Can We Tell Other People What to Do? (#MindBlown)

In election seasons, it is very common for people to talk about what the law should be on abortion.  When that is the topic, it is also very common to hear some version of the following sentiment:

“I’m pro-life, but I can’t tell other people what to do.  Therefore, abortion should be legal.”

JFA trainer Rebecca Haschke did a beautiful job of helping a young man reconsider this sentiment in a conversation she described in a recent letter entitled #Mindblown.  In this man’s case, he felt that because he had religious reasons for his point of view on abortion, he was disqualified from making a case that abortion should not be legal.  I think you’ll be encouraged to see how this young man came to see things differently in just minutes.  In the process, you’ll witness Rebecca’s manner, and you’ll learn a sequence of questions you can ask when you confront this sort of concern in conversations with friends and neighbors.

Members of JFA’s training team interacted with the topic of Rebecca’s letter recently.  You can read some of their reflections and post your own at the JFA blog.

#Mindblown

By Rebecca Haschke, Training Specialist (November 2015, with Rebecca’s Introduction Edited Slightly for Clarity in Summer 2020)

Introduction: In election seasons, it is very common for people to talk about what the law should be on abortion. When that is the topic, it is also very common to hear some version of the following sentiment: “I’m pro-life, but I can’t tell other people what to do. Therefore, abortion should be legal.” JFA trainer Rebecca Haschke did a beautiful job of helping a young man reconsider this sentiment in a conversation she described in a recent letter entitled “#Mindblown” (below). In this man’s case, he felt that because he had religious reasons for his point of view on abortion, he was disqualified from making a case that abortion should not be legal. I think you’ll be encouraged to see how this young man came to see things differently in just minutes. In the process, you’ll witness Rebecca’s manner, and you’ll learn a sequence of questions you can ask when you confront this sort of concern in conversations with friends and neighbors. - Steve Wagner, Executive Director (April 2016 Impact Report)

I met “Brian” at the University of Georgia-Athens. He confidently stated he was pro-life. I mentioned this conversation briefly in my March newsletter earlier this year, "Give Thanks In All Circumstances," because of what Brian said next. He shared that he was pro-life and a Christian, but that he felt he could not “force his beliefs on others.”

This response is not an unusual one. I’ve heard it many times. Hearing it as often as I do can be discouraging, which is why I took the time in March to reflect on the need to give thanks in all circumstances, not just the circumstances that seem uplifting and enjoyable.

Rebecca Haschke interacts with a student at the University of Georgia at Athens in September 2015.

The conversation with Brian didn’t end there, though. Look at what happened: 

Brian: I’m pro-life.

Becca (me): Brian, what does that mean for you? Do you think abortion should be illegal?

Brian: No, we can’t force our beliefs on others.  I’m pro-life because I’m a Christian, but legally enforcing my stance on abortion would push my religion on people who don’t believe the same as me.

Becca: Brian, you mentioned that it is because you are a Christian that you are pro-life.  Do your Christian beliefs give you reasons for thinking that abortion is wrong?

Brian: Of course.  Human life is sacred.  God created those human lives, they are valuable, and we should not kill them.

Becca: I agree with those statements.  From what you just said it seems that you may believe the unborn are human beings biologically.  Is that true?

Brian: Yeah, absolutely.

Becca: Human beings like you and me?

Brian: Yes.

Becca: When do you believe that the unborn become biological human beings like you and me?

Brian: [He walked up to the Justice For All Exhibit and pointed at a picture of fertilization.] From the very beginning.  Conception.

Becca: Okay.  Brian, can you explain to me why you think that you would be pushing your religious beliefs on others if you supported laws that would protect unborn human beings from being killed through abortion?

Brian: Well, women have a lot of difficult choices that they have to make in their lives.  Choice is an important thing.  If we make a law against abortion, we are taking away their right to that choice.  That’s like pushing my views on them.  They no longer would have the right to choose.

Becca: That’s true.  The choice to kill their children in utero would no longer be granted to women.  I’m curious.  Do you think that it is ever right for the government to make a law that takes away a “choice”?

Brian: Uh…no?

Becca: Well, do you agree that the laws that make it illegal to walk onto this campus and kill college students are good laws?

Brian: Of course.

Becca: I agree.  However, when enforcing that law, the government is taking away particular choices of other people.  What about laws prohibiting beating children in the privacy of your own home?  Are those good laws?

