Develop to Deploy

I sat stunned staring at my phone. “Conservative Activist, Charlie Kirk Shot in Utah”. I spent the next hour or so responding to a barrage of text messages and constantly refreshing my phone for updates. Finally, “Charlie Kirk, dead at 31”. Something about the country I live in immediately felt different. It did not feel too terribly dissimilar to the feeling I had as a 16 year old in an 11th grade computer lab 24 years ago today watching black smoke pour out of the Twin Towers with a dozen or so terrified teenagers. The world felt less safe that day too. More hostile to what I believe about the world, God, existence. 

I couldn’t sleep last night. I prayed, I tossed, I turned. Charlie Kirk was many things to many people. He was a lightening rod in a politically charged age, a provocative speaker able to articulate conservative principles in a powerful way. To be honest, up until a few of years ago I paid little attention to him. He felt “click-baity” to me. I wasn’t particularly impressed. But over the last few years the raw talent Kirk possessed became more realized and useful. He built Turning Point USA into the most important conservative movement in the US. His zealous spirit became more tempered, thoughtful, measured and subsequently more productive. Something else happened too. Charlie deepened in his faith. He became one of, if not the most, prominent spokesmen and apologist for a Christian Worldview in the world. He publically professed Christ and routinely defended his faith in hostile settings. He became one of the most articulate defenders of the biblical doctrines of gender, marriage and the sanctity of human life. He promoted Christianity boldly from a platform that reached literally billions of people around the world. One of his unique contributions was his engagement of young men. He pointed them to a biblical view of manhood, vocation and courage. It was message that resonated with millions of young men who felt devoid of any sense of purpose. 

And then, in one sudden, violent moment, Charlie Kirk was gone. His young wife a widow. His two young children, fatherless. A generation of young men, left feeling like I felt on that cloudless morning in September, 24 years ago; that the whole world had changed and nothing would be the same. 

But both then and now, hope does not remain silent. God was not surprised. On the contrary, He ordained it all. What the violent crusaders against biblical truth meant for evil, God meant for good. And there is much good in the world after all. It may not be “trending” but it is working among us, pointing us to a Kingdom that is both already breaking in and still to come.   The easiest thing to do in moments like this, when the Kingdom suffers violence, is to throw up our hands and curse the darkness. Instead we must look for light. 

A word for young men: Leaders come and go. Great leaders always point us beyond themselves to something lasting and significant. Something aspirational. God raises up leaders and then brings them to nothing. The way forward is to embody the biblical truths and worldview for yourselves. 

Put away porn. 

Work hard to provide for your family. 

Read your Bibles. 

Get on your knees and pray. 

Vote your conscience.

Serve others. 

Make disciples. 

Take your family to church this Sunday. 

True revolution always comes through everyday faithfulness. And as we do these things we point others to the One Leader who continues to rule in power and glory on the darkest of days: King Jesus. 

Come quickly Lord.