“Once I Talked to One, I Couldn't Stop”

A student named Corrie shared this short summary of JFA’s training program back in 2015:

I loved the training and the outreach. I feel like the training prepared me well for the outreach. I was terrified to talk to anyone and made a goal to talk to just one person. Once I talked to one, I couldn't stop. I realized they're just people.

Imagine for a moment that every follower of Christ caught Corrie’s vision of talking to pro-choice advocates, seeing that “they’re just people” and “I need to talk to them.” Imagine that every follower of Christ also caught hold of Corrie’s feeling that “I can talk to anyone.”

How did Corrie get to this place? In partnership with Christian Heritage Academy, we prepared her and went with her to a college campus, where she “made a goal to talk to just one person.”

That’s why we build this goal into every in-person seminar, every online workshop session, and every outreach event we create: we want every follower of Christ to have the experience of talking to just one person. Then we’re confident he or she will say, along with Corrie, “Once I talked to one, I couldn’t stop.” If Christians would “talk to one” and then find they “cannot stop” talking to all of the people in their sphere of influence, public opinion on abortion could shift very quickly.

Thanks for praying with us and for partnering with us as we train each one to talk to one!

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Recent Instagram Post

Free Speech Board from JFA Outreach Event at University of Oklahoma in March 2021.

A Conversation with a Planned Parenthood Volunteer

Impact Report, May 2021

Note: Sometimes it’s a blessing in disguise to be in the dark. In this Impact Report, JFA trainer Mary St. Hilaire describes an unforgettable conversation with “Ashley” that highlights a valuable lesson for all of us: Give the benefit of the doubt. Because Ashley wasn’t forthcoming with her views, Mary was allowed to simply enjoy Ashley’s company as they talked. It appears this helped Ashley consider Mary’s pro-life beliefs with a more open mind. - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

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Mary (sitting) interacts with a student at University of Oklahoma at a JFA outreach event in March 2021.

I walked up to “Ashley” while she was studying a cluttered free speech board at a Justice For All (JFA) event. I asked her if she had thoughts about abortion, and behind a grin, she replied that she did but that she was “just looking.” She expressed how interesting it was to read the array of comments from people on both sides of the issue. I agreed and began reading them with her. After a minute or so, she turned to me and asked what my thoughts were. As I began to share my pro-life perspective with Ashley, I wondered what she was thinking, what her position was, and what kind of person she might be. My first impression was that she certainly seemed to be a genuinely kind and joyful person. She had a captivating smile and laugh which put me at ease. I felt comfortable sharing my beliefs even though I was ignorant of hers. I figured that she couldn’t be extremely pro-choice or she would have had a lot more to say to me.

After briefly sharing my thoughts, she began asking me more about myself, my job, and how I became involved with JFA. I told her I was working with JFA full-time and that I loved it.

Ashley: [with a huge smile] That makes me so happy! I’m so glad you have found something you love. I’m curious: Are your pro-life beliefs a result of your faith?

Mary: Yes and no! I was raised Catholic, and the Catholic Church teaches that human life is sacred and valuable from the moment of conception until natural death. But, as an adult I have also looked at the science and the non-religious arguments as to why the unborn are human and deserving of the right to life. So, yeah, my faith has definitely influenced my pro-life beliefs, but I can also base those beliefs on science.

Ashley: That makes total sense!

It was at this point that she finally began to open up about her own opinion of abortion. I was truly enjoying Ashley’s company and conversation, so I was excited to hear her thoughts.

Ashley: In the past several years I kind of took a step back from my faith, but I was raised Christian, so I can totally understand where you’re coming from. I like coming to these types of events because I really want to educate myself on both sides of different political and moral issues and I don’t know that I’ve made up my mind on the issue of abortion yet.

Thoroughly impressed by Ashley’s maturity and honesty, I wanted to find out more.

Mary: I think it’s great that you are really searching for the truth! Can I ask...do you think the unborn is biologically human?

Ashley didn’t know anything about the biology of the unborn and was open to hearing my thoughts. After I quickly shared some scientific evidence, she agreed the unborn is biologically human. I then shifted the conversation to the topic of equal rights outside of the womb.

Mary: Let’s take a break from the unborn for a second. Ashley, what do you think gives you and me and everyone here on campus equal value? I think we can both agree that we should be treated equally, despite all our differences. So it makes sense to say there must be something we all share that grounds our equality, right?

Ashley: Absolutely! We’re all human. So I guess it’s a question of, “Is the unborn the same kind of human as you and I?” and if so, then abortion would be killing an innocent human being.

Mary: I think you’re right.

I was surprised at how easily Ashley understood my train of thought. Then suddenly, almost out of nowhere and to my utter shock, Ashley nonchalantly told me more of her story.

Ashley: I volunteer at Planned Parenthood because I really care about women and I want to help give them more accessible birth control, so I table with them on campus. I know they provide abortion services, which I don’t really like, but I think it’s a pretty small percentage of what they do...what do you think about Planned Parenthood?

As shocked as I was by this new discovery, I tried to gently and graciously share the truth about Planned Parenthood with Ashley.

Mary: I think it’s awesome that you are going out of your way to help women! As far as Planned Parenthood goes, I know they do other things than abortion, but I think you’d be surprised at how much of their business is actually abortion. Whatever the case may be about that, it really does come down to that question, “Is the unborn a valuable human being with the right to life?” because if so, it doesn’t matter whether or not abortion is their number one money-maker or just something they’re doing on the side. It’s that they are doing it at all that matters. We wouldn’t support an animal shelter that provides services for animals, but also abuses some of their animals on the side, would we?

