Lavington church catches heat for sign that takes shots at protesters

Photo: Stephanie Wade

Lavington Baptist Church has been getting a lot of attention over a sign that appears to be taking shots at Black Lives Matter protesters.

The sign reads "Mobs: gullible, easily manipulated, irrational", and then cites scripture passages Acts 19:23-41 and Acts 21:34-36.

When asked for an interview, the church dodged the question, and pointed those interested to their sermon on the matter. The church claimed the signs were not about the protests, but about the characteristics of mobs.

"We have been systematically going through the book of Acts for some time," said the church in an email to Castanet. "There are sermons already posted dealing with the topic of riots/mobs as they previously came up."

Once the photo of the sign hit social media, it stirred up quite a buzz in the Lavington community. The online comments are fairly evenly divided – many are condemning the church for the sign, while as many others argue it's freedom of expression or it's just a simple mistake.

"This isn't the first time they have spread a message like this," says Josh Wade, whose wife snapped the initial photo. "For a church to be publicly displaying messages of discrimination and hate like this makes me and many members of the community sick."

The church has not made any public statement since the backlash over the sign occurred.

"To have a sign like that in front of place that is supposed to be welcoming is unacceptable, it shouldn't be preaching negative and hateful things," says Wade. "Ever since they got a new minister, they have retreated from community involvement and become more bold in what they preach."