Conservative Evangelical Leaders Celebrate Charlie Kirk as a Martyr After His Killing

Charlie Kirk Martyr: Conservative religious leaders used the same term to characterize Charlie Kirk, the podcaster and political activist who was assassinated on Wednesday, during Sunday morning church services throughout the nation: martyr.

Rob McCoy, pastor emeritus of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in California, stated, “Today, we celebrate the life of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old God-fearing Christian man, a husband, father of two, a patriot, a civil rights activist, and now a Christian martyr.”

Kirk, a well-known supporter of President Donald Trump who drew condemnation for his anti-immigration and anti-feminist sentiments and an intense conservative following, was shot dead at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was addressing thousands of people as part of “The American Comeback Tour,” which included Kirk’s hallmark activity: discussing culture war issues with college students.

The deceased political analyst was honored at Sunday services at a number of evangelical megachurches, which Kirk often frequented on the weekends to present his brand of conservative politics. These services included video compilations of the viral moments that helped make Kirk famous. Pastors lamented Kirk as a friend who developed intimate bonds with evangelical leaders and as a blustery supporter of conservative Christian interests who unabashedly blended religion and politics.

Furthermore, a number of religious leaders characterized Kirk’s murder as an assault on the Christian church, despite the fact that investigators have not revealed a reason for his shooting and that he was lecturing at a secular institution at the time.

At his Sunday morning service, Jackson Lahmeyer, the pastor of Sheridan Church in Oklahoma and the originator of “Pastors for Trump,” a group of pastors who advocated for Trump’s reelection, said, “The attack on Charlie Kirk was much deeper than a political attack on the First Amendment.” He told CNN that 5,631 individuals, both in-person and online, attended his sermon at 10 a.m.

“Charlie’s attack was spiritual in nature and an attack on the church’s very institution,” Lahmeyer said.

Pastors echoed Trump, who condemned “radical left political violence” and referred to Kirk as a “martyr for truth and freedom” in a speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday night.

Kirk was likened by a number of pastors to Stephen, the first Christian martyr of the New Testament who was stoned to death.

McCoy, who described himself as Kirk’s “friend and his biggest fan,” said that Kirk referred to him as his pastor and that “this was not random.” “We are engaged in a spiritual conflict. Today, the same homicidal spirit that tore down the prophets, killed Christ, and killed Stephen is roaring once again.

Not everyone has expressed sadness over Kirk’s passing. Kirk often made fun of racial and religious minorities as well as the LGBTQ+ community. An unknown doxxing website has targeted people who have posted jokes or shown indifference about Kirk’s passing on social media, and some workers have even been dismissed as a result.

However, McCoy claims that his murder has increased interest in Turning Point USA Faith, the religious component of Kirk’s right-wing youth group. In the days following Kirk’s passing, he noted, the number of partner churches for Turning Point USA Faith has doubled.

A close buddy of church officials

Kirk developed close ties with Christian leaders, many of whom are also open supporters of Trump, which were reflected in Sunday’s sermons. Trump relied heavily on white evangelicals as a basis of support in both of his victories.

Kirk was a longtime personal friend, Lahmeyer told CNN. He said, “Obviously, we’re in mourning because we lost him.” “It’s just difficult.”

According to him, his congregation has shown “a range of emotions,” including rage, in response to the tragedy. It is “difficult to believe, difficult to process.” Even if you don’t believe it, it is real.

He informed CNN that he had canceled a guest sermon that was originally planned in order to give a sermon on Sunday called “Turning Point” that was dedicated to Kirk. “I hope that the sermon will be a turning point where they become even more devout in following Jesus,” he stated.

Lahmeyer told CNN, “I hope that Charlie’s life would inspire people to live a life worth living.” “Charlie’s influence on the body of Christ was greater than his influence on politics.”

McCoy also revealed personal anecdotes regarding his friendship with Kirk, claiming to have met him at a conservative gathering in 2019. He said, “I miss my friend.” Kirk said that the first church he ever spoke at was Godspeak Calvary. Recently, the two had visited Seoul, South Korea, where they met with conservative activist Mina Kim.

“Everyone wanted a piece of Kirk, and his life was scheduled in 15-minute increments,” McCoy said. “I was so thankful to hear his heart and spend that time with him in Korea.”

Kirk was “one of the most humble, kind, generous, and respectful young men that I had ever interacted with at the time,” according to head pastor Wes Martin of Grace Church in St. Louis. He spoke about how the two became friends in 2022 and how Kirk would text him Bible passages when he was having a rough time.

“I felt like I lost a member of my own family when he was assassinated,” said Justin Sparks, director of men’s ministry at Grace Church, in reference to Kirk.

Sparks said, “He wasn’t just a man who was struck down and died, which is tragic, of course.” “What you saw was the martyrdom of a good guy, something that Americans have never seen before. He communicated his clear belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God wherever he went, which led to his martyrdom.