Brian: Yes, yes.  Those are good laws.

Becca: What if it is just your religion that makes you think that it is wrong to beat children?  Should you have the right to impose and force your religious beliefs on me?

Brian: Yes, because those laws protect others from being harmed.  That’s not just a religious belief.  It is a law protecting human rights.

Becca: So we can agree that laws which restrict “choice” in order to protect human lives are good, despite the fact that your support of those laws might be based on religious beliefs?  It’s possible that our religious beliefs may guide us to the same conclusion as those who don’t share those beliefs—the conclusion that all human lives should be protected.  That wouldn’t be forcing our religion on others, but simply protecting human rights.  Can we agree on that?

Brian: Yes, we can.

Becca: If it is important for us to protect human life and if the unborn are just as human and valuable as you and me, shouldn’t they also be granted that same protection under the law?

Brian: Wow.  Yeah, I guess.  I just have always thought that would be imposing my beliefs on others.

Becca: [I then pointed to pictures in the JFA Exhibit Brochure depicting various genocides throughout history.]  Brian, do you think that people who were not victims of the injustices shown in these pictures had an obligation to stand up for those who were being killed?

Brian: Yes.

Becca: I’m going to make a proposal.  Brian, not only is it right for you to believe that abortion should be illegal because it takes the life of a human being; but actually—as a person who has the knowledge that 1) the unborn is a human being and 2) over a million are killed each year in the country in which you reside—you have an obligation to speak up for those humans who are being killed.

(silent pause)

Brian: #MindBlown [hashtag: Mind Blown].

“It was as if he had finally been given permission to defend the lives of innocent human beings that he understood were valuable, permission to voice his opinion without shame. Relief and amazement radiated from his eyes.”

Brian’s final response took me by surprise.  From the start of our conversation he seemed so confident in his belief that it is wrong to enforce laws telling others what they can and cannot do.  Until that final moment in our conversation, the questions I had asked him did not seem to be creating any change of mind or heart.  When he looked at me and said, “#MindBlown,” his entire demeanor changed.  It was as if he had finally been given permission to defend the lives of innocent human beings that he understood were valuable, permission to voice his opinion without shame.  Relief and amazement radiated from his eyes.

The culture in which we live is permeated with the belief and mantra that we cannot tell others what to do.  Thank you for your support that not only helps us challenge the beliefs of those who do not think the unborn are valuable human beings, but also helps us encourage the students who recognize the unborn are valuable, but do not feel they have the right to share that belief with others.

Note: Members of JFA’s training team interacted with the topic of Rebecca’s letter recently. You can read some of their reflections and post your own at the JFA blog.

Confidence Creates Conversations

Impact Report: March 2016

Note: Chris Haynes, one of the pastors at Trinity Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma, said this about JFA: "I know of no other group that does such an outstanding job of training and then guiding teams of people through the actual process of dialogue.  If you have one day and JFA training [team] comes close to you, don’t miss the opportunity.  Our church and specifically college students have been equipped to now be on campus and have meaningful, life changing conversations."  This Impact Report explains through the story of Andrew some of what motivated Chris to say these encouraging words.  We hope you hear through Andrew's story our heart for established Christian communities.  For example, we are eager to serve local churches as they carry out their God-given role of helping the disciples in their flock to grow in their ability to actively love those too often forgotten in relation to pregnancy and abortion - women and men in distress, the smallest humans on earth, and those who disagree with us.  We see ourselves as helping these established Christian communities fill a gap in their discipleship in this area, rather than doing the work of mentoring and discipleship totally apart from or in place of these communities.  - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

Before the JFA conference, I was hesitant to raise the topic of abortion with my peers.  — Andrew (right)

Like so many of us, Andrew did not often have conversations about abortion.  He was pro-life, but he lacked confidence.  Then he participated in the Justice For All (JFA) training program last fall.  His college pastor, Chris Haynes, and their church, Trinity Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma, have a very purposeful emphasis on “the equipping of the saints for the work of service” (Eph. 4:12), so this was one of many times that they have invited JFA to help train their students.  Later, Andrew said,

Before the JFA conference, I was hesitant to raise the topic of abortion with my peers.  While this was due mainly to my lack of knowledge about abortion, I also felt uncomfortable raising the subject due to my lack of experience in conversing about the topic with someone from another worldview.

