With five Republicans throwing their hats in the ring to be the next Iowa governor, and three of them leading with the title of Pastor, it makes me wonder why life and establishing justice for our preborn neighbor has not been at the forefront of the discussion. So far, from what I can tell, the two main talking points in the race have been:
- Property rights, and
- Who can grovel before President Trump enough to get his endorsement.
While I am all for property rights — I would be fine if we went back to only property owners being able to vote and wouldn’t shed a tear at all if we eliminated eminent domain altogether — I can’t help but notice that if you listen closely you can hear the blood of the innocent crying out from the ground that these men are trying to defend.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe property should be defended. It is, after all, one of the most foundational rights and one of the first things God established clear back in the Garden of Eden when He told Adam that the tree in the midst of the garden was His and Adam couldn’t eat from it. But the truth remains that life is the first right we must observe, for without it there can be no rights for property in any objective sense. Simply put, a dead man — or a dead baby in this case — has his property rights stripped from him as soon as the chemical poison does its awful work or as soon as forceps rip him apart limb from limb. Property is important, but it is secondary to life.
As for the second main point in the governor’s race — groveling to get President Trump’s endorsement — this may seem strategic, but it is below both a statesman and a pastor.
In America, we are a constitutional republic. This means we are bottom-up in authority and bound by the Constitution and the organic laws (common law, Declaration of Independence, Northwest Ordinance, etc.) it sits upon. If you remember clear back to the dystopian days of 2020, when people were wearing two masks to drive by themselves and Republican and Democrat governors were in lockstep trampling your First Amendment rights, President Trump was being lauded in conservative circles for being a “Federalist” and letting governors make decisions for their own states. The spin was that there should be a recognition of your local elected officials more than your federal ones. This means no governor should grovel for Trump’s endorsement, but rather Trump should grovel for theirs.
Now, I know it would make more sense to assume that President Trump was abandoning his responsibility to uphold the First Amendment — even if there is a pandemic — by making the governors make a decision. But the conservative culture has decided he can do no wrong, so I will at least make you be consistent. If you lauded President Trump for his handling of COVID or refused to criticize him for it, then be a consistent federalist and recognize it is a sign of a weak and constitutionally illiterate candidate to all but beg for his endorsement.
Now that I have lost half of the readership, and those continuing to read are just reading to see how much more I can offend them, let me tell you why no pastor should ever beg, let alone ask, for the endorsement of a president. A pastor has greater authority in King Jesus’ economy than any president could ever dream. The church of the living God is a higher and more weighty institution than a nation that may rise in a night and fall just as suddenly. Don’t mishear me, I love America and am a patriot, but I cannot deny the cosmic reality that Jesus Christ is King.
Even the pastor of the smallest local church in the most country-bumpkin county of Iowa has more authority than a president if they were commissioned by Jesus Christ. I am not opposed one iota to a pastor running for office — I myself have considered running for different offices in the past — but if it is Jesus who called you to run for office, then run on His endorsement instead of seeking a president’s.
I don’t sling these words from the hip like some theological outlaw. Rather, I count both Pastor Sherman and Pastor Andrews as positive acquaintances, if not friends. I speak as a pastor who is both disappointed and gravely concerned about the direction of this governor election. Not because we lack potentially qualified candidates, but because the potentially qualified candidates have the wrong focus and are seeking the wrong means to win.
While God cares about property, we are not in danger of His judgment because of eminent domain. While an endorsement from President Trump may go a long way, it will not go nearly as far as an endorsement from God. While these men are saying some good things, they are lacking what our state really needs in order to be great again — repentance from the grievous sins we have committed.
While three pastors have walked into the governor’s race, our state will only win if one of them seeks to save the soul of our state instead of appeasing the poll of the people.
Author: Sam Jones
Pastor Sam Jones currently serves as Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Humboldt, IA. He married the love of his life Sarah in 2013; they have two sons Thomas and Henry. He is most known for his teachings on the 4 spheres of delegated government and being a voice for the pre-born. In addition to his Pastoring schedule, Pastor Sam is an avid podcaster and has been known to dabble in radio as well. His political commentary has appeared in dozens of news outlets across the country including: The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and The Iowa Standard. Pastor Sam is the author of 5 Steps to Kill a Nation. He is also a co-author of Social Injustice, Church and State, and Enemies Within the Church Bible Study.
When God calls you to do something, you do the best you can. God will do the heavy lifting. I may not be well educated, but I seem to recall God called people with flaws, which shows the power of our mighty God. God gives us miracles, if He held my failing brakes over the Big Horns, then God can certainly place the right man in position to be Governor, despite your learned opinion. I will vote for Brad Sherman.
Harlan, Madrid, and Jefferson schools scam teachers into paying $1,400 monthly to insure one child with the Blue Cross monopoly, and these fake pastors don’t care. A dying Iowa child on Obamacare is prohibited from surviving at the MAYO Clinic, voted to be the world’s best hospital. The Iowa Standard refuses to list Healthcare as an issue or write about the politicians’ fraud.
The City of Cedar Rapids only charges employees $600 a month until they become cancerous and too sick to work. Sick employees’ premiums rise to $43,000 annually when they have no income, so they can’t pay. This enables Blue Cross to terminate its insurance and its financial responsibility. This has been happening since 1985, when Reagan signed COBRA into federal law. Employees have lost health insurance when too sick to work since 1943 and World War 2.
All Iowa Republican politicians support Obamacare, and all of these RINOs will soon be replaced. Let me tell you why. On 10/1/2025, Obamacare 2026 rates are announced. In Obama’s home state of Illinois, there is a good example. Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) “Extended Tax Credits” vanish for all couples earning $82,000. A 60-year-old Carbondale couple earning $82,000 will see their $4 Blue Cross premium rise to $4,021 monthly!
This is happening in every county nationwide and can’t be stopped. Healthcare will become the predominant issue in the 2026 Election, and the Iowa Standard refuses to write about it, so they might as well fold up shop, throw in the towel, and quit begging for your donation.
Eddie Andrews is my state representative and is,and has been for years, the hardest working legislator I have ever seen and I have been involved, sometimes heavily, since1986. As the former chairman of the board of Iowa Right to Life Committee I am extremely confident in Mr. Andrews pro-life record and plans going forward into the future. Eddie is not my pastor; my pastor is at my church. Sometimes you have to fight the battle not on the ground you want to fight on but on the ground where the fight is. At this time the fight is on eminent domain, unfortunately for Representative Feenstra.