Ashley: [nodding] Yeah, for sure. I get what you’re saying. I guess I’m just still trying to decide what I believe about the unborn.

Mary: That’s totally understandable.

It was at this point that a pro-life student who had been listening in on our conversation interjected, asking if Ashley had heard of the movie Unplanned, the story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson and her conversion. He explained the storyline and encouraged her to watch it. I almost couldn’t believe my ears when Ashley replied that she had heard of it and sincerely promised that she would “definitely look into it.” As our conversation drew to a close, Ashley turned to me and said, “You’ve really given me a lot to think about!” I expressed how much I had enjoyed talking with her.

“I would have believed her to be the exact opposite of the person she really was.”

As I walked away from this conversation, I had to pause and take a moment to process what had just happened. Ashley is by far the kindest person I have ever encountered on campus and perhaps one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. She was genuinely interested in my life and my beliefs; she shared in the joy of my success with JFA despite disagreement on the issue of abortion; she was caring and compassionate towards women and children; she was gracious and respectful to me and other pro-life volunteers she encountered; and yet, she was also a Planned Parenthood volunteer. If I had met Ashley last year, before going through JFA training, and she had started our conversation by saying she volunteered for Planned Parenthood, I would have made a million assumptions about what she believed and who she was. I would have presumed her to be radically pro-abortion, close-minded, and hostile. I would have believed her to be the exact opposite of the person she really was.

As pro-life advocates who are passionate about defending the sacredness of human life and ending the injustice of abortion, it’s easy for us to assume the worst about people who disagree with us. We forget the fact that most pro-choice people, especially many who work in the abortion industry, care about women and children. We must remind ourselves that there are kind people with good intentions on both sides of the issue, but we will only ever discover this and make an impact in their lives if we take the time to get to know them, not with presumption or hatred but with graciousness and love. I am so thankful that this encounter with Ashley helped me to see this more clearly.

- Mary St. Hilaire, for the JFA Team

Contact Mary: Web - Instagram - Facebook

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A Note from JFA Executive Director, Steve Wagner:

In my April letter, I described a core value of JFA’s internship program: our interns don’t make coffee. Instead, they learn the art of using dialogue to change hearts and minds about abortion. Then they learn the art of training others to do the same. Along the way, we rely on God to give these young people courage to do amazing things they never thought possible. Rebekah Dyer illustrated this by sharing how God is using a personal weakness to teach her to trust his strength.

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Mary St. Hilaire interacts with a University of New Mexico student during her internship in February 2020.

Not only are our interns-turned-trainers learning skills to train large and small groups, as Rebekah described. They also glean new insights from regular outreach conversations, allowing them to place their unique stamp on our training program.

Recent Instagram Post: In this classic photo, JFA intern Trent Horn engages in an animated examination of a textbook with a student while Jon Wagner and I look on. Trent and I recently discussed memories of his early days with JFA on his podcast, The Counsel of Trent. Now a staff apologist with Catholic Answers, Trent models for thousands the art of changing minds about abortion through radio, writing, and speaking. Click the photo to share via Instagram! - Steve Wagner

Mary St. Hilaire, a JFA trainer who began her work as an intern in 2020, provides a good example of this in JFA’s May Impact Report (above). Through this conversation, Mary gained perspective she can now share with each person she trains.

We are excited to report that we’re currently working to fill three internship slots for fall 2021. Each intern will learn the same skills Mary and Rebekah have been mastering beautifully. Do you want to support our incoming interns? Here are two ways you can help: (1) Continue supporting any JFA trainer’s work; each trainer pours into the lives of our interns. (2) Designate a gift for the Intern Scholarship Fund, which allows interns to “test the waters” of working for JFA without first having to assemble a long-term support team. Thank you for your support!

Our Interns Don't Make Coffee

Latte art courtesy anonymous barista at The Bean Pedaler in Cañon City, Colorado.

One morning years ago, I came into the JFA office to find that a joke was circulating about the horrible coffee one of the interns had made that day. I never got to try it, and I confess I’m not sorry. The intern had forgotten to insert a coffee filter in the coffee maker!

Since about that time we’ve had a motto at JFA: Our interns don’t make coffee. But I assure you that it has nothing to do with this one intern’s mishap. Rather, our rather proud statement about our interns is meant to capture in a short phrase a very intentional emphasis at JFA’s heart: with God’s help, we see the raw potential within every pro-life Christian, and we train each one who is willing into a dialogue artist who skillfully trains others. So, when we think of interns, we think of all that potential. Sure, making coffee is an important skill, given how many people rely on the beverage to get through the day. How much more important is it to learn to change hearts and minds—something the unborn rely on just to see the light of day at all? And how important is it, then, to learn to train others to change hearts and minds? So, when God sees fit to provide interns for JFA, we wouldn’t want to waste even a few minutes of that great potential.

Recent Instagram Post: Kaitlyn, Susanna, Rebekah, and Mary pause for a photo during our outreach to UT Dallas in 2020. Each of these trainers began their work with JFA as interns. Seeing them become skilled at training others is one of our team’s greatest joys! See @picturejusticeforall to share!

