Sarah Huitt, friend of Charlie Kirk

 Guest Sarah Huitt, friend of Charlie Kirk.

• How she met Charlie, and how inspired she was.

• Loved how he articulated his knowledge.
• Worked to change the culture of young people.
• Great insights and conversations w/David.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi everyone, I'm David Chadwick and this is News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. Welcome to the show. In
case you don't know, this as a faith and values
program that I've been doing now for almost twenty six
years here on WBT. It's been a pleasure doing the show.
Thank you listeners for joining me on a weekly basis.
We try to intersect faith and values with what's going
on locally and globally. Also, I'd like to thank Perry's

(00:31):
Find Jewelry for your sponsorship of the show. Without them,
I could not do this many thanks to that wonderful
jewelry organization for your sponsorship. Well, today I have the
unique opportunity to interview someone who is on the inside
of the hearts of Charlie and Erica Kirk, who knows
them and knew Charlie, but he's in heaven, so I

(00:53):
still think it's present Tense knows him too, and also
has been a part of Turning Point USA for some
number of years and can give us some great insights
into where that organization is headed and how we can
pray for them as they still try to influence our
country toward faith, family, and freedom. Her name is Sarah Hewitt. Sarah,

(01:15):
thanks for being on the show today.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Thank you so much, David, It's a pleasure to be here.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Okay, well, let's just dive in. You knew Charlie, and
I would say still know him because I think we'll
be with him forever in heaven. But you also know
Erica and you know many of the turning point personalities.
How did you meet Charlie and Erica?

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Back in the summer of twenty twenty one, Charlie came
for a town hall type event in Charlotte, and I
had the opportunity to first meet him then. I had
been listening to his interviews and podcasts for many years
prior to that, and I had an opportunity in that
town hall to ask him a question in the audience
of many hundred people and also meet him personally. At

(01:58):
that time, I was so inspired when I was sitting
there listening to him about his depth of knowledge on
our founding fathers, our country. That event was on July fourth,
so he was talking a lot about the founding Fathers,
the biblical values that our country was founded on, the
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Real quickly forgive me for interrupting, But his knowledge of
scripture and his knowledge of biblical apologetics was just outstanding,
and I thought, how in the world did he get
so deep? But he really did have that as well
as a part of his arsenal.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Absolutely, his ability to retain knowledge and articulate it to
a group of people was just something that was a gift.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Yeah, And he had the extreme ability to be able
to communicate in practical ways that everybody could understand. I understand.
He was raised in Chicago to a good family and
actually applied to West Point I think when he was
eighteen years of age, and that didn't work out for him,
and so he said, I don't need school to do
what I feel like my life's calling is. So he
began Turning Point.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yes, yes, I mean, as many people have heard, the
story goes that he was at a conference and had
this big idea of changing the culture of young people
and changing the hearts and minds of people and turning
them back to Biblical values. And so he met some
people there at that conference and pitched his idea and

(03:24):
they were so inspired by him as well that they
decided to support his efforts and started Turning Point.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
So back to twenty twenty one, you ask this question
to him, How did that then lead to a friendship
with you?

Speaker 2 (03:38):
I know, it was a crazy time in our world.
I would say culture was very divisive in some ways.
And this was twenty twenty one. Coming out of COVID,
and I have five children at the time, were ranging
from elementary school to high school. I was noticing a
lot of things in culture that just seemed to be off,

(04:00):
and I especially in the school system. And so the
question I asked him was about words and how words
had been convoluted and twisted and taken to mean something
different than they were. There were words like social justice
I was hearing in the schools, and privilege and equality
and equity and all these things that were terms that

(04:23):
I thought I knew what they meant, but then when
they were presented in the schools or to my children,
they were meaning other things. And what was so interesting
about Charlie has he always turned people back to the Bible.
And so when I asked that question, I said, how
do you communicate clearly these the connotations that these words
supposedly mean, but actually what they truly mean? And he said,

(04:44):
go back to the Bible and go back to the
Hebrew text and what do these words mean? And so
I was so inspired by the way he articulated himself
and always turned people back to biblical values. My high
school son, who was entering ninth grade at the time,
was also there and was able to ask him a
question about going to college, and Charlie was very vocal
about the fact that not everybody needs to go to college.