Through these interactions, I learned not to categorize someone too quickly… you really don't know where someone stands on an issue until you ask specific questions.  — Andrew (left)

I’ve heard these same hesitations often.  Many people say that there is no way the average person is capable of engaging in productive dialogue with pro-choice advocates.  Andrew’s JFA experience proved the opposite.  JFA training helped Andrew develop (1) confidence in his own pro-life convictions, (2) confidence to begin creating dialogue, and (3) confidence to create further conversations in his daily life.

The first dose of confidence came for Andrew during the interactive seminar (Seat Work) portion of the training program.  In a mentor group led by Rebecca Haschke and me, Andrew and other students said they felt apprehensive about coming to our outreach event at the University of Oklahoma (OU) the following week.  As these students learned why common pro-choice arguments fail and practiced sharing the evidence which supports the pro-life position, however, their confidence grew.  Andrew reflected,

JFA not only has given me the tools I need to reach out to my peers, but also has helped me firm up my position on abortion as well as my reasoning behind my stance.

Even with this confidence, though, Andrew wondered if he personally could take these ideas and produce a good conversation with them.  Here’s how our outreach event at OU (Feet Work) enabled him to do just that.  At the beginning of the outreach event, Andrew got a second dose of confidence as he listened in to conversations that JFA staff members were having with pro-choice students.  The next day, he took the critical step of starting not just one, but many conversations.  He was surprised by what he learned:

During the time I spent in outreach with JFA, I had several opportunities to dialogue with other college students about their beliefs about abortion.  Through these interactions, I learned not to categorize someone too quickly.  To my surprise, many people who initially stated that they supported abortion were less supportive after receiving information.  Most of the people I spoke to were not the die-hard leftists I had thought they would be.  On the other hand, several people who thought abortion should be illegal turned out to support early abortions!  Through outreach with JFA, I discovered that you really don’t know where someone stands on an issue until you ask specific questions.

Andrew gained an understanding of pro-choice advocates and of himself through outreach that he could not have gained otherwise.  That’s why JFA has found Seat Work and Feet Work to be such a powerful combination.  Seat Work provides the tools for creating good conversations, but Feet Work gives a real-life opportunity to practice using those tools, to get rid of false caricatures of the people we’re trying to reach, and to explore ways to grow in dialogue skills.    

Andrew found that creating conversations during Feet Work gave him a third dose of confidence so that it was natural for him to continue creating dialogue about abortion after the JFA events (Repeat Work):

The [seminar] and outreach JFA allowed me to take part in have prepared me for several discussions since their visit to campus.  In dialogues with fellow students, finding common ground has been very important as have techniques such as “trotting out the toddler.”  I am thankful for the opportunity I had to volunteer with JFA and to develop my convictions and my ability to share them.

“The [seminar] and outreach JFA allowed me to take part in have prepared me for several discussions since their visit to campus.”

— Andrew

Andrew initially had the same hesitance to have conversations that most people have.  His biggest hurdle was his first conversation.  Once that hurdle was past, creating more conversations did not seem so daunting.  Andrew’s story demonstrates that gaining knowledge at a JFA seminar and taking a first dialogue step at a JFA outreach event can produce bold action on behalf of the unborn.

Are you someone who wants to be prepared for these kinds of conversations, but you’re hesitant like Andrew was?  Do you know someone in the same boat?  You can gain confidence like Andrew did by participating in JFA’s training program, including a Feet Work event.  You can find upcoming opportunities on the JFA Event Calendar.  Or, inquire about JFA Mission Trip opportunities.

We thank God that he used Justice For All, in partnership with Andrew’s very supportive college pastor and church, to help Andrew gain the confidence to be able to regularly and graciously share his views about abortion with his peers.  Thank you for supporting the mission of JFA so that we can offer Seat Work and Feet Work experiences to others who simply lack the confidence to start the conversation.  Through thousands of bold advocates like Andrew, we can truly make abortion unthinkable for millions – one conversation at a time.

- Jeremy Gorr, for the JFA Team

Confidence Creates Conversations - Andrew's Story

Andrew gained the confidence to create conversations in a matter of a few days.

Imagine how many lives would be saved and how many hearts would be changed if all of the people who have pro-life views would regularly talk about abortion with their pro-choice friends. Often, pro-life advocates don’t raise the topic, and when it’s presented to them on a silver platter, they don’t dare speak up. That is why Justice For All’s training program is so vital.

