Equipped for Life Podcast

Josh Brahm interviews comedian Josh Harris about how he got into sidewalk counseling, how he uses humor on the sidewalk, and some practical tips for you to use to add more humor and friendliness to your conversations about abortion!

Chapters:

0:00 Introducing Josh Harris;

03:23 How a Comedian Began Sidewalk Counseling;

08:45 Humor in pro-life dialogues;

13:00 Combining humor with compliments;

31:36 Practical tips for becoming funnier;

40:33 Clean comedians to check out for inspiration;

42:41 More practical tips;

47:53 Friendliness in dialogue;

49:47 Links and a final tip;

55:31 What does it take to master apologetics?

Our previous episode on humor in dialogue: http://bit.ly/34Zregc

You can find Josh Harris' comedy at: https://FunnyJosh.com

Josh Harris' online comedy classes: http://OnlineComedyClasses.com

Learn more about Josh Brahm's stories of relational apologetics by watching this talk he gave at a church: https://youtu.be/ndO3nByqVrM

ERI's core values: https://bit.ly/3tN8Ggc

Here's how we describe humor in that list: "We believe laughter is a gift that enriches the human experience and helps to create an instant connection between people of different walks of life, which is why we have chosen to incorporate it into our content and work environment. While we take our work very seriously, we try to not take ourselves too seriously."

Host: Josh Brahm Guest: Josh Harris Audio/Video Editor: Shawn Shroyer & Josh Brahm Publisher: Jen Westmoreland

Josh Brahm and Jacob Nels, ERI's Sidewalk Counseling Trainer, finish reacting to videos sent in by Rebekah Dyer while sidewalk counseling. If you haven't seen part one yet, please watch that first for more context: https://youtu.be/rqdQO_nFsGg

PARENTAL ADVISORY NOTE: Unlike the previous episode, the videos we review in this episode include very strong language. We chose not to censor it. If you listen to our podcast around your kids, this is probably one to use headphones on.

As he did before, Jacob reviews the videos Rebekah sent in with Josh, talking about what Rebekah did well, anything else he would have done, as well as commenting on the behavior of the private security officer.

Because the videos were filmed outside on the street, it's kind of hard to understand what everyone is saying. This might be a better podcast to watch, because we made captions for the videos there: https://youtu.be/9JCKTN3DI0o

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction;

02:49 Clip 1;

3:26 Clip 1 commentary;

8:04 Clip 2;

10:04 commentary;

11:53 Clip 3;

12:21 commentary;

12:34 Clip 4;

13:14 commentary;

14:15 Clip 5;

15:22 commentary;

21:09 Clip 6;

21:22 commentary;

22:28 Clip 7;

22:49 commentary;

23:23 Clip 7;

23:34 commentary;

24:29 Clip 8;

24:52 commentary;

25:22 Clip 9;

26:07 commentary;

28:04 Clip 10;

28:45 commentary;

29:20 Clip 11;

29:45 commentary;

31:52 Clip 12;

31:59 commentary;

32:44 Clip 13;

33:13 commentary;

35:02 Final thoughts.

ERI Blog: "Don't Be Too Nice" http://bit.ly/2vPMDX4

If you're a sidewalk counselor in need of legal advice, we strongly recommend Alliance Defending Freedom: https://www.adflegal.org/contact-us

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com

ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com

ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com

Equipped for Life Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Josh Brahm brings Jacob Nels, ERI's Sidewalk Counseling Trainer, to react to videos sent in by Rebekah Dyer while sidewalk counseling. Rebekah works with Justice For All, which includes her sidewalk counseling, and has benefitted from our Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass.

Rebekah has had multiple run-ins with police and private security officers while counseling near an abortion facility in California that is part of a strip mall. Jacob reviews the videos she sent in with Josh, talking about what Rebekah did well, anything else he would have done, as well as commenting on the officer's behavior.

We split this into two episodes because of the length.

