The Politics of Parental Web Filters

For the last week or so I've been sending emails back and forth with Trend Micro Systems. They're the company behind some of the most prominent internet security filters available – filters designed to protect computers from web-based assaults and to protect minors from inappropriate web content.

The dialogue began when I requested to know what their specific criteria was for determining what websites they block – a request motivated by an email that was forwarded to me from a frustrated Trend Micro client who couldn't figure out why Abort73 was being blocked as a "Hate / Violence / Racism" site.

After the first few exchanges, I had the strong impression that whoever was on the other end of the emails was either a machine or someone with an extremely thin grasp of the English language (or both). The responses were vague and disjointed, they communicated almost nothing, and always ended with something like, "if we don't hear back from you within 24 hours, we'll trust this has

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Abandoned in Brazil; Aborted in America

I got an email this weekend from a missionary at a Brazilian orphanage. He says sometimes the kids in the orphanage fantasize about what it would have been like to be born in America. He tells them not to wish for that, because in America, "they probably wouldn't have made it past the first trimester." Abortion on demand is against the law in Brazil. So instead of winding up in abortion clinic dumpsters, "the unwanted children are alive and well in adoptive homes or in orphanages". To illustrate that it's better to be abandoned in Brazil than aborted in America, he made this video. It's worth a watch! 

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5 Reasons to Engage

Abort73 did three LOVE THE LEAST (LTL) events this past weekend in Southern California. Numbers wise, they were the biggest LTL's we've done, and I was extremely encouraged by the feedback we received throughout. At every stop, I prefaced my remarks about Abort73 by outlining why, for many years, I believed that abortion was not something Christians should be particularly concerned about. Through high school and college, my thinking went like this:

• Abortion is a political issue, and political engagement does not move the gospel forward.
• Abortion is a moral issue, and it is not our job to moralize an unbelieving nation.
• Abortion is symptomatic of a much bigger problem. We shouldn't focus on the symptom, we should focus on the problem and let the symptoms take care of themselves. Transform the heart; transform the behavior.

That was my rationale for leaving abortion by the wayside. Obviously, I have since come to a very different opinion, and I articulated my philosophical

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Political Obsession. Practical Neglect.

Last week, I posted a link to Bryan Kemper's new book, Social Justice Begins in the Womb, on Abort73's Facebook page. Shortly thereafter, an ideological opponent commented that, "Unfortunately for your crowd..., social justice usually ends after the womb as well."

That got me thinking about the disconnect that exists between the church's perceived relationship to abortion and the church's actual relationship to abortion. Despite the fact that abortion is barely mentioned in most churches, the perception seems to exist in the world that abortion (and gay marriage) are all that Christians care about. This is an absurd and tragic mischaracterization – which raises the question, how did we get here? How is it that we have a church that is largely silent about abortion and a world that seems to think the church's highest ambition is to eliminate abortion?

I had the totally unexpected privilege of having lunch with John Piper last Wednesday. As we talked about Abort73 and the history

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Looking Ahead to 2010 (Spending)

Last week, I outlined the coming shift in our handling of T-shirt sales – a move necessitated by the disproportionate amount of money we've had tied up in inventory. Today I want to talk about the 2010 changes that relate to our general spending. In an effort to get our financial legs under us again after a rather difficult year, we've made two significant cuts. One, we will not be exhibiting at any music festivals this year. Two, we will not be bringing back Jeff Jones as Director of Ministry Outreach. The first decision was a fairly easy one (particularly in light of increasing exhibit fees and decreasing attendance figures). The second decision was much more difficult (and more personal). Coming out of the summer, we knew that if something dramatic didn't change, Jeff's continued employment would not be sustainable. We just weren't getting enough regular income to support two salaries. In response, we shifted Jeff to almost full-time fundraising, prayed diligently, and were as

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