This emphasis is paying off. Current JFA staff members Kaitlyn, Mary, Rebekah, and Susanna all began their work with JFA as semester interns. Now they’re actively training others, continuing to refine their craft as dialogue artists who train others. Recently, Rebekah shared an amazing story related to public speaking. It illustrates our intern training emphasis, but more importantly, it also illustrates how it’s precisely our weaknesses that sometimes our loving God is pleased to fill with his strength! Read it and thank God with us.

I found him gazing into the sky

Years ago, prominent Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland was in Wichita to speak at a conference and we invited him to come to our office to engage our trainers in Q&A. A few minutes before the Q&A was to begin, J.P. wasn’t in the room with our staff. I wandered outside and found him gazing into the sky. He explained that he had to purposefully take time to give thanks.

At the start of every working day, our team pauses to pray. A common refrain among our prayers is “thank you for all of JFA’s supporters.” Like our friend J.P., we feel we must purposefully give thanks. I’d like to pause now and say these same words now in your presence: We thank God for you. We thank God for your partnership in helping at our office, in volunteering with us at outreach events, in providing space in your home for JFA activities, in providing better-than-restaurant meals and better-than-hotel accommodations for our teams on the road, and in praying persistently that God would use JFA’s efforts to finally make abortion unthinkable. You have provided funding during the pandemic and the 2020 year-end so generously and sacrificially! We are struck with awe by God’s faithfulness through you: We thank God for you.

Since that day looking up at the sky, J.P. has very publicly and very candidly revealed a bit more of why he must give thanks: he has struggled for a long time with debilitating anxiety and depression. Whether we struggle in the same way or not, would you join me in thanking God for his work through JFA? And please allow me to also say those same words to you: thank you.

The following updates from JFA trainers shows some of what God has been doing through you and JFA:

• Jon Wagner: “Out of My Comfort Zone” (March 2021)

• Jeremy Gorr: “My Eyes Have Been Opened Even More” (March 2021)

• Jeremy Gorr: “This Outreach Had a Pretty Dramatic Impact on My Life” (April 2021)

• Rebekah Dyer: “A Conversation at the Airport” (Feb. 2021)

• Rebekah Dyer: “Speaking in Nebraska” (March 2021)

• Kaitlyn Donihue: “Sharing a Message of Hope after Abortion” (February 2021)

• Kaitlyn Donihue: “Afraid to Start a Conversation?” (March 2021)

To learn more about J.P.’s book on anxiety, click here: Finding Quiet.

Please enjoy and give thanks with us!

Love3 Participant Has an Extraordinary Conversation…with Her Husband

“[In response to the Love3 assignment to create a conversation], I engaged in a conversation with my husband. I was surprised to hear that he is pro-life but only in certain situations. I kept asking questions to gather information, although I was struggling and wanting to challenge his position. I realized that I need to work on asking questions without the intent to engage, and I also need to work on listening.

“My husband said that he is pro-life, except in the circumstances of rape or chromosomal /health abnormalities in the child.

“I asked him further questions like, ‘Even in those circumstances, are you okay with an abortion in the seventh month?’ Although he said yes, I could see he was unsure of his stance.

“We concluded that he is pro-life except in the circumstances of rape or medical abnormality, and he believes abortions should only be legal in those circumstances...and it should be allowed at any point in the pregnancy, no matter how far along the pregnancy was.

“Afterwards, I asked him about his thoughts on how the conversation went. He said that he was ready to engage in an argument, but that because I kept asking questions, he didn’t feel the need to engage in an argument. He also said that my questions actually made him start to question some of his views and made him think that he might not be right in having certain views.

“I was absolutely shocked about his views, but even more so by his assessment of our conversation, and how he actually started to question his stance by the end of our conversation.”

(Note: This post was featured in JFA’s February 2021 newsletter.)

Great Interruptions

On the afternoon of Christmas day in 2019, our family of seven seemed a bit aimless, so we decided to pile into our mini-van and go surprise our friends with a bit of caroling.

In an era of text message arrangements, caroling is perhaps the last acceptable vestige of an important form of social interruption: dropping by. We were a bit hesitant, but we were reasonably sure that our caroling would be seen as a welcome diversion. We could simply sing a few songs on the porch and leave, after all. As it happened, our friends happily folded us into their Christmas day plans. They invited us in. The adults talked, and the kids played.

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Jesus heals the paralytic lowered through the roof. (Stained Glass, St. Colman’s Cathedral in Ireland; Image: Andreas F. Borchert, CC 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Note: The windows of the South Aisle featured in the Banner Image of this post also by Andreas F. Borchert and shared under CC 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

As we move through the Christmas season and into 2021, we need to make this sort of interrupting a habit, and not just when we’re caroling. The result might indeed be as positive as we experienced last Christmas, but it also might be awkward. We might inconvenience. Still, it’s important. COVID-19 may mean “dropping by” takes on different forms, but interrupting in some way is perhaps even more important given the current isolation most people are feeling.

Great interruptions are sometimes necessary to demonstrate great love.

Remember the four friends who let down their paralytic friend through the roof, interrupting Jesus right in the middle of teaching a crowd? This was a great interruption. Jesus took it in stride and, the Scripture says, “seeing their faith” he claimed to forgive the man’s sins. Then he proved that he had authority to forgive those sins by healing the man. He responded to the great love shown by the four friends by showing the great love of God in healing the man spiritually and physically. (See Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26.)

The Son of God’s response to this great interruption highlighted an even greater interruption that he was carrying out: he had interrupted history by taking on human flesh so that he could completely interrupt the works of darkness, overturn the corruption of sin, and draw human beings into the life for which God created them. This is the great interruption we welcome as we celebrate Christmas.

