Mike Fichter's blog

Sometimes distractions are minor. Insignificant. Not worth discussing.

But distractions can become expensive in a hurry. Especially when it comes to ministry. When it comes to the life movement, distractions are those things that pull us away from our core focus of why we even exist.

Distractions can be politcal. They can be financial. They can be relational. Then can even be found in really good stuff. But most of all they can be really, really expensive.

What does it cost us? Opportunities to help a college freshman to choose adoption instead of abortion. Opportunities to help someone hurting after an abortion to find healing in the arms of Christ. Opportunities to know that today, a child’s life was shielded from a painful end.

Are you dealing with distractions today? Consider the cost. Then make the change.

On January 1, 2010, the life movement enters into its most crucial decade yet. I call it the Viability Decade – a period when we must strategically prepare for the long-term viability of our efforts if we want to be in it for the long haul.

What will the keys be for a the Viability Decade? A relentless focus on seven fundamentals:

- Leadership: cultivating the new wave
- Unity: smashing walls and linking arms
- Resources: dropping the martyrdom complex
- Structure: building for the long haul
- Relevancy: speaking so someone will care
- Prayer: fighting on our turf
- Alternatives: show the world what we are for

We’ve got be willing to face the truth about the long-term preparedness of the life movement, and we’ve got to do it now. This means leaving our pride at the door, putting aside personality differences, and dropping the little games we can play to replace organizational effectiveness with organizational control. The good news is that we still have time to do it. The bad news is that we’d better get started now. And there’s no better place to start the Viability Decade than by asking some fundamental questions and giving honest, gut check answers.

Here are just a few of the questions we must be willing to ask:

Are we building sound organizational structures that are built to last? With very few and highly successful exceptions, the life movement relies upon a small pool of leaders who do it all. That’s an impossible burden and a recipe for extinction.

Are we raising up a new generation of leaders that will carry the baton over the next course of the life movement’s history? We must address this problem immediately or the life movement becomes a moot point in a very short amount of time. The starting point is to stop thinking of reaching youth culture in terms of programming, but rather in terms of leadership recruitment. It also means that veteran leaders need to stop thinking that the movement will collapse if they loosen a grip on the reins. It won’t. But it will collapse without future leadership.

Are we remaining relevant? Recently I attended a worldwide church leadership summit and listened as nearly every evangelical leader pointed to issues other than abortion in their calls to action by the body of Christ. In fact, there was only one reference to the issue of abortion and that came in a speaker’s biography in the conference booklet. The speaker, a pastor of an evangelical inner city mega church, noted that his church has continued to grow because it addresses issues that are relevant to the culture instead of the “tired old issues like abortion”. It’s not what I wanted to hear, but this pastor’s biography speaks volumes to anyone willing to take the time to listen.

Are we utilizing the power of unity? I am tempted to say that the life movement is the most splintered movement of its kind in the world. Everyone is doing his or her own thing. Some groups spend more time griping about what others in the life movement are doing wrong than they do about the organizations that take human life. Some are hung up on control, placing power as priority one. Some are cloistered in a denominational bubble zone. It’s like someone lost the playbook so everyone is improvising at once. What’s up with that? The other side gets it. Just listen to your evening news the next time a major life issue comes down the pike. Legislators and organizational leaders alike will use almost the exact same language in media interviews, betraying a scripted response that keeps everyone on page. Listen to the replies from the life movement. I’ll guarantee you they will be all across the board.

Are we building political clout or clinging to the power of the past? This may sting a little, but the life movement has allowed itself to be marginalized in the political arena. Forget the romantic, politically correct notion of bipartisanship. The Democrat Party is solidly in the death grip of abortion proponents. It’s in the Party’s own platform! Yet we continually applaud ostensibly pro-life Democrats because we want to kid ourselves into thinking that there will be a revolution in the ranks. As long as money flows in from EMILY’s List and MoveOn.org, the cord of any revolution in the ranks will be sheared off in a heartbeat. The Republican Party has its own issues with liberal elements that are undercutting the life agenda. But there is a deeper issue. The reality is that many of the GOP power brokers find life movement leaders unreliable and lacking influence, making it more tempting to look in other areas for support. Our response has been to blame “country club” Republicans, but a friend of mine recently reminded me that affluent pro-life Republicans belong to country clubs too, they just don’t like giving money to organizations they don’t view as effective or without vision.

Are we raising the money needed to win this fight? I simply refuse to believe that there is not enough money in the hands of American donors to fuel the needs of the life movement. That’s absurd. Yet the martyrdom complex that seems inherent to many elements of the life movement is maddening. Chances are you’ve heard statements like: “We already have all the money we need”, “We’ve already asked people for money once this year, let’s not ask again”, or “We’ll just have to make do with what we have”.
No! The only time we should ever be ashamed to ask someone to support our cause is if we are not going to put their funding to proper use. If that’s the case we shouldn’t ask at all. But if we start to raise our vision to what we could do, instead of what we must settle for, we can set a whole new standard for this most selfless of causes.

Are we planning for a fight that might last another twenty, thirty, or even a hundred years? Believe me, I understand that no one who serves in the life movement wants to even contemplate the possibility of a seemingly endless continuation of abortion in America. I’ve yet to meet a single person in the life movement who desires to prolong this battle for years to come. But we must ask the question: what if the end doesn’t come in our lifetimes? What judgment will be on our watch if we fail to plan and prepare for the future? How selfish to act as if it’s all about us, right here and right now. The sin is not preparing for the long haul – the sin is in failing to prepare.

Are we addressing the issue of viability? Viability doesn’t simply mean that someone, somewhere will still use the name “Right to Life” fifty years from now. I’m sure there are still some people somewhere calling for a return of the prohibition of alcohol. But I have no idea who they are – do you?
Viability for the purpose of the life movement means to remain a driving, relevant force that will not be silenced until the right to life of every person – born and unborn– is protected by the United States Constitution. This must be what we are striving for, pure and simple. Right now, I don’t think we’re on track to get there. But it’s not too late to shift the gears.

We can do it. And we must do it. But it’s going to take a core shift in the way we approach everything that we are doing in our day-to-day work. If we’re willing to address these issues – if you’re willing to exert influence and leadership – we make sure that we stay in the fight for good.