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Op-Ed

'America: Love It or Leave It': Congregation Upset over Pastor's Sign Made Their Decision - What's Yours?

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This post was written in partnership with Patriot Depot, a sister company of The Western Journal. 

A minister is standing proud amid the firestorm he created when he posted “America: Love It or Leave It” on the sign outside of Friendship Baptist Church in Virginia.

Do you want to stand with him?

Amid the war of words between President Donald Trump and “the squad” of four far-left Democratic congresswomen, Pastor E.W. Lucas wanted to get his thoughts on the matter out in the open.

Lucas decided to put a message on the sign outside of the church he and his wife founded in 1979.

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“I thought I was going to make some remarks regarding the situation in Washington,” he told WSET-TV in Lynchburg.

At first, Lucas couldn’t think of the exact wording he wanted to deploy, but that didn’t last long.

“It just came to me. I just said, ‘America, I love it. If you don’t love it, leave it,'” he said.

His sign initially read, “America: Love or Leave it.” Later, he decided that “America: Love It or Leave It” was better. Lucas is right; the extra “it” does give the saying a bit more punch.

At PatriotDepot.com, we wholeheartedly agree with the pastor’s message and just wish it was one that was in the heart of every American.

In fact, for years now, we’ve carried a shirt that displays the exact same message Lucas is getting his deserved respect for posting.

The pastor knows that being blessed enough to live in the United States is something very special that should be appreciated by every American.

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“People that feel hard about our president and want to down the president and down the country and everything, they ought to go over there and live in these other countries for a little while,” he told WSET.

Unsurprisingly, in the far-left world of social media, Lucas’ sign was soon a source of controversy.

What was a little bit shocking, though, was the fact that this debate spilled over into Lucas’ own church. The pastor said that the Sunday after his sign got national attention, some members of his congregation organized a walkout.

Lucas, however, said he won’t rescind his message, refusing to cater to the people who don’t love America as much as we do.

“I’ve tried to be honest,” he said. “I’ve tried to do what’s right. But I believe in my country. I love my country. And I don’t mind standing up for the country.”

He also said being a pastor is not a popularity contest.

“Preachers, by and large, today are afraid they’re going to hurt somebody’s feelings, and when I get in the pulpit, I’m afraid I won’t hurt somebody’s feelings,” Lucas said.

If you agree with Pastor Lucas, support both his message and The Western Journal by purchasing your very own “America: Love It or Leave It” shirt here.

Profits from these sales will help keep The Western Journal up and running without a paywall, something that is becoming more and more difficult as censorship from liberal tech companies such as Facebook and Google becomes more and more aggressive.

The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.

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Ryan Tofil lived all of his life in Western New York before graduating college and moving to Arizona in 2014 to work for the nonprofit Western Center for Journalism. In 2015, he became the director of Liftable.com, and soon its sister website ThoughtfulWomen.org. Since 2018, Ryan has been involved with PatriotDepot.com, the exclusive provider of The Western Journal merchandise and other essential patriotic products, moving to the site full-time in early 2019.
Ryan Tofil's experience on The Western Journal goes back to 2014 when he was an intern for the non-profit Western Center for Journalism. In 2015, he became the director of Liftable.com, and soon its sister website ThoughtfulWomen.org. These websites eventually combined and became one of the most popular lifestyle websites in the world, at one point being ranked inside the top 200 websites in America by Alexa.com. Liftable.com lives on today as a section of The Western Journal. Since 2018, Ryan has been involved with PatriotDepot.com, the exclusive provider of The Western Journal merchandise and other essential patriotic products, moving to the site full-time in early 2019.

Outside of work, Ryan loves to play chess, sports, and video games; usually while smoking a cigar. He is a proud bird-owner and aquarium aficionado, and always jokes about needing concealed carry permits for his fists, despite only having been in one fight in his life and losing quite badly. His claim to fame is having possibly been the worst NCAA baseball player in the country, riding the bench for a DIII team that went 3-31. He loved every second of it.
Birthplace
Western New York
Education
A.S., Communication, Jamestown Community College
Location
Anthem, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, barely. Even worse at Spanish.
Topics of Expertise
Video Games, Sports, Romance, Chess, E-Commerce, Okay not Romance




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