Scripture calls God’s people to hate what is evil and cling to what is good and to do so in the name of the Lord Jesus. We believe this statement is a way we can do that while upholding the Gospel.
Southern Baptist pastors and leaders are invited to sign the statement below and pray for our nation as we commit our Gospel work to the Lord.
As leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, we lament the assassination of Charlie Kirk and we mourn his death. Political violence is a grave sin and it represents a threat to our nation and its government. The murder of Charlie Kirk is a grave warning to us all as we consider the health of our nation and society.
All persons of good will must condemn this premeditated act of violence and see the depth of evil in this murder and in a spirit of violence that will undermine our ability to function as a nation.
Christians are rightly grateful for Charlie Kirk’s public witness to Christ and for his courageous defense of the dignity of the unborn and a host of other moral issues. We rightly appreciate the profound impact Charlie Kirk has had on our young people, inspiring them to live with bold conviction and take righteous action.
We mourn with his wife, Erika, whose husband has been so murderously taken away, and for their precious children, now left without an earthly father. We pray for them, and ask our Heavenly Father to protect and console them.
We call for righteousness and justice and for the lawful prosecution of the assassin and urge Southern Baptists to join us in praying for his repentance and salvation. We also call for Southern Baptists and all Christian brothers and sisters to recommit ourselves to the defense of life, liberty, and biblical morality in our nation, and we pray for an end to political violence in any form. We condemn any retaliatory violence.
We call on all our brothers and sisters in Christ to bear faithful witness to the good news of Jesus Christ — the world’s true King and our only hope — who was crucified and raised so that sinners might be forgiven and have eternal life.
May God have mercy on our nation, and may we be found faithful in our generation.
Initial Signatories:
Clint Pressley
President, Southern Baptist Convention
Daniel L. Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jason K. Allen
President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Paul Chitwood
President, International Mission Board
James K. Dew
President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
D. Hance Dilbeck
President, GuideStone Financial Resources
David S. Dockery
President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Adam P. Groza
President, Gateway Seminary
Kevin Ezell
President, North American Mission Board
Jeff Iorg
President, SBC Executive Committee
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Miles Mullin
Acting President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC
Joe Walker
Interim President, Lifeway Christian Resources
Daniel Ritchie
1st Vice President, Southern Baptist Convention
Craig Carlisle
2nd Vice President, Southern Baptist Convention
This statement originally appeared on the Southern Baptist Convention’s website. Pastors and leaders are encouraged to sign the statement on their website.