The list of questions could go on and on. But I think it would be productive (no pun intended) to stop and ask why Pastor Tim’s rare comments on abortion are always directed toward criticizing pro-life activism instead of abortion itself. Two possibilities follow:
1. Pastor Tim feels uncomfortable as a registered Republican leading a liberal congregation. Telling stories about screaming pro-lifers lets people know he is not “that kind of Republican.” Letting liberal parishioners know he’s not judging them if they have had (or pressured a girlfriend or daughter into having) an abortion is his way of asking not to be judged for his nominally pro-life beliefs. Knowing he’s not being judged is good for Pastor Tim’s self-esteem.
2. Pastor Tim’s congregation provided him with a beautiful and spacious waterfront home for the duration of his tenure as their pastor. Their generous giving also kept the church running smoothly with a budget that remained constantly in the black. Tim had to tread lightly on the abortion issue in order to keep the wealthy liberals in the congregation happy and to keep the offering plates full so he wouldn’t have to live like a Democrat on public assistance.
One Sunday, shortly after Pastor Tim decried the screaming pro-lifers, his associate pastor, an older and wiser man, delivered a stirring message. It was about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. As Pastor Tim listened to the sermon, he must have been wondering what he would have done had he been a preacher during the Nazi Holocaust.
But unashamed pro-lifers already know what Pastor Tim would have done. He would have smiled and told the opposing party exactly what they wanted to hear.
Of course, we’re now in the midst of a Holocaust that has taken the lives of 55 million innocent human beings. If your congregation is led by a pastor like Tim then, please, send him this column. And tell him you’re bypassing the offering plate until he finds the courage to defend the unborn. The more we reward cowardice and hypocrisy, the more viable it becomes outside of the pulpit.
