A few random observations after the Charlie Kirk memorial service:
I wish I was about 30 years younger so I could live for several more decades in the America we are on the cusp of creating. Obviously, things could get derailed. Nothing is guaranteed. But the trajectory we are on is encouraging. The future is bright. The Republicans are stacked with men who would make great Presidents and successors to Trump in carrying forward the MAGA torch. (Vance is my favorite at this point.) More importantly, it is obvious there is a renewed interest in Christian faith, not only as the way of eternal salvation, but as a civilization-building force. This is especially true of young men who have found in Charlie a man worthy of emulation.
Obviously not all the speeches were equally great, but many of them were explicitly Christian and proclaimed the gospel. To hear the VP of the United States openly declare that, “It is better to be persecuted for your faith than to deny the kingship of Christ” was quite amazing. Rob McCoy, Frank Turek, and Marco Rubio gave very clear gospel presentations to millions of people. The Secretary of War declared Jesus’ kingship. Tucker Carlson called on everyone to humbly repent of their own sin. Erika Kirk gave amazingly biblical counsel to men (“Be a leader worth following”) and women (“If you are a mother, that is the single most important ministry you have”). She was a model of what a godly wife should be in that situation. Trump Jr. displayed the kind of common sense we need – like the goal of making one income families the norm again and renouncing political violence. It was very impressive and encouraging overall.
Maybe the most powerful moment was when Erika Kirk talked about how her husband was trying to reach disaffected, missionless young men, precisely like the one who killed her husband. I know some people will criticize her for forgiving the murderer apart from his repentance. But I think that’s nitpicking. We should be willing to forgive, even if the transaction of forgiveness remains incomplete because the offender will not confess and repent, and she demonstrated that willingness. Also, from the sum total of the speeches, it’s obvious that personal forgiveness and civil justice (in the case the death penalty) are not at all at odds. A murderer can be forgiven while still suffering the consequences of his actions. The use of the sword to bless the righteous and terrorize the wicked is clearly built into the MAGA program at this point. MAGA is all about law and order, and restoring the rule of law in our land.
Charlie Kirk’s character and courage were honored. His political convictions were certainly clear in the service. But most importantly, his faith in Jesus was set forth as the center of his life and the key to everything he did. Charlie was honored; but Jesus was honored even more, which is what Charlie would have wanted. Charlie was presented as a Christian who was guided by his faith when he got involved in politics, not someone who instrumentalized his faith for political purposes.
The service showed how much a man with a vision and a work ethic can accomplish. It’s astounding to consider how much Charlie transformed our nation in his all too short life.
What we witnessed in the memorial service was Christian nationalism in nascent, immature form. Not everyone who spoke was a Christian – and Christian nationalism doesn’t require that. But what we saw is even people who do not share Charlie’s faith in Jesus showing open respect for Christianity. Everyone at the service was operating under the Christian gaze.
We cannot make America great again without making America Christian again, which means making America Biblical again. MAGA needs MACA and MABA.
Republicans in the past paid lip service to a god – a vague faith that never got defined. In this service, many politicians were explicitly Christian in their faith. It’s a remarkable shift in a very short period of time.
Whatever Charlie’s eschatology was, he was a practical postmillennialist.
As the left gets more Satanic, the right gets more consistently Christian. The lines are more clearly drawn than ever. The service and the events of the last 10 days clearly demonstrate that.
If ever the Christian right, as the Christian right, as a political movement, was going to resort to the kind of anarchic violence we see on the left, this would have been it. The most famous and popular rightwing Christian apologist was murdered in broad daylight. And yet what do we see? No riots. No gunshots. No violence. Instead, we got a massive prayer meeting in a packed stadium, live-streamed to millions more all around the world. And we saw a wife (now a widow) who forgave her husband’s killer. The two sides are not the same. There is no moral equivalence here.
Reformed Christians might be tempted to look down on the style of worship and music in the service and the imprecise theology on display. We should resist that temptation. What good is mature theology if you don’t enter the fray and get into the battle? Evangelicals charging the gates of hell with slingshots and BB guns are more effective than Reformed Christians who leave their jet fighters in the hangar and their battleships in the dock. An immature theology combined with courage and a willingness to act will always be more effective than mature theology and worship that never enter the fray. Reformed Christians love to be the Monday Morning Quarterback who criticize the normie evangelicals in the arena, but those who are in the arena are the ones through whom God is working to bring change.
Perhaps the most important thing of all is that Charlie Kirk’s legacy was accurately portrayed. Charlie always made clear the cultural, political, and civilizational impact of Christian faith. Charlie was willing to connect the dots in a way that many pastors are not; he linked his faith to his economics, to his convictions about marriage and family, to his views of immigration and nationhood, to his belief in limited government, etc. In other words, he presented the Christian faith as a comprehensive system of truth that works in the real world. He challenged people (especially college students) with a biblical worldview, showing that Christian faith answers coherently and compellingly all the pressing personal *and* political questions of the day. That came through in the memorial service, and for that I am grateful.
—
Conservative churches and pastors that have tried to downplay the culture war and political issues for the last 5+ years are going to hit a crisis point, if they haven’t already.
The left/right divide keeps getting bigger, with the Charlie Kirk martyrdom and memorial service as the latest signs that the left and right sides of American culture and politics are getting further and further apart. It will soon be impossible for any institution to include both in a way that allows them to peacefully coexist. The left keeps drifting further into moral chaos and the right keeps getting more Christianized. The left is getting more explicitly demonic; the right is getting more explicitly Christian.
A pastor who has tried to keep the peace between left and right advocates in his congregation will face an impossible task. And that means he will have to make hard decisions, which will likely cost him quite a bit. We are at the fork in the road. Third-wayism is dead. Telling people, “It doesn’t matter that we disagree so long as we are nice to each other” is not going to work any more. Jesus is not a Republican – I grant that. But the devil is definitely a Democrat. The lines are clearly drawn.
—
So what’s next?
American revivals are known for producing a lot of energy, a lot of emotion, a lot of excitement, and very little fruit.
What will come from the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom and memorial? Charlie did amazing work while he was with us. The service to celebrate his life was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It felt like a revival. But was it?
One of the preachers in the First Great Awakening was asked about how many conversions he had after what appeared to be a hugely successful preaching tour (I think it was George Whitefield). He replied, “We’ll know in a year or so.” In other words, the real test of revival is the long term fruit it produces. Not everything that glitters is gold.
What will come of all the excitement from last Sunday? Check back in a year – or five – and we will know.
What will America look like in five years? Will more people will be walking with the Lord? Will more people be worshipping in a faithful church each Sunday? Will more people marry and have more children? Will husbands love and cherish their wives more? Will wives be more respectful towards will husbands? Will more children be receiving a Christian education? Will porn use decrease? Will Bible reading and study increase? Will abortion rates fall? Will we see more humility, more discipline, more diligence, more sacrifice, more love? Will more pastors speak the truth boldly? Will there be fruit?
We will know if the seeds planted last Sunday are bearing fruit in a year – or five. My prayer is that this will be a “turning point” in our nation’s history, on par with the First Great Awakening. May God have mercy on our nation. May God give us not only revival but reformation. May God give us the kind of national transformation Charlie longed for. May God renew America, by his grace and for his glory.
TPC Pastor's Page 