Sometimes you hear of an event, experience a situation, or even meet a person who really convicts you about something, and then you feel you have to tell others about it even though you haven’t mastered it yourself yet. That is just what happened to me recently, so I’m writing this article to myself as much as to you.
I was recently blessed to attend a pro-life conference covering historical, legal, and societal aspects of the abortion landscape in America today. All of the speakers presented valuable information, but one particularly stood out to me—Dr. Michael J. New.
Dr. New certainly had the credentials to make anyone’s head turn: an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, a master’s and a doctorate from Stanford, and postdoctoral research at Harvard. He had even held teaching posts at four different universities and had authored studies for numerous well-known think tanks including The Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council, and the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
What’s more, Dr. New certainly fit the role of the uber-academic at the conference. He clipped through his talk at breakneck speed, pouring out a wealth of information he had gathered from recent research. Admittedly, his talk was delivered in an academic manner, and his strength was definitely in his academic content rather than charisma. But to my mind, that perfectly fit the part: even without the charisma, he was a powerful academic brain contributing powerful academic support to the pro-life movement. He was definitely using the amazing gifts God had given him, even if he was not a sidewalk counselor.
But wait. He was.
Dr. New was a sidewalk counselor, too! In an offhand comment during his talk, he happened to mention that he spends every Saturday morning counseling in front of his local Planned Parenthood. I was a bit taken aback. He didn’t seem like the type at all! To me, his role was of the impressively-educated academic using his gifts to promote the pro-life cause in academia. This older gentleman who spoke matter-of-factly and academically certainly simply didn’t strike me as the pregnancy counselor type. Yet he was making it to the sidewalk every Saturday morning.
Why? He said that at one point during his career, he read a book that made him think. He realized that he couldn’t just fight behind a desk. So, despite his hesitations about what his fellow professors might think of him—or what his students might say—he started sidewalk counseling. He’s still doing it today—he carries his abortion sign up to the clinic, grabs a handful of free resources, and does his best to give life-giving support to women during the few seconds they walk by him on the way to the clinic door.
And he is still publishing academically rigorous pro-life material.
I had sometimes excused myself from the idea of sidewalk counseling on the grounds that “I’m not as approachable as other people,” or “I’m worried about seeming intimidating… I might just make things worse,” etc. Besides, because of my own academic bend and rhetorical skills, I knew I was more cut out to contribute to the pro-life movement in the public square than on the sidewalk. But here was a man who was much more academic and matter-of-fact than I was, and he wasn’t letting that stop him. As the kids say nowadays—”Oof.”
I realized that I was compartmentalizing my contribution to the cause for life. I was letting my skill in one area (academics) become an excuse to not develop skills in another area in which the Lord might have equally fruitful work for me to do. Now, don’t get me wrong—each one has his gift, one this and another that. Women may be more likely to open up to a college-age, pro-life female counselor than to this middle-aged university professor. But Dr. New is still doing his best to make an on-the-ground impact in addition to his academic impact, and I truly admire him for it.
Just to be clear—do use the gifts that God has given you to their fullest extent. This professor would indeed be cheating the pro-life movement if he omitted using his academic talents to further the cause for life. But he also wasn’t letting his academic talents become his sole contribution to an issue he cares deeply about. Somehow, God gave him the inspiration to experience issues of abortion on the ground in a way he could not in the academic world. Whether or not he is the “best” sidewalk counselor, God is certainly using his abilities on the ground in addition to his academic gifts. (Besides, talking to pregnant women in front of an abortion clinic undoubtedly gives him a real-world understanding of abortion that can only strengthen his academic papers on the topic.)
I recently had the opportunity to accompany Dr. New on one of his visits to the clinic, and I know he was doing his best along with the other counselors there. Now it has me thinking: in what ways do I need to be more proactive in defending unborn life? Is there anything I’m automatically ruling myself out of? After meeting this professor, the “I’m not that kind of person” excuse no longer cuts it for me.