Great interruptions are sometimes necessary to demonstrate great love.

As we reflect on these “great interruptions” (great in both senses), let’s consider our love for people, for God, for the truth, for those in danger (such as unborn children), and for those in distress (such as women confronting unintended pregnancy). Demonstrating love for each of these is worth interrupting the daily course of events. I encourage you to interrupt people’s lives with phone calls and visits, and even (if all else fails) text messages or social media.

Here’s one practical way you can interrupt: invite friends to our Love3 Online Workshops beginning January 18, 2021 (www.jfaweb.org/love3). Because the name Love3 refers to loving the woman in distress, the unborn child, and the person who disagrees with us, just the invitation can lead to a conversation about each of the things I’ve mentioned above.

Why Love3? Because God loves each of those people.

Why Love3? Because women and children and pro-choice advocates are intrinsically valuable image-bearers of God.

Why attend Love3 workshops? Because each of us needs to develop the skill of artfully navigating difficult conversations. Ultimately, we interrupt so that the love of God can cause a “great interruption” in the lives of every human being.

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Help JFA Create “Great Interruptions” in 2021

Thank you for your faithful support of Justice For All. There’s still time to give an end-of-year gift. Go to www.jfaweb.org/donate to give an online gift (credit card or electronic check) or postmark your gift by December 31, 2020.

Bridging the Divide

Impact Report
November 2020

In this Impact Report, we’ll describe how throughout the tumult of 2020, God helped us bridge both ideological and physical divides to continue to connect people to the truth that only God can clarify and the healing that only God provides. You’ll also see how God turned the frustration of lockdowns into good fruit, including a new online training program you can help us promote starting now! We give thanks to God for you and your partnership in the work of bridging the divide.

- Steve Wagner, Executive Director

University of New Mexico, Feb. 2020

As we look back at a year filled with discord, debate, drama, disease, and death, it’s easy to get discouraged.

University of Texas at San Antonio, Feb. 2020

Our culture seems to be completely overcome by division, and as if the usual ideological division was not enough, now various versions of lockdowns have made physical division a reality as well.

Early this year, as in past years, our team at Justice For All (JFA) set ourselves to live out our habit of stepping across the ideological divide. We go to people who disagree with us. We train pro-life advocates to come with us. One passion motivates us: kindling affection for the forgotten, beginning with women in distress, the smallest humans on earth, and those who differ from us in appearance or beliefs. What happens to this work, though, when a physical divide confronts it?

Susanna Dirks with a University of Texas at Dallas student in March 2020

During this time of Thanksgiving, will you mark with us the ways God has continued to work through the JFA team to help us bridge both ideological and physical divides, connecting people to the truth only God can clarify and the healing that only God provides?

In February and March, JFA teams trained volunteers in New Mexico and Texas, engaging five campuses in discussion about abortion (pictured).

Interactive Online Workshops, May-Nov. 2020

When COVID-19 hit, we refashioned our in-person training into an interactive online workshop series, complete with step-by-step instructions to help participants create conversations on abortion in everyday life. (See JFA’s June 2020 letter for one story from a participant.) Over the next six months, we produced 105 hours of training for over 130 people in 27 states, including many states we have not been able to visit very often (or ever!). Participants from Canada and France also joined us!

In addition, during the months we were unable to conduct outreach in person, our staff explored a new outreach venue: social media. We had little hope it would come to much, but we were determined to try. Our team was pleasantly surprised that there are plenty of opportunities for engaging strangers and friends online. (Kaitlyn reflected on one special conversation in our July 2020 letter.)

JFA presented workshops in person in seven states this fall (CA, CO, KS, OH, OK, NE, and MI). Then, replete with masks, our team was especially thankful to be able to spend two days interacting with students at the University of Oklahoma.

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Kaitlyn teaches equal rights during an online JFA workshop in Nov. 2020.

While we’re excited about each of these 2020 efforts, we’re not satisfied. We know that every Christian needs training, and with no increased cost, our video conferencing software can handle about ten times the number of people who on average participated in each of our workshops this year.

That’s why we’ve set a goal of registering 800 people for our interactive online workshops taking place from January to March 2021. While we will also plan in-person events, these online events cannot be shut down by COVID-19 restrictions, so they are the most sensible place to put our most robust efforts.

Rebekah Dyer (right) with a University of Oklahoma student in Nov. 2020

We need your help to bring this training to so many people. Do you want to take a next step to “bridge the divide” and help us create thousands of conversations in 2021?

Go to www.jfaweb.org/love3 to learn more about JFA’s online workshops beginning January 18. Register to attend, and invite friends to join you. Thank you for partnering with us in spreading the word about these workshops, and in giving to JFA. Your gifts help provide this free training for others.

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University of Oklahoma, Nov. 2020
Staff members pictured: Rebekah Dyer, Jon Wagner, and Mary St. Hilaire

Banner Image by Andre A. Xavier on Unsplash

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You can also give a gift at JFA’s Donate page to provide training for others.

* Previously titled “7 Conversations in 7 Hours,” Love3 refers to conducting abortion conversations in a way that actively loves the woman, the child, and the person with whom we’re speaking.

Freedom House Ambulance Service and Justice For All

Dear Friend of Justice For All,

Up until 1967, there were no paramedics as we know them today. In Pittsburgh, for example, people needing emergency medical care were transported to the hospital by police...or by the morgue!

