"Rather than keeping quiet as before, I fully engaged in the conversation."

I’m a bi-vocational pastor.  In addition to my ministry responsibilities, I teach K-5 music in an elementary school.  At church, people value my insight on moral and spiritual issues.  At school, my thoughts are just the opinions of another teacher.  Because of this I feel the same fear as others when engaging in conversations about such weighty topics as life or choice.  I’m secure in my viewpoint, but I don’t want to merely offend.  The day after reading Common Ground Without Compromise the topic of abortion came up during a school lunchroom conversation.  Rather than keeping quiet as before, I fully engaged in the conversation.  I felt confident, but more importantly the content of Stephen’s book enabled me to be compassionate as well. It felt good and natural.  I wondered why I had been fearful for so long.

– David Duty (Houston, TX)