Hello, everybody.

In a former blog post, and in many other forms, I had confidently told all of you that I was planning to pursue a ministry opportunity I had with a parachurch organization called Justice For All (JFA).* This opportunity, a paid internship, would have required me to raise support, move to Kansas, and work full-time at the organization for at least two years.

After much prayer, confusion, and providence, I regret to report to you all that I will no longer be pursuing this opportunity. Instead, God-willing, I plan to gain experience with some innovative small businesses here in the Denver metro area. I will also continue to be a part of His work here at my local church and in the community.

My decision has finally moved forward enough that I feel it is time to make it public.

I know there will be a variety of reactions to my decision, but I believe all of them are valid. Because I myself am still wrestling with some of the same kinds of thoughts, emotions, and attitudes you all have.

I still don’t quite have a clear and truthful perspective on my situation. I don’t trust myself to understand everything, or even to make the right choices. But I do trust that God understands, and that He is not surprised by my decision, but that, rather, He is excited to move through my decision for His glory. And by His grace, I will also follow Him with excitement and confident hope.

I cannot tell you how hard it has been for me to make this decision. It is difficult for me to see right now how God could use my pursuit of this alternate direction for something good, and, indeed, even better than my previous pursuit. But I am confident that He is gracious, redeeming, and mighty enough to make this happen.

Although the events that led up to my decision are complex, a big reason I am remaining in Colorado is that God has renewed in me a heart for my local church, Fellowship. I came back to Aurora at the beginning of the year to “give back” to the body of believers that invested so much in my spiritual growth ever since I was 4. I sought to accomplish this by committing to a semester-long internship, helping to build a brand new church website, and investing in our fledgling young adult ministry, Rooted.

My church is far from perfect. Just like me.

But we have a perfect, compassionate God who wants to make us look more like Him in the way love one another and reach out to the world.

And I want to be a part of this miraculous thing He is doing — right here in my local church.

Although I won’t be officially working for Justice For All, I still have the highest respect for this organization, and I still fully support its mission: To “Train thousands to make abortion unthinkable for millions, one person at a time.”

This mission emulates Christ’s strategy in his Great Commission: To start a revolutionary chain reaction of truth and love through relationship with our neighbor (Matthew 28:18-20). This relational ministry, coupled with faith in our strategic God, is the most statistically effective way of affecting positive, long-term change in our world.

I consider the staff at Justice For All my brothers and sisters in Christ. They are obediently navigating some difficult and narrow paths for the sake of the gospel.
And I praise God for they ways these people seek to honor him in every aspect of their lives. I am envious of the abundant opportunities they have boldly carved out for themselves to interface with a variety of people about what gives humans value.

Yet even though I will not engage our culture on abortion in quite the same way they do, the issue of abortion has not become any less important to me. 

In college, I conducted my thesis on unplanned pregnancy. I also engaged peers and professors in conversation about the issue. And now that I have studied unplanned pregnancy in-depth, I cannot just do nothing. Now that I have listened to people affected by it — right and left, male and female, religious and otherwise — I cannot just let this thing sit as it is.

I cannot erase what I have experienced and make myself ignorant to the reality of abortion — and our society’s perpetuation of and poor attempts to handle the issue.

The mere fact that I am a member of such a society means that I have a responsibility to address the issue. In fact, I would go as far as asserting that, since we are all part of this society, we all share a responsibility for where our society is right now. Organizations, political parties, individuals — we have all contributed to the way our society has become, like it or not. We directly and profoundly affect society with things like our voices, our ears, our money, our media choices, our relationship choices, our sexual behavior, our initiatives at work, and our attitudes toward our fellow human beings in general.

The issue of abortion is complex. There are myriads of events and situational factors that lead up to a woman’s legal choice to abort. But these myriads of factors present for us myriads of opportunities.  In light of this, I firmly believe we are capable of doing far better for women and their families than abortion.

And there is so much more we can do to love and support and come alongside women than simply telling them what they should or should not do with their lives.

For this reason, I vow to advocate for the unborn and their families in my spheres of influence. I will continue to seek to understand not only women facing unplanned pregnancy, but also people who might disagree with me on how to address the issue. In addition to volunteering at a local pregnancy resource center, I plan to intentionally seek opportunities to meet with coworkers, friends, and neighbors to talk about how unplanned pregnancy affects those right here in our community. I also still hope to partner with JFA as a volunteer nationally. I plan to accomplish this by traveling with my JFA family on a few campus outreaches in various states throughout the year.

For those of us who claim to be Christians: Since we have been chosen represent the God of all love and mercy and justice, we have a special responsibility to address issues such as abortion in a way that is congruent with the heart of our Father. Let us consider it an honor and a miracle that God has deemed us worthy to influence the world through the local church. And may we rise to this noble calling with fear and trembling, since without Christ we are helpless against our own evil nature.

As for you, I urge you to understand the power you have in your spheres of influence to continue to make a difference for those who are facing unplanned pregnancy. Indeed, even one layperson’s refusal to address injustice will not go without consequences. But God is gracious; even the smallest conversation or act of service can change a life.

If you have questions or comments about the things I discussed in this letter, or if there are ways I can support you in your personal ministry, please drop me a line or otherwise contact me. (Coffee dates are ideal if you’re in the area.)

Thank you all for being in my life. You are truly a blessing.

Love,
Meg

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely mine, and do not necessarily reflect those of any or all of the staff of Justice For All (JFA). I am neither personally employed by JFA, nor do I intend to represent the views of JFA staff or the organization as a whole. Daughter of Pearl Blog is not affiliated with JFA.