Categories
Podcasts

Can Women With Unplanned Pregnancies Find Support at Church? Know About Pro-Lifers

Interview with Amy Ford

What would it take for churches to provide the love, support, and encouragement women need when they’re unexpectedly expecting? Amy Ford, President and Founder of Embrace Grace, has some ideas.

Amy launched Embrace Grace, Inc. in 2008 after experiencing her own unexpected pregnancy. Today Embrace Grace equips churches nationwide to do their part. Lives are being changed and saved as a result.

In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, a continuation of Know Why’s series Know About Pro-Lifers, Amy shares her powerful testimony. She also tells listeners about the ministry that is making churches a place more pregnant women want to run to instead of away from.

“It’s Just What You Did”

Raised in church, Amy became “unexpectedly expecting” at age 19 with her high school sweetheart. When her abortion appointment didn’t go as planned, they decided to get married—but the first pastor they asked refused to marry them.

(Hear the whole story of Amy’s unexpected pregnancy, marriage, and reconciliation with the pastor who refused to marry them on the podcast.)


“There are over 300,000 churches in America. If we all were doing our part, we could make abortion unthinkable.”

Amy Ford, President
Embrace Grace, Inc.

Amy’s story wasn’t unique. Many other women have faced similar experiences in church, encountering judgment, shame, and loneliness at a time when they need love and guidance.

As one pastor told Amy, recalling a less-than-gracious response to a congregant’s unplanned pregnancy that he later repented for, “It’s just what you did.”

But is that the Christian way?

Pro-Love

Amy reminds listeners that it’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). She also references the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) to illustrate how churches should respond to women with unplanned pregnancies. In the story the father throws a party for his son who returns after running away. That’s how God is, and how the church should be. Instead, we can often be like the other son in the parable, Amy said—envious of the celebration the father throws for his rebellious son.

Amy founded Embrace Grace, Inc. to equip churches to respond to women with unplanned pregnancies the right way—an approach she calls “pro-love.” While being pro-life is a political stance, “Pro-love is where the change happens. That’s the action,” she said.


“You can have your baby and your dreams too.”

Amy Ford, President
embrace Grace, Inc.

If more churches were truly pro-love, offering the support and assistance women need when facing an unplanned pregnancy, the felt need for abortion would disappear, Amy argues.

The majority of women who have abortions are doing so because they feel they have no other choice due to finances and other responsibilities, one study found. Churches can alleviate these concerns for women, Amy says. They can offer spiritual, emotional, and practical support for a woman and her family not just during pregnancy—but for life.

Additional Resources

Categories
Podcasts

Do Pro-Lifers Help Women? Know About Pro-Lifers

Interview with Chelsey Youman

Why do women seek abortion? Is abortion truly the best solution to her problems? Is the pro-life movement active in addressing those problems in helpful and empowering ways for women?

Bringing perspective to these difficult yet important questions in this episode of the Know Why Podcast is Chelsey Youman, the Texas State Director and National Legislative Advisor for Human Coalition. Human Coalition uses online marketing strategies to reach women who are considering abortion. When women come in contact with Human Coalition, they’re immediately connected with a licensed nurse who offers support and resources that address the root of the woman’s need.

In her interview with Know Why, Chelsey noted that 76 percent of surveyed women who are seeking an abortion say they would rather parent than if their circumstances were different. “And that’s where our organization began,” Chelsey said of Human Coalition, “helping to fix those circumstances so she could see hope.”

“Does she really want [an abortion], or does she feel like she doesn’t have any other choice?”

Know Why Podcast

While every woman’s set of circumstances is unique, Chelsey said they see some consistent themes among women who reach out to Human Coalition and are considering abortion. Those include the need for emotional support, pressure from others including male partners and even family members, the costs of childcare, and lack of housing.

There are over 2,400 pregnancy resource centers in the nation that are dedicated to helping pregnant women in need. Human Coalition connects women with local pregnancy centers. It also offers a Continuum of Care program with 7,000 resources available to create an individualized care plan for each woman that will help her gain stability and independence. Several states, including Texas, have also agreed to provide assistance programs for pregnant women and parents after their children’s birth or adoption.

“It is always the right thing to say that innocent human life is worthy of protection.”

Chelsey Youman

These charitable and government resources aren’t often covered in the media, Chelsey said. When asked what pro-lifers could do to better help women, she responded that the church could be more involved in helping pregnant women and offering support to post-abortive women.

If you want to learn more about Human Coalition, the resources available to pregnant women, and the resources available to parents through Human Coalition’s Continuum of Care, click on the links below.

