October 1, 2025 • 24 mins
A somber yet inspiring tribute to Charlie Kirk fills our latest episode as we reflect on the shocking loss of a Christian leader whose impact reached far beyond political spheres. Charlie's assassination on September 10th—what many are calling the first Christian martyrdom in America in decades—has left a void that cannot be filled by any single voice.
Charlie Kirk began his journey at just 18 years old, founding Turning Point USA in 2012 after being rejected from West Point. What started with a simple card table on college campuses grew into a global movement. Known for his tagline "I go out and talk to college kids on college campuses so you don't have to," Charlie became a beacon of light in spaces often hostile to conservative viewpoints.
What distinguished Charlie wasn't just his intellectual prowess but his character. Despite facing hostile questions on campuses nationwide, he never responded with anger, always maintained respect, and frequently reminded his audience to show courtesy to those who disagreed. This commitment to civil discourse while standing firmly for biblical truth made him extraordinary. As his influence grew, so did his openness about his Christian faith, often expressing his desire to "make heaven crowded."
Steve shares a heartfelt poem titled "Remembering Charlie," capturing the grief and gratitude many feel for Kirk's life and legacy. We discuss how his work must now be carried forward not by one person but by thousands willing to have difficult conversations with grace and truth. Charlie's example reminds us that being "bold as a lion" doesn't mean abandoning kindness or respect.
As we navigate this loss together, we're reminded that light dispels darkness. Charlie Kirk's legacy challenges us to be that light in our own communities, standing firm in biblical truth while extending grace to those with whom we disagree. Though we mourn his absence, we're inspired by his example to continue speaking truth with both conviction and compassion.
To help you to navigate the home buying and mortgage process, Jonathan & Steve are currently licensed in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, contact us today at 423-491-5405 or visit www.jonathanandsteve.com.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is Benchmark Happenings, Brought to you by
Jonathan and Steve fromBenchmark Home Loans.
Northeast Tennessee, JohnsonCity, Kingsport, Bristol, the
Tri-Cities One of the mostbeautiful places in the country
to live.
Tons of great things to do andawesome local businesses.
(00:23):
And on this show you'll findout why people are dying to move
to Northeast Tennessee.
And on the way we'll havediscussions about mortgages and
we'll interview people in thereal estate industry.
It's what we do.
This is Benchmark Happenings,brought to you by Benchmark Home
Loans and now your host,Christine Reed, by Benchmark
(00:48):
Home Loans and now your host,christine Reed.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Welcome back everyone to another episode of Benchmark
Happenings and today's episode.
I have my wonderful husband,steve Reed, that is here with me
today.
Welcome, steve.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thank you, happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Well, I'm glad you are here today and in our
conversations.
Due to the recent turn ofevents in our country, on
September, the 10th of theassassination of Charlie Kirk,
we felt that it would beappropriate to have a podcast
(01:24):
that is dedicated to honoringCharlie Kirk.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, I'm so humbled just to be able to talk about
him, to honor him Hopefully it'shealing for us as well as those
who listen to the podcast andhe was a big part of my life and
he was a big part of a lot ofpeople's lives and so, yeah,
(01:51):
we'll just dive in and talk alittle bit about Charlie today
what he meant to the country,what he meant to the church,
what he meant to the collegecampus, what he meant to a lot
of people.
I mean, it's kind of you know,we felt the vibrations
throughout all of our societyand our world that we live in,
and so, yeah, I'm excited totalk about him.
(02:16):
I wish it was under differentcircumstances, but we need to
never forget.
We need to never forget.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Absolutely, and it's ironic that we witnessed the
assassination of Charlie Kirk,the first Christian martyr in
our country for this generation,and it was on September, the
10th last week.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Yeah, right before 9-11.
And so it really makes thatseem now like a very significant
time of the year.
And I've heard a few reportsthat said, you know, it was
really the biggest martyr thatwe've had in the last six
decades or 60 years.
So, uh, it's a big deal.
(03:01):
It's a big deal and I know, um,you know a lot of people are
talking about it.
I've never seen anything soviral on social media and I've
had to make myself put it downat times because you know, part
of the healing is you just wantto read about him and know more
about him, and you know, butsometimes you have to step away.
(03:23):
But it's a big story and Ithink it'll be a big story for
years to come.
Really.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Absolutely Well and the influence that Charlie Kirk
had.
We wanted to on this podcast.
We wanted to honor him becausehe was a Christian first and
foremost.
He was a Christian first andforemost and to hear people talk
about him and to hear peoplewho knew him intimately.
I've listened to severalpodcasts of the people who
(03:54):
worked with him on the CharlieKirk Show the daily podcast that
he put out and just to hearthem talk about Charlie and how
kind he was, how compassionateand also, you know, charlie was
(04:17):
as bold as a lion.