(05:06):
There are a lot of different paths that people can take,
trade school, starting your own business, entrepreneurship, and if you're
going for a purpose a skill, doctor, lawyer, engineer, then
sure go to school. But a lot of people go
for the wrong reasons. And so after that, I thought, boy,
he's the type of mentor I want for my teenage son.
And so two weeks later I bought a ticket to

(05:29):
the Student Action Summit, which is one of the big
conferences for high school and college students in Florida. It
was in Florida that year, and I just quickly made
arrangements and took my son there and that was a
life changing event.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
So you went there and did he invite you to
engage with him to get to know Oh no.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
Not friendship, No, well, not necessary. No, I just attended
the event, and when we went I was able to
meet him again. One thing about Charlie is that behind
the scenes he was the same person he was in
front of the camera. He was a humble, humble person.
And we attended this first conference and there were thousands

(06:11):
and thousands of energetic young people, and it was so
inspiring to see these these young teenagers and young adults
who were starting podcasts, starting businesses. They were just so
engaged in their community, running for school board, running for offices,
and it was really inspiring to see all these people

(06:33):
gathered together.

Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, and I know that the friendship you were able
to develop with Charlie is a special one. And now
is he married? He's married at this point.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
Correct, he was just recently married. Okay, Yes, so Erica was, Yes, Yes,
she was around and I would say so many people
were friends of Charlie's. That's that's the That's the key
is that Charlie made people feel like everyone who knew
him or met him one as his friend.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, that voice is Sarah Hewitt. We're talking about her
friendship with Charlie and Erica Kirk. Turning point, he involvement
there where it's headed. We'll continue the discussion on the
other side of the break. I'm David Chadwick, will be
right back. Christ is my phone somedays the right I said,

(08:18):
and everything round me.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
Say, I've never been more. I'll put my Favjesus.

Speaker 1 (08:33):
He's never.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
He's faithful to chatation.

Speaker 1 (08:42):
So well. We all need that firm foundation in our lives.
Without it, we can be blown here and there by
every whim of fancy and belief. How everyone, I'm David
Chadwick and this is News Talk eleven ten ninety nine THREEBT,
Welcome back to the show. My guest today is Sarah Hewitt,

(09:04):
who actually had the chance to spend some personal time
with Charlie and Erica. Kirk has also been a part
of Turning Point USA for some number of years. I
wanted her to come in and just give us some insights,
maybe into Charlie and Erica where Turning Point is headed
in the years to come, and just help us all
understand the powerful impact that this man, Charlie Kirk, in
thirty one years had upon our nation. Sarah, welcome back

(09:27):
to the show. Great to have you well, Sarah. Let's
talk about this idea of you know Charlie. Now, y'all
weren't best friends forever, and I want to make that clear.
You weren't BFFs, but our besties as they say today.
But on the other hand, you did know him. He
had some chance to sit down and interact with him,
and you turned to turning Point to try to find

(09:49):
some of the answers five years ago when the culture
was just crazy beyond words. Your time with him, though,
when you did get to spend some time with him,
What were your impressions of him as a person. Why
was he so popular?

Speaker 2 (10:02):
Well, there's so many things. When you were around Charlie
and Erica for that matter, it was just very exciting
because they were so inspiring. They were always encouraging the
people around them. And I've met many people who work
for them also and they say the same thing is
that they always encouraged you to do more, and they
led by example. They were Charlie was just extremely humble.

(10:26):
Like I said before, he would stand for hours after
a speech and have hundreds of young people wanting to
meet him and talk to him, and he would stay
there for hours, talking to each one and making each
person feel special and recognize that they have a gift
to share with the world. I think the biggest thing

(10:47):
with their just being in their presence is that they
exuded joy, And what I came to realize more recently
is that was the joy of the Lord in his heart.
He truly loved Jesus and wanted everyone else to understand
that and feel that same joy and love, and turned
people to Jesus at every opportunity.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
And they had a genuinely Christ centered marriage and really
really loved one another. It appeared in every photo or
every interaction I've seen with.

