Over the last month, the church in America has been shocked by the loss of two courageous leaders: Charlie Kirk and Pastor Voddie Baucham. Both of these men had a deep, significant impact on the United States and the world. As we reflect upon the lives of these two men, there is much that we can learn from them. The following are three ways that Charlie and Baucham impacted the world.

1. They fixed their eyes on Christ and boldly shared the gospel (Hebrews 12:1-2).

We need to read and study the word of God daily and pray to God for wisdom, discernment, and direction so that we can “keep alert with all perseverance, since we know that, ultimately, it is a spiritual battle we are in, not merely a human battle.” We can submit ourselves to God, asking His will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven, and ask Him to use us to be his ambassadors who declare the gospel boldly. For we know that God’s word and the Holy Spirit transform lives and can create a Great Awakening.

Baucham encouraged Christians to share the gospel, saying it’s easier than we think. He explained, “Our job is to make the gospel clear. Our job is to make much of Christ. Our job is to let the sinner know that they are in jeopardy and to let them know that there is good news because God has provided an answer in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This is the simplicity of the gospel we share.”

When Charlie Kirk was asked during one of his campus visits what he would tell someone who had only 30 seconds left to live, without hesitation, he answered:

“In 30 seconds, you’re about to meet eternal judgment. And there’s only one way that you can get bailed out of that. And it’s not all the good things you did or the moral scorecard. It’s whether or not you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. … The answer to that singular question, ‘Who is Jesus Christ?’ is the most important question for everyone in the audience — not how much money you have, not how much good stuff you do, it is ‘Who is Jesus Christ?’ You might say, ‘Oh, Jesus was a teller of good tales,’ or ‘Jesus was a good person,’ or ‘Jesus was a historical figure.’ None of that’s gonna cut it. It’s whether or not you repent, and you ask Christ to come in as your Lord and Savior. That’s the only thing that will save you from eternal damnation.”

Are we ready to share the gospel with such love and compassion?

Are we putting ourselves in places where we have such meaningful conversations with people?

2. They were prepared to give an answer to everyone who asked them to give the reason for the hope that they had (1 Peter 3:15).

Charlie and Baucham practiced apologetics. Apologetics answers life’s hardest questions such as “Who am I?” “What is my purpose?” “What happens when I die?” and “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?”

As Charlie’s faith in Christ grew deeper, his talks on college campuses became more and more focused on these deep questions. He studied apologetics and, in fact, his close friend and mentor, apologist Frank Turek, was standing behind him when he was shot. Turek and other friends would discuss some of life’s most difficult questions with Charlie so that he would be prepared to answer them on his campus tours. For example, when a student asked Charlie how God can exist when there is evil in the world, he explained, “Just because there is evil, does not mean there is no God. In fact, it means the only reason you know it’s evil is because there is a transcendent, perfect standard of good, and that is God Himself.”

We need to be intentional about engaging with others, and not just hope that the world will be drawn to us by the way we live.

Baucham actively engaged in apologetics and wrote a book titled “Expository Apologetics.” A week before he unexpectedly died, he spoke to an audience at New Saint Andrews College, saying, “Don’t buy the lie that says, ultimately we just live our lives and people will watch us and then then they will want to know and then, you’ll be mowing your lawn and your neighbor will come and say, ‘I watch the way you trim your hedges. Will you tell me about Jesus?’ No, that’s not how it works. We engage. We live in the midst of this fallen world. We engage with our neighbors on mundane things. And even on those mundane things, it becomes clear that we have different priorities. It becomes clear that we have a different worldview. It becomes clear as we speak about our work, as we speak about our families, as we speak about our children. It becomes clear that’s where the opportunities come from.”

Baucham then emphasized the importance of practicing apologetics with gentleness and respect:

“It’s that confidence that we talked about earlier: toes down with your whole chest, yet respecting the individual as having been created in the image of God and desiring their salvation more than their demise. When they look at us and, deep down, they’re going, ‘Why? This person who we revile, this person who we hate, this person who we despise, this person who we call names like ‘fascist’ and ‘Hitler’? … Why do they continue to love me even when they’re telling me how wrong I am? Why do they look to the future with faith and hope?’ They’re always thinking that on the inside and, in various ways, that’ll come out. And when it does, always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. And do it with gentleness and respect, because our desire is to win the man, not just win the argument.”

