The Center for Baptist Leadership is urging Baptist pastors, Focus on the Family, Compassion International and other groups to publicly oppose a Colorado bill that would penalize parents and others who “deadname” children by not using their preferred pronouns.
“Despite silence from megachurches and legacy Christian institutions, a ragtag band of pastors plans rally against anti-Christian agenda of Colorado Democrats,” said CBL in an article, “All Eyes on Colorado.” The group also has published a podcast about the issue.
So far, leaders of only four of Colorado’s 370 Southern Baptist churches have formally signed on to the effort, according to Colorado Baptists. A group called Fight1312 is organizing evangelical opposition to Colorado House Bill HB25-1312, “Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals.” So far, Fight1312 has the support of more than 40 religious leaders, including pastors and officials with Colorado Christian University.
The legislation, which passed in the House and passed this week in the Senate after amendments, is complex. One portion penalizes deadnaming while another protects parents from laws in other states that penalize parents who allow their children to undergo transgender medical treatments.
Critics claim the bill would infringe on parental rights and religious freedom by requiring Christian parents to adopt children’s new trans names against their beliefs or risk losing custody or time with their children. As HB25-1312 said before being amended:
“When making child custody decisions and determining the best interests of a child for purposes of parenting time, a court shall consider deadnaming, misgendering, or threatening to publish material related to an individual’s gender-affirming health-care services as types of coercive control,” the text says.
CBL said “hundreds of Colorado pastors” would gather for an April 30 rally at the state capitol in Denver, “not because of legacy evangelical institutions, but in spite of their silence.” Video of the event seems to show a crowd far smaller than that. The low turnout brought complaints from CBL.
“We’ve still heard only crickets from most megachurches in Colorado,” CBL said. “For whatever reason, they’re not joining the fight. The same goes for Navigators, Young Life and Compassion International, which are all based here.”
Historically, these groups have not engaged in political activism, which is not part of their mission.
Colorado Springs-based groups Focus on the Family and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview both have spoken out against HB-1312, but CBL wants more. “Focus on the Family has not mobilized large numbers to rally Colorado churches, a contrast to the leadership they once regularly provided,” its leaders complained.
The effort has gained the support of Heritage Action, the lobbying arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, which created a downloadable church bulletin insert reading: “ERLC and Colorado Baptists Urge You to Oppose Radical Gender Ideology Bill.”
“If passed, this bill will force people to use language that violates their consciences and religious beliefs,” the ERLC document says. “It would also expose individuals, ministries and religious organizations to legal action for simply affirming a biblical worldview of sex and gender.”
The Gospel Coalition published an article opposing the bill, “Colorado to Christian Parents: Surrender Your Faith or Surrender Your Children.”
But CBL complained ERLC and TGC weren’t doing enough to fight the bill: “Both organizations (the ERLC and TGC) fail to mention which party is pushing this radical gender ideology: the Democrats. These legacy evangelical institutions are a day late and a dollar short to the party. Yes, we welcome their coverage of this heinous bill. They may be the last servant hired, but they can still serve. I have seen many squishy friends in Colorado finally say something online by citing The Gospel Coalition. Good on them, I suppose. We need all the help we can get.”
The Colorado SBC leaders who have signed on with Fight1312 are:
- Jon Goodman, teaching elder, Emmanuel Road Ref. Baptist, Colorado Springs
- James Medina, pastor, Breath Reformed Baptist Church, Colorado Springs
- Jono Scott, lead pastor, Woodside Baptist Church, Denver
- Sean Cole, lead pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Sterling
The Center for Baptist Leadership was launched last year by William Wolfe, a conservative political commentator who has claimed the label of “Christian nationalist” as a positive, not the negative his detractors have intended.
One of the group’s primary agendas is turning the SBC in an even more conservative direction.
Wolfe is a former Trump administration staffer and former intern to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler. He frequently uses his X account to post inflammatory statements of white supremacy, Christian supremacy and male supremacy.
