Let Freedom Ring

Dear Pastor,

I am writing my final Charlie Kirk post to you. I hope you won't scroll past simply because you see his name. Instead, I hope you'll be open to the perspective that I—and many others—gained from him.

Charlie believed pastors held the most important role in the nation—even more important than the president. I believe he was right.

July 4th seems like an appropriate day to bring this series to a close.

Charlie died serving his civic duty to this country. That may sound like a stretch to some, and I don't mean to diminish anyone who has served in our military. But he was on college campuses because he cared deeply about America's future. He founded Turning Point to reach young conservatives and provide a countervoice to what was an increasingly loud and silencing minority attempting to become the majority.

Whether you agreed with him or not, I hope we can all agree he didn't deserve to die for his beliefs.

When he died, he was only days away from speaking at my church. Like so many others, I was shocked when I heard he had been shot. Urgent prayer requests flooded in, asking God to spare his life. When we learned he hadn't survived, not only was there immense grief to process, but almost immediately came the twisting of his words, the lies, the celebration of his death, and the attacks on his character.

Some have since capitalized on his assassination by launching smear campaigns against his widowed bride. Others have honored him by naming streets after him and pursuing legislation recognizing his fight for free speech—the most fundamental freedom in a free society.

I would argue that Charlie understood something even deeper: there is an attack on freedom of conscience itself—the freedom to think, discern, and make our own decisions. Through algorithms and critical theory, influences within education, corporations, and often government have systematically shaped and pressured the conscience of a generation.

As I found myself defending Charlie, it felt as though I was also defending my church, my children, and my beliefs. So I began listening to many of his speeches and debates. I wrote extensively about the deception surrounding many of the claims made against him. (Many of the lies discussed here: https://kathleensallen.substack.com/p/the-only-thing-keeping-this-country-51d?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2).

The man was remarkably brilliant. Even if you disagreed with his conclusions, it was difficult not to respect his recall, his debate skills, and his ability to ask questions that challenged assumptions.

As I listened, I realized I had missed some things. Perhaps I didn't pay enough attention in government class. Or perhaps they simply weren't taught.

I had always believed the United States was a democracy.

It isn't.

We are a Constitutional Republic.

They are fundamentally different and have different outcomes.

My pastor has often said that freedom comes from God. Theologically, that makes perfect sense. God created us with free will. If a nation is to protect the freedom to follow Christ, then freedom of religion must remain foundational.

We've also come to misunderstand the phrase "separation of church and state." It isn't found in the Constitution but in a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote. It was never intended to protect the state from the church, but the church from the state.

Neutrality doesn't exist. So what is the right balance?

We often hear, "We aren't a Christian nation," or, "You shouldn't impose your religious beliefs through laws." Yet every law reflects some moral framework. The real question is: whose morality?

There is no neutral ground.

Today, humanism or secularism is often presented as the more moral alternative. Feminism, as an expression of humanism, has contributed to a worldview that denies the life of the unborn and stands in direct conflict with the Constitution's declaration of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

One worldview or another will shape our laws. ‘Neutrality’ satisfies no one because it does not exist.

Looking across history, governments generally fall into one of two categories: those that recognize government as the highest authority and those that recognize God as the highest authority. There are ultimately only two options. Every democracy eventually moves toward some form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism.

I find it interesting that our two major political parties often describe America differently. One insists we are a democracy; the other, a republic.

So which is correct?

Our Constitutional Republic has produced the longest-standing governing document in modern history and unprecedented national success. That doesn't erase our nation's sins or failures. But when previous generations faced profound moral crises, God often answered through spiritual awakenings. Preachers stood, empowered by the Holy Spirit, calling people to repentance and revival.

Pastors, will you answer that same calling?

Will history remember you as someone who helped point a nation back to God? Or will you attempt neutrality while a culture drifts further from Him?

The example that continually comes to my mind is the German church during the Holocaust. Where was much of the church as Jewish people were persecuted? Too often, it was silent. Complicit. And eventually counted among the casualties of tyranny.

The solution America needs is the solution it has always needed: pulpits ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Pastors preaching as though fire is shut up in their bones.

Congregations engaging faithfully in civic life—not cowering before the fear of man, but bowing before the fear of God.

We must cherish our Constitution as one of the great safeguards of our freedoms—protecting freedom of conscience, speech, and religion. We must preserve our republic because democracy, left unchecked, ultimately leads somewhere freedom cannot survive.

So pastors, let freedom ring this weekend.

Don't miss this moment.

Your sheep need you.