In our March Impact Report, "Confidence Creates Conversations," JFA trainer Jeremy Gorr and one recent JFA volunteer, Andrew, reflect on Andrew’s experience with JFA. Along the way, they illustrate how confidence is built little by little, through the right kinds of activities.

Thank you for partnering with JFA to serve pro-life advocates like Andrew and help them gain the confidence to become the sort of powerful pro-life advocate we imagined above, able to create conversations that change hearts and save lives.

[Note: This was posted on May 4, but was back-dated to sync with the content so that JFA's content can be viewed in order through the blog.]

Ministry Notes for February 2016

Recent and Upcoming Events in 2016

Pray for our preparations and for good attendance during the events yet to come.  Pray that many will stop during outreach, interested in discussing abortion.  Pray that God will cause a love for every human being, born and unborn, to sink deep into the hearts of those with whom we have conversations and those we lead through our training program.  See www.jfaweb.org/calendar for more details, more events, and to register. 

• Jan. 21-22: DC – Evangelicals for Life Conference & March for Life Events (Washington) *
• Jan. 23: DC – Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue (ADD) Seminar (Washington)
• Jan. 23-24: CA – Students for Life of America Conference & Walk for Life (San Francisco) *
• Feb. 19-25: GA – ADD Seminars & Outreach Events at Kennesaw State, Univ. of Georgia
• Mar. 4-8: CA – ADD Seminars and Outreach Events (Bakersfield)
• March: OK – ADD Seminars and Outreach Events – Details Still to Be Confirmed
• Mar. 31-Apr. 4: CA – ADD Seminars & Outreach Events (Fresno)
• Apr. 2-5: KS – ADD Seminars & Outreach Events at the University of Kansas (Lawrence)
• Apr. 8-9: PA – ADD Seminars (Pittsburgh)
• Apr. 16: KY – Workshop – Students for Life of America Leadership Summit (Lexington)
• April: CO – ADD Seminars and Outreach Events – Details Still to Be Confirmed
• May: CA – ADD Seminars and Outreach Events – Details Still to Be Confirmed
• June 20-21: LA – ADD Seminar & Outreach Events – Louisiana Right to Life PULSE Camp

* 3 staff members were present at various events in DC, and 2 were present in San Francisco.

Recruiting Interns and Staff

Pray for our recruiting efforts.  Catherine Wurts is hard at work to recruit at least one intern to be working in our office by September.  We have already received $2,300 of the needed $8,000 for a four-month internship, so pray for both the funds and applicants.  If you or someone you know would like to apply, go to www.jfaweb.org/internships or call Catherine at 316-683-6426.

Recruiting Mission Trip Participants

Pray for our mission trips for 2016.  While any of our outreach events can be turned into a mission trip (in which the participant handles all of his own housing, meals, and transportation), Tammy Cook is working to encourage people from all over the US to participate in our May 2016 mission trip in Los Angeles, CA.  Contact Tammy (316-683-6426, www.jfaweb.org/mission-trips) for more information.

Pray with Us for God’s Help

We are mindful that we need God’s help for our small efforts to have any impact making abortion unthinkable.  Pray that God would first cause our hearts to be humble and dependent on him, even as we work with great energy to make the most of the hours he gives us each week.  Pray also for our families and local church communities, that we would give them the time and energy they deserve, even as we stand in the gap for the nearly forgotten unborn children being take off to slaughter each day (Prov. 24:11-12).

"You Aren't Going Anywhere."

I watched as the standby passenger just in front of me gave the agent his ticket and was the last passenger to disappear down the jet bridge.  He was going home, and I…I wasn’t going anywhere. 

“[You] educated me to the max.”

— Claire, seminar participant in Washington, DC, January 2016

Washington, DC, was about to be buried under one of the worst snowstorms in recent memory.  The mayor of DC had declared a state of emergency…a day before any snow would fall.  I had been notified about ten hours before that the Students for Life Conference I was in DC to attend had been cancelled, and I had hurried to the airport in the wee hours of the morning in hopes of flying standby back to Wichita to avoid getting stuck.  That was Friday morning, January 22, the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade (1973).

I wasn’t going anywhere.  It was fitting, though, that I and many other pro-life advocates who had gathered in DC for the March for Life were feeling this way as we entered the 44th year of legal abortion in America.  If you’re like me, you take stock of where things are for the unborn child in America, and you conclude, candidly, “We aren’t going anywhere.”  We seem to be stuck in a place where the right to first-trimester abortion is as firmly entrenched as it can possibly be in the laws and consciousness of the people. 