NOTE: Because the videos were filmed outside on the street, it's kind of hard to understand what everyone is saying. This might be a better podcast to watch, because we made captions for the videos there: https://youtu.be/rqdQO_nFsGg

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction of Jacob and Rebekah Dyer's situation;

13:28 Clip 1;

13:45 Clip 1 commentary;

18:37 Clip 2;

18:45 commentary;

19:23 Clip 3;

19:54 commentary;

20:13 Clip 4;

20:30 commentary;

20:46 Clip 5;

21:34 commentary;

23:36 Clip 6;

24:11 commentary;

25:00 Clip 7;

25:45 commentary;

27:56 Clip 7;

32:09 commentary;

35:20 Clip 8;

37:44 commentary;

38:08 Clip 9;

38:26 commentary;

41:29 Clip 10;

42:45 commentary;

43:06 Clip 11;

43:14 commentary;

45:34 Clip 12 (The rest of these were filmed on a different day a few weeks later);

46:35 commentary;

49:59 Clip 13;

50:44 commentary;

51:17 Clip 14;

51:25 commentary;

52:41 Clip 15;

53:27 commentary;

54:54 Clip 16;

55:30 commentary;

55:56 Clip 17;

57:08 commentary.

We bring you the extended interview of Emily Albrecht (our newest team member!) from the recent ERI Pajama Gala. Emily explains how she got involved in the pro-life movement, and how her campus club used their training from the Equipped for Life Course to transform the culture at St. Olaf, from one where they hated pro-lifers to one where pro-lifers are respected.

0:00: Introduction; 04:34: Interview with Emily.

Watch the replay of our Pajama Gala, including the primary lesson of our new Equal Rights Argument module: https://bit.ly/2JUBth3

Jordan Warfel is our guest today because he discovered a conspiracy theory that NARAL promoted in a recent virtual conference. The theory is based on a book by Ilyse Hogue that argues the pro-life movement doesn't actually care about babies, but is a front for evangelicals to bring back racial segregation.

The discussion includes the horrible dialogue advice NARAL is giving, how both sides often communicate about opinion polls simplistically, and NARAL's strategy to infiltrate the Black Lives Matter movement. You're not going to want to miss this one.

Chapters:

• 0:00: Introducing Jordan Warfel;
• 2:04: Explaining the conspiracy theory and several problems with it;
• 27:11: Evidence from the modern pro-life movement that Hogue uses to support her theory;
• 29:17: The NARAL conference giving the worst dialogue advice ever and a discussion of how both sides often communicate about opinion polls simplistically;
• 38:25: Josh makes an observation and hypothesizes a conspiracy theory of his own;
• 43:37: NARAL's strategy to infiltrate the Black Lives Matter movement;
• 46:55: Practical tips for talking to a pro-choice person who has heard this conspiracy theory that the pro-life movement is racist.

Related Links:

You can purchase Ilyse Hogue's book "The Lie That Binds" here if you want to read it for yourself: https://amzn.to/36vHhGh

You can purchase "Fetal Beauty" by Jordan Warfel here: https://amzn.to/33zFMVw

ERI: Our Take on the "AKA Jane Roe" Documentary: https://bit.ly/2O7vGDi

Josh references a 9/11 truther documentary. It's "Loose Change." https://www.loosechange911.com

We feel it would be irresponsible to link to "Loose Change" without linking to counter-arguments, so here are a few helpful links debunking 9/11 truther conspiracies:

• Popular Mechanics Investigates 9/11 Myths - FAQs: https://bit.ly/39w9RZL
• Screw Loose Change - Exposing the Lies, Distortions and Myths of the 9/11 "Truthers": https://bit.ly/2JtGbSm

ERI: One Easy Step to Avoiding Confirmation Bias - Interview with Tangle Founder Isaac Saul: https://bit.ly/2LLK6aM

Learn about QAnon:

• The Dispatch: The GOP's Conspiracy Theorist Problem: https://bit.ly/39wowEl
• The Dispatch Podcast: GOP Flirts with QAnon: https://bit.ly/3qfZorn

Politico: Trump accuses Cruz's father of helping JFK's assassin: https://politi.co/3odlZmx

FTC disclosure: The two Amazon book links are affiliate links, meaning that if you click one of them and then purchase the book, ERI will receive a small percentage of the purchase at no cost to you.