Speaker 2 (11:17):
Them, Yes, absolutely, and behind the scenes too. I mean
I would see them before a speech going on stage
and it was inspiring. Even to me after being married
for twenty years. I would look at their marriage and say, Wow,
they really show what a beautiful biblical example, especially for
young people. And I think that is what really drew

(11:40):
people into them, is that they saw something that they wanted.
And although I had the opportunity to interact with them
and talk with them on many many occasions and hear
speeches that were not recorded, you know, with groups of supporters,
he just really inspired people to want to live a

(12:03):
Christ centered life.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
Yeah, that voice is Sarah Hewitt. She is a part
of Turning Point. USA knew Charlie and Erica Kirk and
just giving us some insights into who they are and
where Turning Point's going to go. Which reminds me too,
Sarah of that scene that has been shown so often
on social media of one of their little children coming
up to Charlie after a particular interview on maybe a

(12:27):
Fox News show. I can't remember where, but the little
child running across the set into Charlie's arms and you're
descending there, going, that's what a daddy's supposed to be,
That's what a family's supposed to look at.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah, so precious, so precious, And for my teenage son
in particular, that's the type of role model. He learned
from Charlie and wanted to have that same thing in
his life, and I think he's done that for millions
of people.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
He did. And his emphasis on marriage, I mean, he
kept saying to young people, guys and girls alike, get
married young. That's right, you have children, lots of children,
and every study shows that those who marry and have
children are the most satisfied people on the planet. And
he knew that, but it's also God's original design in
creation order, so and he emphasized.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
That absolutely absolutely. One fun story is that we have
five children, and our fifth was a surprise when I
was in my forties, and as it turns out, I
had her just a few months before Erica and Charlie
had their first child. So at one event, I was
halfway through my pregnancy with my little surprise and told

(13:36):
Erica and I have these series of pictures who that
are now very special of her excitement and joy, and
she just gave me a big hug and said, Wow,
what an amazing blessing to have a child now when
you also have teenagers. And then a couple months later they,
you know, we found out that she was having Gigi,
and that need.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
We had one of those too. And there's that funny
story of in the Book of Genesis, Abraham and Sara
promised this child by God, twenty five years of waiting,
he finally comes. But when the angels came and said
next year, at this time, you'll have a son after
twenty five years of waiting, Sarah laughed and they named
the child Isaac, which means laughter. And I've just thought, oftentimes,

(14:16):
what would we name our children after our first knowledge
that they're coming. You'd have a surprise to it, as
would I as well.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
That's right, Oh my goodness, Yes, what a blessing and
a gift.

Speaker 1 (14:27):
From the Lord. They really are.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (14:29):
Well, as you look upon Charlie and Erica, the reason
for his success or appeal would be I think a
lot of people around the country just looking for a
role model who would challenge them about the real meaning
of life.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
That's right. And not only he was humble and exuded joy,
he was unapologetic in his faith. And I think many
people now have heard the interview where somebody asked what
do you want to be remembered for, and he said,
courage my faith, and that needed to be said in culture.

(15:05):
I think over the next the previous five years, that
people who are Christians need to be bold and unapologetic,
and to have that message being spoken to young adults
and teenagers has really changed culture.

Speaker 1 (15:20):
And Erica, I'm sure is grieving, which would I think
Allow me to ask you this question, where were you
when you learned that Charlie had been assassinated?

Speaker 2 (15:32):
Oh? Wow, I was just at my home. I was
about to go pick up my elementary school children from school,
and I started to get some text messages from some
people that I knew in Turning Point, other supporters, other
people who had been at events with me, and they
were starting to get some word from people in Utah

(15:55):
that this terrible thing had happened and to start praying
like everyone. I think, very quickly on social media people
recognized the importance to start praying well.

