Danieltown Baptist Church in Forest City, NC displayed this sign in front of their church, causing an outrage in popular media. Read or listen below to hear what the minister of Harvest Pointe has to say.



It seems that every week our nation faces a great spiritual struggle. Christians do and say things that are not wise. Non-Christians show the depths to which they, too, can sink. The media, for the most part, is very post-modern, and thus, amoral. So, I would like to spend a few moments each week touching on a hot topic, and hopefully share a little spiritual wisdom with you.

Since post-modernism says there is no absolute truth, more and more we are seeing a reporter lie to get the big headline. A reporter broke a big story saying that during an interrogation a copy of the Koran had been flushed down the toilet. After many lives were lost, and more are still being lost, the lie was admitted. But a well-meaning preacher in a very small church put up a sign that read,  “The Koran needs to be flushed.” After being swamped with calls, emails, and letters, he finally took down the sign and publicly apologized.

Before we go on I should probably state that I know where the preacher was going with the sign. The Koran is not from God, or I would be a Muslim. But what bothered me the most was that the real reason the sign was not a wise thing to do was never mentioned.

The minister goofed with the sign because he was not sharing the love of Christ with the world. He has given more ammunition to those who put down and discredit the Church.

Many people know the Golden Rule. In Matthew 7:12 Jesus said, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” Would any of us like to see a Muslim flush a copy of the Bible? In John 4 Jesus modeled this principle when he reached out to the woman at the well. He did not take pot shots at her pagan beliefs. Jesus became her friend and shared truth and love with her. We reach people, not by condemning what they believe, but as we become their friend.

In Romans 14:15 Paul was writing about doing things that are not wrong in themselves, but cause distress to others. The principle is, “If your brother is distressed because of what you [do], you are no longer acting in love.” In spite of good intensions, the sign was not very loving. It caused distress, not only to Muslims in the area, but also to fellow Christians and those without Christ. Romans 14:16 says, “Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” With that sign, the world was able to take another shot at all conservative churches.

That minister needs to view Muslims, not as the enemy, but as precious souls for whom Christ died. Rather than condemning them, he should strive to reach the Muslims for Christ by first touching their hearts, not by irritating them. Paul modeled this approach. In Acts 17, while in Athens, he made a public speech. He began by noting that they were very religious (something they were proud of). Then he pointed out an altar to an “Unknown God.” (The Athenians didn’t want to leave any gods out!) Then Paul proclaimed the God they did not know and led some people to Christ. Rather than irritating the people, Paul treated them with respect and love and more precious souls are joining us in Heaven.

One last illustration. In Acts 18 Aquila and Priscilla heard Apollos, a great orator of the day, preaching. The only problem was he only knew about the baptism of John the Baptist, which was preparing the way for Jesus. He didn’t know about salvation through the death/resurrection of Jesus being made known through the Church. Instead of publicly condemning him, Acts 18:26 says, “When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” Sitting around the dinner table, they turned Apollos into a powerful force in the early Church.

Negative signs do not reach a person’s heart. There’s an old saying that “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Maybe the Church needs to relearn that old saying!