Host: Josh Brahm Guest: Jordan Warfel Audio/Video Editors: Chapter One Films & Josh Brahm Publisher: Jen Westmoreland

It's our first podcast with Emily Albrecht, the co-president of St. Olaf Students for Life and our next speaker/writer/coach! Josh and Emily discuss the recent HBO film "Unpregnant" because there are themes taught in this movie that may influence some of your conversations with pro-choice people who have seen it.

***SPOILER ALERT*** If you would like to watch the film before listening to our commentary, we invite you to do that. We will discuss the entire plot in this episode.

• 0:00: Introducing Emily;
• 3:32: Introducing the film and our initial reactions to it;
• 7:05: Summarizing the plot of the movie;
• 10:03: How pro-life people are portrayed in the movie;
• 27:34: Why pro-choice students hated St. Olaf Students for Life's original name;
• 33:22: Why it would be wrong to kidnap abortion-minded women or kill abortion practitioners, and Josh vents about the actual state of religious liberty in 2020;
• 45:48: An important lesson that sidewalk counselors can take from this film;
• 51:36: How the abortion was portrayed in the film and how the director specifically wanted to normalize abortion;
• 59:27: The film's attempt to argue that it should be easier to get an abortion;
• 1:01:16: Wait, this movie supports anti-coercion forms in abortion facilities?
• 1:04:00: Final commentary on the abortion scene;
• 1:08:00: A better argument against parental notification laws than the film made;
• 1:11:16: Four points of common ground we have with the film;
• 1:19:53: Comparing and contrasting this film with preachy Christian movies.

How One Student Group Radically Changed Their Campus Culture (our first video with Emily Albrecht about the effect their club had at St. Olaf College): https://youtu.be/lAsOzyg7M2c

Our Take on the "AKA Jane Roe" Documentary: https://bit.ly/2O7vGDi

Reversing Roe: Exposing the Bias: https://youtu.be/dvS6m3laO8U?list=PLsN8Ay8poS-LyKVBCnsLSxW-8ZtZ4UuYC

How Should Pro-Life Advocates Talk about That "13 Reasons Why" Abortion Episode? http://bit.ly/2PidtpT

Why it Would Be Wrong for Pro-Lifers to Drive Abortion Clinic Vans Under False Pretenses: http://bit.ly/2m3MTCb

David French: The True Extent of Religious Liberty in America, Explained: https://bit.ly/3ezAuxH

Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: https://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com

Here's the Entertainment Tonight story Emily referenced: 'Unpregnant': Barbie Ferreira and Haley Lu Richardson on Making a Heartfelt Comedy About Abortion (Exclusive) https://et.tv/3f4RXho

It includes this quote: "One thing I love about this movie is how sure Veronica is, of what her choice is, from the beginning," the director explains. "This isn't a movie about hand wringing, what decision to make. She knows what she wants, and that's very much how I felt about my abortion. It felt like the right choice for me -- I knew what I wanted to do and I did it."

"I love the idea of normalizing the topic of abortion and reproductive rights but also telling a different perspective on it and how people shouldn't have to feel a certain way after getting an abortion," Ferreira adds. "There's a whole range and spectrum of emotions that happen."

Josh Keefe: Why Christian Movies are BAD | The Problem with Christian Media: https://youtu.be/50_3J6Go5Ng

Josh Brahm interviews Ali Rak, an incredibly effective community organizer and activist in Maryland, to explain the nuts and bolts of how she gets people involved in contacting their political representatives in order to accomplish pro-life goals.

• 0:00: Introducing Ali and the topic;
• 13:14: Why apologetics training is important for lobbyists;
• 15:20: What Ali does as a lobbyist and community organizer;
• 38:44: Do email templates for people to send to their representatives work?
• 47:00: Tips for in-person meetings with legislators;
• 55:04: Is it possible for pro-life lobbyists to come across as too emotional when making their case?
• 59:23: Do you send email alerts with only one call-to-action or multiple?
• 1:04:08: What are the most common mistakes that lobbyists and community organizers make?
• 1:06:47: How do you keep people motivated?
• 1:10:48: How local pro-life people can work well together.