What happened during the next 48 hours, however, provided a different sort of picture.  It’s a picture of hope and the progress that’s possible when we take small steps with the opportunities God provides. 

When in Doubt, Take a Polaroid

STOP = GO...create conversations that change hearts and minds.

I was standing in front of the gate agents already, so I asked them to rebook my flight, since it was certain that my Sunday flight would soon be cancelled.  As I waited, I decided to liven things up a bit.  I mentioned that I had a Polaroid camera.  I took it out, turned it on, clicked the button, and the flash went off.  A piece of white plastic emerged from the camera.  The two gate agents, both women, were surprised and delighted with this “relic from the past.”  Our conversation went something like this:

“Now, when did the picture come into being?” I asked, as the image began to be visible.

“When the camera clicked the photo,” the older of the two women responded.  

“When the film was exposed, right?” I added.  “It wasn’t a picture only once we could see it…  Now, when does a human being begin?”  The older woman made a motion of sperm and egg coming together. 

“I think you’re right – at fertilization.  The Polaroid is a good picture of the way humans begin: Even though we don’t have the apparatus to see them at fertilization, they are there.  Time and development make it possible for us to see them, but they were the same humans at fertilization that they are later on.” 

Rare videos of the unborn are now easy to access and show to friends anytime, using your phone or tablet!

The gate agents didn’t know this, but I was sharing a portion of the JFA seminar, a lesson we learned from Richard Stith: The unborn isn’t constructed from pieces like a car; the unborn develops from within, from fertilization, much like a Polaroid picture.  The older gate agent was especially intrigued.  She shared the picture with a third gate agent, a young man, and there was some discussion about the unborn and abortion.  If I remember correctly, I also pulled up the new “See Baby” app on my phone and showed video of the unborn child in the womb (www.ehd.org/apps).  I gave the gate agents the Polaroid picture as a memento to remember the conversation by, and one of them took my business card.  She was smiling.

Instead of walking away from that counter dejected, I walked away excited that God had given me a few free minutes to defend the unborn child in a way that was both natural and memorable.

Snowed in: A Great Time for Getting Equipped to Save Unborn Children

Blizzard snows begin during the March for Life! 

A friend of JFA’s, Kellie Taylor, had mentioned that her group of 46 high school students, college students, and chaperones from Phoenix would be snowed in with “nothing to do,” so why not spend the day equipping the students to dialogue about abortion?  That sounded like exactly the sort of thing that would redeem the time and effort I had put in to come to DC, so I texted Kellie to ask if there was a place for me to stay at the facility that was housing them.  Happily, she was able to secure me a room, so I hurriedly positioned my car so that it would be stuck there when the snow fell.  Then I joined Kellie’s group for a subway trip to the Washington Mall and the March for Life.

Students from Phoenix and I work on pro-life dialogue skills in a makeshift basement seminar environment.  They were troopers!

The snow began falling during the March and kept falling through the night.  We spent much of the next day on the Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue seminar, beginning at 10 AM.  Kellie and the other chaperones were delighted.  I “just happened” to have barely enough materials on hand for everyone.  We punctuated the short lectures and interactive activities with meals and plenty of snow time. 

Shortly after we concluded at 9 PM, one student was already creating dialogue on abortion with her pro-choice cousin using Facebook, one of the tools we had discussed in the seminar.  A few others gathered around to discuss questions they still had about the pro-life position until “lights out” at 11 PM. 

One Shovel-Full of Snow at a Time

From "not going anywhere" to "getting somewhere"...

...one shovel-full at a time!

On Sunday afternoon, after the snow had stopped, I was about to leave the students to visit family before flying out on Tuesday.  One problem: my car was buried in the snow.  It took two hours for at least five high-school students, one neighbor, and I to dig the car out.  I had underestimated the power of two feet of snow.  One can only dig oneself out of that sort of barrier one shovel-full at a time.  Even a snow-blower, which a neighbor was teaching one student to use, can only displace a little bit of snow at a time.

That’s a good picture of the hope we have, though, since we’re in the same sort of deep, intractable snow regarding abortion in our culture.  We’re not going anywhere.  It’s going to take many of us, one shovel-full at a time, just to help one carload of Americans, let alone a strong majority of Americans, get moving through the snowbank of thinking abortion is a necessary evil.

