The church told her not to let it go, and the pastor called her a hero. The congregation stood and applauded.

You might know the story by now. It made Fox News and Yahoo, dividing people across the country.

School officials disciplined a 14-year-old Lebanon High School student in March after she posted Bible verses at school. She did so because she saw rainbow flags there, and she said she was trying to help students who were confused.

“I seen that there was people in my school that needed help, and they don’t need to be living in the confusion of wondering if they should gay, bi, lesbian, trans – anything like that," Helsinger said in a video her mom posted to Facebook. "God is the only way that they can be healed by that."

School officials have disputed the student's version of events, without going into detail because of student privacy laws, they say. Her video has been viewed more than 121,000 times.

A few days after the video, on March 13, there were protesters at Lebanon High School. There were high-fives and signs and a bullhorn and police. As students walked to their cars in the parking lot, authorities escorted a local politician’s brother away and charged him with trespassing.

A few days after this, a resident started raising funds for an LGBTQ-friendly club at the school because, the woman said, being different is already hard enough. At the same time, officials are asking residents to vote for a tax hike in May.

In a mostly conservative city in a largely conservative county, this is what religious controversy looks like.

…

Lawrence Bishop II is a pastor at Solid Rock Church in Warren County. You know, the one with a towering statue of Jesus outside. The one you can see from Interstate 75. The one that has sparked controversy for uncompromising views opposing gay marriage and other churches that support it.

This is where 14-year-old Gabby Helsinger goes to church.

Before the protests, there was a sermon that started about heaven and what it takes to get there. Pastor Bishop said most people believe the best way is to stay true to your beliefs. Most people are wrong, he said.

“You know, those Muslim terrorists that flew those airplanes into the twin towers, they believed in something. They stayed true to their beliefs,” Bishop said on a Sunday morning in March. “People think that if you don’t believe in Hell, it’s not there.”

Eventually, he brought Gabby onto the stage. He said Jesus was the only answer to sexual perversion.

“I want to show you what brave looks like,” he said standing next to Gabby. “She was willing to stand up and say the word of God was right, and I don’t care who it offends.”

…

It was March 13 now, and Brian Messer was holding a sign that said, “I stand with Gabby." Messer, the brother of Lebanon Vice Mayor Mark Messer, was standing outside the students' entrance to Lebanon High School.

The superintendent, Todd Yohey, received a call from a school board member about a man at school interacting with students. Yohey approached Messer and asked him to move to a public space in front of the school, farther away from students.

He didn’t.

Police were already there because of other protests, which included one man and his young daughter telling students gay sex is a sin.

The 32-year-old Messer pointed his cellphone at a police officer, according to court documents, asking him to cite the law he was violating. Messer insisted he could be there.

The officer told him he would be cited for trespassing and said school officials can restrict who is allowed on school property. When Messer didn't move, the officer asked if him if he was refusing to leave.

“I think so,” Messer said, according to police documents. “It’s a free speech issue.”

This weekly column is a look around Butler and Warren counties from Enquirer Reporter Keith BieryGolick. Send tips, questions and hate mail to kbierygolick@enquirer.com.