The vast majority of Christians (actually the majority of Americans) today want to cherish and defend innocent human life, but they want to do it sensitively and rationally, while being well-informed.  Yet, most people feel paralyzed when it comes to practical application.  John Ensor’s book, Answering the Call: Saving Innocent Lives, One Woman at a Time, is for them.  Answering the Call is a short and easy read but packed with excellent information and practical application, all the while spoken in strong conviction and exhortation.  If you are a follower of Christ and you aren’t sure if you should be pro-life, or if you consider yourself pro-life but are not sure how to defend your stance, you will definitely want to pick up this book!

The author, John Ensor, is an ordained evangelical minister, current president of PassionLife, and author of several books.  Starting in 1991, John led the Boston area Christian community to establish A Woman’s Concern, a network of six ultrasound-equipped pregnancy help centers. In 2006, he joined Heartbeat International as Executive Director for Urban Initiatives and piloted Heartbeat of Miami, a minority-led, ultrasound-equipped, pregnancy help ministry that is now living out the gospel of life amidst 30 abortion business. Today, through PassionLife, he is working to transform pregnancy help ministry into a true global missions movement.

The overarching theme of the book is to give a biblical and rational basis for cherishing and defending innocent human life while also providing practical applications for individuals and churches.  John’s driving point is that abortion isn’t some abstract, faraway issue but that it is local and is affecting the heart of every person’s neighborhood and community.  That’s why he stresses that “the call to cherish and defend innocent human life always be coupled with direct intervention with those in pregnancy distress,” hence the subtitle, Saving Innocent Lives, One Woman at a Time.  Local crisis pregnancy centers or pregnancy resource centers are the best way to for Christians to actively do something to protect and defend the innocent babies, while serving those in pregnancy distress who need help.  These women aren’t people on the news or from a distant land.  They are right in your community, and they need the love of Christ and a helping hand…they need a Good Samaritan.  Here is a quote John gives from Dr. James Dobson, urging churches and Christians to partner with their local crisis pregnancy centers:

“I consider abortion to be the greatest moral evil of our time, because of the worth of those little babies.  At the end of the year a crisis pregnancy center can point to a baby boy, born January 12th, a baby girl, born February 22nd–real, live human beings who were allowed to live, to be brought into the world, to give love and receive love simply because those organizations exist.  Crisis pregnancy centers serve the community, by serving mothers-to-be caught in the most traumatic time of their life.”

I would love to share much more but I shall refrain because you should simply read the book.  I leave you with some quotes from the book for your enticement:

“The pro-life movement and the Christian faith are synonymous.  Where there is one, there will be the other–for one cannot be had without the other.”

“Humanity and personhood are self-evident.  Legal abortion, like legal slavery in the past, requires us to deny what is self-evident.”

“At conception all of the genetic material that we shall ever have, at all stages of human development (zygote, embryo, fetus, newborn, infant, toddler, child, adolescent, teenager, adult, senior, and so on) is present.  Preborn children are not becoming human; they are…growing into the fullness of humanity that they already possess.”

“Abortion is the greatest moral evil of our age.  It is the social injustice that most inflames the heart of God and for which we, His people, are called to act with profound and persistent moral courage.”

“All human life is valued and worthy of our defense, because everyone, without exception, is created in God’s image.”