David Platt, author and megachurch pastor, confessed his need to “repent” for not preaching on abortion earlier in his ministry.
In an interview with The Christian Post, the 41-year-old pastor of McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, shared how his approach to the controversial topic changed throughout the years.
“There was a point as a pastor when I just kind of stayed away from abortion [because I’d think] that’s a political issue,” he said. “But I got really convicted. Far before it is any kind of political issue, it is a biblical issue that God speaks really clear about the value of life.”
He’s taken that conviction seriously and has attended the March for Life for several years. This year, he delivered the closing prayer for the rally in the National Mall, asking for repentance for all people, despite their sin.
“Everyone marching today is a sinner,” he said. “We have all turned aside from Your ways to our ways—in our lives and as a country. How we have settled for racial injustice, ignored the immigrant, marginalized the poor and neglected the needy. How we have confused sexuality, abused authority, objectified beauty and how we have taken the lives of children,” he said.
Platt and his family are actively involved in the pro-life cause and are currently in the process of adopting their fifth child. This will be the third child they have adopted.
“We did a lot then in the church I was pastoring [Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama] and we are doing a lot now,” he said. “It’s not just saying, ‘Here is what God says about life.’ But it is showing without lives how we are caring for mothers with unwanted pregnancies.
“So [it’s about] stepping up our efforts to do that in church. How do we care for kids in the foster care system and caring for kids in need of adoption? We should be leading the way in not just saying ‘give birth to a child’ but ‘we will be there to help you in the process and if you come to the conclusion you can’t care for this child, we’ll be there to care for this child.’”
Above all, Platt wants his church and all believers to show grace and redemption to women in difficult situations.
“We have many women in our church who have had abortions,” he said. “We have outlets where we are doing ministry with them as they walk through a healing process from having an abortion. We have got to make sure we are addressing this issue holistically and not just saying, ‘OK, let me make this political statement’ and move on. There is so much more.”
Photo courtesy: ©Timcornelson/Creative Commons, image cropped, resized, and overlayed over softened image.