He went out on college campusesto have a conversation with
college kids because he believedin free speech and he believed
in our constitution, our firstamendment of free speech, which
we need to remember howimportant free speech is in our
nation.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Yeah, I loved his tagline for college campuses.
He said I go out and talk tocollege kids on college campuses
so you don't have to.
And I always appreciated thatbecause I thought, boy, that
would not be something that Iwould want to do.
And he just started out, youknow, kind of unpolished, and he
(04:55):
would go set a little cardtable up on campus and hang a
little poster on it and they'dbe a handful of people there and
then it just kept growing andgrowing and growing.
And you can really see him growas a person too, because I
don't remember him ever notbeing a great speaker.
It just seems like the lasteight or so years that I've
(05:15):
listened to him and followed himclosely.
He's always been a greatspeaker.
But I heard a lot of his closefriends talking about him today
and they were saying, you know,saying how much better he had
gotten as a speaker.
And I thought, man, I alwaysthought he was pretty top-notch
from the first time that I everheard him but that was the crazy
(05:36):
thing about him was as good ashe was.
They said he was still tryingto get better.
So to me that's inspiring.
He wasn't just sitting there,he was already trying to get
better.
So to me that's inspiring.
You know, he wasn't just, youknow, sitting there, he was
already better than everybodyelse at what he?
did.
And he's sitting there andstill trying to get better and
we get lazy and think, well,we're good enough, we'll just
(05:57):
kind of glide through life here.
But yeah, he was still tryingto get better even at this point
in his life.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Well, and he started Turning Point USA in 2012.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
And he was 18 years old and he was turned down.
Which?
Where was it he was turned down?
It was West Point, I think.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yes, it was.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
But literally he is probably one of the most
well-read, self-educated peoplethat I've ever listened to, and
Charlie Kirk grew up listeningto Rush Limbaugh.
His parents listened to Rushevery day.
He grew up listening to him, heidolized him, and I know, steve
(06:43):
, every morning when you and Igot up, I would hear your phone
and what was the first thingthat you would be listening to?
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, it would be Charlie Kirk, it would be his
podcast.
That was part of my dailyroutine and it's like where do
we go from here?
It's just so empty and it's sosad that I just enjoyed him.
I enjoyed his topics there wasa lot of politics, but there was
also a lot of biblical valuesand he talked a lot about his
(07:17):
faith.
And his faith was another thing.
He just wanted to learn, learn,learn and read more of the
Bible and, just you know, hejust kept growing in his faith.
Now I did see that over time hewas.
He talked a lot more aboutChristianity and his faith over
the last couple of years and hejust couldn't be quiet about it.
(07:39):
He was, just, you know, one ofthe things I love.
He said he wanted to makeheaven crowded.
He wanted heaven to be crowded,and now they've come out with
shirts that says Make HeavenCrowded, with Charlie Kirk's
name on it.
So you know, just knowing he wassuch a humble guy to be so good
(08:00):
at everything he did, and sojust that humility and wanting
to share the gospel of Christwith people, no matter who you
were, no matter what side youwere on, and he changed a lot of
people's hearts and minds.
Well, I know, you know he don'tdo the changing, but he planted
the seed and a lot of peoplechange because of him and he
(08:22):
didn't do it in a mean way.
So, no matter what reportsyou're seeing that says you know
he was a bigot or he was thisor that, that was not Charlie
Kirk.
I mean that is lies, because hewas a nice guy, he was a humble
guy, he was a caring guy, andso he just he had the whole
(08:46):
package.
And when you think about who'sgoing to replace him, well,
there's nobody going to replacehim.
It's kind of like when RushLimbaugh died.
They're like who's going to bethe next Rush?
Well, there's not going to beanother Rush, there's not going
to be another Charlie.
But I think what it's going totake is he was bigger in life
(09:07):
but hopefully the movement isbigger than him.
So I think it's going to takethousands and thousands of
people to replace Charlie.
I don't think it's going to beone person as a matter of fact,
I'm pretty sure it's not.
So it's going to take a wholemovement of people across the US
to be Charlie.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I mean and we were actually this weekend there's a
conference in Murfreesboro,tennessee, at Alan Jackson's
church, world Outreach, cultureand Christianity that you and I
were so excited about becauseCharlie Kirk was going to be the
keynote speaker.
And his beautiful wife Ericawas going to be there as well,
(09:51):
and little did we know that hislife would be taken away.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
yeah, yeah, we were so excited about seeing that we
booked our tickets, you know, afew months ago and after
listening to Charlie andfollowing him for eight years,
I'm like man, I finally get tomeet this guy, you know, and
wasn't guaranteed to even meethim.
I didn't have VIP tickets, theysold out pretty quick, but I
think I would have met him.
So I was pretty excited aboutthat.
