I recently traveled to England, at the invitation of John Smeaton, National Director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), to be a keynote speaker at their international conference in Swanwick, Derbyshire, England. At their request, I spoke about the dangers of the Obama presidency.
I shared three dangers we face relative to current pro-abortion actions by President Obama: One—too many church-going African Americans seem to be more Afro-Centric than Christo-Centric. Having a black president appears to be serving as an opiate in that regard. Two—a temptation for pro-lifers to give in to despair or allow themselves to become overwhelmed by roadblocks that this unique presidency has placed in our paths relative to reaching the Black community with the pro-life message. Three—there is the danger of many pro-lifers slipping into hatred toward our President because of his pro-abortion position. When one slips down this slope of disdain toward President Obama, it has the strong potential of keeping you from regularly praying for him.
While in the UK, Peter Smith (Chief Administrative Officer to the UN for SPUC) and I participated in a 90-minute, live interview on Genesis Revelation TV. My new relationship with Peter has resulted in a November 2009 trip to the United Nations in New York to gain insight on effective strategies used to influence UN delegates toward life-affirming policies.
I was able to visit the Old House of Commons in London and stand on the exact location of St. Steven’s Chapel, which burnt down in 1834. I stood within “inches” of where William Wilberforce—the Christian abolitionist and British Member of Parliament—argued on behalf of the abolition of slavery. It was quite a moving experience. I pray that we will battle with the same level of passion and perseverance on behalf of the unborn, as Wilberforce did for the slaves!
Following this, I spoke at the Brixton Pregnancy Advice Center (BPAC) in Brixton, which officially launched while I was in England. We prayed and commissioned Marcia Jones and her husband, Pastor Howard Jones, to run the BPAC. They will operate under the direction of Keith Brooks, pastor of the Raleigh Park Christian Center (RPCC), where the pregnancy center is located.
Brixton is a very dangerous, predominantly black city in England, with many notorious street gangs. Brixton is known for having produced many great boxers in the 1970s and 80s.
BPAC is located adjacent to the international, pro-abortion behemoth, Marie Stopes, that provides and advocates for abortion worldwide. Marie Stopes wants the land Pastor Brooks occupies in order to build a high-rise abortion facility. However, Pastor Brooks boldly declares, “They are not getting our land. In fact, we will be getting their land, to the glory of God!”
I preached at Pastor Brooks’ church, during a Sunday evening weekly service at RPCC in Brixton. The church is called Christian Transformed and its members are former drug addicts, gang members, prostitutes, etc. I will be partnering with them to educate, motivate and activate the black pastors to become defenders of the unborn in Brixton.
I hope reading this account motivates you to pray for our ongoing urban outreach efforts in America and abroad.
Protecting Black Life is an outreach project of Life Issues Institute.
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