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Bold New South Wales churches will openly refuse to comply with the state’s atrocious Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024.

Platforming the Open Windows declaration, Caldron Pool editor Ben Davis said the initiative began with pastors concerned about the legislation being weaponised against Christians.

At its core, he said, the law “criminalises aspects of Christian teaching and pastoral care.”

As of 7am this morning.

Conversion practices have no place in NSW.

So we banned it. pic.twitter.com/kpCuLzuNrN

— Chris Minns (@ChrisMinnsMP) March 21, 2024

The pastor-led pushback rejects the Labor-Green law’s central Christian-hating false assumptions.

Such as the portrayal of Christians as persecutors hunting down, hating on, and harassing those who identify as LGBTQ+.

#BREAKING Church Leaders Issue Open Letter Defying NSW Conversion Law, Vow to Continue Ministry

“We must obey God rather than men,” the statement reads.https://t.co/8TTkDLU9EL

— Caldron Pool (@CaldronPool) April 14, 2025

State Control

One primary concern about the legislation is its wording.

Christian leaders asserted that both the FAQ and law “make it clear that their duty as ministers to proclaim the Jesus Christ – sin, salvation, and obedience to God in response — was now regarded as criminal behaviour.”

Secondly, the law impacts Christian parents, who “will be regarded as criminals for giving advice to their children concerning their sexual desires or gender identity.”

Prayer is also forbidden.

“Christians will be regarded as engaging in criminal behaviour for praying with individuals seeking to live in a way that is according to their conscience and the Bible.”

In sum, the “love is love” legislation uses the State as a weapon to suppress “an inherent part of our calling as Christians, which is to bring the love of Jesus to all people.”

We are called to speak truth in love, pray for and care for “those who have been broken by sin,” the declaration explained.

This law stops Christians from “encouraging sinners – of every variety – to live according to God’s good design” and outlaws any offer of hope in helping them to do so through pastoral care, by, in, with and through Jesus’ name.

“This is not ‘therapy’ – it is the inherent pattern of Christian life.”

“It is neither compassionate nor caring,” the writers argued, to force “vulnerable people” to denounce “those who seek to care for them in this way.”

Rewrite

The declaration asks the NSW Labor Government led by Chris Minns to “rescind the law, and develop new legislation.”

This legislation should aim to “protect people from coercive and abusive behaviour.”

However, it should do so “without infringing on religious liberty and practices of constituents.”

Largely written by Taree Presbyterian Pastor Vaughan Smith, the declaration also emphasised that Churches “serve God by welcoming and serving people from all backgrounds.”

This includes “those who experience same-sex attraction or suffering from gender dysphoria.”

Unlike the current legislation, and the bureaucrats backing it, the Open Window declaration “utterly rejected the use of any form of coercion or control.”

Instead, its authors reaffirmed two millennia of Christian doctrine regarding the care of souls, which “always aims to do so with love, gentleness, and respect.”

Formerly notifying the State that churches cannot comply with the current law, the Open Window Letter, citing Daniel 6, concluded,

“For our part, we have no desire to become criminals and as Christians,  we place a high value on submitting to and honouring our government.

“Should these laws remain in place, we will have no option but to continue to exercise orthodox Christian ministry.”

Such as “discipleship”.

This “includes counselling and praying with individuals concerning the Christian view of sex, marriage, and gender.”

“We must obey God rather than men.”

The profound Open Windows protest joins the Canberra Declaration’s Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity, now signed by almost 5,000 people.

Sign the Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity

Australia’s most populous state New South Wales has just made it illegal to pray with someone about their sexuality.
Even if they ask you to.
Even if you help them online from outside the state.
Read this thread on what this…

— Nancy Pearcey (@NancyRPearcey) April 15, 2025

While pastoral care and Christian prayer are the law’s sole targets, the law also threatens the majority of New South Wales residents who are, as of the 2021 census, 97% heterosexual.

This legislation’s stated intent is to stop the majority from “imposing heterosexuality” on those whose sexual preference is prefixed with preferred pronouns and the letters LGBTQ.

Minns’ “therapeutic totalitarianism” implies a total ban on anything that can be seen as “heteronormative oppression”, up to and including a ban on using the terms mother and father.

All this, while the state forces down your throat the queer idea that “women can have penises, and men can get pregnant too.”

From false assumptions come false accusations.

This naïve, bad, poorly defined, and arbitrary law invites both.

The Labor-Green Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 has lawfare written all over it.

I see the Open Windows letter as a fitting “hell no” to the State demanding we preach a false christ, by way of a falsified Gospel.

It wasn’t that long ago when another government issued a similar demand.

In an edict issued in 1937, Nazi Minister for Church Affairs Hans Kerrl ordered that,

“The Church’s proclamation must fall into the correct relationship with National Socialism.”

We’ve all seen how this ends.

The Church is right to reject this hastily spun, cloven-hoofed manifestation of cancel culture.

For these reasons, I join this gracious “hell no”.

We will not compromise the Gospel entrusted to us nor fail in our responsibility to care for it by passing this Good News on to others.

For “He who the Son sets free is free indeed!” – John 8:32

If you haven’t already read through or signed the Open Windows declaration, please consider doing so here.

Since it went live on Monday, over 1000 politicians, pastors, and parishioners have signed the Open Windows declaration.