(10:17):
And so here we are.
We didn't expect this, didn'twant this.
Like Pastor Ken said fromPatriot Church the other day, if
he was on God's board ofdirectors he would have
definitely questioned God andsaid no, this is not a good plan
.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
You need to leave Charlie Kirk here.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
You need to kind of leave Charlie here.
Let's come up with plan B.
But you know we're not on theboard of directors.
God knows the future and heknows what's best for everything
that works together for him andworks together for us and
according to his plans.
So we don't get a say,unfortunately.
(10:59):
But man, it's just tough it'sjust tough I'm.
I've noticed myself just kindof fidgeting around, just doing
kind of menial crazy, just kindof just to stay busy, so I don't
have to think about it.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Well, and you know, because Charlie was a believer
in Christ and a devout followerof Christ, he witnessed to more
college students in this countryand around the world more than
anybody that has ever existed.
And you know, and we talk about, there'll never be another
(11:37):
Charlie Kirk.
And we've talked about this onour podcast before with other
guests I have and talking abouthow God designed each of us so
uniquely our DNA and there's noother Steve Reed, there's no
other Christine Reed.
You know we're designed to dowhat God created us to do and
(12:09):
we've got to find those thingsand do those things.
That God you know, no matterhow divisive or how hateful the
person who came up to that mic,charlie never responded in anger
.
He was always very calm and hegave everybody hope.
He shared the gospel messagewith them, whether they wanted
(12:31):
to hear it or not.
And when someone would walk upto that mic and you've got to
think about it you're in a crowdof all of your peers on a
college campus.
There's probably thousands ofstudents there.
For you to walk up to that mic.
It takes a lot.
That takes a lot of courage,and he would always say I want
the ones who disagree with me tobe up front.
(12:53):
I want to hear from you.
I mean, he did not because hewanted to have a conversation
and he truly believed thathaving conversations with people
and sharing a biblicalworldview, the truth, the gospel
, would change people.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Yeah, and he did it in a respectful manner, and a
lot of his fans, you know ifthey would start heckling the
person at the microphone, hewould.
I heard him say this a thousandtimes.
He'd say all right, everybodybe respectful.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Be respectful.
So you know, no matter whatpeople are saying about him on
the other side, it's not true,because he was always respectful
and he never lost his cool.
I don't know how.
One of my favorite ones waswhere the person came up and was
going to ask him a questionbecause they disagreed with him.
(13:47):
He said hey, come to the frontof the line.
They come up and started askingtheir question and he said
what's your name?
And they said none of yourbusiness.
And he said, okay, none of yourbusiness.
Well, let's hear your question.
I mean he didn't even miss abeat and so it was just.
But he didn't do it.
I mean it was just.
(14:07):
He was such a natural at it, he,he grew into that and you know
it was discourse that we neededon these college campuses.
They're so woke, they're so youknow where their kids are
getting indoctrinated by theseleft-wing woke professors?
Yes, that I wouldn't.
(14:29):
I wouldn't pay my money to sendmy kids to one of those
colleges because they're goingto come back radicalized and so
college is a scam and it needsto be.
It really needs to beoverhauled.
But I don't know how thathappens, because we've got so
many ideologies in thesecampuses and these professors
(14:50):
and they're kind of hard to fire, so they're embedded in a lot
of these places and they'reteaching our kids and I think it
would be.
Maybe parents need to go sit inthese classrooms and hear what
they're teaching their kidsbecause it's really really scary
.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Well, and it even boiled down to our local schools
.
You know we're having to fightto keep that out of our schools
in our area and there's beensome good work that's done.
But also, you know, here at ouryou know East Tennessee State
University, we've had twoprofessors put on administrative
leave for comments that they'vemade.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah, and hopefully they'll be fired.
I hope so Hopefully they'll befired because you know that's
what needs to happen.
And you know a lot of peoplesay well, that's my, you know,
that's my rights for free speech.
Actually, if you're working foran institution of private or
public sector, you still agreeto certain core values and a
(15:57):
mission and vision statement.
And you know for I mean oneexample you know a doctor at a
hospital was cheering andCharlie's death, his murder, his
assassination.
Well, you know, when you're adoctor you kind of take the vow
that you're going to try to keeppeople alive, right?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Hypocritical.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, I was trying to think of the name of it.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Do no harm.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
First thing for physicians.
First thing do no harm.
Do no harm If you're going toapplaud now.
Thank God that was not in ourarea, but if you're going to
applaud that kind of thing.
But if you're going to applaudthat kind of thing, your
(16:46):
employer has every right to fireyou because that does not go
along with, you know, with thecore values of most institutions
cheered on to be allowed to becondoned.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It's taking a human life.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yeah.
So it's just, you know we'veseen some fallout from this and
you know that's good.