Enter the Freedom House Ambulance Service. Trained by Peter Safar, the doctor who helped create cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and encouraged laypeople to use it to save lives, these pioneering paramedics in Pittsburgh brought emergency medical care to people on the street and also during transport to the hospital.

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Freedom House paramedics with ambulance (Image: Univ. of Pittsburgh)

I learned about Freedom House from a recent episode of the 99 Percent Invisible podcast. It struck me that the work of Justice For All (JFA) is very similar to the work of Freedom House in at least three ways:

1. Seat Work and Feet Work: When Dr. Safar and his team trained Freedom House workers to provide medical care, they did give them some education with books in a classroom setting, but they didn’t stop there. These medical mentors also went out in the field with the Freedom House workers, supporting them while they showed they could indeed provide first-class medical care in real emergencies. As you would expect, the medical mentors wouldn’t consider these workers to be “trained” until they had shown skill in the activity of providing medical care. Lives depended on this second step in training. In the same way, we don’t consider a participant in a JFA event to be “trained” until he or she engages in a real conversation using what we’ve taught. This is why we encourage participation in “Feet Work” outreach events, why we provide conversation starters for everyday life, and why our mentors stand at the ready to help.

“... In the same way, we don’t consider a participant in a JFA event to be “trained” until he or she engages in a real conversation using what we’ve taught.”

2. We Train Non-Experts to Change the World Because They Can: Most of the Freedom House paramedics were poor, black men from the Hill District. In late 1960’s Pittsburgh, many would have thought it impossible that these men could do anything worthwhile, let alone excel in the field of medicine. Still, Dr. Safar and others believed in their potential and trusted them, and they saved two hundred lives in their first year of operation! In the same way, we at JFA focus on training people from every walk of life, many of whom have no expertise in philosophy or science. Some have never talked to anyone who disagrees with them about serious worldview topics. It might seem odd that we trust these non-experts when lives hang in the balance, but now we can depend on thousands we have trained to graciously change hearts about abortion.

3. Even the Highest Quality Training Can Crumble If Not Protected: The Freedom House paramedics were mistreated by a mayor determined to shut them down. Sadly, even after concerted efforts of whites advocating for the incredibly skilled black men of Freedom House, the mayor succeeded in effectively draining the Freedom House of funding and re-inventing it with white workers. In a similar way, JFA’s training program can falter without needed funds and without God’s help through your prayers. Sometimes I feel like Dr. Safar and his fellow medical mentors. The JFA trainers in whom you and I have invested and the people we’ve trained together over the years—all of these are incredibly skilled. I long to see them more fully realize their potential to reach more people. Pray for opportunities for us to partner with more groups to train more advocates. Consider donating to JFA to keep our training program strong. To be sure, we don’t face the same racism the Freedom House faced, but we do face today’s culture of “tolerance” in which our peaceful work can be branded in false ways by those who see it as harmful, which would make our work difficult or impossible. Pray with us for protection from these outside forces.

Thank you for partnering with us to teach all people that, with God’s help, they are worthy of being entrusted with such important work. It’s a joy to watch such unlikely life-savers change the world.

Steve Wagner, Executive Director

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Register Now for Training from Anywhere

“7 Conversations in 7 Hours” - 2 New Options

Nov. 9-14 (M-Sat.): One-Week Intensive

Nov. 14 (Sat.): One-Day Intensive

Other Offerings & Opportunities

Encouragement for Conversations: See Calendar.

Teach Kids: See www.jfaweb.org/kids.

Recent Instagram Posts

Still Relevant in 2020: “Is there a more important question than the voting question?”

Click here or click the image to read or listen to Steve’s October 2016 message, “Is there a more important question than the voting question?”

Four years ago I wrote and recorded a message to JFA’s supporters entitled, “Is there a more important question than the voting question?” This letter is just as relevant now as it was in 2016. Please read or listen to it, and share it. - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

“7 Conversations” Online Workshops: There’s Still Time to Sign Up!

There’s still time to sign up for “7 Conversations in 7 Hours,” our seven-week online course beginning again this week. Choose from one of four different options, and don’t worry if you miss the first week, because there is a make-up session. Click here to learn more and register. Remember to go select from one of four options to take our online course:

• Option 1: Tuesday Mornings, 9/22-11/3, 10-11 AM Central

• Option 2: Tuesday Evenings, 9/22-11/3, 7-8 PM Central

• Option 3: Thursday Mornings, 9/24-11/5, 10-11 AM Central

• Option 4: Thursday Evenings, 9/24-11/5, 8-9 PM Central

If you miss Session 1, you should still sign up for the course! Make-up sessions will take place on September 25 (Friday) and September 28 (Monday).

Aubree Changes Her Mind

Above, I talk with “Aubree” at UT Dallas in early March, before COVID-19 cancellations.

On February 7th, I began serving as a Spring 2020 Intern with Justice For All. Before COVID-19 forced us to cancel the events JFA had planned for later in the spring, I was able to travel to Texas three times for outreach events at the University of North Texas, Trinity University, University of Texas at San Antonio, and University of Texas at Dallas.

One of the most memorable interactions I had this spring was at UT Dallas. A young woman I’ll call “Aubree” came up to our poll table that asked, “Should Abortion Remain Legal?” As she signed the Yes side, I approached her and asked her what she thought about abortion. Aubree proceeded to tell me she didn’t like abortion, but she thought it should be legal because making a law against abortion would cause more women to get hurt. She expressed the concern that even if we made abortion illegal, women would die in back-alley abortions, and it wouldn’t really prevent abortion at all. She went on to explain she also believes life begins at conception and that abortion kills an innocent human being.

