PBU student and founder of liveoffensively.com, Joe Baker, literally "wears what he believes on his sleeve." Designing, selling, and wearing his offensive t-shirts, Baker attempts to engage contemporary American culture and the Church through his controversial wardrobe.

Wearing an "Abortion is Mean" t-shirt over his snow-boarding gear, Baker's vision evolved from his desire to stimulate conversation among his fellow snowboarders as a senior in high school. Passionate about the need for Americans to protect the 4,000 babies that are aborted every day, Baker then wore his "Abortion is Mean" shirt for four straight years, leaving it on the hanger only when he was a guest at the weddings of two friends. Baker stated of the "Abortion is Mean" shirt, "That's the shirt that people either like or hate."

Baker shared his reason for adopting this cause, "Once it became clear that abortion is equivalent to the Holocaust in Germany as over 43 million children have been slaughtered, I wanted to get people to discuss the issue and fight against it however I could."

For the sake of discussion, Baker said that he would rather that people become outraged by his shirts than remain apathetic. "Once people stop talking about the issue, that's when we have no power," he said.

Initially manufactured by Rock for Life, the "Abortion is Mean" shirts were discontinued by the company and replaced with the more alarming "Abortion is Homicide" shirts. Baker bought the remaining "Abortion is Mean" shirts from Rock for Life and now sells twelve different shirts which display sayings such as "Abortion is Mean," "Pornography is for Posers," "Abortion is Selfish," "God is Not an American," and "Virginity Rocks" at various Christian festivals and via his website. These shirts are intended to be "as outrageous and eye-jerking as possible."

Between 4,000 and 5,000 shirts have been sold by Baker. For each shirt that is sold, Baker said that an estimated 10,000 individuals will read it. "That's a pretty awesome billboard," Baker said. "You can't get advertisement that's better than that!"

While at first glance, Baker's ministry might appear to be simply a t-shirt business, he said, "I'm not just a t-shirt vendor; this is about me meeting the people and getting to know their hearts. Really, I'm selling the shirts to tour the country to find radical high school students to disciple." Baker and his nine other partners will be traveling to several states to sell shirts and recruit teenagers at 14 different festivals this year including Creation Fest, Purple Door, and Revelation Generation.

When asked why he chose t-shirts as his primary tool for evangelism, Baker answered, "It gives students an identity, and a t-shirt is a profound way to communicate."

For those who wonder whether or not Baker's aggressive t-shirts will draw people to Christianity, he answered, "I don't think any t-shirt would persuade people to Christianity. The Holy Spirit and the way that we love people is what will draw people to Christianity. T-shirts are not necessarily the best way, but we are not always called to do things in the best way. God burdens us to take on these battles in lots of ways."

Are the slogans represented on Baker's shirts representing the love he wishes to exude? And does Baker's approach give Christians a bad rap as Bible thumpers, radicals, or fundamentalists? "The harsh t-shirt is showing love for the child who is being killed," stated Baker. "I think Christians are supposed to be the ones who stand up to protect life. It all comes back to the fact that they literally killed Christ because he offensively engaged the culture; no, these shirts do not give Christians a bad image."

Sophomore social work major Meghan Bowers disagrees with Baker's approach and finds his "Abortion Is Mean" shirt unnecessarily offensive. "Yes, we need to be bold, but not in a way that turns people off to Christ," Bowers said. "Jesus wasn't offensive. Jesus' ministry was lived out through his own life and personal actions. He wasn't hung on the cross because he was offensive but he proclaimed himself as Messiah."

Bowers said of Baker's delivery, "Where in the Bible does it say to be abrasive, offensive, and rude? Yes, we are to address problems, but not by calling people losers. People who wear these shirts are portraying themselves as "Mr. Self-Righteous."

Baker attests to having received positive feedback from those reading the shirts he wears. "I get 25 compliments for every one person who is against them," he said.

Nevertheless, Baker finds the church pathetic in its lack of activism. For example, he said of the only other Christian enrolled in his course at an area community college, "I don't want to judge her spirituality, but she's just silent. She could go through that entire course and all that people would think of her is that she's a nice person. Niceness doesn't have anything to do with holiness. If you look at Scripture, people killed the prophets! I don't know that our job is to make people feel comfortable with their positions."

Baker finds it disturbing that "life goes on as though it is normal" for believers even though thousands of children are daily being added to the death toll of millions who have already been aborted.

While abortion is an issue Baker feels is worth fighting a civil war over, he said that "everyone should do what he is called to do." Whether or not a believer chooses to take on Baker's cause, he strongly encourages believers to "do something."