Jack Phillips, the courageous Christian cake baker in Lakewood, Colorado, won his case before the United States Supreme Court on June 4. Previously he had been punished by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission for refusing to bake a cake for a homosexual marriage.
We had received word that 900 homosexual rights activists were responding to the Supreme Court’s decision by organizing a protest at Jack’s bakery on June 8. Alliance Defending Freedom and Colorado Family Action called on concerned Christians across Colorado to turn out on that day to show their support for Jack. He and his family have endured great personal and financial cost for standing up for their faith. We considered it a priority to support him for the price he’s paid for the religious freedoms we enjoy in our nation and sent a team. Below is an account of what took place.
June 8, 2018
We had a group of seven travel on one of the Charis Bible College shuttle buses to the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado. We arrived at approximately 3:00 p.m. Our driver, Roc Butterfield, parked about a block from the bakery, allowing us to disembark at a location away from the crowd. The shop is in a medium-size strip mall, an end-cap space, not readily visible from the street unless you are looking for it.
When we arrived, there was a line from the front door to around the corner of the building, well past the other businesses in that location. I estimate there were about 150-200 people in that line, as well as another 150 or so mingling around in the parking area, both in front and on the side of the building.
I wanted to get a sense of the crowd; that is, friend or foe. So, I walked the length of the line, talking with a few people and reading the signs. The clear majority of those in line, I would say about 90 percent, were supporters of Jack Phillips and his family. They were waiting to get in the shop to patronize his business. It was very gratifying for me to see all these believers there supporting this man and his family who stood firm in the conviction of their belief and faith.
The line was so long that I did not plan to get in it, but my wife, Tracey, and some others got in line while I “worked the crowd.”
After some time, many of the young people from the Radiance Foundation—an educational, faith-based organization—got out of the line to move to the front area where speakers were about to address the crowd. There were also many young people there from Summit Ministries, out of Manitou Springs, who got out of line to move to the front. The line became considerably shorter.
Pretty quickly, we were able to not only get in the shop but also have the honor of meeting Jack Phillips, the storeowner. We spoke with him and got a few photos. It was a real delight. He seemed to be a very personable, down-to-earth man, very friendly and sincere.
A few organizations and the defense firm that supported the Phillips family spoke briefly, and then Jack addressed the crowd with some short remarks he had prepared.
All in all, it was a very memorable experience. The beauty of it to me was to see all these believers come together in support of this family. Before we arrived, I anticipated there would be far less Christian support than opposition, which I mentioned to Tracey. But, boy, was I wrong! In fact, the word was that a large group of opposition was coming at 4:00. We stayed until an hour after that, and the group never showed up.
