According to Iowa’s unelected commission and their vague guidelines, the state’s SOGI laws apply to churches “sometimes.” Churches are susceptible to discrimination suites when open to the public or deemed not in operation for a “bona fide religious purpose” and when Who determines what constitutes a “bona fide religious purpose”? My guess is the unelected commission. Convenient, no?

The last place you might expect to find a commission aiming to control church services is Iowa. California, sure. But not Iowa. Even so, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission is interpreting a state Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) law to censor church sermons on Christian sexual ethics when services are open to the public (…which apparently isn’t every Sunday?) and force churches to open its restroom facilities to members of the opposite sex.

According to Iowa’s unelected commission and their vague guidelines, the state’s SOGI laws apply to churches “sometimes.” Churches are susceptible to discrimination suites when open to the public or deemed not in operation for a “bona fide religious purpose” and when Who determines what constitutes a “bona fide religious purpose”? My guess is the unelected commission. Convenient, no?

Ok, let’s face facts and speak plainly.

“What’s happening in Iowa is insanity. Caesar has no authority over the worship services of churches,” tweeted Dr. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptists’ Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).

Right you are, Dr. Moore. It’s refreshing when sensible church leaders don’t hesitate to use tough words to call out ludicrous situations. Insanity is certainly fitting. But words alone cannot prevent the commission’s control of sermons and church facilities.

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