Radical Womanhood

The Gosnell Case: A Human Rights Tragedy of Epic Proportions

2013-04-12T23:41:07-04:00

I might have been one of the few people who read about Kermit Gosnell's abortion clinic in Philadelphia after it was raided by the FBI back in 2010. But the fact that I'm aware of the current prosecution is because my friends have made an award-winning short documentary about the case, 3801 Lancaster (a reference to the clinic address), and the "house of horrors" that masqueraded as a women's clinic. It was an abortion clinic, one of the most gruesome places of medical practice you can imagine: filthy, unsafe equipment; unlicensed and underage (15!) practitioners; broken and rusty equipment; murders of babies born alive; and a bizarre collection of fetal parts preserved in jars and other containers. The grand jury report is sickening to read, not only because of Gosnell's actions but also because of the complete lack of regulatory oversight.

This week, the mainstream media finally gave the Gosnell murder trial some attention. Kirsten Powers wrote about it for USA Today, chastising her fellow journalists for ignoring the story. She wrote: "Since the murder trial of Pennsylvania abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell began March 18, there has been precious little coverage of the case that should be on every news show and front page. The revolting revelations of Gosnell's former staff, who have been testifying to what they witnessed and did during late-term abortions, should shock anyone with a heart. ... You don't have to oppose abortion rights to find late-term abortion abhorrent or to find the Gosnell trial eminently newsworthy. This is not about being 'pro-choice' or 'pro-life.' It's about basic human rights."

Then The Atlantic magazine picked up on it, noting the grand jury's report that said, "We think the reason no one acted is because the women in question were poor and of color, because the victims were infants without identities, and because the subject was the political football of abortion." Others soon joined in, from Slate (which actually had published an earlier piece in 2011) to Anderson Cooper and CNN (with David Altrogge, the director of 3801 Lancaster, as one of the guests). One media outlet that has consistently covered the story has been the Philadelphia Inquirer. Their extensive library of articles can be accessed in their Gosnell collection.

Gosnell kept no records so it's hard to know how many lives were taken at his clinic. But it's a visible reminder of one of the biggest human rights violations in our generation--from the innocent babies who were killed, to the women who were subjected to the worst kind of "back alley abortions" in an era of "safe and legal" abortions, to the flagrant violations of basic medical standards and patient safety. It's been said that a nail salon has more regulation than this clinic.

Pray that justice is done in this matter. Pray that Gosnell repents. Pray for the women who were treated there. Pray for our media that didn't think there was a story here worth covering for so long. Pray for this divisive political topic to be subject to reasonable discourse. Pray for an end to abortion.

Sanctification in the Season of Singleness

2013-03-19T01:17:35-04:00

Here is my current article on Boundless, which is based on a message I gave last year at the Desiring God National Conference.

Sanctification refers to the process of becoming spiritually mature or being set apart for holy use. For single adults, sometimes it feels like we're just being set aside.

This is an unintentional byproduct of the typical marriage testimony. When couples speak of their first year of marriage, they often remark that they thought they were mature — until they got married. Then their selfishness was revealed. Yes, that's one way God works, and it can be fairly intense. But it is not the only way. When said to an unmarried adult, we can hear: "Not only are you unwanted for marriage, you are also consigned to a lifetime of immaturity!"

Neither of those thoughts is true, of course. Every believer can (and should!) pursue spiritual maturity. Fortunately, Hebrews 5:13-14 shows us one of the ways this process works: "For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" (ESV).

Maturity here is described as a process of training for discernment, which is the ability to distinguish good from evil. This verse says the immature person is "unskilled in the word of righteousness," meaning that the Bible is not the standard for good and evil, but some other measure is — emotions, expectations or cultural standards, for example. The good news is that maturity is not dependent upon marital status. All believers are called to train their powers of discernment through the constant practice of saying, "Is this good or evil in God's eyes?"

For single adults, there are some common areas where it takes vigilance to distinguish good from evil. These hindrances to maturity can fall in three areas: identity, self-centeredness and secrecy.

Discerning True Identity

It can feel shameful at times to be solo. You upset the balance at dinner parties. You present a problem for seating at wedding receptions. You can feel like a walking advertisement for failure or rejection. You can be the object of gossip and speculation, even in your own church.

We live in a period where the church highly esteems the commitments of marriage and family — as it should, for many in our surrounding culture do not. But I think that this regular emphasis on our roles as men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and so forth can obscure the one aspect of our identity that we have in common: We are adopted children of our heavenly Father and siblings to one another. While many roles end in this life, this one does not. Since our "siblinghood" is not addressed as often as other relationships in the church, it is easy to forget. Because of that, some of the hardest work we will do is to hold fast to the truth of our identity in Christ while sitting in our own churches. But don't become discouraged or bitter if this happens. It's just a training opportunity.

It takes constant practice to take our thoughts captive to the realities of God's Word, instead of thinking we are forgotten or less valuable than others simply because we are unmarried. We are loved by the Supreme King of the Universe. This is the real deal. The love of another human being is wonderful and exhilarating, but it is only a reflection of God's love because we are His image-bearers.