Speaker 1 (16:04):
Frank Turik, who is local and lives out in the
Weddington area, is known as a worldwide noted apologist, which
means a defender of the faith, was actually in the
tent with Charlie, and as I understand it, Frank mentored
Charlie in understanding how to respond to tough questions about
the faith. And Frank said that it just looked like

(16:29):
Charlie suddenly cast his eyes upward to Heaven and then
went to be with his Lord.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
He couldn't see any pain or any suffering at all,
but just looked to heaven, almost like Stephen the Martyr
didn't acts Chapter seven and just went to heaven in
the presence of the one he loved and served so faithfully.
And of course that begs the question why, And we'll
just have a lot of mysterious questions that we won't
have answered till heaven. It's what a great force just

(16:55):
taken away from us so suddenly. But the nation has
grieved over the last seven weeks about Charlie's loss, and
have you experienced that as well? And also your friend's
in turning point? How are they handling all of this
right now?

Speaker 2 (17:10):
I think so many people were shocked at the beginning,
but yes, many days of sadness and grieving. And what
I think is so interesting is that you didn't have
to know or have met Charlie to be grieving this loss.
I think what was so apparent is that the message
he sent related and resonated with so many people, millions

(17:34):
of people around the world, and that loss was so profound,
no matter if you had met him or not. And
he just had such an impact and such an amazing
way to articulate his message, to bring people in and
to be bold and courageous and not afraid to speak

(17:57):
what they believed.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
Yeah, Sarah Real quickly been some mimes and other short
clips online about suggesting Charlie maybe even was a racist
and you didn't like black people and all of that
kind of thing, and you have a way of getting
people to know there's a response to all of that.
Could you talk about that for a second.

Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yeah. I think one of his big messages was that
we are in a spiritual battle. This is not a
message of right versus left, or Republicans and Democrats or
different races. This is a battle of good versus evil.
We are in an upward battle, and we have to recognize,

(18:40):
as it says in the Bible, that we need to
put on our full armor to fight these spiritual battles
on a daily basis.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
Our wars not against flesh and blood, but powers and
principalities of the darkness.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
That's right, that's right. And I think it was really
clear that he had many people around him, lots of ethnicities,
lots of races who worked with Turning Point and were
influencers in Turning Point. So he always just went back
to biblical values.

Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yeah. And I would just encourage everybody who wants to
know the context of what was said that that can
be given to them. They can give good answers for
some of the criticism that are given to Charlie. My
guest is Sarah Hewitt. She knew Charlie and Erica Kirk.
She is a part of Turning Point. We'll talk about
this in greater detail. Where's it headed when we come back?

(20:43):
What do you drink the night? Wanting your place to hide?
The singing soul, standing in control without not well. We
need to learn how to thank God and everything in
our lives, and if we do so, we can keep

(21:06):
moving forward. How everyone, I'm David Chadwick and this is
News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine three WBT. Welcome back
to the show. If you'd like to hear this interview
with Sarah Hewitt, who knew Charlie and knows Erica Kirk
as well and is also a part of Turning Point USA,
please go to WBT dot com, scroll down to the
weekend shows, look for the David Chadwick Show and you

(21:27):
can listen in its entirety. A little bit of a
commercial here and there, but not a whole lot. Sarah,
thank you again for being with me. And we've talked
about your friendship with Charlie, your involvement with Turning Point USA.
Let's shift a little bit and Erica Kirk, I mean,
do you know her? All of you met her and
tell us about her.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
I've met her on several occasions. We've chatted every once
in a while on social media as well. She's just
a lovely person when you're around her, she excused, exudes
beauty from the inside out. As most people can see,
she's a beautiful person. But really what you recognize when
you have a chance to talk to her is the

(22:10):
fruits of the spirit. She exemplifies the fruits of the spirit.
And the way she talks, the way she engages with people,
the way that she makes everyone she talks to feel special.

Speaker 1 (22:23):
Well, you look at her and you not only see
a very attractive woman, but when you know that she
and Charlie met. Charlie was interviewing her about a job possibility.
That a fun story, and he said, I'm not hiring you,
but I want to date.

