THE 1ST AMENDMENT

GOD IS 'INCENDIARY' ON A BILLBOARD?

Exclusive: Ike Wingate explains how he helped stand up for Christian film's message

As someone who sees the world through the lens of a small-business owner, a Christian, a Conservative and an American, I am rarely at a loss for words regarding current events. I have winced and ached many times in recent years as both political correctness and bureaucracy have reigned supreme.

My assessment would be incomplete if I didn’t also include that I have often felt as though I’m a foreigner within my own country. I’ve had to double check many times which way is up and which way is down, because those in power seem to be telling me the opposite of what my moral compass is reading.

I respect those with differing opinions, and I believe we must show respect and listen to those we may disagree with and “walk a mile in their shoes.” However, when the very opportunity to express a differing opinion is no longer afforded, we have a problem in our society. The opinion I am expressing isn’t new or even rare. Most times people like me take the opportunity on social media or at the water cooler to express that opinion, but that’s as far as it goes. At least that was the case for me until recently.

When I learned that the ad copy reading “I’d rather stand with God and be judged by the world, than stand with the world and be judged by God” on an advertisement for the movie “God’s Not Dead 2” was deemed “way too incendiary” to be presented on a billboard in Cleveland to be seen by delegates to the Republican National Convention, I was floored.

As the owner of an advertising company, I can respect the freedom for any company not to participate in promoting a viewpoint that violates its belief system. And ultimately, I don’t even know where the truth resides as to who actually turned down the advertisement.

But as someone who believes in both freedom of speech and freedom of religion, the fact that God can even be viewed as incendiary is beyond my comprehension. 

The idea that our society and the political-correctness machine has put the very Creator of the universe into the same category as hate speech or racial slurs is appalling. While none of this should come as a surprise, I believe we have a duty not to stand idly by and see it ushered in. Over and over, it seems, freedom and tolerance is OK as long as you aren’t expressing a Christian point of view.

So I was moved to make a very small gesture never meant to be known outside my small network of friends that has instead resulted in a movement of sorts. It was a movement across the country among other small-business owners to take a stand for, at the very least, free speech and freedom of religion, but ultimately in some of our minds, to take a stand for God never belonging in the incendiary category.

After donating a small amount of advertising space on one of our digital billboards for “God’s Not Dead 2,” out of the blue I was getting a call from a reporter at Fox News the next day. I personally didn’t see what the big deal was, but apparently it’s newsworthy when a company isn’t offended by God or paralyzed by the fear of being seen as politically incorrect. It’s truly a sad state of affairs and a pretty low standard.

Sure, getting a bunch of press and attention for something can be exciting and stroke my ego if I’m not careful, but trying to get attention was the furthest thing from my mind. 

I was just trying to do the right thing, to literally stand with God, as the line from the film says. I certainly get that the irony in this whole story is thick given the movie’s story line, but in the advertising business the opportunity to be a part of promoting a national movie about God while also not shoving it down people’s throats or being obnoxious about it doesn’t come along every day.

Eventually, 16 different outdoor advertising companies joined in and donated space totaling over $75,000, from Dallas to Detroit, from Atlanta to Oklahoma City to St. Louis. That is an opportunity only God could have created. He didn’t need me to make that known, but He chose to use me in that capacity for some reason. To Him be the glory. Not me, not our company.

I have considered this a privilege to be part of. My faith has grown as a result and shown me that while it may not be popular, I have a duty to respectfully stand up for what I believe and not be paralyzed by the fear of someone seeing it as politically incorrect. My hope is that in some small way this story would encourage you to do the same … no matter what you believe.

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After a 16-year career in local and nationally syndicated radio, Ike Wingate founded Wingate Media Group, an advertising company in the Nashville, Tennessee, area, in 2009. Wingate Media Group offers outdoor billboards, indoor signs and online advertising aimed at helping small businesses grow. Ike is married to Michelle, and they have three children.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/08/god-is-incendiary-on-a-billboard/#btA4ivYIJUpp1Wwy.99