Remembering Charlie Kirk One Year After His Assassination: A Pastor Reflects
Editor’s note: Today marks one year since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an event that deeply affected many Christians in the United States and around the world. In remembrance of the anniversary, Christians of Brevard is publishing the following reflection from Pastor Lucas Almeida of Central Baptist Church, Melbourne, originally delivered to his congregation the Sunday following Kirk’s death.
Our hearts are heavy. My heart is heavy. I have experienced an array of emotions this week, and friends, I think we must really, clearly call evil “evil.” What happened this week was evil — there’s no other category that could describe it.
Charlie Kirk—yes, he was a political activist, if you want—but he was also a brother in Christ who boldly proclaimed the gospel. I don’t think Charlie Kirk was perfect. I didn’t necessarily agree with everything he presented, although I agreed with much—but his understanding and proclamation of the gospel were clear. What happened this week can only be described as a martyrdom. We have a Christian martyr who was assassinated.
Kirk was assassinated by ideologies that are anti-God, and we must say that these extreme leftist ideologies are anti-God. There is room for disagreements on many issues—size of government, taxation—many legitimate political differences. But when we see a constant persecution of the church coming from the same extreme position, we must call it what it is. We must stand against those who oppose the Church of Christ and His witness.
How do we respond? There is an element of righteous indignation that must be present in our hearts. We might feel uncomfortable with some aspects of it, but righteous indignation is good. Our hearts must be indignant, because if they are not, we will make evil seem less evil. Evil must be revealed in its full identity.
I also believe we must react as we are reacting—not with riots, not by destroying things or cities. No. We pray. We go to church. We hold vigils. We encourage one another. We speak boldly.
There are lots of conversations online about extremism. This has created an extremist out of me. Let me tell you something: if you just became a “Christian extremist,” I don’t know what you were before, because there is nothing more extreme than declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord. That is what we will continue to declare: the Lordship of Jesus Christ over all the earth.
Friends, let us be Christian extremists by going to church, by praying, by preaching the gospel, by standing up and saying, “I would rather die than keep my mouth shut about the Lordship and excellencies of Christ.” Let us do the simple Christian things—and those things will create a radical Christianity in us. Our society needs millions of radical Christians who believe that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but fight with a sword that actually makes the wounded whole.
One of the most radical things about this whole event is that if the young man who took Charlie Kirk’s life actually repents and believes the gospel, when he comes to heaven he will know Charlie Kirk for who he really is—and Charlie will be waiting for him there. That’s how radical the gospel is.
He deserves to pay for his sin. He deserves to pay for what he’s done, and the death penalty is a biblical mandate. It is not attached to the Mosaic law; it is attached to the Noahic covenant. The Bible says that he who takes a life forfeits his right to live. So the punishment must match the crime. Yes, that is right.
But oh, how I long for that young man to meet Christ. Oh, how I long for him to know that instead of taking someone’s life, there was a Man who gave His life for him. That is Christian radicalism. We are radical because we actually believe that a man so depraved can be saved. That is how far grace goes.
If we look at that young man’s actions and think we are categorically different from him, we’re not radicalized enough. We are capable of the same thing. What prevents us is the grace of God and the grace of God alone. What has changed us is that God has revealed His grace and glory to us, and our lives have been transformed.
No longer are we bound to our depravity; we experience the grace of God, and we grow and increase day by day.
So my charge to you is: be a Christian extremist. Wake up and go to church. Teach your children the gospel. Share the Word with your coworkers. We don’t need more radicalization than we already have, but we do need boldness. If the events of this week awaken anything in your heart, may it be boldness.
May we say, along with the apostles, “I will fear God rather than men,” and continue proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord—even if that means our life in this world will one day end because of this message. That is boldness. That is the Christian message. It is radical. We uphold it. We love it. And the world needs it.
— Lucas Almeida is the pastor of Central Baptist Church in Melbourne. Find more information about Central Baptist online at centralofmelbourne.com or on Facebook @centralofmelbourne.
— Christians of Brevard is a multi-church initiative that seeks to amplify the voices of local churches and ministries for the purpose of encouraging the local body of Christ and advancing the Kingdom of God. Join our Facebook community @ChristiansOfBrevard
