Posted on 09/20/2025 8:22:47 PM PDT by Morgana
The North American Mission Board has responded after an SBC pastor, who is speaking at their upcoming event, criticized Charlie Kirk during his recent sermon by insulting his character and implying that because he lived by the sword, he died by the sword.
James T. Roberson III, the senior pastor of Bridge Church NYC, said during a message, among other things:
I think Charlie Kirk and other political activists, particularly some on the evangelical right, often see ideas and policies that claim to be Christian, but they’re fought with in a carnal posture. They’re fighting for Jesus with anger and harshness and rage. And the danger of that is when you when you fight spiritual battles in a carnal way, the world responds with that same carnality. It’s as if the world says we know how to do worldly better than you…It is carnal to celebrate his death. To lack empathy for someone who doesn’t have empathy for you is to live in carnality
..At the same time, while he fought for ideals that he believed were Christian, I also denounced the way he carried himself and especially the way he talked about black people...I also grieve for our country that elevates people into hero status and martyr status so quickly...just because someone fought for Jesus doesn’t mean they fought like Jesus.
In response to the outcry, including a widely circulated letter from Pastor Tom Buck demanding an apology and Roberson’s removal, NAMB President Kevin Ezell issued a statement about the event. He emphasized the “poorly worded” use of the term “carnality” rather than addressing the rest of Roberson’s remarks, such as accusing Kirk of being a racist who didn’t “fight like Jesus” and claiming he was undeserving of being viewed as a hero or martyr.
Few are satisfied with this statement, however, nor with the fact that Ezell disabled replies to his post. His missive has been requoted dozens of times, with none of the responses being positive. A sampling of replies include:
Tom Buck has also responded, and he was not assuaged or mollified.
NAMB has responded. I personally feel it is a weak response at best. Ezell says the only problem was that Roberson meant to warn of the danger of Christians responding to “carnal weapons” and that he didn’t mean that he “invited or provoked the violence.”
BUT, here’s what Roberson said: “I think Charlie Kirk and other political activists, particularly on the evangelical right, often see ideas and policies that claim to be Christian, but they’re fought WITH a CARNAL posture. They’re fighting for Jesus WITH anger and harshness and rage. And the DANGER of THAT is WHEN you fight spiritual battles IN a CARNAL way, the world responds WITH that SAME carnality.”
I don’t know how else to understand his words than to say that Charlie Kirk fought with a carnal posture and that invited the DANGER of the world responding with the SAME carnality. Ezell simply tries to put lipstick on a pig of a statement and says Roberson didn’t mean what he said. I’ll stick with Jesus who said, “Out of the mouth speaks the heart.”
Let’s consider something else Roberson said in that same sermon about Charlie Kirk. “I also grieve for our country that elevates people into hero status and martyr status so quickly.”
Yet the Sunday after George Floyd’s death, Roberson had NO problem elevating Floyd to hero and martyr status. He even said God was joining in the protests being held to elevate Floyd. He said: “I’m here today to tell you God hears you and He’s in the protests saying George Floyd’s name.”
Could someone from NAMB ask James Roberson if he believes that God is joining in the prayer vigils being held and is saying Charlie Kirk’s name. If I were a betting man, I know where I’d put my money.
…Here is another statement from the same sermon about Charlie Kirk. “I also denounced the way he (Kirk) carried himself and especially the way he talked about black people.” That is clearly implying that Charlie Kirk talked about black people in derogatory ways. It’s a way of accusing him of being a racist.
@kevezell, what do you think these words mean? Do you denounce Charlie Kirk for how he talked about black people and believe he was a racist? If so, could you give us some examples of this charge made against a fellow Christian.
@NAMB_SBC and @sendnetwork, this is NOT sufficient. I stand by my open letter.
Hey hey. Ho ho. James T Robertson III has got to go.
I do not think that phrase means what you think it means .
Exactly.
Pronto.
