This Is The Way It Is
It’s important to recognize when “this is the way it is.” It’s important to sort through the massive information flow that we are all...
top of page
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Pro-Life Servant Leadership
Answering Some Tough Questions
In this new section we will periodically add some answers to tough questions. Avoiding the difficult subjects doesn't make their impact go away. It does however lead to missed opportunities to share some truth that could change minds.
You may click on this link to go to our full page that answers some of the tough questions. After appearing here on our home page, they are moved to this dedicated spot for easy reference.
"It's Kind Of Murder...And I'm OK With It"
I've been met with angry glares and righteous indignation when I state that I actually have more respect for a person who tells me they are pro-abortion and proud of it, than the person who claims to be pro-life, but stands in the way of every effort to defend life or simply sits back and does nothing because it's easier or safer.
While we don't agree about the value of life, at least the people who admit they support abortion are honest in their belief. Since my own credibility on this subject might be discounted, we'll give you a short video from a proven expert.
In this section about answering tough questions, the following seven and one half minutes gives plenty of answers. And we also hear from a nationally known personality who was always a lightning rod for his brash comments, but in the past few years has made former fans squirm in their seats when he speaks honestly about things they don't like to admit.
This video also fits in nicely as a bridge to the next column from guest author T.O. Illustratio which will be posted later this week. The author's most recent post is found at the bottom of this page.
Check Our Blog Section
Be sure to click this link to our blog section to read contributions from various authors. If you'd like to contribute something, we'd love to hear from you.
How We Work
Our Direction Is Based On Our Mission Statement
Our mission statement is the cornerstone that created our values and our vision. Everything builds off our mission.
"We love, serve, and celebrate all life. We share truth and are witnesses to God's love for all people from conception to natural death."
The Values That Guide Our Team
These are the values in order of importance that guide our team in everything we do and in how we plan for the next steps.
1.) Listen first with the intent to hear and understand.
2.) Welcome all to join our team.
3.) Encourage every member to grow in servant leadership.
4.) Serve and defend in support of all life, including the unborn and already born.
Some might ask "Why isn't the last one the most important?" And that would be a good question. The answer is, if we always stay true to that first value, we will accomplish all the rest.
One Teamwork Idea To Ponder
"Teamwork Thought" for the week:
"When you see the big picture correctly, you serve the team more quickly." John Maxwell
Will It Slip Away?
Just below is a quote from a person who left the abortion industry. The message is similar to that of Abby Johnson whose change of direction was highlighted in the movie, "Unplanned."
"Abortion is a skillfully marketed product that is advertised and sold for profit. In our clinics, there was no such thing as 'choice.' Our counselors were trained to sell abortions. We even hired professional telemarketers to train our people to sell abortion over the phone. Lies, manipulation, and pressure were all parts of our technique.
Our number one priority was to get that woman to the clinic, get her money, and process her as quickly as possible to make room for the next customer. Along the way, we would be as nice to her as we possibly could so that later she would serve as a referral to her friends. We even went so far as to sell abortions to women who weren't even pregnant."-Former abortion clinic owner/operator
Immediate reactions to reading these paragraphs could range from shock to sadness. But more important would be the reactions and responses on the day after reading these words. Did we do anything about it? Or did the shock and sadness just slip away?
In our state of Michigan there is a strong push to eliminate parental rights. The sitting governor called the removal of parental consent for abortion "a part of the original package and I was advocating for the whole package to get to my desk..." The push to eliminate parental rights has not lost steam. It didn't slip away. There is too much money from abortions to let it slip away.
Will we match that energy and stand up for parental rights? Or will it slip away?
An Additional Location For Shared Pregnancy
Shared Pregnancy has opened another facility to help families in need. Their new building is located at 5525 MLK Jr. Blvd in south Lansing. This will allow them to surpass the success they achieved last year as evidenced by the numbers below.
* 78,745 diapers
* 285 car seats
* 1723 packs of wipes
* 1267 bags of clothes
They had over 14,000 total client contacts last year, gave away 616 free pregnancy tests, 835 free ultrasounds and added over 800 new clients who accessed their services last year.