13 Extra Tips on Lobbying: https://bit.ly/3osODkt

Here's the link to the full audio from the David Bereit/Josh Brahm event we referenced: http://bit.ly/2NZvwf7

One Easy Step to Avoiding Confirmation Bias: Interview with Tangle Founder Isaac Saul: https://bit.ly/2LLK6aM

Contact Ali at: [email protected]

*Republishing with the correct spelling of Julie's last name.*

Josh interviews Family Therapist Julie Dodson to discuss the "Showing Understanding Skill" technique she's been trained in. Pro-life advocates can use this skill to grow in their empathy and navigate conversations better, especially the ones that turn to particularly emotional aspects of the abortion debate.

The four steps are: 1: Listen in a way that shows strong interest. 2: Become the other person. 3: Name thoughts, feelings, concerns/meanings, and desires. 4: Accept and make corrections graciously.

Editors note: Apologies for the wonky audio on this one. Zoom did a software update and switched off the "record separate audio channels" feature, mashing all of our audio into one. So things sound kind of goofy anytime we're talking at the same time. Now we check that feature before every recording session to make sure that doesn't happen again!

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After the recording session Julie sent a few additional notes for clarity, which we're including below unedited:

After reflecting on time recording the podcast, I wanted to add some information and clarifications. First, in discussing anger, we see that there is both truth-based anger and lie-based anger. If all anger was bad or if it was inherently sinful to be angry, we would not see God feeling or expressing anger. There is a righteous anger against injustice, human trafficking, or the killing of the innocent unborn, for examples. But for most of us, our anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, etc. against self, others, or God that is held for long periods of time is usually lie-based anger. Lie-based anger is held, not because we want to be angry, but because, deep down, we believe that it is serving a good or just purpose for us. We have heard many reasons such as the following: -"My anger protects me." -"My anger holds myself or someone else accountable." -"My anger proves ____ is not ok." -"My anger keeps me from doing that again." We may cognitively be aware that the anger is not actually helping us, but when life gets hard or when we are in crisis-mode, we feel, react, and make decisions, not based on what we know to be true, but what FEELS true to us, that is, what we actually believe on a deeper level.

*This perspective is informed by my work as a TPM mentor. You can find more information about TPM at https://www.transformationprayer.org/preparing-journey-introduction/ and about the TPM perspective about anger at https://www.transformationprayer.org/anger-in-the-ministry-session/. For additional "geeking out" about God and anger, see https://bibleproject.com/podcast/gods-hot-nose/. Second, we discussed how crisis reveals belief system and worldview. What I am NOT saying is that it is wrong to care for others or that it is wrong to have concern for the health or safety of those around us. I mean that crisis reveals where we put our trust or ultimate hope. For example, if my ultimate hope is in the planet, any piece of trash or oil spill or person that refuses to recycle may be interpreted as assault on my source of hope. If my hope is in the expectations of my future, then anything that might get in the way of what I want that future to be may also be seen an attack (ex: someone with an unplanned pregnancy). If my ultimate hope is in my health or the health of those I love, anything someone might do that threatens health, even unintentionally, may be seen as an assault. And when people are scared that their hope-source is being threatened, they often react out of anger, self-protection, or protection of others. Again, this is not to say that caring for others is wrong at all. We are called as Christ-followers to love God and others. Our reaction (internal or external), however, may give a clue to where we are placing our ultimate hope and trust.

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Related Links:

The "Experience Diagram" Julie references: https://bit.ly/3iIDtE7

Here's the sermon audio Josh referenced on the topic of honor - "A Community of Honor in a Culture of Contempt" from Bridgetown Church: https://bit.ly/30R9Kmp

National Institute of Relationship Enhancement: https://nire.org

Jule Dodson's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julie.b.dodson

You can email Julie at: [email protected]

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Julia Dodson, MA, LMFT, is a patient advocate for Avenues for Women, a medical pregnancy resource center serving abortion-minded women and families in Frankfort, KY. She was trained in Relationship Enhancement © through her work with IDEALS of Kentucky, a non-profit counseling agency. This training and experience has shaped her style of deep empathy to connect with people from a *wide range of backgrounds and beliefs. In addition to her work with Avenues for Women, she works as a wellness coach for CAREWorks of Kentucky, which provides care and coaching in corporate settings. She is also the Director of Student Ministry with her local church.