Speaker 2 (22:36):
That's He was not ashamed to tell her.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
That that was a great story. There was obviously great
love between them and a depth of love. But I
think one of the most powerful moments I have seen
in a long time is when she looked skyward at
that memorial event in Arizona and forgave the one who
killed her husband, And how that gave me chills and

(22:59):
thous of others chills. They realized she was practicing the
Lord who lived in her, who also forgave from the
cross those who committed murder against him as well. She
knows the power forgiveness. She knows she can't hold bitterness.

Speaker 2 (23:12):
Have you seen these other people all over the world
who have also turned to forgiveness. I have not, Syoh,
that's amazing. All over social media there are people from
famous figures to everyday people who are posting that I'm
now forgiving someone who murdered a family member, or I'm
now forgiving this person who abused me. Are various terrible

(23:34):
things in people's lives that they had held onto for decades.
And because of her, she has shown people the power
of forgiveness.

Speaker 1 (23:43):
He gave people that example. And you know, I've read
online some of the celebrities and others who have practiced
that forgiveness. And it is so important because bitterness corrogei
your soul. You know that old phrase. If you hold
onto bitterness is like drinking arsenic and expecting the other
person to die and this is just not going to happen.
Is for your freedom that you do that, absolutely, And

(24:04):
it was a moment of great power when she did that.
Were you in Arizona for the particular memorial event.

Speaker 2 (24:10):
I meant to ask you that No, I had hoped
to go, but I had already had plans to be
out of the country to visit my college daughter who's
studying abroad. Okay, so I was nowhere near.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
Well, what a moment.

Speaker 2 (24:22):
Though I watched online.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
Three hundred thousand maybe I.

Speaker 2 (24:26):
Think the stadium held one hundred thousand, but they had
an overflow, says, and I saw talk to many friends
who were there. If you were not in line by
five am, people did not get in. They were in
the overflow stadium.

Speaker 1 (24:40):
Yes, Sarah, I heard it was like a worship service.
Oh yeah, I watched it some online. You can't quite
get it all online, but it just looked like there
was a five hour worship service with multiple speakers, which.

Speaker 2 (24:50):
Is so amazing to have that televised and have people
all over the world tuned in to praise and worship
music leading up to all of the amazing speed makers
who talked about Charlie's.

Speaker 1 (25:02):
The multiple power people who stood up and acknowledged their
faith in Jesus just.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
Touched and to see all the people in our government, yes,
to turn to speaking openly about faith.

Speaker 1 (25:13):
JD.

Speaker 2 (25:14):
Vance and others who he said, I've never spoken more
about Jesus than in the last two weeks. And I
used to be very not afraid, but self conscious about
talking about my faith in public. And Charlie has that's
the Charlie effect.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
There you go, see the courage that's right and bolden
to speak out and to stand encourage for the Lord
who previously it might have been a little reticent to
do so because we live in a multicultural society and
I don't want to push my faith on anybody. My goodness,
I'm glad Jesus didn't take that position, because if he had,
we wouldn't have him living inside of us right now.

(25:50):
He was bold and.

Speaker 2 (25:50):
Courageous, and I think it's important for parents to realize
Christian parents, that's what we want for our children. But
if we're not modeling that ourselfs and we're not standing
firm for our faith, and we're not okay if somebody
persecutes us or calls us a name, how are we
supposed to encourage them to be courageous and bold in

(26:12):
their faith and unapologetic.

Speaker 1 (26:13):
Well, Jesus said, expected, expected, and he said, in fact,
when it happens, it'll give you more rewards in Heaven's right.
And you stand up because you believe in him. And
he said expecting, Charlie.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
And that's how Charlie was. He knew, that's for sure.
He knew he was going to be attacked, and he
knew he had to face the evil. And courage encourages
other people to be couraged.

Speaker 1 (26:37):
Then they're going to be lions. That's right, courageous to
do so. Well. Back to Erica, yes, okay, she had
that powerful moment of forgiving. I'd almost wish that President
Trump had walked down the stage and said, God bless
you all. Nothing more needs to right.

