At a press conference on Feb. 29, by the sign in front of Macedonia Baptist Church, Columbia, a half-dozen pastors and some church members protested the “national sin of abortion.”
Patrick Dye, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church, Columbia, speaks at a press conference held Feb. 29 to decry the “national sin of abortion.”Patrick Dye, pastor of Macedonia Church, organized the event. In a press release, he said his church’s sign has been used for a number of messages supporting the unborn child’s right to life over the last 10 years. This year the message on the sign read: “Dear President Obama, 39 years of Row v Wade = 54 million dead babies.”
Dye said he grieves that “some Christians are more offended by the bluntness of the sign than by the reality of 54 million children slaughtered in the womb.”
| ‘The church in America has – failed in speaking out lovingly with a prophetic voice to the sins of our society’ – Patrick Dye |
Dye cited missions advocate George Verwer, who calls the evangelical church “evan-jellyfish” because “we have deep convictions on important matters like abortion but demonstrate little or no backbone to speak out and act peacefully on the issue.”
The sign and the press conference were concrete efforts to resist such apathy, Dye said.
“I am not a single-issue pastor,” said Dye. “We have an evangelism/apologetics ministry at the South Carolina State Fair, three community care ministries including a significant clothing ministry, disciple-making ministry and major commitments to world missions. But the church in America has – failed in speaking out lovingly with a prophetic voice to the sins of our society.”
Particularly, he said, the issue of abortion has fallen by the wayside, with many pastors shying away from such polarizing issues while others address the issue only within the four walls of their churches.
Dye also rebuked the “targeted aborting of the poor, African-American children with Planned Parenthood disproportionately locating their abortion chambers in those neighborhoods more than poor white, Hispanic, or any other ethnic or economic community.”
In referencing the “African-American holocaust of abortion,” Dye called on the black caucuses of the South Carolina Assembly and the U.S. Congress to support pro-life legislation.
Dye concluded the press conference by directing his remarks to those “suffering the consequences of their decisions” to abort their babies. “There’s awesome forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.
South Carolina pastors and leaders in attendance included Jeff Scott, Tom Fillinger, Horst Trojahn, David Bentley, Ed Cheek, and associate director of public policy for the South Carolina Baptist Convention Mark Hendrick.
A clip of the press conference and sign can be viewed on the YouTube channel, truthwisdomandfaith.