That’s why, when I found myself stuck in DC, I took the opportunity God provided to talk to the gate agents about the unborn children we so often forget.  A different kind of conversation.  And that’s why I took the opportunity to equip 38 students and 8 chaperones from Phoenix to start engaging their friends and relatives in ways that change hearts and save lives.  A different kind of advocate.

Do you feel like we’re stuck in the snow and “not going anywhere”?  Remember that it’s one shovel-full at a time that gets us out.  It’s one advocate, one conversation at a time.  We at JFA are privileged not just to hand you a shovel, but to also stand by your side creating the conversations, one person at a time, that will make a difference for unborn children and their parents in the end.

More pictures: 

Breaks are better in the snow!

Seminar in the basement...

Students interact during a role play activity focused on the question, "What about abortion in the case of rape?"

Unburied Treasure (Part 3)

Here are some other great places on the website to check out: 

• Event Calendar - Includes a list of recent and upcoming events, pictures from recent events, and a link to our Past Events Archive

• Home Page - This page focuses people new to JFA and JFA supporters on a recent quote that illustrates JFA's impact, our central unifying idea ("Love Every Human Being"), along with a simplified menu that includes links to just a few pages that we think they'll find most useful: Our Passion, Stories, Calendar, and Donate.  Also prominent is a link to the Search Box, which also gives you access to the main menus that appear on every other page of the website but the home page.

• Learn at Home Program - We created this 60-minute course for busy moms and professionals who don't feel they can attend our presentations or two-day flagship training program (Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue).  The course includes four exercises that prepare anyone to create a productive conversation with a friend or acquaintance.  

• Flagship Training Program

• Invite a JFA Speaker

Unburied Treasure (Part 2)

View fullsize

In the shadow of the Justice For All Exhibit, Ashley found that God was doing a special work in her life, even as he was working through her to bring hope and healing to three others.

Ashley’s story is one of my favorite treasures that we’ve recently “unburied” from JFA’s archives and posted on the JFA website (www.jfaweb.org) to illustrate how God has used JFA (and in this case the big Justice For All Exhibit) through the years.  Go on a treasure hunt at the following pages:

• At JFA’s “Stories” page you can find Ashley’s story, Christina’s story (“Thank you ... you’ve given me my life back.”), Jinny’s story (“…sorry if I was a little harsh on you…Anyways I think I'm keeping the baby!”), and more.

• The Stories page has sections that are also their own pages. “Dialogue Examples” is a great place to find over 30 word-for-word accounts of conversations experienced by JFA’s staff and volunteers. “Testimonies” features Amanda Coles sharing about a baby she helped save, quotes from our Twitter feed, and links to many volunteer reflections.

• The “Explore Resources” page allows you to quickly find many of the resources available through JFA’s website for free.

Check out these stories and resources.  Every page of our website is easy to read on any device (“responsive”) and easy to share with friends on Facebook and other social media sites.  (See www.jfaweb.org/unburied-treasure for more links to more pages.) 

Please don’t miss Ashley’s moving story.  It is sure to increase your confidence that God is concerned about and at work among those with shame from unplanned pregnancy and abortion.  As we are in the midst of building new big exhibits, we pray that God will use these tools to help volunteers like Ashley bring hope and healing to many more students in the coming year.

Note: For ministry notes about recent JFA activities, see this separate post.

Ministry Notes for January 2016

We’re hard at work on three projects this month:

• Pro-Life Movement Events (January 21-24, 2016): JFA staff members are making connections with pro-life students and organizations at the March for Life events and at the Students for Life conferences in both Washington D.C. and San Francisco.  JFA is also attending the Evangelicals for Life conference in Washington D.C.  Read our updates from these events on our blog (www.jfaweb.org/blog) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/trainthousands).
• New Exhibits: We’re aiming to finish the design, printing, and construction of two exhibits by the end of March.  Pray for wisdom as we select panels.  If you’d like to learn more about the specifics of the project or if you have an interest in contributing financially to help make it a reality, please see www.jfaweb.org/invest or contact me (316-683-6426).
• Planning JFA’s 2016 Calendar: Pray for our connections with college students and college ministries.  We’ll update you soon with the specifics of our 2016 calendar.

Note: These ministry notes were meant to accompany the JFA Conversations Letter for January 2016.  The monthly letter is available on the JFA Blog, and you can sign up to receive the monthly letter in your inbox or mailbox here.