Resources

  • Human Coalition
  • The Pregnancy Network — If you are pregnant or parenting a child age 3 and under, find out if you are eligible for assistance with childcare costs, food assistance, healthcare, housing, and more.
Categories
Podcasts

Is it Possible to Thrive With Anxiety and Depression?

Interview with Ben Bennett

Ben Bennett is the Director of the Resolution Movement, a speaker, and the co-author of Free to Thrive: How Your Hurt, Struggles, and Deepest Longings Can Lead to a Fulfilling Life. In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, Ben talks with Liberty about his personal journey from struggling to thriving—and how both brain science and biblical truth offered breakthroughs.

Millennials and Gen Z: Hurting Like Never Before

  • In 2019, 70% of teens said anxiety and depression are major problems amongst their peers according to Pew Research Center.
  • In the last five years, some research has shown that young adults are 63 times more lonely than those over 75 years old.
  • Only 4% of Gen Z hold to a biblical worldview, and is historically the least religious generation in American history.
  • Suicide is a leading leading cause of death among young people.

Ben also noted that few pastors report feeling very well equipped to help people with their mental and emotional struggles. As someone raised in the Christian church, Ben felt this personally. As he began dealing with multiple mental health issues and addictions, he felt alone and thought he would struggle forever.

“I had this cocktail of compulsions trying to survive, trying to deal with life.”

Ben Bennett
Resolution Movement

“I had this cocktail of compulsions trying to survive, trying to deal with life,” Ben told Know Why Podcast. “I was trying everything I was hearing from Christians at the time but it just didn’t seem to work.”

Neuroplasticity: Renewing Your Mind

What Ben details in his book Free to Thrive with co-author Josh McDowell is that often, addictions, “unwanted behaviors,” and mental health struggles are humans’ attempted solutions to fill unmet longings. Everyone has ingrained longings such as acceptance. Not getting those longings fulfilled can trigger unwanted responses.

But those responses can be overcome by creating new pathways in your brain.

“Brain scans show that through repeated thoughts and actions, changes happen in the brain. The things you used to struggle with you no longer struggle with. New pathways are grown and developed.”

Ben Bennett
Resolution Movement

“I just saw anxiety in my life go down by about 90 percent,” Ben said, “And what I realized was happening was, I was being transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2), and neuroplasticity—brain scans show that through repeated thoughts and actions, changes happen in the brain. The things you used to struggle with you no longer struggle with. New pathways are grown and developed.”

Listen to the full episode to hear Ben explain neuroplasticity more and how it helped him overcome food addiction, pornography addiction, and anxiety when the well-meaning advice of others couldn’t. Ben also challenges listeners to think differently about Christianity, even if they have experienced legitimate hurts from Christians.

“It’s not that the bad’s not bad,” he told Know Why Podcast. “It’s that the good is too good to walk away from.”

Additional Resources:

Categories
Podcasts

Does it Matter if I Go to Church?

Interview with Jonathan Teague, Sr. Associate Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church

Gallup reported in 2021 that church membership in the United States dropped below 50 percent. This is new for Americans, who have traditionally reported high rates of church membership and attendance.

Church membership isn’t just dropping because fewer people identify as religious now. Even among people who still identify with a religion, fewer are members of churches, synagogues and mosques.

“Pew researchers concluded that people who regularly participate in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than their peers who are infrequent attendees or don’t identify with a religion at all.”

Carol Kuruvilla, Religion Reporter
HuffPost

This leads Know Why Podcast to ask the questions, does church attendance matter at all? For those who aren’t religious or church attenders—what’s missing? For those who are religious, why not worship at home?

On this episode, Liberty and Jonathan Teague, Sr. Associate Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, share research that highlights several benefits of attending a house of worship. Jonathan also shares more about what a Christian church community should look like according to the Bible.

Happier in Church?

From a research standpoint, there is significant evidence revealing that those who frequent the pews are better off — and not just in the United States:

“After analyzing data from over 20 countries, Pew researchers concluded that people who regularly participate in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than their peers who are infrequent attendees or who don’t identify with a religion at all.”

“But,” Pew found, “the analysis finds comparatively little evidence that religious affiliation, by itself, is associated with a greater likelihood of personal happiness or civic involvement.”

The social aspect of attending religious services likely plays a big part. According to Pew, “those who frequently attend a house of worship may have more people they can rely on for information and help during both good and bad times.” T. M. Luhrmann wrote for The New York Times, “At the evangelical churches I’ve studied as an anthropologist, people really did seem to look out for one another.”

But as Pew noted:

“Although social activity seems to be a key driver of well-being among religiously active people, there is plenty of research to suggest that other factors play a role, too. Some researchers argue that virtues promoted by religion, such as compassion, forgiveness, and helping others, may improve happiness and even physical health if they are practiced by parishioners.”

