LISTEN TO EP.83

How the Church Can Prepare for Overturn of Roe v. Wade and Resulting Changes to Adoption and Abortion

What would the overturning of Roe v. Wade mean for the American church? Scott Young, co-host of The Influencers Podcast and lead pastor of Church of Hope in Sarasota, FL, shares his thoughts and reflections on the leaked draft opinion, the reality that abortion will continue even if the law is overturned, and what this historic change could mean to adoption and foster care. He issues a challenge to churches to be ready to better serve the children and families in their communities that will be impacted. What will you do and are you ready for what comes next?

Integrity vs. Corruption

Hi, I’m Scott Young. Welcome to the Influencers Podcast. We are here to see the influence of your life grow developed to make your world a better world. And the world that we live in, I’ve been thinking about the recent news articles that have come out, talking about the leak at the Supreme Court and the potential overturning of Roe vs. Wade and its implications and what it means. It’s kind of sad that the institution that is to be regarded as integrous, ethical, and moral, has had this leak. In fact, someone has said, it’s the first time in American history that the Supreme court has had a document leaked in a premature way.

It was a draft opinion, but it seems to indicate there could be a change in this law that has been in effect for decades – three decades plus, and the intention of the leak is really to corrupt the process. And that’s kind of sad – to take the process where there’s a draft that judges look at it, the justices look at it, they talk, they deliberate and the opinion really isn’t law until it’s issued and that hasn’t been done. And the leak is there really to corrupt the process. And I don’t think that’s good. I don’t think any time that there’s an intention to corrupt an organization to corrupt a process, especially at such a high level corruption, just isn’t good. And we just have to know that even if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, that there will still be abortion. In America, it will push the decision into elected officials, hands at the state level.

Pro-life: Action not Just Conviction

And we need to just deal with the realities that abortion will continue in America. And I really should just say my position: I am a supporter and a believer in the sanctity of life. I think life is a precious gift. I think it should be nurtured and protected. Even the very DNA of the baby in the womb is different from his or her mother’s DNA. It’s a unique person – that is precious, special. And my heart is for sanctity of life, protection of life, wherever we find life – to be protective of it. But to be pro-life is to be more than just a stance. It’s has to have action behind it. It has to be more than just signing a petition. It’s got to open our hearts because what will happen if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, is that there will be an increase in babies born in our nation. And we should think about that, not just clap our hands and go, “Wow, we’ve always wanted this to happen”, but to say, “What will we do now with babies that are in our communities?”. And many of them born to mothers who know that they are ill-equipped to provide the nurture and the love and the stability that life really needs. What are we going to do with these precious lives that we say are sacred, that we are pro-life but how are we going to care for them? Especially those of us that are followers of Jesus. I think this is a season for individual followers of Jesus, churches, church organizations, people of faith, to consider this moment and to listen to the love of God, the Spirit of God, the very voice of Jesus Christ.

What Jesus Says About Taking Action

Jesus said when He was teaching us Matthew 25, that there would be need needy people in the world. And when He tells the story, He puts himself in the place of the person that is in need. He said, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty. And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. You opened up your door and you invited Me in. I was naked. You put clothes on Me. I was sick. And you came and cared for Me. I was in prison and you didn’t forget Me”. Then the people that are listening said, “Jesus, when did that happen?” And Jesus says these powerful words. We need to think about them. “When you do this to the least of these, you do it to Me”.

We need to think about these children that will be in our communities. Do we just say, “Well, we signed a petition. We went into a ballot box. We checked a box”, or are we willing to engage to really love life and to do something for these precious children? To find children that are hungry, not just physically hungry, but hungry for real love, affection, stability. They are thirsty for something that’s real. And even though they are strangers to us, are we going to open the door and say, “Come into our life”, not just for a short moment, but, “Will you become part of my family?”. This is a time for us to get ready for adoption, to open our hearts and say, “Lord, when I come across one of these precious lives”, and they will be present, “I’m going to do something about it. I’m going to open my heart. I’m not going to let them be a stranger. I’m going to bring them in. I’m going to love them. I’m going to care for them. I’m going to put clothes on them”. Jesus said, ‘I needed clothes’. I’m going to cloth them. When they’re sick, I’m going to mop their wet brow and nurse them back to health. I’m going to care for them.
I’m going to help to set them free from the prison of loneliness and despair”. You know, we can engage in that. Even now, there are foster children that need our love. We should really be looking at these precious lives. The way that Jesus teaches us to look at them.

He says, “When you see them, you should see Me. When you care for them, you’re really caring for Me”. There’s so many beautiful things we can do to be a help and an encouragement. One resource I’d just like to mention to you is a great organization called Embrace Grace. You can find them by going to embracegrace.com, but it’s not just about a position of pro-life. It’s about doing something about caring, about loving. And I encourage you, as you desire to increase the influence of your life in the world you live in, and the world we live in, let’s decide to open our hearts more than that.
Open our homes and let’s raise some children to fill them with the love of God. Think about this historic moment where a law may be overturned and will open an opportunity for God’s people to do something great. And to love the least of these in the most precious way, not for a moment, it’s easy to sign a petition to take seconds. It’s easy to check a box in a voting booth. It’s a lifelong commitment that values the sanctity of life. When you say, come into my home, be my family. Think about this. I’ve been thinking about it. God bless you.