That's good.
I mean, that needs to happen ifpeople are going to take that
attitude.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And even more importantly, steve, I think we
have to carry on the mission ofbeing willing to have those
critical conversations withindividuals and share the gospel
, to share a biblical worldview.
What does that mean?
You know well, we believe inthe Bible.
Our ultimate truth as afollower of Jesus Christ is the
(17:36):
word of God, because it isinfallible, and that's where our
source of truth is, that is ourplumb line.
You know you can go around andsay, well, I have my truth, you
have your truth.
Well, what do you put yourtruth up against?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
I don't have my truth .
I don't know about you.
It's biblical truth.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I have God's truth and God's truth is absolute
truth and that's what'simportant.
And I just want to say thisabout Charlie I mean his reach
and influence went around theworld, his events.
He had events in korea, severalother countries, multiple
campuses, uh, america canada, uk, yeah america fest that he
(18:16):
always has in december yeah andalso I just want to mention, you
know he left behind, uh, he wastaken away from a beautiful
wife, erica, who was a formermiss arizona, and two children,
a boy and a girl.
Just that you know they won'thave their father.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
No.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
And Erica was on television and it was just
amazing how she was able to holdup and talk about her husband
and you could just tell thatthey had just a beautiful
relationship.
And, steve, I know that thishas had it's had an impact on
both of us.
We've mourned, we're grieving,thank God for Patriot Church on
(18:59):
Sunday in Lenore City and PastorKen Peterson honoring Charlie
Kirk.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Pastor Ken Peters yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yeah, honoring him, but you had written a poem and I
wanted you to read that poemtoday because I feel like it's
just.
God gave that to you and youhave a gift with words, so would
you please read that poet.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I think I've written about four or five poems in my
life and unfortunately most ofthem are when friends or people
really close to me have died.
Other than for Dawn's birthdaywhen she turned 40, I did write
(19:40):
her a poem.
She probably wishes she wasdead after she heard me read
that, but most everything I'vewritten is just from the heart.
When something like thathappens and I just kind of get
overtaken and feel like I needto write it, but anyway, so I
wrote this the morning after.
So I guess I wrote this on 9-11.
(20:02):
Actually 9-11-25, at 8.50 amI'm looking at the note.
So the name of this isRemembering Charlie.
America was a country fleeinginto the night.
Then here came Charlie Kirk, abeacon of light, a voice that I
treasured and found incredibletrust.
To hear Charlie's perspectivedaily was simply a must.
(20:25):
You inspired me more thanyou'll ever know and I would
have met you next week, but nowI can't go.
The hurt of your death is a lotfor our Christian family to
bear.
The only comfort we can find isknowing you are with Jesus and
watching how much we care.
(20:46):
A positive voice andinspiration for our youth of
today.
You spoke of morals and familyvalues and would not be swayed.
You had such a strong faith andyou love to defend, and that's
exactly what you were doing,until the very end To say you're
(21:07):
an incredible human, andAmerican can't even start to
describe how you face this evilworld with boldness and would
never hide.
We love you, charlie, and knowyou are the best.
So I pray your movement liveson as we are put to the test.
And that's it.
(21:27):
So that was just what I wasfeeling on the 11th.
I still feel that.
I think every day goes by, youknow I think I'm coming to grips
with it, but the anger hadn'treally gone away for for what
happened?
Because this didn't have tohappen.
Um, you know.
So I keep hearing for unity andyou know all that.
(21:50):
You know, and you know theother side's wanting, you know
saying we need to tone down therhetoric on this side, but
that's almost like saying we'regoing to take half the blame and
them take half the blame.
Well, that's not true andthere's no unity, there's no
unifying with a lie, and there'sno unity, there's no unifying
(22:10):
with a lie.
And there's certain things thatyou know Charlie talked about.
He was very vocal on abortionand murdering babies and he was
very vocal on the trans issuethat you know, boys can't be
girls and girls can't be boys,and you know boys can't be girls
and girls can't be boys andborders.
(22:31):
You know God's a God of nationsand laws and borders, and so you
know we can't unite around alie, and so I don't see this
unity thing ever happening.
Now.
Could we sit down with somebodythat disagrees with us?
One-on-one Sure.
You know we can defend ourfaith and we can defend what we
(22:54):
believe in, but as far as on alarge scale, as far as seeing
unity, I'm not seeing thathappen.
But I mean, I think it startswith us personally and with
who's in our sphere and who wecan talk to and show respect to,
(23:15):
and not violence.
That's the, you know, absolute,uh, not the way to go, but uh,
maybe if we need to starttalking to our neighbors, and
you know, one at a time.
But there's no, it's not goingto be a quick fix where we just
say, okay, let's all just getalong and unify, because we
can't unify around lies.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Well, and, as Christians, darkness does not
like light, but light willdispel any darkness, and that's
where we're called to be saltand light.
