A Week of Reflection On The Charlie Kirk Assassination

Last Wednesday, I was personally in shock as all my children began texting in our family thread about Christian debater Charlie Kirk being shot. At Wednesday Night dinner, we mentioned this tragedy and prayed for his family and those who witnessed the murder.  Personally, I really enjoyed listening to the debates Charlie held on college campuses. He was always open to letting people share their views and then would counter with his Christian viewpoint. In a world that is polarized by opinions and labels, I respected his bold approach to open discussion. Whether I agreed with everything he said or not is another issue. First, I don’t know everything he said, and I will spend time putting what I did hear him say into context. I would invite you to do the same. As a pastor and leader, I am taken out of context all the time—inside the church and outside of it. Thus, I try not to do that with public figures. I am not defending anyone’s speech; I am simply stating a fact that people deal with in our world.

I want to be bold and call out some unhealthy reactions from Christians in our culture. We all know there have been unhealthy reactions from people on every side of the political spectrum. But the most troubling issue for me within the church is this: some are considering leaving their churches because their pastor didn’t mention—or didn’t make a big enough deal about—this murder in worship. God love those people, but they have never run a church or shepherded a flock of people who don’t think the same on every public issue—or even on Christianity itself.

Because of these reactions, I wanted to write this to help you discern and see in the Spirit—to understand the why behind JW pastors and leadership not directly mentioning Charlie Kirk or his tragic death in our worship services this past Sunday. I want to share why, not out of indifference, but out of conviction and love for Christ and His Church.

It has long been our practice not to single out one person—whether inside or outside our congregation—in public worship. Even when our own members pass away, we do not make announcements, because every life is equally precious before God and we dare not risk honoring one while unintentionally overlooking another. For the same reason, we cannot recognize every public figure or every tragedy. At times, we will acknowledge events that affect large groups of people in our state or region, but not all of them.

Above all, worship is about Christ—not about His servants. To put the spotlight on any person is to shift the focus away from the One who is worthy of all glory. True servants of Christ do not want to be magnified; they want Christ to be magnified. John Wesley taught that Methodism is not about personalities but about holiness of heart and life in Christ. To make much of Christ over and above His servants is not weakness; it is true boldness in a world that idolizes human figures.

I personally believe Charlie Kirk was a Christian, a husband, and a father. I believe he spoke boldly for things I agree with and that our church agrees with. But at times he spoke against things that some of our members believe to be true. I don’t doubt that he sincerely wanted to advance what he thought was right. Again, I deeply respected his courage in debate, his prophetic voice on many cultural issues, and his confession of Christian faith. The fact is, not everyone in our church would agree with me or with him—just as no two churches or leaders align perfectly. And because he was a political figure, his work was tied to one of the most polarizing realities in our nation. That is why, in our worship, we keep our gaze fixed on the One who unites us: Jesus Christ.

The true battle is not between conservatives and liberals, or between one political figure and another. The true battle is against “the ruler of this world” who thrives on division, hatred, and fear. America must do better, but the Church must lead the way—not by glorifying one servant, but by glorifying Christ.

The Church has never been called to uniformity of opinion but to unity of the Spirit. One of our John Wesley Methodist Church core values is to find true unity in prayer and in the gospel. As Paul writes: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, put it this way: “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may.”

I say this with boldness of faith and to make much of Christ: our church will never be a political puppet for any party or ideology. We are ruled by the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. His kingdom is not of this world, and our allegiance is first and last to Him.

I also want to say this personally: I have deep feelings about all that has happened in these last two weeks. If you would like to talk about them, I would love to sit down with you and share my heart. As your lead shepherd at JW, it is important for me to lead the sheep to the One True Shepherd—not to myself or to another servant of God.

So, if we want to honor Charlie Kirk—or anyone who suffers for the sake of their voice—let us do it not by dividing or by violence, but by being bold in the one way that matters: by making much of Christ in the way of Christ. That is true boldness in this world.

In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Marty Dunbar

P.S. We have the great privilege to host Steve Amerson on November 1 for our Patriotic Concert Honoring Our Veterans. I also wanted to let you know that Steve will be singing this Sunday at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service. Please check out Steve’s ministry site by clicking HERE.