S11:E3 Charlie Kirk and the Missing Church

Two weeks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Dave Fitch and Mike Moore process the grief, confusion, and cultural fallout surrounding his death.

Beyond the tragedy, they explore what Charlie Kirk symbolized in American Christianity—and what his influence reveals about the modern church’s failures in discipleship, community, and cultural engagement.

Fitch argues that Kirk’s rise, and the polarization surrounding him, exposes an empty ecclesiology: a Christianity shaped more by individualism and ideology than by the life of the local church. Together, the hosts ask hard questions about power, influence, and the role of the church in a politically divided age.

Charlie Kirk as a Cultural Symbol (Part 1): https://substack.com/home/post/p-173936722

Charlie Kirk is a Cultural Symbol (Part 2): https://davidfitch.substack.com/p/charlie-kirk-is-a-cultural-symbol

🎙️ In This Episode:

• The difference between Charlie Kirk the person and Charlie Kirk the cultural symbol
• How antagonism replaces real conversation in our political and religious discourse
• The church’s failure to disciple young people and engage complex moral questions
• Why “influencers” are filling the space the church has vacated
• How individualistic faith leads to political idolatry

📌 Highlights:

• [00:05:00] Why Charlie Kirk became a master signifier of political identity
• [00:10:00] How antagonism keeps us from addressing real issues on the ground
• [00:15:00] The influencer as a substitute for the church
• [00:22:00] The hunger of young men for direction and discipleship
• [00:27:00] From personal faith to political power: how individualism fuels Christian nationalism

Charlie Kirk’s rise and death reveal both the brokenness of our political moment and the vacuum left by the church’s retreat from public discipleship. Until the church reclaims its call to embody the presence and power of Jesus in community, political idols will keep filling the gap.