Personhood Alliance Presentation

Partnership in the Fight Against Abortion

I still love the partnership that you guys have together, and if I can partner with you guys in any way, please let me know. I'd love to partner with you in our ministries and what we're doing. I'm here to partner with you, to join with you, to ask for your help in the fight against abortion.

And so I want to thank you, Brother Keith, for allowing me to visit with these fine brother pastors. And I want to thank Brother Senator Alexander for visiting with us as well, and I look forward to hearing from him in just a few minutes.

Five Biblical Truths About Life and the Unborn

The ministry that I'm going to introduce to you, I'm not going to rehash all the things that you already know. But if you look on their website, and I'll introduce you to them in just a few minutes. But if you look on the website, they've got five biblical truths, which you guys already know.

And I feel like we are already on the same page, we're already on board, going in the same direction. But if you want to look, God has supremacy over life. God forgives child sacrifice. God has a relationship with the unborn child.

God commands us to stand up for the weak. God claims victory over sin and death. You all are already familiar with that. You all already have the verses to back that up. So today I'm not going to rehash and go over information that you already know, you already have in your arsenal that you're already familiar with.

But I want to share with you some other information and share with you a ministry that you may not be familiar with that I think we can be excited about. But this is where I want to start. Psalm 139, verses 13 and 14.

For thou didst form my inner parts. Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Now what can we do as brothers in Christ? What can we do as we gather here today with those verses?

We can worship. We can celebrate the greatness of God. We can celebrate the love and kindness of God. We can celebrate the character of God in His holiness. Together we can worship God in these verses.

And we do that. It's a wonderful thing. But that's not the mindset outside of these walls in the world. So I want to make two quick points. Point number one, outside of these walls, what's going on? And point number two, outside of these walls, what are we doing?

Satan's Strategy to Destroy God's Kingdom Agenda

So point number one, outside of these walls, what's going on? I believe that God has an agenda. I believe that God has a kingdom agenda. And Satan and all evil hate those verses that we just read. They hate God and they hate God's kingdom agenda.

And I think Satan, I believe Satan has had a strategy and has worked since the beginning of time. I'm going to give you two thoughts on that strategy that I think he has. I'm going to start with number two.

I'm going to finish with the most important one. But number two in those strategies and what's going on outside of these walls. If we start at the beginning, we see the communication between God and Adam.

And he gave him the creation mandate to go fill the earth. And I believe that God continued to give that mandate all throughout the Old Testament. However, every one failed. Just like we failed in keeping His law and pleasing God.

We all failed. And in that creation mandate to fill the earth, to spread the gospel, every single one failed. Another reason why we needed a savior, Jesus Christ.

And Jesus came and He claimed the victory.

He won.

He won that battle. And Jesus won the victory there. And He is going to continue in that victory, continue that kingdom word, that kingdom agenda that God has. And He is going to ultimately win. He gives us that same type of mandate in Matthew chapter 28 where He says, Go make disciples of all the nations.

Jesus is continuing in that work. The kingdom of Jesus will fill the earth. And Satan hates it. I think another verse that is important here is Isaiah chapter 42 verse 4. I think it's so powerful here.

It says, The coastlands wait eagerly for the law. So there's an expectation with the earth that they were expecting. They're eagerly waiting the law of God, the move of God, the kingdom of God. And so there's God's kingdom agenda.

I think Satan has been after it from the beginning. This is just my opinion based on study and experience. But I believe it's possible that one of Satan's strategies in this is to convince men to kill one another.

And we've seen that from the beginning, right? With Cain and Abel. And does Scripture not say that Satan has come to kill and destroy? We know that's his agenda. And if he can convince us to kill one another, then it's possible that he believes that he's stunting the growth of God's kingdom.

That kingdom agenda.

It's possible that that's what's going on. And here's two questions that I want to ask. What if he, Satan, can convince a Christian nation to legalize murder? What if he can convince Christians to be complacent?

What would that look like?

The Image of God, Abortion, and Christian Complacency

And here's point number one, the most important one. Satan hates those verses that we read. Satan hates God. And Satan hates God's agenda, his kingdom agenda. But what does the Bible say of man? The Bible says of man that we were created in the image of God.

And if he can convince us to kill one another, then we are destroying the image of God here on this earth. What evil and what blasphemy we're doing here on this planet. So I ask the question again. What if Satan, what if he could convince a Christian nation to legalize murder?

What if Satan could convince Christians to be complacent in that? What would that look like? Point number two, outside of these walls, what are we doing? I've already hinted at what happened in 1973. We're all familiar with Roe versus Wade and the decision that was made to legalize abortion, the legalization of murder.

And it seems in a general sense that he has, Satan has convinced a lot of Christians to be complacent in that area. There's been a numbness to abortion as it has become normalized. On our watch as Christians in America, which you all know these numbers, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of babies inside the womb and outside the womb have been murdered.

