(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department)
KENOSHA, Wis. — “Pastor” Jonathan Barker (D) abruptly resigned Thursday from Grace Lutheran Church, ending a tenure marked by public protest arrests, leadership upheaval, and a widening rift with his congregation. His departure comes one day after the church council passed a resolution requesting temporary outside leadership and setting a deadline for new elections.
Barker announced his resignation in a Facebook post Thursday morning, saying he would also leave the clergy roster of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He claimed the move was necessary to avoid the ELCA revoking Grace Lutheran’s tax-exempt status if he went ahead with plans to endorse Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for president in 2028 from the pulpit this Sunday — a move he insisted was divinely inspired and said was made possible by rule changes under current President Donald Trump, whom he blamed at least in part for his departure.
Barker argued that the IRS change allowing churches to endorse political candidates — a change he said Trump had long sought and “loves” — created a moral imperative for him to speak out in favor of progressive candidates. He described his plan to make the political endorsement as a “here I stand, I can do no other” moment, but alleged denominational leaders warned that Grace Lutheran’s 501(c)(3) status, held under the ELCA’s group exemption, would be revoked, effectively forcing the church to close. In his resignation statement, Barker lamented that the decision would deprive Grace of what he called a “Mustard Seed Miracle” — a New York Times feature on the planned endorsement.
Barker’s time in Kenosha has been polarizing. In 2021, he was arrested during a sit-in protest at the Kenosha Public Safety Building. Two years later, during the 2023 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, he was arrested again after blocking traffic and reportedly supergluing his feet to the pavement. In October 2024, Barker and the Grace Lutheran Church Council abruptly terminated all Grace Welcome Center staff and had police escort them from the premises. Services were paused amid a public split with the newly formed Kenosha Welcome Center. Days later, a police call alleged that more than $80,000 had been stolen by a former employee, and internal disputes deepened as church council members resigned.
The latest move by Grace Lutheran’s council signals a congregation in crisis. On Wednesday, the council unanimously passed a resolution asking the Greater Milwaukee Synod to appoint a “temporary synodical administration team” to run the church until a new council can be elected, no later than Nov. 9. The resolution also directs that, if no council is elected by then, the synod should lead a process to consider “continued ministry, partnership, or closure”.
Barker says he still plans to deliver his political endorsement sermon this Sunday at a different venue. Where and to whom he will preach next — and whether Grace Lutheran will recover from his tenure — remains unclear.
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15 Responses
Please keep us updated on if he really does Sunday
Good ol Pastor Gluefoot, one of the original Kenosha Avengers. What a life he leads, putting one gluefoot in front of the other in whatever direction gets him the most attention.
Preachers engaging in social activism is nothing new. But endorsing specific candidates is and likely to be divisive.
Beware of false prophets! You will know them by their fruits. This one is rotten!
For Sure I will Pray he repents and becomes a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ if he doesn’t turn he will burn 😓
He looks like a fruit.
Lib tard window licker
Is this Mr. Jablowme? Or is this another juvenile immature creepy perverted old man. It must be really tough to rein in those sexual urges that stem from your days as a middle school rock star in the 1970’s. Please tell me it is not so. How much humiliation can you take?
You’re definitely a democrat.
Complete libtard, prob just looking for little boys to “help”. Light-in-the-loafers pedo.
Christ certainly preached to the common person and tried to help everyone find salvation regardless of their social standing. But he was smart enough to keep the politics out of the message. Luke 20:25 “And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.”
I know nothing about this guy other than he is in the camp that supports AOC for president. That’s all anyone needs to know! Looks like he missed his calling when he decided to become a pastor.
You shouldn’t put quotes around the word pastor. It’s disrespectful – like if someone said ‘Journalist’ Kevin Mathewson. If you want to be taken seriously, act like a professional.
This guy is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is doing this for attention. Glad the church is losing him as a pastor. He ruined and dismantled so much of what the church did for the local homless.
Kenosha County Eye broke the story that now The New York Times is reporting!