Unchurched people will have more respect for our public statements if we're not just talking about a problem but actually doing something about it.
— Ed Dobson

A few years ago, I found myself having to rethink how I was to speak on controversial issues. A defining moment came after I appeared on Phil Donahue's television show in New York City. We were discussing a boy who had been denied membership in the Boy Scouts; he had refused to pledge allegiance to God, claiming he was an atheist.

I thrive on such confrontations. As a member of the Moral Majority, I had written the organization's platform. I had been invited to receptions at the White House, met privately with the Vice President at his residence, and accompanied Jerry Falwell to meetings with foreign heads of state. The Donahue show provided yet another opportunity to engage in spirited, no-holds-barred discussion over moral issues.

The show went well. Afterward, with a strong sense of accomplishment, I hurried through the airport ...