We could have the philosophical arguments, where was the church prior to Roe versus Wade? Where was the church during Roe versus Wade? Where has the church been since Roe versus Wade? We could have those philosophical arguments.

But I think we can step back, look forward, and move forward. One of the things that we can do is we can stop this mindset, we can stop this thinking that so many of us have, that just because I voted, I checked that box, I voted for the pro-life candidate, and maybe later on during the year I filled up a baby bottle full of coins, I've done my part.

That was my part and I'm completed and I'm content with that. If we could end that mindset, that would be a good step forward. Now those things are great and those things are things that we need to do and need to support.

But stopping there, that mindset of stopping there and thinking, I've done my part, I think is where we need to begin. Now let's move to the encouraging news. I believe that God is on the move. I really, really do.

I believe that God is on the move. I believe that Jesus has won the victory and he is reclaiming the earth. There are exciting things going on in our generation and let me just name a few of them. There's so many more, but let me just name a few of them.

There are abolitionists in the Southern Baptist Convention. If you went to the Southern Baptist Convention, maybe you saw their booth, you heard them speak, but there are abolitionists in the Southern Baptist Convention.

So name two, Bill Aspel and Greg Baggett. There are abolitionists in South Carolina who are doing a great work, who are preaching at the clinics, who are talking to legislators. And one guy that's hitting that up is Matt Brock.

There's a group in California in the motion now with Jeff Durbin. He's got a movement going down there. He's preaching at clinics and he's meeting with folks and doing a great work over there in California.

And also over there you have the abolitionist filmmaker and abolitionist of the movie. And here locally we have a group called Love Life and my friend Josh Kappas is vice president there. And they are doing a tremendous work in the pro-life movement.

They were founded and started here in Charlotte and now they are opening a center in California. And they're opening up all over the United States and they're doing a wonderful work. We have those fighting in Texas.

Now let me say something about what's going on in Texas. They passed the heartbeat bill. And so within the pro-life movement you have different mindsets. You have the abolitionist mindset that says how can you claim that as a victory?

Because it's not a win because you still have babies losing. You still have babies being murdered. I feel that. I understand that mindset. But on the other hand we have people working in Texas. And so I see both sides and I kind of stand in the middle.

We've not won yet.

But we have people working. We have people moving and God is using people. We have crisis pregnancy centers. And we have pro-life candidates such as Senator Ted Alexander who is with us here today. All these ministries are great ministries and we should support all of them.

And I think some of you already support some of these. I think Brother Robert, I think you support Love Life.

I think you're involved with that.

Personhood Alliance and Local Personhood Resolutions

So we should support all these ministries. God is doing a good work. Let me introduce you to the ministry, the pro-life ministry that I think we can get excited about. One where we can lock arms here locally.

And where we can make a difference in our county and in our state. I think we can make a difference that is going to be real and tangible. It's not just imaginary. It's not just a vision. We can make a real difference that's tangible.

It's called Personhood Alliance. If you look at the information that I gave you, if you want to know more about me. And we're probably going to disagree theologically on some things. But I would love for you to look me up and learn more about me.

And I would love to partner with you in gospel ministry. On the other piece of paper, you'll see another name, Keith Pavlansky. He's the North Carolina representative of Personhood Alliance. It's a national organization, but he's the North Carolina representative.

And the web address is on there, personhood .org. I'd love for you to check them out and see what's going on there. What makes them different from the other pro-life ministries? Well, this ministry brings us together as we the people.

Just as the founders intended. We will be working from the grassroots first and then making our way to the top. This ministry also allows us to live in the victory of Christ and speak with the authority of Christ.

Not just from the pulpit, but in the public square and in the political arena. Let me give you a quote from the president of Personhood Alliance Education, Sarah Quayle.

She says,.

Our culture has embraced a godless worldview about life, marriage, family, sexuality, and even gender. The church has been battling this competing worldview by turning over our spiritual authority to judges and politicians.

Present company not included. That are just not interested in the redemption of souls and we need to step back. That is what this effort is all about. Claiming our right to govern locally and claiming our spiritual authority.

We have the answer to the abortion crisis. It's Jesus. Only he can bring hard changes that are necessary here. Then we can stand up and demand that abortion ends in our backyard. What do we do when we partner with Personhood Alliance?

I've got a flyer down here. This is the flyer that I'm going to be reading from. They have three steps. Number one, resolve to protect. Make a broad inspirational human rights declaration that recognizes the personhood of born and pre-born humans.

And the duty of the local jurisdiction to provide equal protection from conception to natural death without exception. Step number two, activate the community. Educate the church and the community about personhood and the ways in which our society has denied it.

Build a coalition of churches, businesses, helping ministries, and local government to engage in specific actions. That create a culture of life and a groundswell to advance personhood protections at the state and national levels.

