Witnessing A Modern Martyrdom
It is not time for ONE person to stand in a generation. It is time for an ENTIRE generation to stand as ONE.
A martyr is considered someone who loses their life because of their religious views. People have also used the word martyr to extend to definitions of politics and other beliefs.
The young people of America lost one of the most important voices in their generation. I’m sure we will hear more in the coming days, but, inarguably, it was Charlie Kirk’s passion for politics, education, culture, and faith that stirred a marksman to take his life.
While speaking at Utah Valley University Wednesday afternoon. Charlie was shot just minutes into a conversation with thousands of students. Don’t let that last sentence be lost. Charlie Kirk was killed while having a conversation on politics, education, culture, and faith. In America.
The young people today who fled the scene will never forget the images, and yet, will be reminded of the powerful narrative of a godly young man who said yes to lead his generation.
Conversation In America
There will be a lot of conversations in the coming days on left and right politics. There will be a lot of conversations in the coming days on tolerance and conversations with people we may disagree. There will be a lot of conversations in the coming days on gun laws and mental health and hardened schools.
What is pressing on my heart in this moment is the handoff of the faith from one generation to the next. Charlie Kirk stood firmly on his Christian beliefs and inserted them into every conversation that he had with this generation.
I have said for many years, at some point in America, we must help young people make THE faith THEIR faith.
What Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk stood for was the conversations that we must have with every generation and with every background and ideology. We must be able to have the conversations of politics, education, culture, and faith in a free America that values the exercise of our Liberty.
Martyrs
When the great fore fathers and mothers of America and the church have passed, the question will always remain. Who will take their place? We said it when Martin Luther King Jr. passed in 1968. We said it when Mother Theresa passed in 1997. And we said it when Billy Graham passed in 2018. And I’m asking the question again today to every young person in America. Who will take the place of Charlie Kirk in 2025?
| “How are we mentoring next up? Have you identified key kids who could make a stand in their generation? The church must get better at passing the faith on to the next generation.” |
One of the great verses in the New Testament written by the Apostle Paul is found in 1 Corinthians 12.26, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.” That is my prayer for Erika, the two children, and the family of Charlie Kirk today.
Another verse that challenges me in moments like this was written by the Apostle John in John 12.24, “…unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain and yields a harvest.” That is my prayer for this situation, this generation, and our nation.
I truly believe that Charlie’s death, like many martyrs in church history, will water seeds of a spiritual awakening in our country.
But what takes place next is very important.
We need a generation of new voices to take the place of Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, and Charlie Kirk.
Finally
Do not be afraid of conversations. Either in private or in public. We honor those who have gone before us with loving and informed conversation between all of us.
We need young people in every sector of life to take their place. We need young people in politics, education, culture, and faith to be the next voice in the house of Congress, in our universities, in the public Square, and in the pulpit of America.
Do not let an assassins bullet kill your passion for what you believe in. We must take our freedoms seriously and defend with our lives the freedom of ideas and speech. It is what makes America great. Especially if we are going to see a turning point in our country.