There are many people like Aubree who claim to be pro-life, believe the unborn is human like you and me, and yet believe that abortion should be legal. The problem with this is multi-faceted. First, they are telling you abortion is killing an innocent human but that abortion should still be legal. Then they often support this with a second statement like the back-alley abortion claim.

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Above, I am shown talking with a pro-choice student at Trinity University in February.

The challenge in this view is that to some extent there is truth to it. Having a law against abortion won’t stop all abortions. Laws do not prevent all people from engaging in a particular action, but that does not mean we should not have legislation against a particular act if it is harming or killing another person.

I began to walk through her concerns with her, and we applied her reasoning for keeping abortion legal to other issues. Laws against child abuse and rape do not prevent all those crimes from occurring, but they do mitigate the behavior. In addition, laws reflect what our society values. If we did not have laws against child abuse and rape, that would reveal a disturbing culture that does not have concern for the wellbeing of vulnerable people victimized by these evil acts. In the same way, if abortion is killing an innocent human being (which it is), then we should have laws against it.

Another helpful way to process this is to imagine we were talking about women having the right to kill their newborns. Imagine that someone argues that infanticide should be legal and safe for women because if it were illegal, women would just get hurt in back alleys trying to kill their newborns. This helps to clarify the point and keep the discussion on one central question: What is the unborn?

Of course we don’t want women to die in “back-alley abortions,” and we should take measures to help women not desire to take that risk. But because abortion is killing an innocent human being, it should not remain legal.

Towards the end of my conversation with Aubree, we began discussing women’s rights, and I remarked how I thought it was sad that the idea of women’s rights is so interconnected with abortion. “Oftentimes, abortion kills another woman [at the embryonic or fetal stage]. Our ability to be free and equal does not come from our ability to kill other weaker, vulnerable, unborn women. If we really care about women, why do we not fight for all women in all stages of their existence? It seems odd to me that we only fight for a specific group of women, and we tell some of them that they have the right to kill another woman if she gets in their way.”

“When I made that connection it was like a light bulb went on in her mind. Before leaving, she asked “Can I change my answer?””

When I made that connection it was like a light bulb went on in her mind. Before leaving, she asked “Can I change my answer?” Walking back to the poll table, she signed the No side of our poll, and we cordially parted ways.

Many people think the same way Aubree thought before our conversation, and they just need someone to gently point out the flawed reasoning in their beliefs. When the truth is communicated in a loving manner, sometimes they are willing to change their views to fit the truth. This is encouraging to witness.

As Christians, learning how to communicate the truth to a watching world is crucial. We are told to “walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:5-6 ESV). May we all be willing and ready to communicate the truth to a lost world.

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A Note to My Support Team

(Originally shared along with this story in April 2020)

Dear Friends,

Since traveling is no longer an option this spring, I have been working with the JFA team as we seek to reach people using other means. I have been helping JFA launch its Instagram account (@picturejusticeforall) while trying to get into conversations via direct message with people on that forum. I presented a portion of an online JFA interactive workshop this past week, and I’ll also be helping with online training events in the coming weeks (see www.jfaweb.org/calendar). In addition, please go to my JFA page to find links to articles I have published recently with Human Defense Initiative and Merely Human Ministries.

We continue to engage in compassionate dialogue with the purpose of glorifying God and communicating to people the value and dignity in every human life. Thank you for your friendship, support, and prayers. It is much easier to do this work knowing I have people like you who have my back.

In Christ,

Rebekah Dyer

God Uses Weakness

Do you ever feel totally unqualified to advocate on behalf of unborn children or to share the gospel? I know I do.

JFA is new to Instagram! Follow us (@picturejusticeforall) to help us start transformative conversations about unintended pregnancy and abortion.

Recently I have been reading Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas, a biography of William Wilberforce. William Wilberforce was instrumental in bringing about the end to the slave trade in England. Many people know him for his powerful and compelling speeches and his tireless fight for abolition. What most don't know is that William Wilberforce suffered from ill health most of his life. He was often bedridden. His doctor told him that his body wasn't prepared to handle the life he had chosen.

William Wilberforce was also short and gaunt. His appearance didn’t lend itself to a political career.

Yet despite his constant illness and unimpressive appearance, William Wilberforce fought ceaselessly for the end of the slave trade and eventually won.

His life reminds me of I Corinthians 1:27-29 which says,

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

We often look to ourselves—our skills, our talents, our resources—to decide whether we are qualified. In reality none of us are qualified to serve our great God, but he chooses to use us and to work through our weakness for his glory.

Don't allow your weaknesses, whatever they are, to keep you from serving our Lord. Rather embrace your weakness as a chance to depend upon his strength as you faithfully serve him.

Banner Image by Gerrie van der Walt on Unsplash

Loving Pro-Choice People

Recently, I was scrolling through the comments on a pro-life Instagram post, and one comment caught my eye:

Commenter: Yes. Preach. Don’t let immoral, irresponsible, angry pro-choicers tell you otherwise. All they can do is get triggered and attack you.

Me: I have met pro-life people who are all those things and pro-choice people who are none of them. It doesn’t help this important discussion to stereotype either group. Let’s reach out in love to those who disagree rather than making assumptions about them.

