- We've gotta pass the torch and what do you find
- 00:47:34.495 --> 00:47:37.498
- is the most effective way to do that?
- 00:47:37.498 --> 00:47:39.233
- - We take our kids out to the prayer walks
- 00:47:39.233 --> 00:47:41.569
- every opportunity that we get.
- 00:47:41.569 --> 00:47:43.705
- We pray for the abortionists by name.
- 00:47:43.705 --> 00:47:46.407
- My kids have gotten to hold the babies
- 00:47:47.241 --> 00:47:49.344
- that have made the choice for life.
- 00:47:49.344 --> 00:47:50.745
- They've been in relationship with their mothers,
- 00:47:50.745 --> 00:47:53.815
- been in relationship even with ex abortion workers.
- 00:47:53.815 --> 00:47:56.684
- We get our kids in the battle.
- 00:47:56.684 --> 00:47:58.586
- We get our kids in the fight.
- 00:47:58.586 --> 00:48:00.088
- If you wanna raise warriors for Jesus,
- 00:48:00.088 --> 00:48:02.190
- you have to raise them in the battle.
- 00:48:02.190 --> 00:48:04.292
- The most dangerous place for your kids
- 00:48:04.292 --> 00:48:06.627
- is not at the abortion clinic on mission.
- 00:48:06.627 --> 00:48:09.464
- The most dangerous place for your kids is at home
- 00:48:09.464 --> 00:48:12.000
- in front of the television.
- 00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:13.434
- So I just want to encourage everybody,
- 00:48:13.434 --> 00:48:15.370
- get your kids involved in this ministry.
- 00:48:15.370 --> 00:48:17.572
- Nehemiah rebuilt the city, family next to family.
- 00:48:17.572 --> 00:48:22.176
- And so this is something that we do as a family.
- 00:48:22.176 --> 00:48:24.545
- It's the way that we.
- 00:48:24.545 --> 00:48:25.913
- - Disciple our kids how to follow the Lord.
- 00:48:25.913 --> 00:48:28.049
- - More is caught than taught
- 00:48:28.049 --> 00:48:29.951
- and if they see us loving God and loving our neighbor
- 00:48:29.951 --> 00:48:33.721
- and serving others, even at personal cost to ourselves,
- 00:48:33.721 --> 00:48:36.991
- and we bring them into that work,
- 00:48:36.991 --> 00:48:38.459
- that's the best way for them to learn those things.
- 00:48:38.459 --> 00:48:40.762
- And we talk about it with our kids
- 00:48:40.762 --> 00:48:42.663
- when they're sitting down, when they rise up,
- 00:48:42.663 --> 00:48:45.099
- when we take them to school,
- 00:48:45.099 --> 00:48:46.601
- when we're at the grocery store or on the soccer field
- 00:48:46.601 --> 00:48:48.436
- and they see us sacrificing our time to serve other people,
- 00:48:48.436 --> 00:48:52.140
- and we ask them to join us in that work,
- 00:48:52.140 --> 00:48:54.675
- that's the best way for us to teach them.
- 00:48:54.675 --> 00:48:56.444
- That's discipleship and the most important discipleship's
- 00:48:56.444 --> 00:48:58.846
- happening right inside of your house.
- 00:48:58.846 --> 00:49:01.182
- Hey Justin, thanks so much for all of this important work
- 00:49:01.182 --> 00:49:04.318
- that you're doing.
- 00:49:04.318 --> 00:49:05.787
- We're gonna review our Takeaways when we come back
- 00:49:05.787 --> 00:49:07.822
- after this commercial break.
- 00:49:07.822 --> 00:49:09.357
- (upbeat music)
- 00:49:09.357 --> 00:49:14.023
- (upbeat music)
- 00:49:14.023 --> 00:49:14.295
- (upbeat music)
- 00:49:14.662 --> 00:49:21.269
- Welcome back.
- 00:49:21.636 --> 00:49:23.204
- Thematically, I know this episode has been a little heavy,
- 00:49:23.204 --> 00:49:26.674
- but I think it's important to address these critical issues
- 00:49:26.674 --> 00:49:30.111
- with grace and humility.
- 00:49:30.111 --> 00:49:32.647
- Now for today's Takeaways.
- 00:49:32.647 --> 00:49:34.449
- One, thank God for your testimony.
- 00:49:35.216 --> 00:49:39.087
- He can use your story to bless the lives of others.
- 00:49:39.087 --> 00:49:42.590
- Use your testimony as a way to launch your ministry,
- 00:49:42.590 --> 00:49:46.127
- to share what God has done in your life,
- 00:49:46.127 --> 00:49:48.563
- and help others draw near to Him.
- 00:49:48.563 --> 00:49:51.632
- Two, today is a gift.
- 00:49:52.133 --> 00:49:55.436
- That's why they call it the present.
- 00:49:55.436 --> 00:49:58.172
- That's what Abby learned.
- 00:49:58.172 --> 00:49:59.474
- She says, "Satan wants to play in your past,
- 00:49:59.474 --> 00:50:02.577
- but your past is not your present
- 00:50:02.577 --> 00:50:05.379
- and God directs your future."
- 00:50:05.379 --> 00:50:07.915
- Three, love your neighbor as yourself.
- 00:50:08.749 --> 00:50:12.787
- Reshape the conversation.
- 00:50:12.787 --> 00:50:14.422
- It's not pro-life versus pro-choice, it's Christianity 101,
- 00:50:14.422 --> 00:50:19.727
- loving and supporting women with an unplanned pregnancy
- 00:50:20.862 --> 00:50:23.331
- and caring for their unborn babies as well.
- 00:50:23.331 --> 00:50:26.834
- Four, consider fostering and adoption.
- 00:50:27.602 --> 00:50:31.706
- Being pro-life isn't only about being concerned for babies
- 00:50:31.706 --> 00:50:34.709
- inside the womb, but also babies outside the womb.
- 00:50:34.709 --> 00:50:38.246
- Remember, God says true religion includes caring for orphans
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- in their time of need.
- 00:50:42.650 --> 00:50:44.318
- Fostering and adoption is an important way
- 00:50:44.318 --> 00:50:47.188
- we show God's love to kids who need a home.
- 00:50:47.188 --> 00:50:50.758
- On a personal note, if you or someone you know
- 00:50:51.659 --> 00:50:54.629
- are in the middle of a crisis pregnancy right now,
- 00:50:54.629 --> 00:50:57.665
- please know that you are not alone.
- 00:50:57.665 --> 00:51:00.168
- There is hope and there is help.
- 00:51:00.168 --> 00:51:02.336
- Please reach out to Abby's LoveLine.com
- 00:51:02.336 --> 00:51:07.041
- or Justin's LoveLife.org in order to get the help
- 00:51:07.041 --> 00:51:12.313
- that you need.
- 00:51:12.680 --> 00:51:13.981
- Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.
- 00:51:13.981 --> 00:51:16.617
- (upbeat music)
- 00:51:16.617 --> 00:51:16.617
