Inside Grace | October 2025
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO FEEL LIKE AN INSIDER AT GRACE
PASTOR BOB’S RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
This summer a number of Christian leaders who were known for their bold public ministries passed away. By far the most prominent news story was the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk. Given his young age and the traumatic nature of his death, it’s understandable that his death earned the most attention.
To see him shot down at such a young age was horribly upsetting. I’ve sat with people in our church for whom Kirk was a guide they admired and followed on social media. I’ve also heard from people in our church for whom Kirk’s conflation of faith and politics was off-putting, as was his debating tone. And there’s also a third group who did not know much about him at all prior to his death.
One of the things that I hope we can all agree on, though, is that it would be wonderful if Kirk’s death becomes a source of revival and people turning to Christ.
As Brett McCracken wrote about at TGC, there may be opportunities for Kirk’s death to serve as a wake-up call for our culture.
But Charlie Kirk was not the only one who died this summer. I also want to point out some other Christian leaders who passed away and leave a similar legacy of boldness and uncompromising convictions - Voddie Baucham and John MacArthur.
The reason I list these three together is that they all were cut from the same cloth with regard to temperament and personality. No compromise, just conviction. And the Church (big “C” = universal church) needs leaders like this.
But I also list them together because I’ve squirmed more than once over the years when I’ve been asked why I’m not more like each of these men. (And, yes, I’ve had people compare me unfavorably to each of MacArthur, Baucham, and Kirk).
There was a fourth Christian leader who died this summer who had more impact on me, personally: John Huffman. “Dr Huffman” was my pastor during seminary while I was an intern under him at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. He certainly wasn’t as famous as the other men on this list, nor as much of a firebrand, but no less bold in his convictions.
Christianity Today wrote an article about his confronting Richard Nixon in love at the height of the Watergate controversy, which I consider to be a good example of speaking the truth in love.
When I was teenager, my dad told me something that stuck with me: There’s room for all sorts of different personalities in the clergy. (Note: my dad wasn’t a pastor, but was a significant lay leader in our church).
I hope that as you reflect on the lives of Kirk, Baucham, MacArthur, and Huffman, you’ll praise God for the good, leave the bad behind, and pray for God to raise up more workers for His mission in the generation to come.