Commenter: Never met one tolerant pro-choicer on Instagram. NEVER. Just go to pro-life pages and see pro-choicers’ comments.

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Rebecca Hotovy (left, sitting) talks to a KU student at JFA’s University of Kansas outreach in March 2018.

This commenter illustrates a mindset we can all fall into from time to time. It’s the “us versus them” mindset, the mindset that all pro-choice people act that way and believe those things. This mindset destroys our ability to have an openhearted dialogue with pro-choice people.

Are all pro-choice people angry? Are all pro-choice people immoral? Are all pro-choice people irresponsible?

No.

Every pro-choice person is an individual with a unique story. Many people are pro-choice out of a deep sense of compassion for women. Others are pro-choice because they have been hurt. Still others are simply misinformed. Lumping all of these individuals together and assuming that they are all angry, immoral, and irresponsible only destroys our ability to reach out to them.

We get angry with the pro-choice movement for the dehumanization of unborn children. But often we are guilty of the same dehumanization directed not at unborn children but at pro-choice people. We may not use derogatory terms such as “parasite” to refer to the unborn, but we use derogatory terms to refer to pro-choice people.

“We get angry with the pro-choice movement for the dehumanization of unborn children. But often we are guilty of the same dehumanization directed not at unborn children but at pro-choice people.”

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Former JFA staff member Cheryl Kaye Davis (right) talks to a UCLA student at a JFA outreach event in May 2016.

If we ever hope to see a change, if we ever hope to bring an end to abortion, we are going to have to reach out to pro-choice people, and that starts with seeing them as real, valuable, individual human beings.

That is why at Justice For All we so often talk about the Three Essential Skills. We believe that by listening to understand, asking questions with an open heart, and finding common ground when possible, we can have open, friendly dialogue with pro-choice people. It is this kind of dialogue that has the potential to change hearts and save lives. This is the kind of dialogue we have had on college campuses all over the country and are now having on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms. (We’re still hoping we can return to college campuses this fall to engage students in dialogue in person. Please pray with me for this!)

I pray that you will join us in being an advocate of the gospel and of the value of every human life.

How Christian Kids Become Pro-Choice

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This Free Speech Board comment, seen at a JFA university outreach event, represents an all-too common position I hear from Christian students.

Every time I do outreach with JFA I have a conversation that reminds me exactly why the work we do is so important, why I left my previous career to do this work. At the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) that conversation was with a young woman named “Miriam.”

At outreach we meet a lot of pro-choice people who are atheists or agnostics, but we also meet a lot of pro-choice people who profess to be Christians. How does somebody who has been raised in the church her whole life become pro-choice?

Miriam is a perfect example of this phenomenon. I will quote her initial response to me at length. It is a fascinating look into how people who profess to be committed Christians (in this case a “proud Catholic”) justify their support for legal abortion:

I’ve been pro-life most of my life. But I do think it should still be legal, though. I’m a proud Catholic. And as a Catholic, most of us are pro-life.

I don’t know. God gave us free will. And he told us to make our own choices and choose what we believe is right, and in the end we will get our reward. Everything will be justified in the end.

I don’t believe that I should put my religious beliefs on the entire United States. If somebody who’s not Catholic wants to get an abortion, I’m not going to judge them. If somebody who is Catholic wants to get an abortion, I’m not going to judge them. It’s not my job.

I understand it’s sad. I don’t want babies to die. I do personally believe it is murder. Especially after a few months. I think maybe a time limit would be nice. Especially after a good amount of months, you shouldn’t kill that kid. I think it’s just not our decision to make for everyone.

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Our March outreach at UT Dallas where I met Miriam

I was very saddened by her response. She knew that abortion was “killing a kid” and didn’t want babies to die, yet she believed in keeping it legal to do just that.

Miriam considered herself pro-life because she personally was against abortion. Yet her position is almost identical to any pro-choice student that I meet who thinks that abortion should be legal for all reasons in the first two trimesters. This seemed to be a comfortable position for her. On the one hand, she could call herself pro-life and think she was in line with her church. On the other, most of her friends are pro-choice, and she could tell them she agrees with them about abortion.

She mentioned that her parents were pro-life without exceptions. I wanted to understand more about why she changed the position with which she had been raised, so I asked her about it. She responded:

I had my own mind after a while. I saw what my parents believed, and for a while I believed that. I see in some cases my parents were right. But eventually at some point in my life I [saw] some cases where abortion is justified. It is sad, but it would be worse for the kid if it was born. It’s hard to balance whose life weighs more, the mother or the child. It’s a judgement call, and it’s not my decision.

There it was again, the phrase “not my decision,” which echoed her previous comments about “make our own choices,” and, “I don’t believe that I should put my religious views on the entire United States.” She had uncritically accepted our culture’s message: choice trumps a child’s right to life.

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Equipping Christian students, like those in the seminar shown above, is one of our main priorities at JFA.

This conversation was evidence to me of the vital role our churches and families play in developing the pro-life advocates of the next generation, and of the fact that they are often under-equipped for the task. That’s why Justice For All’s training is so important. If she had heard strong justifications for the pro-life view, she would have been much more likely to reject the views that her culture and her peers were pushing on her. If her parents knew how to have difficult conversations with her about this topic, she would probably still oppose abortion today. But those conversations are hard, especially when dealing with issues such as abortion in the case of rape, and many, if not most, parents are not equipped to have those types of conversations confidently. Teaching those skills is exactly what Justice For All is about.