Speaker 2 (26:53):
It was kind of hard to come after her, right,
It was really powerful.

Speaker 1 (26:57):
But she is obviously a deep woman of faith, a
thoughtful person, intelligent, gifted in her own right. I've always
wondered about that scene in the Star Wars movies when
Obi Wan Kenobi's getting ready to be killed by Darth
Vader and he says, kill me, and dozens more will
rise up in my place. Oh wow, I think that's
what's happening right now.

Speaker 2 (27:16):
Absolutely, And the question I would ask.

Speaker 1 (27:18):
You, is this one. Is Erica Kirk going to take
Charlie's place in the leadership off Turning Point.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
She has been announced as the new CEO of Turning
Point USA, and I think that she will be an
incredible leader. She leads with faith and leads in a
similar way to Charlie, unapologetically turning people to the Lord.
There's another conference that she had a lot of influence

(27:45):
in starting called the Young Women's Leadership Summit, and that's
in June, and that's a Turning Point event geared towards
young women. And there are many video clips online where
she would stand up in front of a group of
young adult women and teenage girls and just encourage them
to be strong in their faith.

Speaker 1 (28:06):
And get married. Get married and love your husband.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
Understand that being a mother is one of the most
beautiful gifts that God can give us and that God
gives us, and that it's a tremendous blessing to raise
children to know the Lord.

Speaker 1 (28:21):
So Obi wan Kenobi dies and indeed more rise to
take his place. Is that what is happening right now
with Turning Points? Oh?

Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yes, that's the Charlie Kirk effect. I think that's a
term that's going to be repeated over and over, the
Charlie Kirk effect.

Speaker 1 (28:35):
So how has Turning Point expanded. I've heard some astounding statistics.
I don't know what's true or not, but what have
you heard?

Speaker 2 (28:42):
Oh? Well, the request for Turning Point chapters has quadrupled.

Speaker 1 (28:48):
Now is that in middle school, high school, college.

Speaker 2 (28:51):
All of them, high school and college. High school in
college are at the Turning Point chapters. And in order
to start one, you really just need to contact Turning
Point US and request a chapter at your school. It
takes just a few people to be the leadership and
encourage other people to come in and have speakers, discuss

(29:12):
current events, discuss culture, all those type of things. But
that's not the only part of Turning Point. That's the
main branch of Turning Point USA are the events and
the chapters. But over the past four to five years,
Charlie expanded the organization tremendously to have an arm called
Turning Point Faith and that would bring churches and pastors

(29:36):
in to the public square and encourage people to be
involved in civics and understand your civic responsibility as Christians.
There's Turning Point Academy and actually one of his high
school teachers, I believe, at the Christian school he went
to in Chicago, runs that and that has a lot

(29:57):
of resources on homes schol and various things that you
can use in homeschool or traditional school. And then there's
also Turning Point Action and that was a branch that
started during the election years, and that group was the
group that hired people to go out to the swing

(30:18):
states and do door knocking and endorse candidates and things
like that. So there's so much growth within the organization
that I know will be carried on.

Speaker 1 (30:28):
It's expanding, it's growing. And someone that I know who
does know Erica as well, said, quote unquote, she is
a force of nature. That's right. Talk about that.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
Briefly, that's right. Well, I think that she knew what
Charlie's mission was, and she his biggest confidant. They were
best friends, and I think she knows how important it
will be to carry on his legacy and his memory

(30:59):
by furthering the mission of what he started.

Speaker 1 (31:02):
And she can't be intimidated, as what I was told you.
She is like Charlie. She'll stand up for.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
Truth, that's right. But we will need to keep her
in our prayers. For sure. She has faced a lot
already and she's going to be facing a lot here
in the next.

Speaker 1 (31:16):
The Greek Oh gosh of losing your soulmate, the challenge
of raising two kids while also taking on the CEO
of Turning Point, I just can't imagine.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
Well.

Speaker 1 (31:27):
Sarah hewittt is my guest today. She actually knew Charlie
and Erica Kirk. She's a big part of Turning Point USA,
giving us some insights on where it's going. And when
we come back, let's talk some more about the future
of Turning Point and what people can do if they
want to get involved. I'm David Chadwick, will be right back.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
I was.

