On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk Did What Many Christians Are Unwilling To Do
Share this with your senior pastors and church leadership teams. No context or explanation required.
American Christians are not in danger of being martyred for their faith. Our interpretations of Scripture boil down to an elementary, seeker-friendly doctrine primarily preached through the lens of revival and prosperity.
We make our weekly trek to sit on comfy pews and listen to reaffirming messages about God’s love and plan for our lives. Ministries are thriving on “prophetic words,” multi-level marketing, and wealth amassed from the hardworking congregants guilt-tripped into exchanging 10% of their (gross) income for blessings. The lights are low, the music is loud, and emotions are high. These scenes are more manufactured than churchgoers realize. Soon, church history will conclude with an alleged secret “rapture” snatching believers off the earth before “things get really bad.”
With all due respect, Jesus Christ did not die for this powerless and ineffective “American Gospel.”
Martyred for his beliefs
Words will never be enough to express the contribution that Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, made to present and future generations. He loved God, his wife, and family, and served our country well. CK also knew the risks of speaking truth and light into a world full of lies and darkness, yet he fearlessly stayed the course to the end. On one hand, he was brutally murdered and assassinated for holding conservative political opinions while exercising his First Amendment right to the fullest extent. On the other hand, CK was martyred for boldly proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ.
CK was a confrontational and polarizing figure—and that’s a good thing. Confrontation is absolutely necessary when lost souls are hanging in the balance of eternity. Polarization is a predictable human response when someone dares to say the quiet parts out loud. Whether we agree or disagree with his takes on controversial issues, CK was a brilliant mind, a forerunner who had the tenacity to go where most believers will never go. He gave his life on the frontlines of the culture war, pushing back against the demonic, leftist ideas that are destroying America’s youth.
Those who don’t believe CK was martyred for his religious beliefs should go back and listen to his debates. His understanding of both Testaments directly informed his political views. CK would say marriage is between one man and one woman. That’s not political, it’s biblical. God created male and female; that’s biblical. Abortion is murder; that’s biblical. Open borders, land theft, and excessive taxation are evil; that’s biblical. Jesus said the Truth—His Truth, not your truth or my truth—is what sets us free.
The Truth is worth dying for…when you sincerely believe.
Going to church is good, but on its own, it changes nothing
My opinion is controversial and polarizing, yet I will say the quiet parts out loud: Record numbers of people going to church after a national tragedy is a good thing, but I wouldn’t call it a “revival.” This hackneyed term is used to describe literally every private and public religious event, activity, and gathering in the Western hemisphere. The word is almost meaningless because it means everything. Twenty-four years ago, we witnessed a similar resurgence and response to tragedy on 9/11. After some time passed, society drifted back into a worse moral decline, and the church fell back into a routine coma.
Revival—if it is true revival—is not a respecter of denominations, and it should lead to reformation and transformation on a mass scale. Repentance must be deep and sincere, and obedience to God’s word should be in proportion to the number of people who claim to be Christians. Furthermore, church attendance is only the start of a thing, not the end. Believers must come outside the buildings to exercise moral authority, bring light into dark places, and assert influence on every level of society—especially in government.
Politics, in its simplest form, is nothing more than morality legislated and applied to a society. We elect representatives to adopt laws, policies, and regulations that uphold the nation’s moral fabric. Since very few Spirit-filled believers are willing to serve our country in this capacity, we’re overrun by evildoers. Again, going to church is good, but on its own, it changes nothing. It costs almost nothing—maybe one hour…two or three, if you’re Pentecostal—to attend church. It’s time for Christians to prove their faith outside the four walls. Faith without works is dead faith (James 2:26).
The fallout from this current wave of “revival” should, in my opinion, produce:
Prayer and Bible reading returning to public schools
Ten Commandments displayed on all government properties
More Bible-believing Christians occupying key government and community leadership roles
Lower divorce rates (within and outside the church)
Lower crime, drug, and homelessness rates
Lower child abuse and trafficking statistics
Higher marriage, birth, and adoption rates
Full-gospel messages preached in every service (without asking attendees for money)
Increased cases of persecution and martyrdom
Never stop pushing back against darkness
I won’t stop pushing back against darkness until I see a “revival” that leads to reformation in every institution and transformation of the hardest hearts in our society. I have determined that I would rather offend people to heaven than tolerate them to hell. I refuse to settle for anything less than sustained repentance, humility, and strength in the body of Christ. I implore Christians to go beyond a commitment to church attendance. Pray more. Read the Bible more. Fast more. Do the work of an evangelist. Husbands, love your wives and lead your families. Wives, respect your husbands. Single people, remain pure until marriage. Everyone, start considering others before yourselves.
What began in the Upper Room among the Eastern people will not die on the watch of Western people who sit in comfortable buildings. Thus, I’m calling on every church leader to abandon all plans to purchase more real estate. Quit hoarding God’s people in corporate structures. Stop harboring offense, preaching revenge sermons, and worrying about who leaves and takes tithing members with them. This, too, is vanity and grasping at the wind. The Great Commission did not begin and will not end with your ministry. If you want to lead and love like Jesus, then start equipping your people and sending them out with your sincere blessing—and provide them with financial assistance.
Lastly, pastors must set the record straight on what it means to be blessed and chosen by God. I challenge every sermon maker to renounce traditional preachings on revival and prosperity and start teaching from passages such as these:
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven (Matt. 5:11-12).
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and God rests upon you…Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name (1 Pet. 4:14-15).
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first…you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also (John 15:18-20).
Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12).
I’ll reiterate that CK wasn’t assassinated for his political preferences. He died because of his bold, unashamed, and sincerely held beliefs in Jesus Christ. He has joined the hall of faith with men like John the Baptist, who was imprisoned and beheaded for confronting a government leader’s sexual immorality! The Apostles Peter and John were imprisoned and flogged just for preaching the gospel! Paul, too, was imprisoned, beaten, stoned, and left for dead just for preaching Christ! And, lest we forget, Jesus was crucified for, among many things, daring to challenge wicked leaders—even in the synagogues!
Do you discern the examples and patterns Christians should follow?
If you’re not willing to lay down your life (die to your flesh and let God interrupt your plans) for Jesus Christ, check yourself to know whether you truly believe in Him. And I admonish every Bible-believing minister to start preaching a gospel message that’s worth dying for.
Please continue to pray for the new CEO and Board President, Mrs. Erika Kirk, her family, and all of the good people still on mission at Turning Point USA.