A Baton Rouge Pastor’s Costly Stand for Truth

By Collin Hain

Chief Operations Officer

Luke Ash didn’t expect to lose his job when he clocked in at the Baton Rouge Parish Library on a Monday in July. A bi-vocational pastor of Stevendale Baptist Church, Ash had recently returned to his hometown with his wife of 18 years and their four children, eager to serve his church and support his family. His second job at the local library was meant to help with that. Instead, it led to a defining moment of conviction—and loss.

Ash says it all began with a simple workplace conversation. A transgender trainee had been assigned to his department. In a private conversation with a coworker, Ash referred to the trainee using biologically accurate pronouns. The transgender individual wasn’t present, but the coworker took offense on the individual's behalf. The next day, Ash was called into a meeting and reprimanded for violating the library’s inclusivity policy. He was told plainly: either agree to use the trainee’s “preferred pronouns,” or the library would need to “figure out how to proceed.”

Ash responded: “I’m not going to lie.”

Two days later, he was dismissed.

While the library cited his probationary employment status as the reason for the termination, Ash says he was told—off the record—that the issue was indeed his refusal to use “preferred pronouns.”

The dismissal papers themselves were generic.

“I think they were trying to exploit a loophole,” Ash said, noting that as a temporary hire, he wasn’t entitled to an appeals process or a formal explanation.

But what happened next says just as much about Ash as it does about the culture that confronted him.

That Thursday morning, Ash said he woke up feeling physically weak, overwhelmed, and unprepared for what might come.

“I prayed with my wife before I left. I just leaned on her,” he said.

It wasn’t until he was pulling into the library parking lot that he sensed a quiet message from the Lord: You’re almost there. Don’t give up now.

And he didn’t.

Ash’s conviction wasn’t rooted in politics, he says, but in truth—and in the legacy of heroes like missionary Elisabeth Elliot, whose words have echoed in his heart: There’s nothing worth living for unless it’s worth dying for.

It was Elliot’s courage, and the example of his own wife and children, that gave him strength to hold the line.

“If I don’t do this,” Ash said, “I’m just passing this problem down to [my children].”

Ash believes the church’s long tolerance of compromise has led to this moment—where believers aren’t just being told what they can’t say, but what they must say.

“This is beyond keeping your religion in the church,” he said. “It’s about whether Christians are allowed to speak the truth at all.”

His children know what happened. They know their dad lost his job because he wouldn’t affirm something that isn’t true.

“I’ve told them we don’t do this to be disrespectful,” Ash said. “We do it because truth matters—and love tells the truth.”

For Ash, there’s no regret in how he handled the situation.

“I’ve asked God to show me if there’s any wicked way in me,” he said, echoing David’s prayer from Psalm 139. “But my conscience is clear.”

The events surrounding Pastor Ash’s dismissal raise serious concerns about religious liberty and freedom of conscience in the American workplace. When public institutions compel employees to speak against their convictions or risk losing their livelihood, a dangerous line has been crossed. Conscience — especially when informed by deeply held religious beliefs — is a foundational freedom. It must not be traded for ideological conformity or coerced speech.

Already, a coalition of pastors in Baton Rouge, including leaders from a Danbury Institute partner church, is drafting an open letter to the Baton Rouge Parish Library System. The letter urges the library to reinstate Pastor Ash and calls for guarantees that government employees will not be forced to violate their religious conscience in order to remain employed.

The Danbury Institute will continue monitoring this situation and encouraging leaders to protect the liberty of those who choose truth over convenience—even when it costs them.

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A fellow pastor has set up a giving link for anyone interested in supporting Pastor Luke Ash and his family during this time of losing his position at the library. Find more information here.