Charlie Kirk…It’s been little over a year since he was tragically assassinated. While the whole world has been talking about his murder. I haven’t said much of anything, but I will remember September 10, 2025. I would never dare compare this event to 9/11, but to me, Charlie Kirk’s death falls in that same realm of knowing where I was and what I was doing that day. While 9/11 is now 24 years older than Charlie Kirk’s murder, both anniversaries of these events are only a day apart on the calendar.
I remember I was just casually browsing on YouTube that afternoon when I saw one news outlet publish a video reporting that Charlie got shot. That one video led me down an entire day of watching countless videos and several hours wondering will he survive and who shot him?
My first initial thought was that “Okay, if he can just get to a hospital, maybe he will survive”. But since this story just broke, there was this small window of time where several raw uncensored videos made their way onto YouTube that could be viewed before they were taken down. And Once I saw one of the raw uncensored videos, I realized that he was not going to survive.
As for how I discovered Charlie, long before his death, I randomly discovered his videos on YouTube where he would have conversations and debates with college kids right on their campus. I right away loved the way he communicated his ideas. They made so much sense. Watching his videos every evening on YouTube was a small highlight of my day. I will miss that about Charlie. I loved watching his debates. It is what actually helped me get to know him better as a person. I followed Charlie’s work for years, well before he even became known and popular worldwide.
I never met Charlie, but I was honestly rattled by his death. I never knew how much he loved Jesus and how much he stood for his convictions. He once again reminded Christians to not be afraid to stand for what you believe in, but to be bold and proud about your faith. He reminded Christians how thrilling life can be living for Jesus and to not be ashamed to talk about him.
What made his debate tactics impressive was that he never resorted to trying to convince people about Jesus. He would always try to speak the language of the current culture first and foremost, and if he was questioned on his beliefs, then he would share them. I really loved this approach, because it showed that common sense, facts, and science could easily be the initial drivers.
Also, it showed Charlie never had to do some sales pitch on who Jesus is. He never had to convince people that Jesus was the best way. It’s like when a product is so good, it speaks for itself. It stands alone and is great. It doesn’t need any marketing to convince people, because it is great regardless whether people think it’s great or not. But since the product is so good, it deserves to have the best marketing on the planet just by seeing the product in action by people living it out. That is how Christians should share Jesus. Not in a way to convince people, but the way they live their life through the Holy Spirit, it is so undeniably true.
The way he respected the students spoke volumes about his character. He was firm, but he would always respect and show grace to students who were genuinely engaging with him. While in no way was he perfect, his wisdom and knowledge was on such a whole other level. Just learning how much this man embraced reading and writing showed me how truly gifted he was. He really had that ability to be able to speak and articulate his thoughts so well.
So why am I just starting to talk about Charlie now? Well, because I don’t know what else I can really add that has not been talked about already. I would just be adding to the already loud and noisy realm of opinions. So instead, I will share some of my thoughts from reading what could very likely be Charlie’s last published book entitled, Stop in the name of God.
I always find it surreal to experience someone’s unreleased work after their death when it was made when they were actually still alive. To witness their released work after their death feels sort of like this mini time capsule. It’s like for a short period of time we still get to experience that person as if they are still alive. Sort of like for the next several months after his death, there were still a bunch of videos from his back catalog of debates that were still being released.
And I am glad I took the time to learn more about him, because at first, I misjudged him. I thought Charlie was just some young guy that looked up to guys like Ben Shapiro or Steven Crowder trying to do a similar thing by making debate videos. He just seemed like a guy just trying to debate his way up to popularity as he grinded out hundreds of videos.
But as I watched nearly all of his videos, I learned how wrong I was, and how my initial thoughts couldn’t have been further from the truth. I immediately was impressed with his work ethic. I respected his hustle. The guy was not only pumping out multiple videos, but doing so at multiple campuses all throughout America. He immediately got my respect just solely out of how hard the man worked.
After I realized he was not doing this for popularity, I then asked myself, “what was driving him so hard to do this?”. This man was different from so many other debaters.
I realized that he wasn’t trying to change minds, he was trying to change the culture of America through the hearts of young Americans. He really believed America was at a turning point where young voters could play not only a major role, but a crucial role in helping reshape the culture to a better way of life and how to live.
His message was so strong, loud, clear, and true, that pretty much nobody could refute or counter him. And when valid counter-arguments can’t silence him, violence in the form of murder will. Charlie famously said “when people stop talking, that’s when violence happens”. How true those words were and still are today.
But the thing is, while that person violently silenced Charlie with a bullet, his message and movement became louder and stronger. In fact, murdering Charlie has had the opposite effect. Turning Point USA in fact has grown exponentially. Their High School Chapters Grew to more than 3,500 chapters nationwide which was a 180% increase. The College Chapters expanded to more than 1,500 chapters, which was a 60% increase. Total enrollment of students passed 1 million students across its programs.
Nobody will ever replace Charlie, but his murder created an army of people willing to pick up the mic he dropped and continue his message. The other thing nobody else can silence is his published words. Which brings me to his book that was released December 9, 2025.
Stop in The Name of God is a departure from what many people have come to know Charlie for, which was his stance on social and political issues. Instead, Charlie dives more into his faith and relationship with God, and how transformational the Sabbath has been on his life. This may take some people by surprise because Charlie did not often bring up his faith into his debates and discussions unless asked about them. So to dive into a book like this shows a much different side of Charlie.
He presents the case on how honouring the Sabbath will transform your life. So who wouldn’t want to read about anything that has the ability to transform your life?