This sibling identity is also critically important when it comes to dating/courting/relating within our churches. This is a separate topic of its own, but here is the takeaway point: The people we date are not consumable goods to be used and tossed away. They are people for whom Christ died so that we could be with Him throughout eternity. This truth should entirely revamp how we view, speak of and interact with all those people we do not marry.

Evil is when the Enemy accuses God of holding out on you because you are still single. Training in truth means you discard that lie and replace it with a promise from Scripture. One of my favorite verses to write in my single friends' birthday cards is Psalm 34 verse 5: "Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." As we look to the Lord, our misplaced shame about singleness can be replaced with the radiance of His love.

Discerning Self-Centeredness

A wise friend of mine once observed that single adults become emotionally stunted when we have not pushed ourselves to love others sacrificially. Loving and serving others is how we grow in Christlikeness. While marriage and family does not guarantee maturity, it certainly creates the opportunity for it. Therefore, single adults who want to pursue maturity should look for opportunities to be self-giving in the face of boundless opportunities to be self-centered.

I am a task-oriented person, so I have put reminders on my calendar every month to think about ways to serve others. It's a sad truth: I have turned my relationships into To Do reminders! But if I don't, my calendar defaults to being all about me. By intentionally thinking about whom to serve, by planning for other people's milestones, and by putting down prayer reminders for the needs of others, I'm taking small steps to battle self-centeredness.

Our prayers are a good barometer of self-centeredness. Do they start with glorifying and thanking God? Are they full of petitions for His people? Have we first woven in thanksgiving for any answered prayers before firing off our petitions?

Self-centeredness is a hard thing to measure by yourself — maybe impossible. The Holy Spirit will prompt us through His Word, but we need to assume we have huge blind spots. Having a prayer and accountability partner, one who has regular access to your life and thoughts, can be immensely helpful for this evaluation. More than one partner is great, too. I say prayer andaccountability because grace and truth need to be equally present.

I also recommend periodic prayer retreats to soberly evaluate your calendar and your checkbook. The records of how you spent your time and your treasure often present a sober reflection of your spiritual maturity. Then I recommend sharing that information with your accountability partner(s). Get some feedback from them and ideas about where you could change. This is a great way to cultivate humility when you are not used to answering to others for how you spend your money and your time.

Discerning Secrecy

Throughout the New Testament, truth is described as light breaking into the darkness. We should be eager to live in the light. As John 3:20-21 says, "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

Single adults have to choose to live life in the light. This is true of every believer, married or not. But I think it is easier for single adults to live privately and nurture secret sin. Even in shared housing, it's easy to slip away and not be known. But whatever we think we are getting away with, it is already known by God, and He brings it into His light so that we can experience the forgiveness we have already received in Jesus. But Satan wants us to remain in the shadows, feeding our secret sin, so he can use our actions to entrap us and disparage the name of Christ.

Spiritual maturity recognizes the seriousness of hiding things from others — habits, relationships, weaknesses and temptations. But we have these struggles in common. I have communicated with hundreds of single adults since I began writing and speaking about singleness more than 10 years ago, and I can only think of two people who never had a desire to get married. The rest of us wrestle with unfulfilled hopes, sexual temptations, longings for intimacy, and dangerous daydreams. As we bring those things into the light, we will come to learn that the Lord's grace is sufficient to choose what's right, even if it's hard.

Finally, of the many things we need to learn as we mature, arguably the most important is what to prize. Some may not receive marriage and family in this life. Or, in the case of many single adults, it takes longer than expected. But whatever happens, don't think that you have received less than anyone else. The prize is not marriage to another human. The prize is Christ. He has set you apart — for himself.

Breaking the Wall of Silence

2013-03-06T17:09:40-05:00

I've spent the last year developing a new documentary film called BREAKING THE WALL OF SILENCE. It's about the important topic of patient safety. It's been eye-opening to research this topic and learn about the risks that patients face in a healthcare culture that routinely hides medical errors behind a "wall of silence."

The interesting thing to me is that I first came across this concept way back in 1996 when Ken Sande, a former lawyer who founded Peacemaker Ministries, gave a message titled "The Gift of Conflict." In it, he gave an illustration of a hospital where a baby was born during a nursing shift change and didn't make the "hand off"--neither shift was aware of the birth and the baby died. So the hospital predictably put both nurses involved on administrative leave and hustled them behind the "wall of silence" that prevented them from talking to the family. But the parents involved found out who these nurses were and went to each of their homes, assuring them that they were only there to offer forgiveness. Which made both of the nurses unleash a tide of guilt and shame, and eventually led one to become a Christian. The "deny and defend" response didn't have a place for the innate human need for forgiveness and reconciliation.

All these years later, I've never forgotten that story. In the healthcare industry, they sometimes call the affected healthcare professionals "second victims." That's a controversial term, but the concept remains the same--when intent to harm is not there, conscientious healthcare providers are horrified when they make preventable medical mistakes. But historically the healthcare system has engaged in high-risk activity without using the best practices to prevent harm that are typical of other high-risk industries, such as aviation. The result is that patients die in astounding numbers: it's been estimated that more than 100,000 patients die each year from preventable medical mistakes.