The Experiment
Being involved in the pro life movement, I mean really being active and fully involved, is a roller coaster of emotions. We experience the exhilaration of a child saved from death in an abortion facility, we witness the joy of a family when we are able to help them past a difficult time in their lives.
We are able to see the excitement and the determination in the eyes of the young leaders on our Pewamo Protect Life team as they press on with new ideas and fresh innovations.
But along the way we experience suffering too. We know a young person will go into that abortion facility and will end the life of her child. We see the suffering of people who are in dire need and we know we can't help all of them.
We see roadblocks placed in our path from places that should be fully supporting us or at least not hurting our important work. We know there is history of such actions in causes at least as important as ours, and in many cases much more important. So we know what to expect.
Any time a person or group sets out to do good, there will be those who seek to block them. Fear, apathy, jealousy, are all contributors to the obstacles we need to go around, over, or through as we serve as God's Hands and Feet on earth.
So we accept the suffering, but we don't dwell on it. Life is about joy and hope. Life is about seeing the good and spreading the good to those in need. Think about this quote. All are welcome to join our team as we perform this experiment. We know the result.
“This is not an idea or an ideology or an ideal; it is a verifiable fact. God proposes a scientific experiment in the laboratory of your life. Perform the experiment and you will get the result.
Do you want happiness? Make others happy. Do you want joy? Give joy. Do you want to find love? Give love. Do you want a whole heart? Give your heart away.
Oh, by the way, if you do that you will also suffer. The more you give your heart away, the more it will be broken. If you don’t love others, their sufferings can’t make you suffer…So what? Life’s purpose is not to avoid suffering.
Joy and suffering are both part of the deal, the package deal that we got when we were born into this world. The only way to avoid suffering is never to give your heart to anyone or anything…Loveless hearts are unbreakable.
But that’s not heaven; that’s hell. Our hearts are made to be broken, made to be given away and broken…The only two places there are no broken hearts are in heaven and hell: in heaven because all the healing is finished, and in hell because all the giving is finished.
No one knows whether there is physical fire in hell or not, but we know one thing for sure: there is no love there. No one knows what physical joys are in heaven, but we know one thing for sure: it is full of love because it is full of God.”
Dr. Peter Kreeft
The Work Goes On Past The Abortion
A big part of our work in the true pro-life movement involves recovery. While providing resources for families so they can choose life for their unborn child is more recognizable, there is another part that is just as important.
Our team has hosted Della and Jon Seeley from Rachel's Vineyard who gave a first hand testimonial of their own experiences having gone through an abortion years ago. We also invited Jennifer VanRyckeghem to share her personal story and offer encouragement.
Today we're including a link to Garden of Hope Ministry in Grand Rapids Michigan. Regular readers at servantempowerment.com know that our team members have supported the sidewalk counselors who were on the short wall next to the notorious abortion facility located at 320 Fulton Street in that city, every day abortions were being performed there, with some procedures involving children in the sixth month of pregnancy.
The counselors offered ways to help families make choices that would not involve ending the life of their child. It didn't always work out that way, but as the Garden of Hope volunteers are about all life, their work didn't end when the child's life was abruptly ended.
There was still at least one other person and usually more facing physical and emotional pain following that abortion.
Check out this link and the 8 minute video from Denise who went through an abortion. There are resources at Garden of Hope available and kind, caring people ready to help anyone in that situation.
It should be noted that abortions are no longer happening at 320 Fulton Street. But the Planned Parenthood shop just around the corner on Cherry Street has recently started surgical abortions up to 13 weeks of pregnancy.
By The Numbers
Did You Know?
Our team provides a free home-cooked meal to any family bringing home a new child. We also offer that same free meal to any people going through the pain of miscarriage. We know that pain as our family has faced it more than once.
Please let us know of any family in either situation. We look forward to supporting them in every way we are able. Use the contact form at the end of this page or text Emily Simon, our project coordinator at 517 285-6239.
We have been able to bring meals to people in both scenarios over the past few months.
"Most Needed Items"
Here are our lists of most needed items in two different formats.
Upcoming Events
No events at the moment
Based in the Pewamo and Westphalia area of Michigan
Providing servant leadership from Lansing to Grand Rapids MI
Phone
616 308-3282
Connect
bottom of page