REMINDER: Wednesday, August 1 is Eat at Chick-fil-A Day

As a journalist I’ve written three stories within the past week about the controversy surrounding Chick-fil-A (CP has written a total of 18 in 8 days) that began with comments made by the company’s president, Dan Cathy regarding his company’s belief in traditional marriage. Yet one thing Christians must keep in mind is that calls to boycott Chick-fil-A over the company’s commitment to support pro-family values is not simply a protest over same-sex marriage. It is a protest to silence Christians and the Church.

In case you need a refresher on the chronology of events surrounding the most recent Chick-fil-A sage, here is a brief recap of what has taken place over the past few weeks:

• In a July 2 story published by Biblical Recorder and later reposted by Baptist Press, Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy asserts his support for traditional marriage by saying the company was “guilty as charged” when asked about the opposition his company was facing for supporting traditional marriage.

• Actor Ed Helms and leading gay rights activists express outrage over Cathy’s comment and suggest yet another boycott of the company’s products.

• Soon after Cathy’s comments began to circulate, Jim Henson and his company, saying their company embraces “diversity and Inclusiveness,” announced they would no longer partner with Chick-fil-A.

• The National Organization for Marriage, along with former Gov. Mike Huckabee, try to rally pro-family supporters by encouraging them to eat at Chick-fil-A on Wednesday, Aug. 1.

• Elected officials in Boston, San Francisco and Chicago (I am sure other cities have jumped on the bandwagon) have vowed to block Chick-fil-A from building additional restaurants in their cities. However, the ACLU has rushed to the chains defense, reminding these educated politicians that you cannot discriminate based on someone’s opinion of an issue.

*Chick-fil-A ‘s VP of Public Relations Don Perry died suddenly of a heart attack last Friday.

* Evangelical Leaders such as Rev. Billy Graham and Pastor Robert Jeffress have come to the defense of the national chain by encouraging Christians to support the embattled chain and stand strong for traditional.

There has been no shortage of commentary on the issue, but what I found most intriguing was a conversation I had with Pastor Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Washington State last week as we chatted about how the homosexual activists were taking aim at Chick-fil-A.

Pastor Hutcherson is a veteran in the battle to protect marriage and has the battle scars to prove it.

“Paul, what everyone needs to understand is that the homosexual community is not going to stop if or when they achieve some success on the marriage front,” Hutcherson told me. “Their target is much bigger. They want to shut down the church and they have no intention of stopping until they can somehow make it a crime to criticize homosexuality or their sinful way of life. It’s just that simple.”

Pastor Hutcherson is right. The Chick-fil-A controversy is not about whether or not a business or a person can espouse their opinion about same-sex marriage. It is about Biblical truth and the fight to silence it.

As Christians, it’s out job to put on the full armor of God and stand strong.