Other revealed benefits of attending religious services include better sleep, reduced suicide risk, better relationship quality, and even better sexual satisfaction.

What Young Adults Want

The New York Times reported recently that with church attendance dropping in America, people are losing community that is important to humans’ health and wellbeing. That community isn’t getting replaced with secular activities, according to sociologists.

When Jonathan asks young adults what they hope to find in a church, here’s what he hears:

“More often than not, what they talk about is … being known, being loved, having a place where they can serve, having a place where they can find not only community, but identity, and finding a place where they have value and they get to participate in increasing value. And the good news is, the Scripture lends itself to all those things.”

“If you’re looking for—ideally—the friendliest, most loving, faithful place, you should find it in a church,” he added, noting that it’s up to Christians and ministers to keep those promises of what church is supposed to be according to Scripture.

And Christians often get it wrong. Jonathan notes that millennials and Gen Z don’t have a problem with the teachings of Jesus as much as they have a problem with Christians’ behavior. That’s why it’s up to Christians and ministers to keep the promises of what Christian community and churches is supposed to be.

“I think the majority of young adults, I think the majority of young millennials, they’re pretty cool with the ideas of Jesus, this whole idea of love and service and sacrifice and helping others and healing others.”

Jonathan Teague, Sr. Associate Pastor
Prestonwood Baptist Church

What Does the Bible Say?

Biblical churches should be faithful, built on truth, and have members that actually care for one another, Jonathan told Know Why. And while many people believe in God without attending religious services, the Bible emphasizes church membership as fundamental part of Christian life.

One pastor wrote the following about church attendance:

“Every letter in the New Testament assumes Christians are members of local churches. … They teach us how to get along with other members, how to encourage the weak within the church, how to conduct ourselves at church, and what to do with unrepentant sinners in the church. … All these things are impossible if you aren’t a member of a local church.”

In Christian teaching, believers in Jesus are considered members of his body. They are meant to live in unity, setting an example to the world with their love for one another.

Research seems to confirm what the Bible suggests—people miss out on a lot when they don’t go to church.

Have a topic or interview guest you’d like to suggest for the podcast? Submit it here.

Categories
Podcasts

Does God Have a Political Party?

Ft. Interview with Justin Giboney

People of faith are free participate in either political party and advocate their convictions, but Christians often don’t speak out when their party is wrong. That’s what Justin Giboney, attorney, political strategist, and president of the AND Campaign argues in this episode of the Know Why podcast.

The United States has seen dozens of political parties and multiple party systems throughout history. Today, American politics are largely dominated by two major parties, the Democratic and Republican parties.

Unchanging Values

So which party does God belong to? None of them.

According to the Bible, God and his values are eternal and unchanging. By contrast, earthly politics change constantly. Even the platforms of today’s two major parties evolve year by year.

Rather than being bound to earthly politics, the Bible teaches that God is in control of them. “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings,” the Bible states.

Another way we can know that God doesn’t belong to one political party? The Bible teaches believers to submit to their governmental authorities — regardless of who they are. “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

So, people of faith shouldn’t worry when a political party they don’t like prevails, thinking that it interferes with God’s will. The Bible teaches that no purpose of God’s can be thwarted.

‘Be About Righteousness and Justice’

“You got to read the prophets,” Justin told Know Why. “What we know about the government from Genesis on is that it’s God-ordained. However, you got to remember that God is absolutely sovereign, but he also does a lot of his work through us. And so you see Amos, and you see Isaiah, and you see these people [in the Bible] going to government and going to people in power and saying, ‘You’re not doing the right thing.’ So although it’s God-ordained and God is sovereign, he works through us. … He has an expectation that we’ll be about righteousness and justice. In fact, he’s appalled when we’re not doing that work.”

For instance, in the Bible, God repeatedly commands his followers to pursue justice, care for the oppressed and love others.

Many Christians will argue that their favorite political party does these things better than the rest. Who is right? The truth is that different parties, politicians, or policies may reflect different parts of God’s value system at different times.

“We live in a broken world and as part of that the parties that we’re in are broken,” Justin said. “And so I would say that both parties fall well short of where the gospel would have us to be.” He mentions both abortion and racial justice as examples of where Democrats and Republicans have fallen short of biblical values.

That’s why Christians’ main allegiance should be to God, and not one party or person. Earthly political parties are sure to change, but God’s values never will.

Find other resources mentioned in this episode below:

Have a topic or interview guest you’d like to suggest for the podcast? Submit it here.