Yesterday was a turning point. It is a day that will shape a generation. The question is how?
Charlie Kirk, the man behind Turning Point USA, a son, a husband, a father, a friend, a happy warrior, died yesterday by one shot from an assassin’s gun. The shooter is still at large. And today, September 11, 2025— on the anniversary of a day that shaped a generation, we consider the events of another day that has the power to shape this generation. Today is going to be filled with conversations, each of which will provide a turning point. Will you see it and will you use the turning point God provides to move the conversation in a different direction?
That was Charlie’s unique gifting. Charlie knew how to turn a conversation, turn on a light, speak truth in love, and invite people to turn from one way of thinking and living to another. He had made the turn in his own life— turning toward Jesus— and Charlie Kirk took the final turn yesterday into a life where there are no debates. He grew up in the church in Chicago suburbs and made a commitment to Jesus in the 5th grade but in 2020, Charlie Kirk began to publicly express his faith in Jesus and advocate that other Christians begin to do the same.
Is there any doubt in your mind that Charlie Kirk, who was a Christian before he was anything else, where he is right now? I have no doubt about the eternal and living status of my brother in Christ, Charlie. He is with Jesus. How do I know that and how can I say that with such confidence? Because it was constantly and consistently the message Charlie proclaimed in word and deed.
Yesterday marked the end of his earthly life but it also marked the beginning of the life God has been preparing for him.
If you are a Christian, then you lost a brother yesterday to an assassin’s bullet. That’s what happened. The world is going to tempt us to talk about politics and get out over its skis on the motive of a shooter whose identity is unknown and remains at large.
But on a day when some are dancing on his grave or posturing for political gain— what will we say? For me, today is a day to talk about Jesus. Today is a day to grieve with those who grieve. Today is a day to listen. Today is a day to talk about the relative brevity of life and the eternity of eternity.
What would Charlie be talking about today? He’d be talking about the turning point every person is invited to make. He’d be talking about Jesus.
What Charlie loved most wasn’t a what but a who. He loved the Lord and He was a man with a calling, not a career. He was an intentional husband and a committed father. Charlie Kirk was a family man, a son of God, a brother in Christ, a man on a mission.
The whole thing grieves me, but I am deeply grieved that some are describing him first as a conservative political commentator. Charlie Kirk was FIRST a Christ follower. His passion was for Jesus. Yes, he sought to engage in the conversations of the day, to illuminate a worldview many today are blind to, but he was, at his core, a Christian. He was a man on a mission, clear about his calling.
Consider the time a young woman at one of his events asked a question about which one of her parents she should follow in terms of their politics. She shared that her parents were divorced— her mom, politically conservative and her dad, politically liberal. Think of all the ways Charlie could have answered that question. All the places he might have started. He started by reflecting back to her the reality she was living in. He read her own t-shirt back to her and made the link to Jesus. He talked about the danger of division in the home and how it leaves us feeling orphaned. He talked about the challenge of honoring a father and a mother when they are not both together leading their children to love and follow God.
A house divided against itself produces children divided in heart and mind. Charlie Kirk didn’t give her a partisan political answer to her inquiry— he ministered to her heart. He looked her in the eye and saw the real question behind her presenting question. He responded to her with what I can only call a great love. You may not see that video at the top of your feed today, but I encourage you to watch Charlie doing what he did best: answering the deep questions with truth and compassion.
Today is a day to talk about Jesus.
Resist the temptation to talk about more than you know and lean into the Truth you know: life is precious, eternity is long, sin is real, every person you meet needs Jesus.
Speaking the truth in love
There will be endless commentaries and debates going on today. Instead, invite conversation, set the stage, set the table, listen intently, and ask the next right question. That’s literally the way Charlie approached people who both agreed and disagreed with him. Charlie Kirk knew how to win hearts and minds.
Today is a good day to go and do likewise. Not through any means but through the means of persuasive, intentional conversation. Practically speaking, how do we do this? Here are some ideas:
Speak the truth—and ONLY the truth (so help me God) as law enforcement seeks the truth. There is more that we don’t know than what we know when it comes to the temporal things – so, talk about what we do know: the eternal things. At every turn, resist the temptation to speculate or participate in the stirring up of hate.
Show God’s love— We weep with those who weep. Use the opportunity to reach out and LISTEN to those who saw Charlie as a prophet. He was a happy warrior and he had a wide following. They are today like sheep without a shepherd. They are grieved, deeply. Yesterday was like another 9/11 which makes today, which is actually 9/11, like the day after. Do you remember the day after? Do you remember how numb you were? Do you remember how you wandered around not knowing exactly what to do? That’s the day millions of young conservative Christian Americans are having today. How is God calling you to minister to them in the name and spirit of Jesus?
Keep the end in mind— Charlie Kirk is now one of the people you can put on your “when I get to heaven I want to meet” list. But guess what? He’s no longer talking about the things that consume much of our political discourse today. He’s in the presence of the King and all the talk there is about the Kingdom, not the politics of the kingdoms of this world. While the world spins in debate and vitriol, we are called, and comforted by the reality of what is to come— so focus today on those things, eternal things in each conversation. Be the person who brings every conversation to that turning point.
Image credit:Charlie Kirk speaking at the 2020 Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
