I’ll be honest with you — I’m not wired like Charlie Kirk.
Charlie seems to love the edgy encounter — debating anyone, anywhere, on anything, including their spiritual lives. I admire that. But if I’m being transparent, argumentative conversations about Christianity are not my favorite thing. I’d much rather sit down with someone who’s open and curious, share my One Minute Witness, and let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do. But it’s not about me.
But then there’s Jude. And Jude won’t let me off the hook:
“Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.” — Jude 1:3 NLT
So I have to agree with him. There are moments we simply cannot stay silent — moments when we must step into a conversation we’d rather avoid, because the alternative is standing by while people demean our Lord and dismiss our beliefs.
Why does it matter so urgently? Here are four hard realities:
- In most Western nations, church attendance is declining — and most “church growth” is simply people switching churches, not new believers coming in.
- Those identifying as religious “nones” — no faith, no affiliation — are rising dramatically.
- Two-thirds of evangelical high school students stop attending church when they reach a secular college campus.
- Most people are followers. If bold, loving believers don’t speak up, many will simply follow the loudest voice in the room — and that voice is rarely pointing toward Jesus.
It takes people filled with both compassion and courage to take a stand. You don’t have to be Charlie Kirk to do it. You just have to be willing.
Here’s how to engage graciously when someone wants to debate:
Point to the Bible. Get comfortable saying, “The Bible says…” When someone claims the Bible is full of contradictions, calmly ask them to give you one. Most can’t — they’re simply repeating what they’ve heard others say.
Share your story. Ask if you can take just a minute to tell them what Jesus means to you personally. Then share your One Minute Witness. It’s very hard to argue with someone’s own life experience.
Be honest when you don’t know. If they raise something you can’t answer, say so — and then offer to research it and follow up. Then actually do it. That kind of integrity speaks volumes.
Respond to heat with gentleness. Don’t fight fire with fire. If they get loud, you get quiet. If they get aggressive, you get prayerful. Soft answers really do turn away wrath (Proverbs 15:1).
Keep growing. Stay in the Word daily, and pick up a solid Christian apologetics book. Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict is a classic starting point — and still one of the best.
Let’s commit today to both share the good news of Jesus and defend it — with grace, with truth, and with excellence.