If you watched the big Cunningham-Hunter debate on Incrementalism vs. Immediatism, you may have seen CBR Executive Director Gregg Cunningham announce that CBR would no longer include the following statement in it’s Volunteer Agreement for the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) and other projects:

If asked a secular question, I will give only a secular answer, not a spiritual answer.  I will give spiritual answers only in response to a spiritual question or comment.  (Note:  Many people reject spiritual answers and use them to change the conversation or to discredit the pro-life position.)

Yes, this is going away, but I wanted to clarify the confusion about what it meant and why it was included in our Volunteer Agreement in the first place.

First of all, this was in no way a prohibition to sharing the Gospel.  In our GAP training, which we call the Pro Life Training Academy (PLTA), we routinely remind people that God commands us to share the Gospel.  I have shared my Faith at GAP on many occasions.  Other staff and volunteers have done the same.

But if a student asks why abortion is wrong, it is pointless to reply, “The Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not kill’”  Three reasons:

1. If the student does not accept the authority of Scripture, then such a pronouncement won’t be very compelling to him.  We have to reach him where he is and go from there, just like Paul did in Athens (Acts 17:16-34).  He preached the Jewish Scripture to the Jews, who accepted the authority of Scripture.  But with the Athenians, he stared with a frame of reference they would understand.
2. In most cases, the student likely already accepts the premise that killing a human being is immoral.  (Even atheists agree that killing 6 million Jews is immoral.)  He just disagrees that the preborn child is morally equivalent to a born person.  Most often, his mistake is not a belief that killing is OK, but is rather a belief that preborn children are somehow subhuman.
3. People mistakenly believe our opposition to abortion is just a religious tenant that should remain a matter of personal discretion, much like our belief in keeping the Sabbath.  But we don’t oppose legalized abortion because it violates our religious beliefs; we oppose legalized abortion because it unjustly kills another human being.  That is a much different argument, and we need to make that point crystal clear.

Of course we can also share the Gospel, but we can make a compelling arguments against abortion that don’t depend on a belief in Scripture to be credible.

Some people want CBR to be focus primarily on evangelism.  But if we were to do that, what version of evangelical message would we adopt?  Would it be a Catholic version?  A Baptist version?  A Lutheran version?

We don’t have a theological statement, nor do we proscribe an evangelical approach that all must embrace.  We, like others in the pro-life movement, work with Catholics, Protestants, non-denominational, and even anti-denominational Christians to witness against the evil of child sacrifice.  When it comes to sharing the Gospel; we have to believe that every Christian is being trained (or should be trained) how to do this within their own particular Church.  (Full disclosure: On occasion, atheists have volunteered to help with our outreaches to secular audiences, and we have accepted their help.)

There need to be places in the pro-life movement — and we believe CBR should be one of those places — where Christians of good will can come together to fight a common foe, which is child sacrifice.  Otherwise, we end up fighting each other… about Catholic vs. Protestant, Calvinist vs. Arminian, Latin liturgy vs. Southern drawl, King-James-only (KJO) vs. Nearly Inspired Version (NIV), etc., etc. etc.  The list of issues that could divide us, if we let them, is endless.

If you don’t agree, if you believe your pro-life-ism cannot be separated from your particular brand of Christianity, and if you can’t work with other Christians outside your own particular brand, then there is still a place for you in the movement.  But CBR won’t be that place, because our mission transcends denominational boundaries.

That is not a statement of judgement against denominational pro-life work.  To the contrary; we wish every “pro-life” church would join this fight, as a part of the mission of that church.  And true to our calling, we will make our abortion images available to you and support your denominational pro-life mission in every way possible.

Pictures instill fear in Christians, but change hearts and minds.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

“I am a Christian and a Baptist,” the Columbia State University co-ed said with righteous indignation.  “This display is wrong! … This doesn’t help!  We know what abortion is!  Dead babies?  NO!  Don’t show that!”

This young woman may have honestly believed that showing such pictures is wrong.  She may have thought people already know what abortion is.  But we think her reaction was mostly fear … fear of verbal reprisals against her and other Christians, perhaps.  The fear of rejection has prompted many pro-life Christians to cower under tables, hide out in CRU meetings, etc.  [We love Campus Crusade for Christ, but if the shoe fits …]

After some time she finally said, “Well I respect you and know you want to help.  I just wish you wouldn’t do it this way.”

We pray for Christians on campus to find their courage … and then find their way.  The world needs Christians to stand up and be counted.

Two other young women illustrate why our courage is so important.

They stared intently at the pictures.  One of them pointed to a 10-week abortion photo and asked CBR’s Maggie Egger, “That circular part there, is that the heart?”  Maggie replied, “I don’t know actually.  It could be the heart or it could be the stomach or something else, it’s hard to tell.”  The other girl chimed in, “But they do have a heart at that point, right?”  Maggie answered in the affirmative.  The two nodded and continued to study the picture for a few more minutes.  Then as they slowly walked away, one said, “I mean, that’s a baby!”  The other replied solemnly, “It’s a baby…It’s a baby.”

The pictures work.  When more Christians use them courageously, they will work more places, more often.  Please stand up and make your voice heard by supporting Pro Life on Campus.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

CBR’s husband-and-wife team Bill and Jeanette Schultz.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

We are pleased to welcome Bill and Jeanette Schultz of Raleigh, North Carolina, to the CBR family.  Hitting the ground running on Day 1, they have already spearheaded a number of CBR projects, including a GAP at Fayetteville State, Choice Chains at NC State and Wake Technical Community College, a School Choice project outside Millbrook High School, and a Pro-Life Training Academy for Raleigh-area activists.

