COLUMBIA—Bonnie Lee tries to do everything she can on the church and the associational level to let people know about the babies that are being killed at the abortion clinic in their backyard. The results have not been all that good.
“There’s very few that come out,” said Lee, who is a member of Open Heart Baptist Church. “And I can’t tell you why. I do know that a ministry has got to be put on your heart by the Lord, but I honestly know this has got to be pretty vital. This is life.”
The number of Missouri Baptists participating in an ongoing prayer emphasis at the Columbia clinic is low. Lee has thought about why that is the case.
“How many times do we sit and watch a murder mystery or one of these stupid reality shows that are just really horrible, and then we turn it and go on to something else because it’s not really real to us?” she said. “I know that was me. It (abortion) was a horrible thing, and I know it should be stopped, and I support the crisis pregnancy centers, things like that, but until I walked there that day, and watched the women come out and knew that they literally had killed their baby …”
She then turned to a military analogy.
“Ask any solider who’s been on the front lines the difference between that and boot camp,” she said. “I think we don’t live in the real world and we distance ourselves, too, because it’s going to take commitment.”
Some of the indifference may be explained by the nature of what Southern Baptists do as a denomination to sustain missions.
“Not only with this but with many other ministry areas, it’s much easier to send some money than to get out there and actually be part of us,” Lee said. “It’s good to be a part of cooperation. I fully believe in that. That’s why I’m Southern Baptist. I think I can do more with other people than I can do by myself. But then the down side of that, that I think we’ve really gotten into, is that it’s much easier to send the bucks in and not have to be personally involved.”
Her church is typical of many in the area in that people nod their heads that what she is doing is important, yet struggle to find the time (or motivation) to actually join her on a Monday or a Thursday when the prayers for life and presence of the body of Christ at the clinic are being fitted together.
“I try to keep the presence very visible in our church,” she said. “I will put little announcements in the bulletin. I call for prayer warriors. I let them know that we have an estimated 19 babies scheduled to be put to death Thursday. Please pray. Come to the sidewalk if you can. It makes a difference. If you can’t be there because you work or whatever, pray at home. Know this day lives are being taken.”
Her desire is that someone reading this article would simply go on a Thursday, which is the day of extreme consequences at the mill.
“On Thursday, they can see and realize that person has walked out of there and has just killed their baby,” Lee said. “That is what changes your life.”
Lee works closely with Kathy Forck, co-director of the 40 Days for Life campaign in Columbia, in the ongoing pro-life effort. For more information, visit www.40daysforlife.com/columbia-mo.
ALLEN PALMERI/associate editor
apalmeri@mobaptist.org