And the answer to that is not for Christians to stop speaking the truth, or to soft peddle it in some way. If you stand for objective truth in this world, no matter how gently you try to do so, you are going to be hated and there I’ll be evil people who want to silence you permanently. Their hatred is a sign that you’re doing things right, not that you need to placate them.
NAMB.LA
Though the cause of evil prosper,
yet the truth alone is strong;
though her portion be the scaffold,
and upon the throne be wrong;
yet that scaffold sways the future,
and, behind the dim unknown,
standeth God within the shadow
keeping watch above His own.
We are seeing this prophecy fulfilled today. Deo gratias!
A former church of ours went to the woke side during George Floyd. They joined a few other churches in taking out a full page ad in the Sunday paper honoring St. Floyd. We left about 6 months later as every week got more and more like a BLM rally.
I looked at their website after Charlie Kirk was killed - nothing. I listened to the sermon. It started off about having a calling and a purpose. The pastor said something like “Charlie Kirk, whether you agreed with him or not, had a purpose that he strove after. We all should have a ....”
I listened a bit more but it was just on how we need to find our own calling and purpose. I’m sort of surprised he mentioned Charlie at all.
Our pastor of our current church preached on Psalm 37 after Charlie was killed.
Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away....
Thanks for quoting that hymn, I just silently sang it to myself.
Just another Black pastor who is a loyal house servant of the Democrat party. He looks fairly respectable. If you saw the church’s Teaching and Family pastor on the subway, you’d probably move to the other end of the car.
The Bell Curve never lies.
There’s a lot of us on this website that did exactly what Charlie Kirk did and a lot of us that got attacked for it.
Physically assaulted and beaten up almost arrested and involved in lawsuits because we stood up for what we knew was right believing that we were also honoring God by doing the things that were politically correct from a righteousness perspective.
We were wrong.
We should not have been consumed with the politics of the day and we should not have been using the world’s methods to reach people, we should have been doing what the Bible said and going out and evangelizing. It is only God who’s going to change someone’s heart, not the slogan that’s on my sign.
I like the lot of what Charlie Kirk said because I love hearing his political zingers but I’ll be honest, very few people showed scenes of Charlie Kirk defending the gospel, it was always Charlie Kirk responding to a liberal question.
Victor David Hanson was correct in pointing out this man’s hypocrisy regarding Charlie Kirk and George Floyd and the rising up of stood of someone artificially, but the opposite is true, if it’s wrong for one it’s wrong for the other even though one was an outright criminal which made it absurd to do so in the first place.
I’m 66 and I’m pretty fairly well informed politically and I really didn’t see a whole lot of Charlie Kirk unless I saw him out and the only things that were being posted and presented was a political debate where he’s answering liberals. I shouted Huzzah many times but it is wrong to try and say that what he was doing was the Lord’s work.
The salvation of lost souls and the edifying of Believers is the Lord’s work. It is wrong I believe to elevate him to this status. It is awful that he got killed, it shows that the left Wingers are a bunch of murderous thugs as all of us knew when they attacked us in the streets 25 years ago.
But this is going overboard in my opinion. They’re using him as a symbol. I don’t want to say a bad thing about Charlie Kirk cuz I have no reason to but it is certainly theologically wrong to say that what he was doing was honoring God when the majority of what he was doing was arguing politics in the manner that the world argues politics and that by pure definition is carnal.
https://m.soundcloud.com/jim-bancroft-559886960/this-is-the-message-i-give-the-inmates
Will someone please diagram the title?
They’re using him as a symbol.
I was not a regular watcher of Kirk, either. He was arguing CULTURE, more than politics. And he stated why he held his beliefs which came from deep faith. God created Man & Woman - no such thing as transgender. Gay/Lesbian is not a good lifestyle. The more gov’t does for us the less control we have of our lives. All very true. And by speaking such truths, he did, in fact, honor God.
The Leftists say he was divisive, but I don’t recall a single instance of him seeming angry about anything. He always spoke with earnestness & sincerity. His loss is a definite tragedy to the conservative movement.
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