So, steve, thank you for beinghere today and thank you for
reading your beautiful poem andfor those of you listening.
(23:54):
I just hope that you know wejust provided you some comfort
today in honoring Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
This has been Benchmark Happenings, brought to
you by Jonathan Tipton andSteve Reed from Benchmark Home
Loans.
Jonathan and Steve areresidential mortgage lenders.
They do home loans in NortheastTennessee and they're not only
licensed in Tennessee butFlorida, georgia, south Carolina
and Virginia.
We hope you've enjoyed the show.
(24:26):
If you did make sure to likerate and review.
Our passion is NortheastTennessee, so if you have
questions about mortgages, callus at 423-491-5405.
And the website iswwwJonathanAndStevecom.
Thanks for being with us andwe'll see you next time on
(24:48):
Benchmark Happenings.
This is Benchmark Happenings, Brought to you by
Jonathan and Steve fromBenchmark Home Loans.
Northeast Tennessee, JohnsonCity, Kingsport, Bristol, the
Tri-Cities One of the mostbeautiful places in the country
to live.
Tons of great things to do andawesome local businesses.
(00:23):
And on this show you'll findout why people are dying to move
to Northeast Tennessee.
And on the way we'll havediscussions about mortgages and
we'll interview people in thereal estate industry.
It's what we do.
This is Benchmark Happenings,brought to you by Benchmark Home
Loans and now your host,Christine Reed, by Benchmark
(00:48):
Home Loans and now your host,christine Reed.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Welcome back everyone to another episode of Benchmark
Happenings and today's episode.
I have my wonderful husband,steve Reed, that is here with me
today.
Welcome, steve.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Thank you, happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Well, I'm glad you are here today and in our
conversations.
Due to the recent turn ofevents in our country, on
September, the 10th of theassassination of Charlie Kirk,
we felt that it would beappropriate to have a podcast
(01:24):
that is dedicated to honoringCharlie Kirk.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah, I'm so humbled just to be able to talk about
him, to honor him Hopefully it'shealing for us as well as those
who listen to the podcast andhe was a big part of my life and
he was a big part of a lot ofpeople's lives and so, yeah,
(01:51):
we'll just dive in and talk alittle bit about Charlie today
what he meant to the country,what he meant to the church,
what he meant to the collegecampus, what he meant to a lot
of people.
I mean, it's kind of you know,we felt the vibrations
throughout all of our societyand our world that we live in,
and so, yeah, I'm excited totalk about him.
(02:16):
I wish it was under differentcircumstances, but we need to
never forget.
We need to never forget.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Absolutely, and it's ironic that we witnessed the
assassination of Charlie Kirk,the first Christian martyr in
our country for this generation,and it was on September, the
10th last week.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Yeah, right before 9-11.
And so it really makes thatseem now like a very significant
time of the year.
And I've heard a few reportsthat said, you know, it was
really the biggest martyr thatwe've had in the last six
decades or 60 years.
So, uh, it's a big deal.
(03:01):
It's a big deal and I know, um,you know a lot of people are
talking about it.
I've never seen anything soviral on social media and I've
had to make myself put it downat times because you know, part
of the healing is you just wantto read about him and know more
about him, and you know, butsometimes you have to step away.
(03:23):
But it's a big story and Ithink it'll be a big story for
years to come.
Really.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Absolutely Well and the influence that Charlie Kirk
had.
We wanted to on this podcast.
We wanted to honor him becausehe was a Christian first and
foremost.
He was a Christian first andforemost and to hear people talk
about him and to hear peoplewho knew him intimately.
I've listened to severalpodcasts of the people who
(03:54):
worked with him on the CharlieKirk Show the daily podcast that
he put out and just to hearthem talk about Charlie and how
kind he was, how compassionateand also, you know, charlie was
(04:17):
as bold as a lion.
He went out on college campusesto have a conversation with
college kids because he believedin free speech and he believed
in our constitution, our firstamendment of free speech, which
we need to remember howimportant free speech is in our
nation.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Yeah, I loved his tagline for college campuses.
He said I go out and talk tocollege kids on college campuses
so you don't have to.
And I always appreciated thatbecause I thought, boy, that
would not be something that Iwould want to do.
And he just started out, youknow, kind of unpolished, and he
(04:55):
would go set a little cardtable up on campus and hang a
little poster on it and they'dbe a handful of people there and
then it just kept growing andgrowing and growing.
And you can really see him growas a person too, because I
don't remember him ever notbeing a great speaker.
It just seems like the lasteight or so years that I've
(05:15):
listened to him and followed himclosely.
He's always been a greatspeaker.
But I heard a lot of his closefriends talking about him today
and they were saying, you know,saying how much better he had
gotten as a speaker.