Step number three, defy unjust laws. Once your town has matured in its efforts to embrace a culture of life and is prepared for legal challenges, publicly and peacefully uphold the biblical standard of justice by establishing local laws that ignore the Rovers' Way decision and the myriad of laws that violate the personhood of vulnerable children and adults.

Grassroots Action in Lincoln County

So what is our first step? And acting on this together. Step number one, I have copies of a petition. So this is where I'm asking you to pray about it, seek the Lord, but I'm asking you to join me. I need folks in Lincoln County to join me.

And I know we talked about a few minutes ago, we have folks and churches from Gaston County in this association, we have a church in Cleveland County, and Catawba County. So it's not just for Lincoln County.

This is a nationwide, statewide movement. But because we're in Lincoln County, we need to focus on Lincoln County. And we can help those in other counties focus on their county. So it's for all of us.

But what can we do as Lincoln County citizens? Pray about it, pray about joining me. Take a petition, make copies, and fill it up. Fill up the petition with signatures. The second step is there's a copy, there's two pages of it, so don't forget both pages.

Get a copy of the resolution. It's already printed out.

We don't have to make it up.

We present it to our local commissioners. Keith Pavlansky, who I mentioned earlier, when he made his presentation to his commissioners, he come up with five basic arguments that he presented to his commissioners.

I'm going to briefly go over those five arguments with you. Number one, it's a biblical argument. Now, this is what he presented to his commissioners. It's a biblical argument. Traditionally, it's a traditional Orthodox view of abortion, that abortion is against the teaching of Scripture.

Number two is a patriotic position. From the beginning, the Declaration of Independence says, All men are created equal with certain inalienable rights, that of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and we want to protect every human's rights.

Number three, it's a scientific position. It's not just a religious position, it's a scientific position. In their research, they found that textbooks in the universities in North Carolina teach that life begins at fertilization.

Number four, it's a political stance. If you are a Republican, we can say, that's our platform. That's what we run on, locally and nationally, against abortion. Now, if that's your stance, if that's what you ran on, we're wanting you to stand on your words.

And number five, it's the most physically responsible. For me, and for you, it doesn't cost a dime. For your congregation, it doesn't cost a dime. For the commissioners, they don't have to worry about getting sued, it's just a resolution.

There is no cost involved. It's the most physically responsible position that we can have. Those are his five basic arguments that he gave to his commissioners. Currently, here's the exciting news. Currently in North Carolina, we would be joining Yadkin County and Davie County, who have already passed this resolution.

Additionally, Wilkies and Randolph Counties are expected to pass this resolution in November. The City of Shelby, according to Keith, the City of Shelby and Swain County are making presentations this month.

Here's an additional incentive. One county will have the honor and distinction of being the first to pass the resolution and then formally celebrate it with a plaque. Yadkin and Davie counties, they passed the resolution, but they didn't formally celebrate it with a plaque.

That distinction and honor is still out there. He told me, he said, go Lincoln County.

That could be us.

We could be the first one to formally celebrate it, to have the first plaque hung here in our county. Keith will be glad to join us through this movement. He will be glad to join us when we make our presentation to the commissioners.

He will help us along the way in any way that he can. So he's already given us the petitions.

It's written up.

All the information is given to us already. The resolution, already written up. And his presence, he said he would make a presence here and be here with us along the way. So what are we trying to accomplish?

Two things, I think, to start off with. We will be joining with other counties across our state to make it possible to establish local laws. And this is information that they have given me, Keith has given me from Persons in Alliance, that there's such a thing called local laws.

And if enough of us counties can join together, then we can put on our ballot, our county's ballots, a local law. And if we all pass that local law, it will be law in our county. It doesn't have to go through the Senate, the House, and it doesn't have to cross the desk of the governor.

We can create local laws. Second, we will be strengthening our voice by joining other counties. This will speak volumes to Robin. We need to support and help our brother, Ted Alexander, and all of our other friends in Robin that have a pro-life stance.

We need to help him. We need to vote for him and our other friends. We need to give to them and our other friends. And we need to give him the voice, the support, the backing that he needs to do what he does in Robin.

And that's what this does. Us joining together as counties to back him in what he's doing. And I wasn't aware of this until recently, but sitting in committee for a while now is a bill, HB 158. And this is an abolitionist bill already written up for North Carolina sitting in committee.

And our senators need our support, our backing, so that we can get this bill passed to end abortion in our state. So we start with grassroots petitions, resolution to the commissioners. We join with each other in prayer.

We lock arms and we do it together. And then we work our way up to the state. And hopefully the Lord bless and we move nationally. But God is moving. Let's join him in that movement. Let's make Lincoln County a safe county for the pre-born and families.

Thank you.

I want to turn it over to Senator Alexander for his closing remarks.