Julie holds a BA in Specialized Ministries from Mid-America Christian University (Oklahoma City, OK) and a Masters in Mental Health Counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, KY). She is licensed in Kentucky as a Marriage and Family Therapist and is a certified Relationship Enhancement Program presenter. She is also certified in Child-Centered Play Therapy and Filial Therapy.

Julie lives in Frankfort, KY, with Andrew, her husband of 10 years, and their dog, Carter (AKA "Dog Dog"). They are expecting their first child, a miracle with quite a story, in January, 2021.

Josh interviews Gary Freeman from Care Net. They talk about how Gary went from being a preacher's kid to serving fathers in pregnancy centers, including the struggles of trying to figure out the best way to do that!

• 0:00: Introduction / Gary's story;
• 8:02: Gary starts serving men in pregnancy center work;
• 20:08: What Gary did to help guys open up in these situations and begin training other centers;
• 32:18: How Gary would explain to a new pregnancy center why they need a male staff member or volunteers to talk to the guys who come in;
• 36:46: What role should men have in the pro-life movement?
• 40:31: Why is it important for pro-life advocates to talk to pro-choice guys at outreaches instead of just women who might have abortions later?
• 43:53: What do you say to a guy who says he doesn't really care if she has the abortion but feels like he shouldn't get a say in it because it's a woman's issue?
• 46:32: How do you talk to apathetic people?
• 57:40: How should pro-life people support abortion-minded and post-abortive men?
• 1:00:23: What should we say to a male friend who got his girlfriend pregnant and is now asking for advice?
• 1:04:28: On Gary's work in fatherhood ministry;
• 1:12:19: What it's like being one of the only pro-lifers at a fatherhood event;
• 1:18:18: Gary explains how some pro-life people get uncomfortable with the fact that he is doing these fatherhood events;
• 1:23:21: The most surprising thing Gary has learned working with men.

Gary Freeman is the Fatherhood and Family Program Manager for Care Net national. He's been in the pro-life world for about 8 years. He started this journey serving as the Fatherhood and Outreach Coordinator for a local pregnancy center in Raleigh, NC. He has been speaking and training pregnancy centers in serving men over that 8 years all over the country and has been doing that formally with Care Net since May 2019. Gary loves advocating for men being involved in the pregnancy center setting, and in the pro-life initiative overall. Gary is able to assist in navigating the intricate aspects of serving men specifically in the pregnancy center setting. Gary is a graduate of East Carolina University in Greenville, NC with a B.S. in Family and Community Services, and he recently graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master's in Christian Studies. Gary has been married for 13 beautiful years to his wonderful wife Vinniece, and they have two awesome daughters Sariah(10) and Jordyn(4).

Related Links:

Connect with Gary to speak in your area: https://GaryFreemanSpeaks.com or email him at [email protected] or [email protected]

Learn more about Care Net

Why We Need Male Sidewalk Counselors

Content warning: This conversation necessarily includes some thought experiments that relate to sexual abuse, as well as the real-world example of Jeffrey Epstein. As usual, the discussion isn't graphic, but we want our listeners who are survivors of sexual assault to know that and make an informed decision of whether they want to listen to this episode or not.

It's Rachel's last episode! She and Josh discuss how pro-choice people are often inclined to believe that adult women should be prioritized over fetal humans because adults have thoughts, dreams, and relationships. They offer some talking points for pro-lifers including some thought experiments that might help the conversation become more productive. Josh also tells a story about a related dialogue he had with a philosophy professor about prison reform, and how pro-life advocates tend to be primarily motivated by different things, especially when they first become passionate about this issue.

Related Links:

Josh references several thought experiments from Dr. Francis Beckwith's great book, "Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice." Use this link to purchase the book from Amazon and ERI will receive a small percentage of your purchase, at no cost to you: https://amzn.to/3hZQz09

Netflix: "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich"

Secular Pro-Life: The unlikely story of the pro-life author of "Reconsidering Fetal Pain"

Evaluating Don Marquis' Future of Value Argument

There are links to Rachel's best work here.