By Susan D. Harris
In the wake of the shocking assassination of prominent conservative Charlie Kirk, it seems that some church leaders have chosen to remain conspicuously silent, much as they did after the attempted murder of President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania last year. Their reluctance to address the recent assassination likely stems from fear of stirring controversy or alienating members of their congregation who may have disagreed with Kirk’s political views. Rather than addressing the profound moral and societal implications of such acts of violence, these leaders opt for neutrality. Afraid of offering statements they think could be divisive or offensive, they willfully abandon their traditional roles of providing spiritual comfort and moral guidance during a time of national trauma.
Kirk’s single shot to the neck mid-speech was captured in crystal-clear footage that flooded social media. It was a moment that seared itself into the national psyche, replaying over and over again in our minds. An oft-repeated phrase, “I wish I hadn’t watched it” is easily found on an internet search. A Wall Street Journal op-ed advised, “Don’t Watch the Charlie Kirk Assassination Video…I did, and I wish I hadn’t.”
Kirk’s murder was unlike the assassination of President John F. Kennedy—the graphic headshot on the famed Zapruder film wasn’t shown to the general public until 12 years later. It was also different from other videos of random violence because Kirk was a beloved public figure that most Americans had at least run across in their social media feeds.
Kirk’s assassination was immediate, unfiltered, and inescapable. For Christians who followed Kirk and shared his morals and faith—it wasn’t just a political tragedy; it was a visceral blow to the soul.
Soon after Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, I documented that church leaders were deciding not to offer up prayers for fear of stirring up strife. Sadly, the same thing is happening following the (unfortunately successful) Kirk assassination. And I’m not the only one noticing it.
Mark DeJesus is a Christian author, mentor and teacher who outlined the emotional fallout from our “national trauma” during a recent livestream. He said Americans have experienced shock, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and unexplained tears—even among those who barely knew Kirk. “I wish I didn’t see it, but now I can’t unsee it,” he confessed, his voice thick with emotion.
In a follow-up conversation with this writer, Mark elaborated on the church’s response: “I’ve asked those I’ve communicated with if their church made any mention, to even pray for the hearts of those grieving or to pray for our nation. Too many are saying little to nothing was said.” Such silence underscores a deeper crisis—one that demands urgent pastoral action to alleviate the pain of national grief and trauma.
DeJesus observes that pastors have largely sidestepped the depth of this pain, sometimes only offering “a quick prayer and kind of moved on.” Why? Fear of offending congregants who disagreed with Kirk’s staunch Trump support or his stances on cultural flashpoints like life in the womb, marriage, and trans issues.
This hesitation, while understandable, is misguided. DeJesus explained, “The church has boxed itself into a corner where we have a world of political sensitivity that governs church life,” he explained. Pastors don’t need to politicize every sermon, he contends, but this event transcends partisanship.
The assassination’s uniqueness amplifies the need for church engagement. “This is the first assassination we have witnessed like this in history in this vivid manner, in which all the world saw it,” DeJesus emphasized, contrasting it with JFK’s footage, which surfaced in detail only decades later. “This was raw, cold and demonic.” Its immediacy reverberated beyond Kirk’s fan base, with even casual observers feeling the sting of his death.
“There are shockwaves taking place in people’s hearts,” DeJesus told me. “I believe because this was an act of someone being martyred. And that has a widespread impact. It’s a spiritual thing, because on one hand, a dark and demonic act took place, and that wave of darkness is felt by believers right now. But on the other hand, it shook the hearts of so many in an organic way to walk more committed to God and step up to make a difference in this time.”
Kirk was an outspoken Christian, championing biblical values while expressing compassion for students he debated on college campuses. “Because Charlie was a believer, this affected the whole body of Christ,” DeJesus explained.
For fans, the grotesqueness intensified the terror—here was a compassionate Christian walking with God who was very graphically and very publicly silenced.
“America has been historically friendly to Christianity… But that is changing rapidly,” Mark reflected. “This event traumatized our sense of safety in being able to share what we believe, even though others disagree. What Charlie experienced sent waves of messaging that Christianity is no longer safe.” Drawing from John 15:18, DeJesus shared that he is “coming to terms with what Jesus said when he said they hated Him, so they are going to hate us too.”
DeJesus is the author of such books as “The OCD Healing Journey” and “I Will Not Fear: A Strategy to Overcome Anxiety, Worry and Fear-Based Living.” He explained how current national trauma can be a trigger affecting mental health, exacerbating anxiety, despair, intrusive thoughts, and loneliness. “I’ve seen where people are over-reacting to day-to-day stressors, with anger, sudden tears or rushes of anxiousness,” he said. Many don’t even realize that recent events have affected them, yet “[t]he murder of Charlie added a dagger to that already present struggle,” DeJesus explained.
Pastors must guide here, rejecting spiritual bypassing to embrace biblical grieving. “We can grieve, but we don’t have to grieve as a people who don’t have hope,” DeJesus said, adding that “it’s okay to go through the valley of the shadow of death. It’s okay to go through that sense of darkness, that sense of like heaviness. It’s okay…believers that allow themselves to go through that, they become stronger for others.”
If you’re living in an area like I do—where there were no publicly advertised prayer vigils or memorial services for Charlie Kirk—DeJesus has some advice.
“We have to remember that the most powerful way of gathering is in the small level. We’ve gotten so used to big churches that we’ve lost touch of the power of small and meaningful gatherings,” he said. “I think if anyone can find a few believing friends or even one to process with, there can be much power in that…I believe that those who ‘weep with those who weep’ will find great strength,” he said.
DeJesus also suggested “diving into God’s mercy,” taking breaks from social media, doing deep breathing exercises, and getting out into nature, even if it’s just for a brief walk.
Meanwhile, the Kirk assassination must compel church leaders to shepherd holistically to injured minds, bodies, and spirits. DeJesus observed:
“Our modern political world has caused us to lose our senses of humanity, to the point that we cannot agree as humans that someone being publicly assassinated is wrong, no matter the political affiliation.”
Pastors, the pews await your voice—not to politicize, but to humanize. Now is the time to transform our national grief into communal grace. The Body aches; will you bind it or bypass it?
