When The Christian Chronicle covered and editorialized Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk's murder in September 2025, the reaction from our audience was big and hot. 

Some Church of Christ folks expressed reverence for Kirk and regarded him as a Christian martyr. Others expressed anger and sadness at how he died, but emphasized that what he believed and how he expressed it did not represent them as Christians. Still others said they never heard of Kirk until his death.

In this episode, two young Christians, Charlie Kirk fans and followers, explain why he appealed to them so much. What about his life and teachings resonated with them? 

And, from this, what might we learn about some members of the emerging generations in the Church of Christ?

Jeremiah Delcour and Keegan Haupt are leaders of the Turning Point USA chapter at Oklahoma Christian University, where they are students. 

Link to The Christian Chronicle's coverage of how Church of Christ folks responded to Charlie Kirk's murder

Link to Dr. Jeremie Beller's Christian Chronicle editorial on the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's death

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"Spiritual warfare" seems to be on the lips and minds of many Christ-claimers in the United States these days, including those in the Church of Christ.

But what is "spiritual warfare" and how do we know that we're waging it?

Dr. Joe Beam, who wrote the landmark book Seeing the Unseen: A Handbook for Spiritual Warfare in the early 1990s, joins the present-day milieu on how the spirit realm is affecting current events and vice versa.

In this episode, Beam answers questions like:

• What might be contributing to what could be an increase in "spiritual warfare" talk in the United States these days?
• What is the difference between demon-possessed and demonized?
• Does demon-possession still happen today (and how do we know if someone is demon-possessed)?
• How do we know if we're being "attacked" by evil spiritual forces or if we're creating our own negative circumstances or situations?
• How do we know if God is communicating with us or if we're just having strong feelings that come from ourselves?
• How do we know if someone is "speaking for God"?
• For Church of Christ congregations that have to come to believe that the Holy Spirit is available to guide and support them, how do they learn to discern and follow the Holy Spirit?
• How do we "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1)? 

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A little more than half (52 percent) of Americans say they would allow public school teachers to lead their students in prayers to Jesus in taxpayer-funded public schools. This is according to the latest Religious Landscape Study from the Pew Research Center.

In this episode, that study's author, Chip Rotolo, reveals how Americans have changed in both religious and spiritual beliefs and practices since Pew started researching them in 2007. While it may come as no surprise that Americans' adherence to, and participation in, organized religion has declined, Pew's research shows that the newest generation of Americans is showing signs of more openness than preceding ones.

Rotolo unpacks this and more data from the Pew report. What might these trends mean to Church of Christ congregations, their leaders and their members?

Link to the Pew Research Center's Religious Life Survey

Link to Chip Rotolo's site (referenced in the interview)

Link to Religious Landscape Study report that measures how religious is each state (released after this interview, but references in the episode)

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Colleges and universities with roots and ties in the Church of Christ community have a strong history of seeking and welcoming international students to their campuses. Many of them see this as essential to their Christian mission to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Gospel of Matthew 28:19). 

Rapid changes to federal policies, however, may be keeping some international students out of the United States and out of the Church of Christ colleges and universities they want to attend.

In this episode, one of The Christian Chronicle's 2025 interns, Kenzie James, talks about a recent story she reported on how federal policies are affecting these students and the colleges and universities that want to enroll them. She also talks about what it's like to be a college student herself, making plans for a career in journalism (in these wild times for journalists).

Link to Kenzie James's report on how federal policies are affecting Church of Christ colleges and universities and their international students

Link to an archive of Kenzie James's stories for The Christian Chronicle

Link to Kenzie James's true crime podcast, Case Closed

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Church of Christ congregations in the rural areas and small towns of the United States are struggling with closures and membership losses. What act of God and the Church of Christ together could lead to growth and health?

Dr. Anessa Westbrook is co-director of the new Center for Ministry at York University in York, Nebraska. In this episode, Dr. Westbrook unpacks some of the reasons that so many congregations in rural and small town America are struggling. She reveals some of the approaches that may position these congregations for new growth. That includes a new focus and stronger dependence on girls and women, who are often the heart and soul of church growth and yet are sometimes overlooked.

Link to The Christian Chronicle's report on Pepperdine University receiving $7.5 million Lilly Foundation grant to come alongside rural and small town Church of Christ congregations in the United States

Link to Episode 119: Unleashing the superpowers of rural and small town churches (Mike Cope)

Link to the Center for Ministry at York University 

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One Church of Christ congregation in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, is going all in on producing live theatre for its community. Since giving its first stage production a try, Bouldercrest Church of Christ is attracting casts and crews comprising Church of Christ members from all over the city. And thousands are attending performances like Scenes from the Life of Christ.