But he doesn’t start his book off that way. The first 2 Chapters almost feel like I am reading an apologetics book, as he spends it talking about who God is, and is building a case for his existence through logical, scientific, and moral arguments. In chapter 2, he dives even deeper by showing in contrast, how absurd the beliefs of Atheism are. As someone who enjoys reading apologetics, I certainly don’t have a problem with this. And I see how he is setting up a foundation for why the Sabbath is important. But to start off a book this way will be jarring for some that just want to understand why the Sabbath is so important. Some people just want to know what the Sabbath means, let alone the impact it has. But if you hang tight through the first 2 chapters, he does explain the Sabbath and even jumps into its history.
In its simplest terms, The Hebrew word for Sabbath literally means to stop or to cease. It was essentially to rest. The Sabbath is the longest oldest continuous spiritual celebration in human history. It is a weekly reminder that creation has meaning, rest is holy, and Christians are not slaves to their labour, devices, or ambitions.
In modern times, Sunday was woven in as the one day of the week Christians would not work and be able to go to Church and worship God. When I was a kid, I remember a time when so many stores and businesses would shut down on a Sunday. That is how much of a cultural impact it had at the time. And to a degree that impact is still there, but obviously as we have become more of a 24/7 society, there are significantly less stores that remain closed on that day. And in the fast paced noisy internet culture, Charlie takes the Sabbath a step further and claims it is not just about resting, but also disconnecting; To stop scrolling online and turn off your phone. To so many now, that sounds crazy. To even some, it sounds impossible. But it wasn’t for Charlie. In fact, he embraced it.
I originally thought to myself, “how does this man have the time or the energy to travel to hundreds of campuses, run an organization, be a loving husband, and a father while embracing the Sabbath?” But as he spoke about how much the Sabbath would renew, reorient, and energize him, I realized how it helped him balance it all. He doesn’t claim embracing the Sabbath while maintaining all of his responsibilities is easy. He admits it was still a challenge for him. And there have been the rare times he didn’t have the opportunity to fully embrace the Sabbath, but it sure explains to a degree how he was able to have the energy and ability to manage it all.
Charlie believed the Sabbath improves your health. Some people who have lived the longest and are happiest are ones that not only have retreated from the fast and furious pace of the world, but stood firm against it. They are not addicted to their phones, they are less suicidal, and their mental health is strong. They are not burnt out from over working. There is a sense of freedom. Similarly, the Sabbath improves your sleep, which a lack of sleep can lead to a whole list of health problems and diseases.
Personally, I have not observed the Sabbath in a strict sense, but more in a casual sense. I don’t believe it has to be on Sunday, but I do believe there should be one day a week where you do rest and have time to yourself and to spend time with God. I have embraced this for the past several years and it has helped me a lot. I would embrace the simple things like sleeping in, drinking a cup of coffee while listening to music, going for a long walk, making a nice meal, playing games, being in prayer, and of course reading God’s word. I don’t know if it has transformed my life the way Charlie claims. But I do admit, I haven’t embraced it the way Charlie did. So that possibility of transformation is still there.
The whole disconnecting or turning my phone off I admit I have not done before. I do wrestle with that idea, not on its merit, but simply as in case there is an emergency and someone needs to get a hold of me. On the one hand I understand why Charlie does it. It definitely means it will not distract you. However, I have tried a more hybrid or balanced approach where I keep my phone on, but put it on silent or Do Not Disturb. That way I can from time to time walk by and look at the screen and see if anyone tried to call or text me. However, the key is to not allow yourself to start doing stuff on your phone. Which is why I understand why Charlie turned his phone off. No matter what method you use, the whole point Charlie is trying to make is to not be so addicted or reliant on our phones that we have to be constantly connected. Silence and Solitude can be a beautiful thing.
But are all Christians bound to the Sabbath? Charlie wrestled with this. He extensively investigated this and provides lists of reasons for both cases: why Christians are bound and why they are not. So what conclusion does he arrive at? He believes the Sabbath, while God ordained, is not a sin if Christians do not observe it in the traditional sense. Christians are saved by grace found in Jesus, not by keeping holy days. BUT, since God ordained the Sabbath and declares it as good, Christians are totally missing out on the massive benefits that come with embracing a good thing God invites us to. It’s like choosing to not receive a blessing by God. Why wouldn’t you want to take part in something great that a perfect holy loving God is offering you? Why not be blessed spiritually, physically, and mentally?
This is sort of the same conclusion I arrive at as well. You don’t have to embrace the Sabbath, but there are so many benefits Christians are missing out on by not doing so. If anything, the Sabbath may be more important than ever in such a noisy restless busy world.
My final thoughts are this…The world lost such a powerful voice in Charlie Kirik. Many will always grieve that he is no longer with us. And that is obviously a normal way to react and feel. I never knew the man, and to no longer see him alive has weighed on my heart and made my world feel a little bit empty. But there is also another sadness that comes with his death. The lost potential. Imagine what he could have done with more time on this Earth? We will never know what Charlie could have amounted to. This man could have been a future President of the United States. With God on his side, anything was possible.
Charlie helped change lives, change a generation, change America, and even to a certain extent, the world. He did it with a chair, a microphone, and a tent. But he also did so with a strong conviction and a courageous heart; wanting God to lead him wherever that was. And maybe that is what we need to remember. Any one of us with a heart of courage, and willingness to be led by God can change the world too.
The world may never understand why his life was taken so soon, at least on this side of Heaven. Not since the days of DC Talk has someone reminded me again that you should be proud to be a Christian. It is not weird to love Jesus. It’s normal. It’s not only normal, but the single most important and best decision you will ever make in your life. Just as Charlie reminded America that it is at a turning point, he would also say our lives are also at a turning point. Your choices matter. Charlie believed your life and legacy is shaped by the choices you make. You can make good choices or bad choices. In the very short but very full and rewarding life Charlie has lived, it’s obvious which choices he made.