This Is How Minds Change

Watch this video (3:17) of one of JFA's very gifted trainers, Rebecca Haschke, interacting with a young man at the University of Nebraska.  This young man was on the fence about abortion, but not for long.  

It's our passion at JFA to find people who don't know what they think about abortion (which generally means they at least tolerate it) or who flat-out disagree with us about abortion.  Then we attempt through dialogue to help them love every human being, especially the unborn child and her parents, so often forgotten and abandoned to abortion today.

Here's how you can help JFA staff and volunteers create thousands of life-changing conversations with abortion-choice advocates in 2016.

Or, you can share this post with a friend and encourage them to join you in giving to JFA.

Thanks for helping JFA change hearts and save lives!

 - Steve Wagner, Executive Director

Give them a screwdriver

Rachelle interacts with a student at the University of Kansas in 2012.

Note what Rachelle said after her experience with Justice For All:

"Question: Have you ever tried to take a screw out of the wall without a screwdriver or knife? Not a pleasant experience. Well, attending the JFA training was like being handed a powerful drill after bloodying your fingers trying to get a screw out of the wall." - Rachelle

You can partner with JFA to give Christians like Rachelle the tools (and the real-world practice in using them) that will help them reach friends and strangers with truth and love:

Thanks for helping JFA train hundreds of Rachelles in 2016!

-Steve Wagner, Executive Director

P.S. You can read more from Rachelle's reflection on her JFA experience here.

JFA volunteers Antionette (green) and Rachelle (black) interact with a student at Yale University in 2012.  Antionette now leads a pro-life ministry called Mafgia.

Six Christmas Reflections

For an explanation, see my 2013 Christmas Reflection, "Tech-Getherness?"

A few days ago, I posted, "A Person Is a Wonder," the sixth in a series of Christmas reflections in which I think about the meaning of the Incarnation of the Son of God as I share some of my family's Christmas joys (like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Amahl and the Night Visitors) and my personal conversations on college campuses.  Here's a list of all six reflections:

• 2015: A Person Is a Wonder (read or listen)

• 2014: A Tale of Two Gifts

• 2013: Tech-Getherness?

• 2012: Presence - The Best Presents Don't Come in Packages

• 2011: Messing with the Pageant - Is Imogene Worth It?

• 2010: "Let Me Take Him My Crutch."

Changed Minds

Paul Kulas interacts with two students at the University of Oklahoma in November 2015.

In my November newsletter, "Unfinished Business, Part I," I noted for my supporters that shifting one’s position on abortion is a big change.  For many pro-choice people to seriously change their views—which would mean that they will now take active steps to protect human life from conception—it typically takes time and contemplation.  Making a shift of that magnitude would mean that one could go from promoting abortion and even taking a friend to get an abortion to promoting life by helping a friend not get an abortion and aiding that mother after the birth of her child.  It is a blessing and very encouraging, then, when we see a complete change in someone’s position unfold before our eyes.  A few JFA staff members have written letters within the last year that highlight some of these dramatic, abrupt changes of mind in pro-choice students:

• #Mindblown – Rebecca Haschke
• “You totally changed my perspective!” – Jeremy Gorr
• Ten Seconds Can Change Minds – Steve Wagner
• Lightbulb – CK Wisner
• The Power of a Picture – Rebecca Haschke
• From One to a Crowd – Rebecca Haschke 
• "You're making a difference." – Jeremy Gorr
• Stories – Other great stories on our new website

When these abrupt changes happen, though, we humbly recognize that the change has resulted also from the work of others who cultivated the ground, planted seeds, or watered the ground before us.  We shouldn’t expect to see a complete change of mind in every conversation then, because minds change gradually.  Rather, we may praise God for the small changes and progress that He allows us to see in almost every conversation.  I highlighted two of these conversations from my own experience in my newsletter this month, "Unfinished Business, Part II."

A Person Is a Wonder

“This seminar reminded me that I must remember that I am talking to people…”

— Kaitlyn, 2015 seminar participant

My kids and I participated in a live nativity a few weeks ago.  We donned the garb of shepherds and angels and walked towards a rustic stable where actors from local churches were waiting with live goats and sheep to take a photo with us. 