Our film is about a group of doctors and patient advocates who are trying to transform patient safety through the principles of transparency, accountability, and honesty. They have started their quest this month and my company, Citygate Films, has been given access to film this undertaking. So watch this trailer to understand some of the issues involved. Then, if you feel this project has merit, my team and I would certainly appreciate your support for our all-or-nothing Kickstarter funding campaign. (For additional reading, I also recommend Rosemary Gibson's leading book on patient safety, Wall of Silence, from where we obtained our title. She is one of the subjects of our film.)

The Gospel at Work

2013-02-11T01:57:28-05:00

Last month, I participated in The Gospel at Work conference. In addition to giving a seminar about women, work and productivity, I was also invited to give this short testimony about what the gospel looks like in the daily work I do. So I'm sharing the testimony here. The messages from this event are available online.

Four years ago, I decided that the depth of the Great Recession was an ideal time to start a new business—in a creative field, no less! So in early 2009, I launched Citygate Films, raising private equity to produce a slate of documentary films. Digital distribution was poised to change the way independent films reach their audiences and I was positioning Citygate to take advantage of that trend.

As expected, my first year in business was a steep learning curve—trying to master securities law, effective business plans, accounting software, taxes and tax forms . . . and even the occasional film shoot! I quickly learned that the “business of business” took more time and brain cells than the creative film work I anticipated filling my time. Daily I asked God both for my personal provision and for the wisdom to make the right decisions required in this new venture—and daily I saw Him be faithful to His promises to give both.

But those experiences are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to seeing the gospel at work. In the years since, I’ve learned three valuable lessons:

Lesson Number One: Relationship Trumps Product

There is a sticky note on my office wall to remind me to pray for one of the musicians featured in our jazz documentary because she’s seriously ill with cancer. Do you know why I have this note posted? Because I need to be reminded she is more than a face in my film.

It’s so easy to default to the product—the film—being the highest priority. I want to make excellent films, but this woman is much more than a subject in my film. She has become a dear friend. Being granted access to someone else’s life and story is one of the great privileges of being a documentary filmmaker. But any story I create only captures a small slice of the larger narrative God has already created, ordained, and sustained.

As John Piper says, “In every situation and circumstance of your life, God is always doing a thousand different things that you cannot see and you do not know.”

Therefore, I need to live in prayerful awareness of that truth. Whether I am working on a feature film that Citygate has produced or a short film for a corporate, nonprofit, or ministry client, I need to live the truth that relationship trumps product. And intercessory prayer is one of the ways I’m learning to practice it.

Lesson Number 2: Give Credit

If you’ve ever made it through a movie’s entire closing credit scroll, you know that filmmaking is a highly collaborative endeavor. As much credit as is given the director for the artistic and commercial success of a film, that individual stands on the talents and efforts of countless others. This is true in every field. We need to acknowledge and praise the contributions of others. But that’s a self-evident truth, even to those who don’t claim faith.

A more profound lesson I’ve learned as a Christ-follower is to look for what’s never listed in the credit scroll: the grace of God in making any human collaboration actually work. That’s the single most important aspect of success, for there are a gazillion ways for our best-laid plans to go wrong.

Lesson Number 3: Invite the Critics

Every filmmaker craves “two thumbs up” and rave reviews. You’ve been up to stupid o’clock every night for months, sometimes years, working on this film and you want major applause as a reward. But that doesn’t happen without much critique along the way to improve the final product.

Here’s what I’ve learned the hard way: critique only becomes criticism if you fear other people by craving their approval or fearing their rejection. But living in light of gospel truth means you know that your most devastating evaluation has already been made: you have fallen short of God’s glory in every way possible. But you still get “two thumbs up” because of Christ’s righteousness. That frees you from the sting of falling short in the judgment of a fellow creature.

Practically speaking, your first draft is never your best, anyway. You have to be willing to have lots of “rough-cut screenings” as we say in the film industry to solicit feedback and improve the final product. Not only will that practice improve your craft, it will also improve your soul.

Documenting Gratitude

2013-01-27T12:07:46-05:00

I'm down to the wire, working against my deadline on my current book about women, work, and productivity. For me, writing a book is like running a marathon. Not that I've ever run a marathon, but go with me on this one. I think the mental exhaustion must be the same--even if there is no comparison whatsoever on the physical side. The point is, when one is focused so intently on one goal, it's easy to miss a lot that is going on around you and therefore to overlook God's gracious gifts.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine showed me an app based on Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. I have not yet read the book, but I was immediately captivated by the idea of documenting gratitude. Using your phone, you are able to either enter text or a photo with text to capture a moment of thankfulness. These items are gifts of grace from a loving God. Mine range from pictures of people and why I'm grateful to them to things as mundane as my warm flannel sheets on a cold winter morning.

In our busy lives, I think it's easy to overlook the things we appreciate. I am grateful to have this app to capture those moments. I want to use this tool to cultivate gratitude for daily gifts.

Back to the marathon ...