Shellie Flockhart is undeniably a “conservative influencer”, as she calls herself. She is all over the social media influencing scene. She posts a whole lot of memes online. Some are about Jesus. Some are about botox.
Is promoting botox supposed to be Shellie Flockhart’s ministry?
Shellie Flockhart also has strong associations with the Christian Nationalist political activist group Moms For Liberty, an organization that supports banning books in libraries across the country.
Is banning books and harassing librarians Shellie Flockhart’s ministry?
It’s obvious that Shellie Flockhart is motivated by a drive to get attention.
Perhaps adding her name to the Iowa Faith Leader Coalition, claiming to be a “ministry leader” and getting her picture taken with Donald Trump, is just another way for her to do that.
That doesn’t make Shellie Flockhart an actual ministry leader, unless the ministry is to her own ego.
Shellie Flockhart describes herself as “Christian, salon owner, mentor, CrossFit member, cosmetologist, mom, fashionista, meal prepper, and so much more!”
Shellie Flockhart is a lot of things, but there’s no evidence that she ever described herself as a “ministry leader”, at least not until Donald Trump asked her to add her name to his Iowa Faith Leader Coalition.
Out of nowhere, when the 2024 Iowa caucuses came around, Shellie Flockhart began to take on the label of “ministry leader”. What ministry is she leading, though?
Sure, Shelly Flockhart posts Christian memes on social media. She also uses social media to spread wild conspiracy theories about demons attempting to invade the state of Iowa.
“There are evil Satanic forces that are trying to infiltrate our state,” she says. “It's a very dark, evil force, and I truly hope people know how to battle that.”
Flockhart has not made clear exactly how she thinks Iowans should be battling against demons. Is garlic the best tool, or are pitchforks and torches called for?
Is demon fighting Shellie Flockhart’s ministry?
Flockhart has recently issued a reminder that Jesus sometimes liked to get violent and attack people who dared to disagree with him. This reminder carries with it an implied warning that Iowa Christians might violently attack their critics in the same way. A favorite meme of hers reads: “If someone asks ‘What would Jesus do?’ remind them that turning over tables and breaking out whips is a possibility.”
Is turning over tables and breaking out whips what Shellie Flockhart thinks of as her ministry?
A new book, Donald Trump’s Army of God: Christian Nationalism in the Iowa Faith Leader Coalition, provides information about all 317 members of the Iowa Faith Leader Coalition.
As “a case study in the violent extremism that has come to define the presidential election of 2024,” the book provides a grounded examination of Christian Nationalist ideology that is lacking from other, more theoretical, books on Christian Nationalism.
The Iowa Faith Leader Coalition is an extremist political organization that violates the law
Learn more about the radical Christian Nationalists who belong to Donald Trump’s Iowa Faith Leader Coalition.