I was the last to enter the stable, a poor shepherd.  As the crew helped my kids find a place where they could be seen by the camera, I looked around.  It was fun to be standing next to three wise men in robes and crowns.  As the photographer got ready to take the shot, he asked us to look at him.  Instead of following directions, I did the only thing that made sense to me at that moment, I looked down at the baby Jesus (in this case a doll) and my mouth hung open, my eyes bright with amazement.

Adorazione dei pastori (The Adoration of the Shepherds) by Mattias Stomer (17th Century) 

Photo Credit: Palazzo Madama

Click.  Click.  And that was it.  We moved towards the door of the stable to give others a chance.  My kids stopped to interact with the animals as I waited outside, and then we went together to the dressing room to disrobe.  When we retrieved our picture, it looked pretty comical.  Everyone except for me was looking directly at the camera.  I was the only one looking at the baby Jesus.  To me, the photo was merely a distraction from the main event: being in the presence of a person – a very special person named Jesus.  (I identify with the shepherds in the Mattias Stomer painting.)

I’d like to suggest that what happened at the live nativity is a good metaphor for the challenge that we face throughout every day: will we allow ourselves to be captivated by the persons in our lives or will we be distracted from them?  Will we be captivated even by strangers, by our enemies, our spouses, our parents, our kids, our friends, and by God himself?  Each person I come across in a given day is a wonder, worth every ounce of my focus.  When I check my smart phone for the time or the weather, the wonders of new email messages, Wikipedia, and YouTube all cry out for attention, but these wonders aren’t wonders at all, when compared to a person.  And what is this letter you’re reading, when compared to the person who might be near you right now?

JFA veteran staff member Paul Kulas focuses his attention on a University of Oklahoma student in November.

JFA veteran staff member Tammy Cook listens to a student at the University of Oklahoma in November.  I'm very proud of our team at JFA.  Every member of the team aims to appreciate the wonder of the person in front of them, even as they are advocating for the lives of unborn human persons.  See more pictures of the team in action here.

Each member of our team faced this same challenge every time we conducted an outreach event this year.  We want to save the lives of tiny unborn human persons, but in order to do so, we are confronted with another reality, a college student who is also a person with a bundle of conflicting beliefs and desires.  At our University of Oklahoma outreach in November, I talked for a second time to a woman I’ll call Diana.  Diana wasn’t any more enjoyable to talk to the second time than when I met her in March of this year.  She displayed the same haughtiness, the same self-importance, the same close-mindedness and tendency to lecture rather than listen.  I became confident I wouldn’t be able to change Diana’s mind on any point, and while I looked for an opportunity to gently bring a close to our conversation, I had to work to focus my attention on this person.  As I did, though, I was experiencing a different sort of love, the sort that gives without hope of return.  This is what a person calls forth from us: giving our attention just for the sake of appreciating the wonder of the person and the God who created her.

May I humbly suggest that you and I dedicate ourselves this Christmas to being captivated by the wonder of the persons around us – the strangers, our spouses, our kids, and even those, like Diana, who annoy us?  And let us not neglect to depend on God in the midst of every interaction, that we might also be captivated by him – the one who created every person.  Merry Christmas! 

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Ministry Notes

 

YOU CAN HELP JFA MAKE ABORTION UNTHINKABLE

You can still give an end-of-year gift using our Credit Card giving page, our Donate page (for other giving methods), or by calling 316-683-6426.  Thank you for standing with us! 

 

Recent and Upcoming Events

JFA staff members will be at the Students for Life Conferences and March for Life events in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco in January.  Pray that God would orchestrate for us the connections we need to make with student pro-life clubs and the other pro-life advocates we would like to train to make abortion unthinkable in the coming year.

For recent events, see www.jfaweb.org/calendar and www.jfaweb.org/photos.

Bridges Builds a Bridge

Keawe Bridges (holding brochure) talks with a student at the University of Oklahoma in March 2015.

Keawe Bridges learned recently that talking to pro-choice advocates wasn't the only thing worth doing at a JFA outreach event.  (Keawe's alma mater, Christian Heritage Academy, is a regular partner of JFA's.)  You'll be encouraged to see how in his first conversation that day, Keawe built a bridge for a pro-life student who didn't know how to defend the unborn.

Then, in another conversation with his pro-life friends and a pro-choice student, he was able to build a bridge for all of them at one time.  

Read both stories in JFA's November Impact Report, "The Student Becomes the Trainer," written by Joanna Wagner.  Joanna's short report includes numbers that also illustrate JFA's impact in 2015.