“If her parents knew how to have difficult conversations with her about this topic, she would probably still oppose abortion today. But those conversations are hard...and many, if not most, parents are not equipped to have those types of conversations confidently. ”

During our conversation, I was stunned by the number of pro-choice talking points she had absorbed and regurgitated to me. Where did Miriam’s justifications for abortion come from?

I went to Catholic schools my whole life, and most of my friends there were pro-choice, which is surprising because you’d think in Catholic school it would be pro-life, but that’s not the case where I grew up. Pro-choice makes more sense for the youth than for those who are older. I guess wisdom comes with age and stuff. Maybe it’s our youth mentality about how we think we know more than those who are older.

I was very surprised that she still considered herself pro-life, even though almost everything she was saying was no different than what I would usually hear from atheistic pro-choice students. I asked her to try to make sense of that for me.

There is a gray area between the two. You can be pro-life with a little pro-choice in you. Pro-choice has their moments where they make sense to me. I don’t think I’ll ever go over totally to the pro-choice side because I believe in the right to life, and I believe everything the Catholic Church says on the subject.

I support pro-life one billion percent, and kind of like one percent I see some pro-choice arguments that have points where they make sense.

Again, I was a bit shocked to hear that someone who spouted to me dozens of pro-choice arguments also said she is “one billion percent” pro-life. How is that possible? Had she learned why her church believes abortion is wrong? Had her parents taught her how to respond to the reasons her friends were pro-choice? Almost everything she had heard on the subject seemed to have come from our pro-choice culture or her pro-choice friends.

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JFA Outreach at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in February 2020

After listening to her share her view, I presented a case for the equality of the unborn. I then asked, “Since the unborn are also human, shouldn’t they deserve an equal right to life to you and me?” She avoided the question, and she jumped once again into a common pro-choice talking point. This pattern continued throughout our conversation. It seemed clear to me that she had never considered the points I was making, and she had no responses other than repeating what she had heard from her friends.

This was discouraging, but I am hopeful that I “put a pebble in her shoe,” as Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason says. People often don’t change their minds on the spot, but my modest goal in my conversation was that something would stick, just like a pebble in her shoe.

We need to reach kids everywhere, especially kids who claim to follow Christ, before they are convinced by the culture and their peers that even if abortion is “killing a kid,” the law should let people make their own choices about it.

My conversation with Miriam confirmed for me that our culture is talking to our kids about abortion. The question is, are we? Are our Christian youth being told the reasons that the unborn should have a right to life? Are they being told how to respond to the pro-choice arguments that their friends are making?

“... our culture is talking to our kids about abortion. The question is, are we? ”

That’s exactly what Justice For All’s mission encompasses. We train Christians to defend their pro-life convictions winsomely in a culture that is hostile to it. We help them understand how this is one issue where the comfortable position of being only personally pro-life is not enough. We teach them that injustice against some of the most vulnerable members of our society is not something about which we can be indifferent. And finally, we train their parents to have these conversations with their kids, so their children develop the critical thinking to help them hold strong even when the culture pushes back.

Where will parents and kids learn this? They are most likely to learn it through their church or a program at their Christian school. The pro-choice culture does not need to communicate its message to our kids — the media and their peers will do the job for them. But as Miriam proves, we don’t have the luxury of inaction. And I am so happy that God allows me to reach so many Christian parents and kids every year through Justice For All’s work.

It’s up to churches, Christian schools, and parents not to hope that our underlying beliefs magically transfer to our kids. Rather we have to spend time focused on the topic. We need to craft a whole-person response that includes the heart and the mind. That is precisely what Justice For All trains leaders to do.

A Breakthrough at the Water Pump

Dear Friend of JFA,

Recently my family invited me to watch a more recent version of a movie I saw in grade school (The Miracle Worker, Disney, 2000). The movie tells the story of Helen Keller, a blind and deaf seven-year-old, and her teacher, Anne Sullivan. In contrast to many in Helen’s life who saw her as a hopeless cause, Anne tenaciously labored to draw out Helen’s incredible intelligence and potential.

Imagine the challenge of teaching language to someone who is blind and deaf! Anne felt at many points like she was getting nowhere. Over and over she would spell with sign language into the palm of Helen’s hand, and over and over it seemed that even though Helen imitated beautifully, she did not comprehend the meaning of the hand signs. Then one day Anne and Helen experienced a breakthrough at the water pump. In The Story of My Life, Helen described it:

Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten — a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!

We create conversations about abortion, longing for every person to experience this same moment of comprehension. While many have dismissed pro-choice advocates both within and outside our church communities as a hopeless cause, we train pro-life advocates to labor with each person, not discouraged when one approach doesn’t work. Some have called Helen’s experience a miracle. That’s apt. In the same way, while we labor with the best dialogue tools we have, we also rely on God to work a miracle in each person’s worldview. Thank you for partnering with us to help the blind and the teacher of the blind alike, that many may “come to see” the inherent value of every human being.

- Steve Wagner, Executive Director

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Responding to "I can't tell other's what to do."

In “Two Buckets,” Tammy Cook shares one concept that helps people who are reluctant to say abortion should not be legal because “I can’t tell others what to do.”  Through the conversation, which Tammy shares in vivid detail, she also models a number of other important conversational tools.

More Quick Links:

• Download the Printable Version

• See Another Approach to "I Can't Tell Others What to Do!"

• See More Dialogue Examples