Charlie Kirk, the Encourager

Like many of you, I’ve been glued to my phone over the last 24 hours, poring over news updates and the articles and posts from friends sharing their memories of Charlie Kirk.

Some of these are rich with articulate, highly descriptive prose, summarizing a phenomenal man whose impact we’ve only begun to see the fruits of. They describe him as a lion, a faithful servant of Christ martyred as he dutifully, joyfully, compassionately fought for the soul of this nation through ideas and conversation. 

These articles from friends and heroes to me, Bradley Devlin, Ben Shapiro, Jack Posobiec, and dozens of others, are far better at capturing Charlie’s enormous achievements and impeccable character than I have the capacity to produce.

I didn’t meet Charlie through a Turning Point event. I’d seen clips and speeches of his, of course, and though I had been writing and publishing very small-time education and political analysis, I was more likely to watch conferences and events from my laptop in Indiana. I wasn’t a member of Turning Point, though many of my friends and fellow writers at Lone Conservative were.

When I launched an education publication to amplify ignored and censored voices in education, it came with a podcast I didn’t want to launch—a simple interview segment that grew a bit. We talked about inviting Charlie on, but he was considered “far too big a fish” for us to land as a guest.

Eventually, my whistleblowing critical race theory as an administrator at Indianapolis Public Schools got me suspended from the school district in 2021. Suddenly, my hobby of writing and publishing I’d enjoyed had become my only lifeline to a job, my wife was nine months pregnant with our first and struggling with preeclampsia. We were worried. I had been told that I’d set my family’s well-being on fire for “15 minutes of fame and appearing on Tucker [Carlson Tonight].”

I’ve never admitted this before—but there were times I thought they were right. I weighed the idea of quitting, of trying to fade into obscurity and take any job to feed my growing family.

It was at this time I received a text from Charlie Kirk.

I don’t know who gave him my number, I never found out, but he asked me if we were doing alright. Someone out there had told him some of the more particular details of our situation, and he reached out to a nobody to check on him and make sure he and his wife were OK. Who does that? Charlie Kirk did.

It wasn’t a one-time thing. Over the next few months, we built a cordial via-text friendship. He invited me down to a Turning Point event and kept tabs on Chalkboard Review. He amplified and talked about our work ending a racial discrimination policy at an Indiana university. We traded lyrics from a Getty song that we both felt refreshed and convicted by. He teased me about his speaking at my alma mater before I did.

When I had to make the hard decision to sell Chalkboard Review and submitted an application to work at The Daily Signal, he offered to be a reference for me.

I never had the chance to repay his kindness. I have no major financial or political capital, not that he coveted such things. He wouldn’t have accepted any repayment could some be contrived.

I have had the chance to read through what feels like hundreds of stories just like mine. Charlie Kirk never lorded his influence over anyone, never dismissed a single person. He personally looked after, encouraged, laughed with, celebrated with, and challenged untold numbers of us. It is clear to me, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the unique spiritual gift God imparted to Charlie was encouragement—and my, how he used it!

My heart grieves for the loss of a Christlike man I am truly honored to have called a friend, grieves for Erika and his two wonderful children. My eyes look to the Eastern Gate, where I can’t wait to thank him for the number of times he challenged me to be a better husband and father.

My thanks are to those who continue to share their stories of Charlie, and to my Savior for allowing me to have known him.

Charlie’s steady encouragement continues. It urges us forward to fight for this nation, for our families, and by God’s grace we will share his same fire for truth, liberty, and the love of Christ with others.

—

When I fear my faith will fail,

Christ will hold me fast.

When the tempter would prevail,

He will hold me fast.

I could never keep my hold,

Through life’s fearful path.

For my love is often cold,

He must hold me fast.

He will hold me fast.

He will hold me fast.

For my Saviour loves me so,

He will hold me fast.

“He Will Hold Me Fast,” Keith & Kristyn Getty.

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