Are we prepared to answer some of life’s hardest questions, pointing people to the way, the truth, and the life?

Are we prepared to give an answer to those who ask us why we have peace, hope, and joy in the midst of evil and suffering?

There are many helpful apologetics resources that can help us: see FRC’s An Introduction to Worldview and Now We Live video series. In addition, there are many strong apologetics ministries. Other helpful apologetics ministries are Summit Ministries; Dr. Frank Turek’s Cross Examined; Alisa Childers; and Mama Bear Apologetics.

3. They loved God and their neighbors by engaging in politics.

Charlie and Baucham understood that while sharing the gospel was the most important action we can take, that doesn’t mean we should stay out of the details of public policy and politics. Jesus calls us to be salt and light in a lost and hurting world. It is Satan who overwhelms us with negativity and despair so that we shut ourselves off from news and politics.

But Jesus didn’t tell us to live quiet lives and shut ourselves off from the rest of the world so that we don’t feel overburdened. Instead, he told us to love our neighbors (regardless of social status, political party, and zip code) as ourselves. He told us to take up our cross daily and follow him, make disciples of all nations, and be willing to lay down our lives for our friends.

We can serve and glorify God by impacting our culture and advocating for public policy that benefits everyone. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, William Wilberforce, and other Christians courageously spoke truth into the public square and had a tremendous impact on the world. As Natasha Crain writes:

“When Christians say we should ‘just’ preach the gospel, it’s worth asking what they believe the gospel is. The gospel is the good news that God loved the world so much, He gave His only Son to die as payment for our sins so we could be reconciled to Him and have everlasting life. When we respond to this gracious offer of salvation, we submit to Jesus as Lord and follow his commands out of our love for Him. Caring about the way in which society functions is just one part of following Jesus’s second greatest commandment, to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matthew 22:36-40). Part of loving your neighbor is caring about the quality of their lives in the context of the society in which they live. Put simply, we should want God’s best for them.”

Baucham believed it is essential for Christians to be involved in politics and to influence the public square for the good of society. He wrote “Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe” and “It’s Not Like Being Black: How Sexual Activists Hijacked the Civil Rights Movement.”

In a message he gave about Christians, government and biblical authority, he said, “Every piece of legislation is legislating some type of morality. So… here’s the irony: ‘You can’t legislate morality.’ Our culture takes that to mean, ‘You religious people, close your mouth because you have morals and we don’t.’ That means, ‘We can govern and you can’t.’ And we go, ‘Okay, I guess that is Romans 13.’ And then what do they write laws about? Marriage. ‘You can’t legislate morality, Christian, so you be quiet, and you get out of this because you have morals and we don’t. By the way, we need to have marriage between homosexuals.’ And do they say because of [political reasons]? No, they say because it’s only right and fair, i.e. moral.”

He went on to say:

“You cannot get away from politics, so stop buying that lie that says you have to as a Christian. You cannot. And here’s the last question I want to leave you with: If not us, then who? If we are not going to be salt and light in that regard, then what are we saying? Politics is for those people who really don’t love, trust, or obey the God from whom the authority comes?”

Of course, as the founder of TPUSA Faith, Charlie Kirk believed Christians must engage in politics as well. Speaking to a New Mexico church in 2022, he said, “The most important thing is spreading Jesus to people all across the country and the world. I do that as much as I can. But the second thing is making sure we could do the first thing. The second thing is making sure that churches don’t get shut down arbitrarily. The second most important thing is to [make] sure that we can continue to have church and have Christian schools.”

He asked, “Can anyone tell me in these 66 books of the Bible, the word of God, can anyone find an example in scripture where God encourages us to ignore what’s happening in the world around us? Can anyone find a scripture where Jesus told us to retreat from the evil? He tells us to lean into it and to be not afraid. You see, in a time when you look at the odds against you, is it the time to just kind of cower and act as if you have nothing to say, or is it that we now have the word of God, and we have the wind at our back, and we have momentum, and we’re going to do more than ever before?”

Are we willing to dig into the details of public policy so that we can advocate for what’s best for society and care for the “least of these”?

Are we willing to have uncomfortable conversations, advocating for Christian values in the public square that reflect our love for God and love for our neighbors?

Let’s pray to God for humility, wisdom, courage, and unity as a church so that, as Baucham prayed, “With gentleness and reverence we might make much of Christ, our Lord, our Master, our Redeemer, and our soon-coming King.”