Speaker 1 (32:38):
I was lost, I was asleep at the wheel, I
was drifting off. My heart was badly, your heart was bad.
I heard a song. Well, that song is entitled Waking Up.

(32:58):
And if Charlie Kirk's Assassin Nation Murder Death did anything,
it awakened America to a new perspective. However you one.
I'm David Chadwick and this is News Talk eleven, ten
ninety nine three WBT. Welcome back to the show, and
Sarah Hewitt is my guest today. Sarah is a local
Charlotte ten but also new Charlie Kirk knows Erica Kirk

(33:21):
as well. We've been talking about them also Turning Point,
what its mission is, what is trying to accomplish, the
exponential growth it has occurred since Charlie's assassination, and what
is its future? So, Sarah, let me come back to
Turning Point, and I just think a lot of people
look at it as merely a political movement, but it's

(33:45):
much more than that as well. It has a spiritual side,
It has a political side, and it has a real faith,
freedom and family side as well. Just talk some more
about that, please, and how people can get involved if
they want to.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Yes, absolutely, I think one of Charlie's main missions was
to encourage people to be strong in their faith, their
family and fight for the freedoms that were so blessed
to have in this country. One interesting thing that he
would always say to people is read books. He would
read about three hundred books a year.

Speaker 1 (34:18):
Three hundred year.

Speaker 2 (34:20):
Why I think he said he would listen to them
on audible sometimes when he was traveling, but three hundred
books a year. That has really encouraged my teenage children
to read more and go back to history and understand.

Speaker 1 (34:33):
And I heard as well he said, my kids will
not get on an iPhone until they're sixteen.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (34:39):
Is that true?

Speaker 2 (34:40):
I'm sure, yeah, I.

Speaker 1 (34:42):
Heard him say that. Yeah, And I think it's something
that we all need to think of as parents, is
what's this phone to the minds of our kids?

Speaker 2 (34:50):
That's right, that is transforming hearts and minds. And he
was trying to transform hearts and minds and point them
back to Jesus. And I think when they're teenagers, the
good thing is is that the kids can seek out
all his videos, and like you were saying before, you
really have to watch him speak in entirety to understand
his message, because people can pull little clips here and

(35:13):
there and direct his mission to be something that it's not.

Speaker 1 (35:18):
Really.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
He was all about faith, family, and freedom.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
Those three things, and he would encourage people to understand
read the Constitution because it is the foundation of our republic,
which grants those precious freedoms, especially the First Amendment freedoms
which then causes us to cause to believe in the
Second Amendment, which is the guns that we need to
have in order to guard ourselves against tyranny that would

(35:43):
take away those freedoms from us, and folks, if you
don't believe that can happen, look at what's happening in
Great Britain right now. Oh, and he just emphasized learn
the Constitution, learn the Bible, get married early, have children.
It is the greatest satisfaction in life.

Speaker 2 (35:57):
When he would speak in front of Christian Green, he
would let people know that most of the founding fathers
and people who signed the Declaration of Independence had to
proclaim their faith in Jesus.

Speaker 1 (36:09):
Fifty five of the fifty six were very committed evangelical,
Biblical Christians who signed the Declaration of Independence. And in
order to be a politician in the States, you had
to agree that you had certain Christian values that were
biblically based. And the only state in the original colonies
that didn't allow that was Maryland. But Maryland was Roman Catholic.

(36:29):
It had to be Roman Catholic to be an official
in that state. So the bottom line has all had
to be Christians, right.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
So he knew Civics very deeply and understood how governments work,
and he really encouraged Christians to do that. I think
a lot of people these days have thought that we
as Christians should not be involved in the public square
or public office or government. And what he would always
say is separation of church and state was made so

(36:55):
the government doesn't influence the church, not so the church
doesn't influence government.

Speaker 1 (36:59):
Yes, if I could just emphasize here again that that
whole idea of the separation of church and state is
not in the Constitution. It was in a letter from
Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist in Connecticut, basically saying
Connecticut cannot become Baptist. And it's not to protect the
state from the church, is to protect the church from.