In this episode, we hear from the woman at the center of it all. Sheri Gilbert-Wilson is a professional actor, director and writer who felt the nudge to bring the story of God and God's people to the stage at Bouldercrest.

Gilbert-Wilson shares how putting on a live stage production turns out to be a powerful body (of Christ)-building, disciple-making experience. And how it attracts and connects with people who would otherwise never step foot in a church building. She also tells the story of how she gave up a successful paralegal career at age 48 to go "all in" on theatre.

Link to Calvin Cockrell's Christian Chronicle story about Sheri Gilbert-Wilson and the burgeoning live theatre ministry at Bouldercrest Church of Christ

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"Honorary title for this episode is 'Filling the Void.'" Listen and find out why (and thanks to Alonzo Rojo)! 

Jóvenes for Christ is a summer camp for English-speaking young Christians growing up in bilingual or Spanish-speaking churches and homes. In this episode, we hear from Jóvenes for Christ board members, Kevin Rivera (Lakeview Iglesia de Cristo, Garland, Texas), Alonzo Rojo (Robinson Avenue Iglesia de Cristo, Springdale, Arkansas), and Yazmin Tabares (Robinson Avenue Iglesia de Cristo, Springdale, Arkanses). 

They explain why growing up in English-speaking America and Spanish-speaking churches and homes is hard for young Christians. More important, however, is how this exposes the "generation gaps" common in so many Church of Christ congregations. While older generations in Spanish-speaking congregations may prefer to hold onto the Spanish language, does that come at the cost of driving away their English-speaking younger generations? And how might English-speaking younger generations honor and preserve what is precious from their Spanish-speaking elders?

This episode's cover features Jóvenes for Christ founder JuanRaymon ("J. R.") Rubio, who died in a car crash in December 2024. He was on his way home from a planning retreat for this year's Jóvenes for Christ camp. This episode is dedicated to his memory. Read The Christian Chronicle's report on Rubio's death and its impact on Jóvenes for Christ.

Link to The Christian Chronicle's coverage of the 2025 Jóvenes for Christ camp with its record attendance and baptisms

Link to Jóvenes for Christ (for more information or to support)

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MacArthur "Genius Grant" recipient, Pulitzer Prize finalist and world famous investigative journalist Jerry Mitchell talks about how a relentless pursuit of the truth honors God and promotes God's desire for justice. In this episode, Mitchell talks about how he helped crack cold cases that brought to justice the murderers of five 1960s-era Civil Rights workers in Mississippi. He also makes a plea for Christians in society to renew and restore their collective and personal efforts to find and hold up truth, even when it hurts.

Link to Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era by Jerry Mitchell (Simon & Schuster)

Link to the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting at Mississippi Today

Link to Jerry Mitchell's recent investigative work

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The two youngest members of The Christian Chronicle's full-time news team are incoming managing editor Calvin Cockrell (Gen Y) and outgoing managing editor Audrey Jackson (Gen Z). In this episode, they talk about how working with The Christian Chronicle is exposing them to the Church of Christ they never imagined or knew. They also talk about what it is like to be journalists at a time when the profession is under cultural, economic and political duress. And, if they were to start a new Christian Chronicle just for Christians under the age of 30, how would it be different from The Christian Chronicle of preceding generations?

Link to Audrey Jackson's farewell column as she leaves The Christian Chronicle for "greener pastures"

Link to Audrey Jackson's coverage of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and the local Church of Christ response (referenced in the interview)

Link to Calvin Cockrell's report on a theatrical production at Bouldercrest Church of Christ (referenced in the interview)

Link to Calvin Cockrell's report on two churches merging in Spokane, Washington (referenced in the interview)

Link to The Christian Chronicle on TikTok (referenced in the interview)

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In 1979, Church of Christ congregations in Chicago joined together in a concentrated campaign to evangelize the city. That event because the first "Crusade for Christ," an evangelism campaign that visited a major U.S. city every other year until the pandemic. Over the 40 years that the Crusade for Christ visited American cities, tens of thousands of volunteers evangelized tens of thousands of neighbors, leading to countless baptisms.

This July 2025, the Crusade for Christ returns and up to 2,000 Church of Christ members from around the U.S. will converge on Detroit to feed the hungry, heal the sick, knock on doors and participate in "marketplace ministry" for five days.

In this episode, Leonardo Gilbert, national director of the Crusade for Christ talks about why personal evangelism among strangers still works, even in a social media age when everyone seems to be afraid of "stranger danger."

Link to the Crusade for Christ event website

Link to The Christian Chronicle's archive coverage of past Crusade for Christ e events 

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