“A spiritual conflict”

Dream City Church in Phoenix, which had teamed up with Turning Point, responded to Kirk’s death within hours after he was shot and killed. Kirk “gave his life doing what the preachers of America ought to be doing, speaking the truth from the pulpits,” according to Pastor Luke Barnett.

Barnett presented the assassination as an assault on Christianity, much as McCoy did.

Barnett said, “We are truly engaged in a spiritual conflict.” “By the way, Charlie Kirk, it wasn’t his political beliefs that killed him today. It was his understanding of truth as it is found in the Bible.

His remarks are similar to those of Erika Kirk, Kirk’s widow, who said in her first speech after her husband’s death that “the spiritual warfare is palpable.” Kirk often used similar rhetoric when he referred to the 2024 election as a spiritual conflict.

Despite having begun his career as a more secular conservative who emphasized the independence of religion and state, Kirk sprang to the support of churches that defied lockdown orders and were more overtly religious during the COVID-19 outbreak. “Freedom Night in America” was a monthly series of “rallies designed to address current cultural and political issues from a conservative perspective.” Kirk and McCoy started Turning Point USA Faith in 2021.

Kirk has been a vocal supporter of the US becoming a “Christian state” in recent years.

In 2022, he said on his podcast that “there is no separation of church and state.” It is not included in the Constitution and is a work of fiction. It is composed by humanists who are not secular.

Kirk’s death, according to Lahmeyer, was proof of the “persecution of Christians.” “In the United States of America, Christianity is being attacked,” he told CNN.

“Blessed are those who are prosecuted for righteousness’ sake,” Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, which he chose to read from at Sunday’s service, he told CNN.

Senior researcher Matthew D. Taylor of Baltimore’s Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies told CNN that demands to defend Christianity have been fueled by the “profound and visceral anger” that followed Kirk’s killing.

Despite having “unrivaled cultural power” in comparison to other religious organizations, Taylor noted that the evangelical movement has a long history of “a sense of embattlement.”

Many “still have a sense that culture is against them and that the world is against them and that they are the victims,” Taylor said, despite the fact that Christians make up the majority in the US. He went on to say that Kirk’s murder is “fueling that narrative.”

Arguments about politics

Pastors also used the occasion to lash out at popular conservative issues that Kirk had publicly opposed, including as same-sex marriage and transgender rights.

Speaking on Wednesday, Barnett said that the church will “double down and we’re gonna feed more people, we’re gonna see more people saved” in the wake of Kirk’s murder. We will also identify sin as what it is.

He said that Kirk’s passing will give the church a chance to “proclaim like never before that there are only two sexes” and to oppose same-sex marriage.

In a similar vein, McCoy condemned “transgender ideology,” claiming that it “radicalizes people into violence.” He added the assailant “pulled the trigger, but there were others behind him helping warp that mind” and called the suspected shooter “indoctrinated.” Utah Governor Spencer Cox told CNN that investigators are looking into whether Robinson’s love connection with his transgender roommate may have anything to do with the shooting. According to the non-profit Gun Violence Archive, transgender individuals have made up fewer than 1% of mass shooters within the last ten years.

Following Kirk’s murder, McCoy also urged other pastors to get active in national politics.

He made reference to an early Greco-Roman theological movement when he remarked, “If you say, ‘I don’t do politics ’cause politics is dirty,’ you’re a Gnostic and you need to repent.” “We’re going to demand that our shepherds guide these young people into a land where they can build homes, own property, raise families, and experience the true meaning of life.”

Hope and tranquility

However, in the wake of the murder, religious leaders also underlined the need of harmony and polite conversation.

During his speech, Lahmeyer said, “In the time we live in in this country, we must put Jesus’ teachings into practice.” We have to be as intelligent as snakes. However, we must also be as innocuous as doves.

“We do not respond like those who are persecuting us,” he said in an interview with CNN. We don’t commit crimes. “Do not allow this violence to further divide us,” Barnett stated during his Sunday sermon.He said that the “enemy wants chaos, fear, and retaliation.” “Avoid giving it to them. Rather, put even more effort into your religion, your family, your bravery, and the truth.

McCoy urged anyone listening to him to have the same optimism and bravery as Kirk had. He said, “Despair is no hope.” “There is hope.”

The nondenominational pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, Lorenzo Sewell, who spoke at Trump’s second inauguration, told CNN that the church would celebrate Kirk with a “Holy Ghost” celebration that includes “praise, worship, and prayer.”

In a video released after the incident, Sewell said that Kirk was due to give a speech at 180 Church on Thursday night and that they were friends. Like other religious leaders, Sewell said he thinks Kirk’s passing would help the church attract more members and likened Kirk to the biblical Stephen.

“We pray that more people will be saved by Charlie Kirk’s death than even during his lifetime,” Sewell said. “In the name of Jesus, may this tragedy serve as a testimony.”