I stabbed furiously on my oversized yellow legal path in my Wall Street Law Office. Philosophy, theology and current events were splashed over the page. It was the summer of 2020, New York City was on fire and for the first time I was about to speak about the National Syndicated “Charlie Kirk Show”.
Yes – the Charlie Kirk, who set fire to college campuses during the day with sizzling logic and at night, leaders of the free world met.
Andrew Kolvet, Charlie’s producer and part-time model (not really, but he could be), called for a pre-show check-in.
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“Hey, man. Charlie just wants me to touch the basic. How big is your church in New York a few hundred again? “
“Yes … about that,” I lay flat. The truth was, thanks to Covid Lockdowns and the exodus to the southern states, Kings’ Church NYC was a few dozen people, persistent to survive.
I am a pastor and a lawyer – a strange combination, I know. Andrew continued: “Ok, cool. Log in op Zoom and you will soon be with Charlie.”
My mind was racing: don’t forget to thank you. Don’t forget to mention Erika. Don’t forget to mention Descartes. The monitor flickered and there was Charlie – sharp, skeptical, intense. I didn’t hesitate. I launched a flood of ideas, analysis and anecdotes. In what felt a moment it was over.
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Then my phone rang. Charlie himself: “That was really great, man. Thank you. Can you travel with me?”
I thought he was just polite. It wasn’t him.
For the following year I traveled the country with him. The following year, 25 more journeys. Our friendship grew until he became one of my best friends.
Erika Kirk’s first speech since the murder of the man Schult on the massive Tpusa chapter Surge rural
Charlie’s first skepticism was not cruelty – it was calculation. He was a Master tactician. I met his wife, Erika, in 2019 when she was a broker in Manhattan – one of the most beautiful, graceful people on the planet.
Charlie Kirk and his wife Erika during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eeve Ball in the Salamander Hotel January 19, 2025, in Washington, DC (Samuel Corum/Getty images)
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We once dreamed about starting an Urban Conservative News Company for ‘The Cool Kids’. Then she met a boy from Phoenix who threw her away. That summer of 2020, Erika insisted that Charlie placed me – someone without a reputation, no sources and no platform – in his show.
Charlie was not happy. He had drawn up many votes. But after Erika’s perseverance, he admitted and wrote “Gun for Ericka” in the notes. Hence the reason why he looked skeptical when I appeared on the screen.
Charile Kirk and his wife, Erika Lane Frantzve, and their two children during the Christmas season in December 2024. (Charlie Kirk via Facebook)
But when I describe Charlie to people, I say: “Imagine the greatest NFL coach of all time. He knows every game. He sees talent, places it where it should be and then fights relentlessly for every garden.” That was Charlie. He knew every argument, implemented each source with precision and did it all with control.
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But behind the sharp edges was kindness. He constantly connected contact with ordinary people. A hotel Bellman in Florida once pulled me aside and glowed after he met Charlie: “He is so nice in person.”
Another time a vitamin store broke out when it came in. He mainly honored older people with humility and weight, something that Dennis Prager had brought him. He even promised the future work of my sons (“in the mail room”, he laughed, “I don’t waste any resources”).
During long flights, Charlie peppered me with deep questions about theology, marriage, raising children, Sabbath. He once asked me to train with him, although I quickly regretted it. On 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, I thought I could keep track of it. Charlie did three sets for each of me. He was strong, brave and really a good man.
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Faith was not a garnish for him – it was central. He prayed with every meal, for every flight and at every board meeting. He was not a nominal Christian; His beliefs were deeply. And that hope in Christ – eternal life – distinguished him from the hundreds of influencers I met.
A wreath laid by mourners outside the American embassy in Pretoria on 11 September 2025, after the fatal shooting at the American youth activist and influencer Charlie Kirk. (Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty images)
The Bible says: “Unless a seed falls on the floor and dies, it stays alone. But when it dies, it produces many seeds.” Charlie’s life and death will result in a harvest of godly Americans in contrast to everything that this nation has ever seen. His legacy and legacy of Turning Point USA will spread throughout the world.
Charlie Kirk on the Fiserv Forum on the third night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee 17 July 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Our Lord, the Master tactician, knows every game in the field of humanity. Even in tragedy he works for all things for those who love him. The seed of Charlie’s life is multiplied to a million Charlie Kirks.
That is the strategy. That’s my prayer.