Speaker 2 (37:17):
This exactly exactly. And he would always say, well, what
would happen if there are not Christians in our government?
What if we're not represented in our values and morals
in government offices, that would be a big problem.

Speaker 1 (37:31):
Yeah, you'll have a saltless food choice, and you'll have
a dark world in which you live with no light
guiding you whatsoever. Because Jesus obviously said be salt and
light in the world. Light only works in darkness, Salt
only works in the food itself.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
That's right. And Charlie would always encourage people to use
their gifts and talents. Obviously, everybody can't travel the country
and go to events, but in our local communities, he
would always say, the community is where it starts. You
can obviously raise your kids to be warriors of the faith.
A lot of times, our biggest mission is at the
kitchen table and in our homes and support people in

(38:09):
government that share your values. It might be a school
board official, it might be even just going to speak
at the school board and use your First Amendment rights
to speak out on issues that often are difficult to
talk about.

Speaker 1 (38:21):
If you're silent, nature pours a vacuum and godless liberalism
will come in and take over. That's right, So we've
got to speak. We've just got to speak. Another thing
he did that I thought was fascinating. He began his
sabbath every Friday night and he would take his social
media stuff, phone, et cetera, put it aside for twenty
four hours, and he guarded his sabbath. Why he wanted

(38:44):
to spend time with Erica and his family. He knew
the value of sabbath. That word in the Hebrew basically
means stop. That's right, stop what you're doing, stop your
working and enjoy some time with the Lord in a
unique day set aside for your spouse and your family.
And God understood what we should understand as well. If
you don't come apart, you'll come apart. Actually, we had

(39:04):
a weekly way of developing a family time.

Speaker 2 (39:07):
And his next book is about the Sabbath, really, and
I believe he was pretty close to finishing that book,
and I'm certain that the Turning Point staff will be
publishing that. And he encouraged others to really turn to
your family, turn to your faith, have some time to
cut off from all the noise of the world.

Speaker 1 (39:27):
Well, you know, Marilyn, my wife and I have been
married forty seven years, and we've been asking, independently of
one another, what's the key for a long term successful
marriage because I love her like nobody else. And we
both said, independently of one another, our day off, our Sabbath,
our time away from the world that we connect with
one another, and we know we're never more than six

(39:47):
days away from being together. That's right, Sarah. We only
have about a minute and a half left. Would you
just conclude, where's Turning Point headed? And if anybody wants
to get involved, what can they do.

Speaker 2 (39:58):
Yes. I think what's so incredible is that so many
young people knew of Charlie and heard his mission. But
now after his murder, many other generations of people are
now watching his videos. Parents more than ever, parents of
college students are saying, oh wow, I never knew my
kids were watching his videos, and I'm so glad that

(40:21):
they were. So his mission is going to just expand.
I think encouraging people to stand up for their values
and their faith obviously is a huge one. Being courageous
in your faith, getting married early, and having a family
like we've talked about. But Turning Point USA is based

(40:42):
in Arizona. They have they're continuing their college tour, and
I know they had another Utah event last night at
Utah State University. I loved what another person I know
who works at Turning Point Alex Clark. She has a
culture Apothecary podcast. She said, the lesson we can learn

(41:02):
from Charlie is that one person who fully surrenders to
God and is fully fearless can change the course of history,
and he has pretty profound He did so. Just recognizing
that with our gifts that God has given us, with
all the talents that we may have. We have to
take action. We have to take a step forward. We

(41:24):
have to say yes more than we say no. Open
our hands and really surrender to the calling that God
has placed on our life.

Speaker 1 (41:30):
And be courageous. Dear friends, be courageous. Sarah. Thanks for
your time today. It has been great having you on
the show. Thank you listeners for joining us. Hey, stand
up strongly for what you believe and give your life
to the Lord and then watch him use you. I'm
David Shadwick. This is News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine
three WBT. I'll look forward to talking with you all
next week.