STANDING FOR LIFE ... January 21 is designated "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday." It was on that date in 1973 that the Supreme Court decided it was alright to brutally take the life of an unborn child. Regardless of the rhetoric and diversionary language, the court said you can murder an unborn child at any time from conception through the ninth month for any reason. That is why we must stand for life 365 days a year.

Did you know that abortion ends the lives of more than 1.3 million unborn children in America every year? We acknowledge the awful horrific tragedy of six million deaths in the Jewish Holocaust, but more than 40 million and counting have died in the American Holocaust.

As I shared with Crossroads Church of Pittsburgh on Sunday, I discussed the importance of understanding and effectively communicating the pro-life message. One of the resources I cited was the book On Message. I strongly recommend it to you.

We know that the pro-abortion folks have been effective at distortions, lies, and extremely deceptive tactics. Please pay close attention to the following. Author Mark Crutcher identifies five basic strategies of the abortion lobby.


Strategy 1: Never defend the actual act of abortion and avoid even talking about it if at all possible. Only defend the right of someone to have an abortion.
Response: Neutralize the diversionary language. Force them to tell the public why abortion itself is a good thing.

Strategy 2: Sell the idea that abortion is the solution to social problems (child abuse, hunger, homelessness, etc.)
Response: Constantly remind people that every social problem we faced the day abortion became legal is far worse now than it was then.

Strategy 3: Emotionally blackmail the public by lying about the horror stories that will result from prohibiting abortion.
Response: Abortion was at one time illegal and the horror stories were extremely rare and in most instances non-existent.

Strategy 4: Sell abortion as a women's rights issue.
Response: Early feminist almost universally denounced abortion as something that devalues women and makes them easier for sexually irresponsible and sexually predatory males to exploit.

Strategy 5: Never argue that the unborn isn't human. Instead, segregate them from the rest of humanity and convince the public to apply different standards to the unborn.
Response: It is not enough to simply establish the humanity of the unborn. We must strongly communicate that there is no difference between born and unborn people. Whatever excuse is used to justify abortion, we apply to killing the born. We must show the American people the hypocrisy of believing that the unborn are human, but allowing them to be slaughtered at the same time we insist that our own lives be protected by law.

Many people are interested in talking about rights. Let me share one basic right with you. UNBORN CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT NOT TO BE KILLED! Standing For Life ...Craig

A TRIBUTE TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING .... I thought it would be appropriate on this day honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King to share quotes from some of his speeches. Although we have traveled a great distance on the road to "all men are created equal," we still have a long journey ahead. What is most troubling is the culture of racism within our churches and religious institutions.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," 16 April 1963

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.-- Speech in St. Louis, Missouri, March 22, 1964

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963

Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land . . . So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man.-- "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, April 3, 1968 (the day before his assassination)

If a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live.-- Speech in Detroit, Michigan on June 23, 1963

The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.-- Strength in Love (1963), Ch. 7

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.-- "I Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for the law.-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.-- "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."-- "I Have a Dream" speech, August 28, 1963

DILIGENT ADVOCACY ... I recently came across the following statistics. I share them with you because I believe we can make a difference. We have to make a difference! Here are ten reasons to take action in 2007. Ten reasons to make a presentation at church, be part of a short term mission project, inspire your youth group, donate your time and money, and be moved to prayer in 2007. As is usually the case, children suffer the most.

1. Half the world's population (2.8 billion) lives on less than $2 a day.Source: The World Bank Group Annual Report 2004

2. 300 million children suffer from hunger. Source: UNICEF 2005

3. Every day, nearly 29,000 children under age 5 die, mostly from malnutrition or preventable disease.Source: UNICEF State of the World's Children 2005

4. Man-made food crises have more than doubled since 1992.Source: FAO State of Food Insecurity in the World 2005

5. In the developing world one in five children does not have access to safe water.Source: UNICEF State of the World's Children 2005

6. 90% of deaths from war since 1990 have been civilians. 80% of these have been women and children.Source: UNICEF State of the World's Children 2005

7. 40 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS. Source: UNAIDS Epidemic Update 2005

8. Today, 15 million children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Source: UNAIDS Epidemic Update 2005

9. Of the total number of young people infected by HIV/AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa, 76% are women.Source: UNICEF/UNAIDS 2004

10. Life expectancy in South Africa: Today, 43; before HIV/AIDS, 68.Source: U.S. Census International Database

We must seek justice for those who are unable to seek it for themselves.

Go where He sends you, no matter the cost. -Craig

PEACE ... "It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of these things and still be calm in your heart." This is an anonymous quote that my daughter came across recently. I share it with you because it speaks to the heart of Christian living.

It relates to what Paul was talking about in Philippians when he said, "Rejoice in the Lord always." Many think that peace and joy can only come in the midst of easy and comfortable circumstances ...the paved road. Perhaps that is the very reason why the church is not on the front lines of ministry where people are in need ...places where there is chaos, noise, difficulty, and hard work.

I hope that 2007 will be the year that you experience the peace and joy of God in the hard places. We need to work passionately for the rights of the unborn, the homeless and teens in crisis. Erwin McManus shares similar concerns in The Barbarian Way. He states, "Many churches have no practical concern for people outside their congregations. The brokenness of a lost and unbelieving world is not enough to inspire the painful changes necessary to make the church relevant to the world in which we live." He goes on to say that, "Every citizen of the kingdom of God is brought into the heat of the conflict between good and evil. Everyone who swears allegiance to Jesus Christ bears responsibility for humanity."
STAY OFF THE PAVED ROAD ...Craig