Bill and Jeanette are formerly the owners and operators of Schultz Construction in Albany, NY.  In 2004, after retiring from the construction business, they moved to  Raleigh and began to focus more on God’s business.  They soon founded the Street Samaritans and Gospel Ministry, whose mission was to plead for both lives and souls, primarily outside abortion clinics and high schools.

Since 2009, Bill and Jeanette have been a regular presence on public sidewalks outside Wake County (Raleigh area) high schools.  In addition to displaying abortion photos, they have delivered God’s mail by handing out tens of thousands of pieces of pro-life and abstinence literature.

Welcome aboard, Bill and Jeanette!  We are already seeing great things from you!

If you’d like to share in this work, it’s quick, easy, and secure to support CBR online.  Whatever you can do will make a huge difference.   To support Bill and Jeanette’s work, designate your gift for “Carolina Projects (SE-NS).”

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

Complacent or not, many saw the photos

by Jacqueline Hawkins

Fayetteville State University (FSU), a historically black institution, was a very calm school.  While there was definitely a good response in some that you can read about here, many students were quite indifferent.  There were no protesters and very little cursing.

Only a few students opposed our message, and they were not at all vocal.  A girl passed out popsicles to her friends and fraternities step-danced for their peers.

CBR Maryland Director Samantha Linnemann noted that “the most surprising thing for our entire team was the total apathy and indifference of the majority of students.  Many students merely sat or stood talking with friends, seemingly oblivious to the true horror and tragedy of abortion glaring right in front of them. They were totally indifferent about the deadly toll abortion has on their community.”

It was all reminiscent of the Eloi people in H. G. Wells’ classic The Time Machine.  The Eloi were childlike humans who lazed about without curiosity or discipline.  They had no need for intellect or strength.  It was more convenient not to work, so they didn’t.  But all was not well.  The Morlocks attacked and ate them at night.  Despite this danger, however, they did nothing.

It almost seemed that some FSU students nonchalantly accept abortion, even though it threatens the African American race.  It is far more convenient to do nothing about it, so they do nothing.

Even a young man who claimed that he cared for his future children — so much that he would never subject them to growing up in a poor, single-mother home — was perfectly fine with decapitating and dismembering those same children.  He essentially implied that he would abandon his own child, if she were inconvenient.  Better to kill the child than work to provide her with a good life.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

Bill and Jeanette Schultz

by Jacqueline Hawkins

At East Carolina University (ECU), a staff member stared at the first-trimester photos.  Tears streamed from her eyes.  CBR’s husband and wife team, Bill and Jeanette Schultz, reached out to her with comfort.

Twenty years ago, she had two abortions.  She was young and unaware of the life growing inside her.  She had no one to help.  “If only someone had told me the truth,” she said.

After learning about the fate of her children, she felt deep remorse and sorrow.  She sincerely hoped that God would forgive her.  Bill and Jeanette assured her of God’s mercy and forgiveness.  They encouraged her to see her pastor and ask God to forgive her sin and heal her heart.

By the time she left she had a smile on her face.  The burden that she had carried for years was now a little lighter.  She was on the path to confession, forgiveness, and healing.  Isn’t that what the Cross is all about?

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

The Genocide Awareness Project at Oakland University.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

She was raped at age 12.  She was told she would die if she carried the baby.  So the young girl aborted.

Now a student at Oakland University, she peppered Mark Williams of CBR United Kingdom with questions.  Lots of questions.

As they spoke, she opened up about her life.  She grew up poor with an alcoholic mother and an absent father.  Today she is a prostitute to make ends meet.

Mark saw how she had been deeply wounded in life, and how her pro-abortion stance was all she could trust.  After all, it had gotten her out of a very difficult situation before, perhaps when nothing else could.  (Not really, but that’s how she saw it.)

Mark told her how Jesus had helped him through many personal trials and asked to pray for her.  By the end of the conversation, Mark sensed that her heart and mind were changing.  He asked if she viewed abortion differently, after their discussion.  The young woman said she did; she even understood why we display abortion images.

As a result of this experience and many others, Mark noted that in America, while pro-aborts may start with an outburst of vitriol, there is often an openness that is not so common on the streets of London.

Perhaps because Americans are less inclined to keep a “stiff upper lip,” Mark was able to see how deeply hurt, abused, unloved, and rejected so many pro-aborts feel.  They confirmed it in a way he rarely sees in the UK.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

Exposing Planned Parenthood on their annual “pink out” day.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

As a newbie staff member, there’s a certain apprehension that precedes each pro-life outreach.  Questions go through my mind while butterflies take residence in my stomach.

What’s going to happen?  How will people respond to the pictures?  Will there be protesters?  Can I go back home, hide under the covers and come out when abortion is abolished?  These questions raced through my mind as I drove to a local American killing field.

Planned Parenthood (PP) was hosting their national “pink out” day, a celebration of prenatal decapitation and dismemberment.  The local sidewalk counselors and pro-life activists weren’t sure if this particular PP affiliate was going to participate, but they would make a preemptive strike with their presence.  We stood with abortion victim photos across the street.  The 40 Days for Life sidewalk counselors prayed and called for women to escape with their children.

As always, the apprehension died away as we took our places and focused on the task at hand.  In this case, the outcome was low-key.  We held our signs in peace.  There were no pinked-out pro-aborts.  A few passersby beeped their horns and gave us the thumbs-up.  Some used another digit to get their point across.  We call this phenomenon the “digital divide.”  One passenger in a black SUV used her phone to take pictures of our signs as she rode by.

Low-key does not mean hundreds of passersby weren’t confronted with the true horror of abortion.  Every minute of exposing abortion helps win hearts, change minds, and save lives.

That’s why I go forward … even when I’m tempted to go home and hide under the covers.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.