This past weekend, thousands gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate lives saved on the one-year anniversary of Roe’s reversal.

I was honored to be in attendance at this inspiring event, and to represent Focus on the Family as one of the rally speakers.

It was a hot, muggy summer day in Washington D.C., but the weather didn’t detract from the excitement of the moment in the slightest.

Speakers showed up well before the event got underway to greet each other and meet with press. And while each of the speakers represented a unique pro-life organization, there was a real sense of unity, appreciation and collaboration regarding mission.

The ultimate goal being an America that values and protects preborn human life.

The rally began with a musical performance by Jonathan Alexandre, a prolife advocate and performer, singing “We Shall Overcome.”

He told the audience that song became the theme of the sound of freedom during the civil rights movement and said it can now serve as a theme song for the movement of life — we shall overcome.

Dr. Alveda King, niece to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., opened the rally with a stirring speech encouraging attendees that “now is the time to strengthen the fight to preserve life in our nation and safeguard our children.”

The late Dr. Howard Hendricks, a longtime professor at Dallas Theological Seminary who died in 2013 at the age of 88, once told the story of a teacher he greatly admired during his student days.

This older gentleman with white and gray hair always seemed to be studying. Howard would walk by his house on campus at 5:30 a.m., look up towards his study and see the light on and the professor reading. He’d walk by his home late at night, and there would be the instructor once again, pouring over his books.

Dr. Hendricks asked the old man one day, “What is it that keeps you studying? You never stop studying!”

“Son,” he replied. “I’d rather have my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool.”

The legendary seminary professor said those words had a profound impact on him. They served as ongoing motivation to never stop reading and never stop learning.

Nicknamed “Prof,” Hendricks would go on to teach at the seminary for 60 years. It’s said that over 10,000 students sat under his tutelage, and many of his sixteen books remain in print. He was also a popular speaker with Promise Keepers.

We often lament the absence of role models in culture, and that void is very real. Howard Hendricks defied the norm — but it’s only because he kept up his end of the bargain.