Congratulations, Megan! [Scott]

Our LTI speaking team is growing. Jay Watts, Mike Spencer, and Jannique Stewart have already begun impacting students with pro-life training, and now I'm thrilled to announce that Megan Almon--a vital member of our team--has completed her M.A. in Christian Apologetics at Biola University.

Megan, a former University of Georgia Gymdog, was a part of the 2002 SEC Championship team. After graduating in 2004 with a journalism degree, she worked three years for a daily newspaper and won awards for her feature stories. In 2008, she left the paper to pursue graduate studies--first at Mercer University, then, Biola.

Biola's graduate program in apologetics is second to none, and Megan not only completed her course work--she did so with high honors! (Confession: I graduated from the same program, and her GPA beats mine!)

Megan's graduate degree in Christian apologetics is vital to our pro-life efforts because while the street-level debate over abortion rages on, a serious intellectual discussion about the foundation for human rights continues almost unnoticed among Christians. What makes humans valuable? Can secularism provide an adequate grounding for basic human rights? How do natural rights differ from merely positive (legal) ones? How do war, social justice, and theology impact debates over abortion?

Megan is uniquely qualified to train pro-lifers to persuasively answer those questions, and I highly recommend her to you as a speaker and educator. In the months ahead, we plan to use her expertise to launch a new training seminar for pregnancy center directors and staff entitled, “Reaching Hearts, Engaging Minds: Communicating Pro-life Truth with Love and Conviction.” Her objective is to equip pregnancy center staff to reach students in Catholic and Protestant high schools with pro-life content.

In addition to working with LTI, Megan also oversees "Answers," a monthly public forum and presentation held by Four Corners Church of Newnan that addresses topics of an apologetic nature. She also has experience working with youth organizations, campus outreach, and women's groups.

Endorsements of Megan:

I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Megan Almon since 2007. She is an authentic and creative communicator of God's word to high school students. Her effectiveness comes from her passionate love of the Lord and being theologically grounded in His word. She is relationship driven and students easily open up to her. She is an amazing young woman of God who is being used by Him in wonderful ways.

Reverend Brian Morgan
Minster to Students
First Baptist Church, Newnan, GA

I am happy to recommend Megan Almon as an articulate defender of Christian truth. I have come to know Megan through teaching her at McAfee School of Theology and dialoguing with her outside the classroom. Megan is a serious student of Scripture, Christian theology, and Christian ethics. She is clear and precise in both written and oral communication. She knows both what to say and how to say it. She is able to digest multiple perspectives while being clear about the best understanding of biblical faith. I recommend her highly!

Dr. David P. Gushee
Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University

Congratulations, Megan! I'm proud of you!

The Pro-Life Statesman [Scott]

A colleague of mine asked what adjustments pro-life advocates should make to better position themselves for 2011 and beyond.

That's a loaded question that's best left to brighter minds, but my general reply was as follows: Pro-life Christians should bring God glory. At the practical level, that means they must not only state their case persuasively, but transform themselves into winsome statesmen without sacrificing the intellectual content of their ideas.

I then sketched out a rough (and very incomplete) outline of what that transformation might look like, including those principles that I strive to live by as a pro-life apologist.

Thesis: The pro-life statesman completes five key tasks:

I) The pro-life statesman presents a persuasive case for life in forums where our message most needs a hearing:

A. in Catholic and Protestant high schools
B. in presentations to clergy
C. in debates at high schools and universities
D. in training seminars for lay people
E. in talks to elementary age children
F. in worldview courses for high school students

II) The pro-life statesman engages the debate in the academy:

A. in philosophy:

1. He defends the substance view of human persons
2. He challenges naturalism as a foundation for human rights and ethics

B. in Law: refutation of moral and legal neutrality
C. in Ethics: He helps Christians think biblically about medical technology related to the edges of life (beginning and end of life)

III) The pro-life statesman clarifies theological misconceptions

A. in Evangelical theology: He challenges the mistaken belief that we should only preach the gospel and never do politics--but he does so without sacrificing fidelity to the gospel or Scripture
B. in Catholic theology: He confronts the mistaken belief that social justice requires that all moral issues carry equal moral weight
C. in Pastoral theology: He engages clergy who mistakenly think the gospel of grace means ignoring sin
D. in personal theology: He challenges the mistaken view that individuals must get a personal assignment from God to do pro-life work
E. in youth ministry theology: He challenges the claim that today's twitter generation can't handle serious pro-life content

IV) The pro-life statesman connects the dots

A. in churches: He helps pastors win connecting biblical truth to abortion
B. in politics: He graciously explains why all political parties are not equal in their defense of human life
C. in pregnancy center ministry: He inspires staff and volunteers to minister to women AND impact culture

V. The pro-life statesman functions with intellectual integrity:

A. in his study: He masters the moral logic of the pro-life view
B. in his speaking: He cites sources for ideas and illustrations not his own
C. in his tactics: He graciously engages critics with questions designed to gather information and reverse the burden of proof
D. in his presentation: He avoids bad pro-life arguments

Admittedly, this is a very sparse outline, but stay tuned. I sense a talk may be developing.

Important Pro-Life Training Links [Scott]

My advanced pro-life apologetics course for M.A. students (at Biola University) is now on YouTube. The 8 sessions are featured there. Take your pick. The extended notes for the seminar are here.

Bob Perry of the LTI speaking team will be featured on the nationally syndicated "Bible Answer Man" program tomorrow. Listen here.

Rich Poupard of the LTI speaking team was featured on the "Bible Answer Man" program last Thursday discussing Self-Esteem from a Scalpel. Powerful stuff. (Rich is interviewed begining at the 21 minute mark.)

Meanwhile, LTI staffers Jay Watts and Megan Almon continue providing worldview training to students in the Atlanta area.

If you haven't considered supporting our efforts to equip pro-lifers, please do! You can make a real difference by going here.

SK