And I thought, man, I alwaysthought he was pretty top-notch
from the first time that I everheard him but that was the crazy
(05:36):
thing about him was as good ashe was.
They said he was still tryingto get better.
So to me that's inspiring.
He wasn't just sitting there,he was already trying to get
better.
So to me that's inspiring.
You know, he wasn't just, youknow, sitting there, he was
already better than everybodyelse at what he?
did.
And he's sitting there andstill trying to get better and
we get lazy and think, well,we're good enough, we'll just
(05:57):
kind of glide through life here.
But yeah, he was still tryingto get better even at this point
in his life.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Well, and he started Turning Point USA in 2012.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
And he was 18 years old and he was turned down.
Which?
Where was it he was turned down?
It was West Point, I think.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yes, it was.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
But literally he is probably one of the most
well-read, self-educated peoplethat I've ever listened to, and
Charlie Kirk grew up listeningto Rush Limbaugh.
His parents listened to Rushevery day.
He grew up listening to him, heidolized him, and I know, steve
(06:43):
, every morning when you and Igot up, I would hear your phone
and what was the first thingthat you would be listening to?
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, it would be Charlie Kirk, it would be his
podcast.
That was part of my dailyroutine and it's like where do
we go from here?
It's just so empty and it's sosad that I just enjoyed him.
I enjoyed his topics there wasa lot of politics, but there was
also a lot of biblical valuesand he talked a lot about his
(07:17):
faith.
And his faith was another thing.
He just wanted to learn, learn,learn and read more of the
Bible and, just you know, hejust kept growing in his faith.
Now I did see that over time hewas.
He talked a lot more aboutChristianity and his faith over
the last couple of years and hejust couldn't be quiet about it.
(07:39):
He was, just, you know, one ofthe things I love.
He said he wanted to makeheaven crowded.
He wanted heaven to be crowded,and now they've come out with
shirts that says Make HeavenCrowded, with Charlie Kirk's
name on it.
So you know, just knowing he wassuch a humble guy to be so good
(08:00):
at everything he did, and sojust that humility and wanting
to share the gospel of Christwith people, no matter who you
were, no matter what side youwere on, and he changed a lot of
people's hearts and minds.
Well, I know, you know he don'tdo the changing, but he planted
the seed and a lot of peoplechange because of him and he
(08:22):
didn't do it in a mean way.
So, no matter what reportsyou're seeing that says you know
he was a bigot or he was thisor that, that was not Charlie
Kirk.
I mean that is lies, because hewas a nice guy, he was a humble
guy, he was a caring guy, andso he just he had the whole
(08:46):
package.
And when you think about who'sgoing to replace him, well,
there's nobody going to replacehim.
It's kind of like when RushLimbaugh died.
They're like who's going to bethe next Rush?
Well, there's not going to beanother Rush, there's not going
to be another Charlie.
But I think what it's going totake is he was bigger in life
(09:07):
but hopefully the movement isbigger than him.
So I think it's going to takethousands and thousands of
people to replace Charlie.
I don't think it's going to beone person as a matter of fact,
I'm pretty sure it's not.
So it's going to take a wholemovement of people across the US
to be Charlie.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I mean and we were actually this weekend there's a
conference in Murfreesboro,tennessee, at Alan Jackson's
church, world Outreach, cultureand Christianity that you and I
were so excited about becauseCharlie Kirk was going to be the
keynote speaker.
And his beautiful wife Ericawas going to be there as well,
(09:51):
and little did we know that hislife would be taken away.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
yeah, yeah, we were so excited about seeing that we
booked our tickets, you know, afew months ago and after
listening to Charlie andfollowing him for eight years,
I'm like man, I finally get tomeet this guy, you know, and
wasn't guaranteed to even meethim.
I didn't have VIP tickets, theysold out pretty quick, but I
think I would have met him.
So I was pretty excited aboutthat.
(10:17):
And so here we are.
We didn't expect this, didn'twant this.
Like Pastor Ken said fromPatriot Church the other day, if
he was on God's board ofdirectors he would have
definitely questioned God andsaid no, this is not a good plan
.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
You need to leave Charlie Kirk here.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
You need to kind of leave Charlie here.
Let's come up with plan B.
But you know we're not on theboard of directors.
God knows the future and heknows what's best for everything
that works together for him andworks together for us and
according to his plans.
So we don't get a say,unfortunately.
(10:59):
But man, it's just tough it'sjust tough I'm.
I've noticed myself just kindof fidgeting around, just doing
kind of menial crazy, just kindof just to stay busy, so I don't
have to think about it.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Well, and you know, because Charlie was a believer
in Christ and a devout followerof Christ, he witnessed to more
college students in this countryand around the world more than
anybody that has ever existed.
