Pro-Life Pastor for Church Leadership

by Pastor John Martin

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One of the greatest honors of my life is that I am known as a “pro-life pastor.”  I believe that all human life is precious and I am passionate about the preservation and protection of human life from the womb to the tomb.  One of the greatest heartaches of my life is the fact that many of my colleagues in ministry do not seem to share my passion.

While the pro-life movement has momentum -- and in many ways is winning due to the efforts of groups like Georgia Right to Life, more could be done if pastors and leaders boldly confronted the issue of abortion on Sunday mornings.

Many pastors do not understand their obligation to speak-out against abortion and to call the church to action because many pastors see abortion as strictly a political issue. 

Such pastors believe that you vote for pro-life candidates [and] you do that outside the walls of the church, but you don't need to talk about it, because it's not a biblical, theological issue in their minds.  But we must realize that it is not a political issue, it is a moral issue.  Abortion may have political consequences but it is one of the most profound moral and spiritual issues of our time!  Pastors and their churches must confront abortion because the source of the problem lies not in politics but in the human heart.

Dr. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary said, "The culture of death in the human heart is far more dangerous than the culture of the abortion in the abortionist's place of work, the one leads to the other -- from the heart to the abortion clinic [and] not from the abortion clinic to the heart.  We must reach the human heart. We must pray for that day when the idea that a woman would kill the baby in her womb would become such a moral horror that it would not be contemplated."  The only way for this to happen is for pastors across the country and around the world to begin to passionately proclaim from the pulpit that abortion; genocide and euthanasia are morally and spiritually irreprehensible!   We need pastors who will face the issue head-on, but sadly while many evangelical pastors will preach homosexuality is an abomination to God, they remain surprisingly silent on the topic of abortion.

As the senior pastor of a Southern Baptist Church I am thankful that we as a denomination have set the standard high.  The SBC is unquestionably pro-life, with the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message saying that Christians "should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death."  But still many of my SBC peers still remain silent on the topic.

I humbly call upon my fellow pastors to boldly take action to lead your congregation in the fight for life.  Continue to preach that sin separates us from God and salvation comes only though faith in Christ by the grace of God, but also preach and proclaim the biblical fact that life is precious and sacred in the eyes of God and that it is the obligation of all Christians everywhere to stand and fight in order to protect the lives of the innocent!

Pastors remember that God has appointed us to be a “watchman” over our flocks and this world.  Let us heed the warning that God issued to the watchman in Ezekiel 33:6, However, if the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn't blow the trumpet, so that the people aren't warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives, then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood (HCSB).

“A Pastor’s Heart”
By: John Martin

As I sit alone and I meditate upon my Master’s call,
I wonder where He will send me next and I pray I will not fall.

I boast in my accomplishments as with pride my heart swells,
I think of all that I have done, of the men I’ve turned from Hell.

While sitting so smug in my pride I hear a baby cry out in the dark,
I hear a voice speak soft and low, “Pastor, what’s in your heart?”

In the darkness of the night a vision fills my room,
It is not a grand and glorious king, but a baby in the womb.

With a voice soft as rain this baby somehow speaks,
“Pastor, where were you when my heart ceased to beat?”

“There were millions before me with many more to come,
Our lives tragically ended in an abortionist’s operating room.”

“I was unable to speak for myself, yet God heard my cry.
He called upon you to stand, but you were unwilling to try.”

“You claim you are not political and you do not want to offend,
And all the time you stand idle innocent lives still come to an end.”

“Pastor I know I’m just a baby crying alone in the dark.
But pastor I am begging, let the fight against abortion into your heart.”

The vision slowly faded but I could still see the baby’s eyes,
I fell upon my knees and to God I began to cry.

“Father please forgive me for turning my back on this horrible crime.
I ask you to help me stand boldly for the innocent in this day and time.”

“Help me never to forget the babies in the dark,
Let the fight against abortion be a focus of my heart.”

As I sit alone and I meditate upon my Master’s call,
I wonder where He will send me next and I pray I will not fall.

John Martin served as Senior Pastor at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Waycross, GA for the past four years before accepting a new assignment as the Senior Pastor of James Memorial Baptist Church in Gadsden, AL where he lives with his wife Dee and their three children.  John also serves as the Vice President of Development with Next level Worship, LLC.  He can be contacted at jmartin@nextlevelworship.com