And you know, and we talk about, there'll never be another
(11:37):
Charlie Kirk.
And we've talked about this onour podcast before with other
guests I have and talking abouthow God designed each of us so
uniquely our DNA and there's noother Steve Reed, there's no
other Christine Reed.
You know we're designed to dowhat God created us to do and
(12:09):
we've got to find those thingsand do those things.
That God you know, no matterhow divisive or how hateful the
person who came up to that mic,charlie never responded in anger
.
He was always very calm and hegave everybody hope.
He shared the gospel messagewith them, whether they wanted
(12:31):
to hear it or not.
And when someone would walk upto that mic and you've got to
think about it you're in a crowdof all of your peers on a
college campus.
There's probably thousands ofstudents there.
For you to walk up to that mic.
It takes a lot.
That takes a lot of courage,and he would always say I want
the ones who disagree with me tobe up front.
(12:53):
I want to hear from you.
I mean, he did not because hewanted to have a conversation
and he truly believed thathaving conversations with people
and sharing a biblicalworldview, the truth, the gospel
, would change people.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Yeah, and he did it in a respectful manner, and a
lot of his fans, you know ifthey would start heckling the
person at the microphone, hewould.
I heard him say this a thousandtimes.
He'd say all right, everybodybe respectful.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Be respectful.
So you know, no matter whatpeople are saying about him on
the other side, it's not true,because he was always respectful
and he never lost his cool.
I don't know how.
One of my favorite ones waswhere the person came up and was
going to ask him a questionbecause they disagreed with him.
(13:47):
He said hey, come to the frontof the line.
They come up and started askingtheir question and he said
what's your name?
And they said none of yourbusiness.
And he said, okay, none of yourbusiness.
Well, let's hear your question.
I mean he didn't even miss abeat and so it was just.
But he didn't do it.
I mean it was just.
(14:07):
He was such a natural at it, he,he grew into that and you know
it was discourse that we neededon these college campuses.
They're so woke, they're so youknow where their kids are
getting indoctrinated by theseleft-wing woke professors?
Yes, that I wouldn't.
(14:29):
I wouldn't pay my money to sendmy kids to one of those
colleges because they're goingto come back radicalized and so
college is a scam and it needsto be.
It really needs to beoverhauled.
But I don't know how thathappens, because we've got so
many ideologies in thesecampuses and these professors
(14:50):
and they're kind of hard to fire, so they're embedded in a lot
of these places and they'reteaching our kids and I think it
would be.
Maybe parents need to go sit inthese classrooms and hear what
they're teaching their kidsbecause it's really really scary
.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Well, and it even boiled down to our local schools
.
You know we're having to fightto keep that out of our schools
in our area and there's beensome good work that's done.
But also, you know, here at ouryou know East Tennessee State
University, we've had twoprofessors put on administrative
leave for comments that they'vemade.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah, and hopefully they'll be fired.
I hope so Hopefully they'll befired because you know that's
what needs to happen.
And you know a lot of peoplesay well, that's my, you know,
that's my rights for free speech.
Actually, if you're working foran institution of private or
public sector, you still agreeto certain core values and a
(15:57):
mission and vision statement.
And you know for I mean oneexample you know a doctor at a
hospital was cheering andCharlie's death, his murder, his
assassination.
Well, you know, when you're adoctor you kind of take the vow
that you're going to try to keeppeople alive, right?
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Hypocritical.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Yeah, I was trying to think of the name of it.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Do no harm.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
First thing for physicians.
First thing do no harm.
Do no harm If you're going toapplaud now.
Thank God that was not in ourarea, but if you're going to
applaud that kind of thing.
But if you're going to applaudthat kind of thing, your
(16:46):
employer has every right to fireyou because that does not go
along with, you know, with thecore values of most institutions
cheered on to be allowed to becondoned.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It's taking a human life.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yeah.
So it's just, you know we'veseen some fallout from this and
you know that's good.
That's good.
I mean, that needs to happen ifpeople are going to take that
attitude.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
And even more importantly, steve, I think we
have to carry on the mission ofbeing willing to have those
critical conversations withindividuals and share the gospel
, to share a biblical worldview.
What does that mean?
You know well, we believe inthe Bible.
Our ultimate truth as afollower of Jesus Christ is the
(17:36):
word of God, because it isinfallible, and that's where our
source of truth is, that is ourplumb line.
You know you can go around andsay, well, I have my truth, you
have your truth.
Well, what do you put yourtruth up against?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
I don't have my truth .
I don't know about you.
It's biblical truth.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
I have God's truth and God's truth is absolute
truth and that's what'simportant.
And I just want to say thisabout Charlie I mean his reach
and influence went around theworld, his events.
He had events in korea, severalother countries, multiple
campuses, uh, america canada, uk, yeah america fest that he
(18:16):
always has in december yeah andalso I just want to mention, you
know he left behind, uh, he wastaken away from a beautiful
wife, erica, who was a formermiss arizona, and two children,
a boy and a girl.
Just that you know they won'thave their father.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
No.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
And Erica was on television and it was just
amazing how she was able to holdup and talk about her husband
and you could just tell thatthey had just a beautiful
relationship.
And, steve, I know that thishas had it's had an impact on
both of us.
We've mourned, we're grieving,thank God for Patriot Church on
(18:59):
Sunday in Lenore City and PastorKen Peterson honoring Charlie
Kirk.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Pastor Ken Peters yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yeah, honoring him, but you had written a poem and I
wanted you to read that poemtoday because I feel like it's
just.
God gave that to you and youhave a gift with words, so would
you please read that poet.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I think I've written about four or five poems in my
life and unfortunately most ofthem are when friends or people
really close to me have died.
Other than for Dawn's birthdaywhen she turned 40, I did write
(19:40):
her a poem.
She probably wishes she wasdead after she heard me read
that, but most everything I'vewritten is just from the heart.
When something like thathappens and I just kind of get
overtaken and feel like I needto write it, but anyway, so I
wrote this the morning after.
So I guess I wrote this on 9-11.
(20:02):
Actually 9-11-25, at 8.50 amI'm looking at the note.
So the name of this isRemembering Charlie.
America was a country fleeinginto the night.
Then here came Charlie Kirk, abeacon of light, a voice that I
treasured and found incredibletrust.
To hear Charlie's perspectivedaily was simply a must.
(20:25):
You inspired me more thanyou'll ever know and I would
have met you next week, but nowI can't go.
The hurt of your death is a lotfor our Christian family to
bear.
The only comfort we can find isknowing you are with Jesus and
watching how much we care.
(20:46):
A positive voice andinspiration for our youth of
today.
You spoke of morals and familyvalues and would not be swayed.
You had such a strong faith andyou love to defend, and that's
exactly what you were doing,until the very end To say you're
(21:07):
an incredible human, andAmerican can't even start to
describe how you face this evilworld with boldness and would
never hide.
We love you, charlie, and knowyou are the best.
So I pray your movement liveson as we are put to the test.
And that's it.
(21:27):
So that was just what I wasfeeling on the 11th.
I still feel that.
I think every day goes by, youknow I think I'm coming to grips
with it, but the anger hadn'treally gone away for for what
happened?
Because this didn't have tohappen.
Um, you know.
So I keep hearing for unity andyou know all that.
(21:50):
You know, and you know theother side's wanting, you know
saying we need to tone down therhetoric on this side, but
that's almost like saying we'regoing to take half the blame and
them take half the blame.
Well, that's not true andthere's no unity, there's no
unifying with a lie, and there'sno unity, there's no unifying
(22:10):
with a lie.
And there's certain things thatyou know Charlie talked about.
He was very vocal on abortionand murdering babies and he was
very vocal on the trans issuethat you know, boys can't be
girls and girls can't be boys,and you know boys can't be girls
and girls can't be boys andborders.
(22:31):
You know God's a God of nationsand laws and borders, and so you
know we can't unite around alie, and so I don't see this
unity thing ever happening.
Now.
Could we sit down with somebodythat disagrees with us?
One-on-one Sure.
You know we can defend ourfaith and we can defend what we
(22:54):
believe in, but as far as on alarge scale, as far as seeing
unity, I'm not seeing thathappen.
But I mean, I think it startswith us personally and with
who's in our sphere and who wecan talk to and show respect to,
(23:15):
and not violence.
That's the, you know, absolute,uh, not the way to go, but uh,
maybe if we need to starttalking to our neighbors, and
you know, one at a time.
But there's no, it's not goingto be a quick fix where we just
say, okay, let's all just getalong and unify, because we
can't unify around lies.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Well, and, as Christians, darkness does not
like light, but light willdispel any darkness, and that's
where we're called to be saltand light.
So, steve, thank you for beinghere today and thank you for
reading your beautiful poem andfor those of you listening.
(23:54):
I just hope that you know wejust provided you some comfort
today in honoring Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
This has been Benchmark Happenings, brought to
you by Jonathan Tipton andSteve Reed from Benchmark Home
Loans.
Jonathan and Steve areresidential mortgage lenders.
They do home loans in NortheastTennessee and they're not only
licensed in Tennessee butFlorida, georgia, south Carolina
and Virginia.
We hope you've enjoyed the show.
(24:26):
If you did make sure to likerate and review.
Our passion is NortheastTennessee, so if you have
questions about mortgages, callus at 423-491-5405.
And the website iswwwJonathanAndStevecom.
Thanks for being with us andwe'll see you next time on
(24:48):
Benchmark Happenings.
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