In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder and what appears to be revival stirring across our land, something has become strikingly clear: the Christian presence in America is far greater than many of us dared hope. When politicians, and even many from the president’s own administration openly proclaim that Christ is King, when political leaders declare that our government must bow to King Jesus, we are witnessing God’s mercy in real time (Ps. 2:10–12).
G. K. Chesterton once observed, “Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” For a while now the cultural elites, even the previous presidential administration were spreading rumors that Christianity was dead. But whether it actually died to some degree or whether it was just a rumor they were trying to get us to buy in to, what we are witnessing now appears to genuinely be a resurrection of Christendom out of the ashes.
Revival is God’s work. But revival rarely comes out of nowhere. It is often born in the soil of long, quiet faithfulness (Gal. 6:9). And when revival comes, the world—especially a world that has been trying to get us to believe that Christianity is dead—will always accuse God’s people of plotting, scheming, or grasping for power (especially if the nations most powerful are calling the nation to bow the knee to King Jesus, as is gloriously happening today). But as Nehemiah said to Sanballat, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind” (Neh. 6:8). The truth is simpler and more glorious: God Himself is at work, building His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).
The previous administration, Hollywood, and the “elites” have been telling us that Christianity is rare and wrong, and the LGBTQ+ propaganda that they have been trying to force feed us is normal and popular. But again, as Nehemiah 6:8 says, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” The fact that our nation’s leaders proclaimed the gospel to around 100 million people (100,000 people at the service in person, plus around 100 million that watched on TV or online) at the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service this weekend means that things aren’t nearly as bad as we’ve been told. Or, if they were, God is doing a great work of revival to change that. Either way, let’s praise God for the work of revival He seems to be pouring out in His mercy in and through this great moment in history that has come about through great tragedy.
I don’t know if what’s happening means we’ve simply won a battle or a great war, but I do know that it has felt like we were fighting a losing battle for some time now. But as Chesterton said, “The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God’s paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle—and not lose it.” So I’m enjoying the glimpse of God’s paradise that we’re beginning to see in this great moment. And regardless of what we see I rejoice that we know for sure, because of God’s promises, that ultimately we will not lose.
The Power of the Ordinary
We often imagine that great moments in history are the result of great men alone. And indeed, we need men like Charlie Kirk, who speak boldly, risk much, and call a nation to Christ. But if faith and worship drive culture, and culture drives politics, then the true tinder for the blaze we now see has been the ordinary worship and faithfulness of ordinary Christians in ordinary churches—a work that’s been going on behind the scenes for some time.
Recently I was driving through the country roads of east Texas, and I noticed a handful of tiny country churches. Churches too small, too far out in the middle of nowhere to ever be widely noticed. But I can’t help thinking that it is precisely churches like this that have tilled the ground to make things ripe for revival. That country church that ends every service with Just As I Am Without One Plea has stood faithful as salt and light (Matt. 5:13–16) by simply proclaiming the old, old Story, and living out simple faith in it.
And God delights to work through such things. For instance, Charles Spurgeon—the “Prince of Preachers”—was converted not by a famous evangelist, but by a humble layman who happened to be preaching in a small church on a snowy day. And no doubt, Charlie Kirk didn’t come out of nowhere. To be sure, he had everyday Christians praying for him, pouring in to him, leading him to become the man he was. The great things God does in history are almost always built on the bedrock of ordinary faithfulness.
As Hudson Taylor said, “A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.” Or in Gandalf’s words, “I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”
The point is clear: when families gather for worship (Deut. 6:6–7), when parents raise their children in the nurture of the Lord (Eph. 6:4), when men work honestly and lead faithfully and protect fearlessly (Col. 3:23), when congregations gather on the Lord’s Day to sing Psalms and hymns and hear God’s Word (Col. 3:16; Acts 2:42), the Kingdom of Christ advances. Even “mustard seed” faith can move mountains (Matt. 17:20).
Charles Spurgeon once said, “The way to do a great deal is to keep on doing a little. The way to do nothing at all is to be continually resolving that you will do everything.” Through the imperfect faithfulness of little ordinary churches over many years, the Christian foundation of this nation was preserved. And, it seems to me, that ordinary faithfulness has given way to something extraordinary.
Every Small Thing Is War
We must not despise the day of small things (Zech. 4:10). We are typically entrusted with small things before we are entrusted with large (Luke 16:10). But faithfulness in the ordinary is not small at all—it is warfare against the evil one.
There is no neutral ground: every sphere of life belongs to Christ (Matt. 12:30; Col. 1:16–17). Every diaper changed, every Psalm sung, every loaf of bread shared at the table is a blow against the darkness—or else it is another compromise where darkness seems to advance.
In the CREC we often say we are called to fight, laugh, and feast. That is true—but it’s worth remembering that laughing and feasting are ways of fighting. To eat with gratitude (1 Tim. 4:4–5), to feast with joy (Neh. 8:10), to laugh with hope (Ps. 126:2–3)—these are not “extras” to the Christian life; they are weapons in our arsenal, signals to the watching world that the King is alive and His reign cannot be overthrown.
As Chesterton put it, “The one thing which never tires the soul is joy.” To walk in joyful, ordinary obedience is to wage war with a smile. Christians are jovial warriors, even when they don’t realize it. Just their mere existence as Christians pushes back the darkness and advances the Light. Which is why even when Christians don’t know or embrace properly the mission Christ has given them, if they love and trust Jesus, then in one way or another they are holding—or perhaps even taking—ground for the Kingdom. Which is why I think small ordinary churches are what have tilled the ground for the revival that I’m praying for.
For some time now, Christians in America have not only been fighting personal sin (Rom. 8:13) and striving for holiness (Heb. 12:14), but also fighting for the freedom to live openly as Christians—for the freedom to exist and make a home here (even if they didn’t realize it). America was once a great home for Christianity, but as of late it seems to have gotten off track. So we too, like the dwarves in The Hobbit struggling to reclaim their homeland, have been contending for a home and to recover a Christian inheritance in our land. But that fight is different from simply defending your home and growing its fruitfulness. Once you have a Christian nation, the fight continues—it simply takes a different shape. The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20) does not end when a nation bows to Christ. It becomes a fight like the coast guard, defending what is already ours, even as we continue to expand.
The mission is to disciple every nation, but also every generation. On this side of glory there will always be great work to be done. It’s been said, “Hard times create strong men, strong men create easy times, easy times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” But the Christian life shouldn’t work like this because no matter the times the Christian life is war. But that war will certainly look different depending on the times.
I bring this up to point out that maturity is needed to know when and how to fight… To know what kind of fight we’re in. Proverbs 20:29 says, “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.” Like a hammer that only sees nails, young men often only see battles. But not everything is a fight. Veterans who come home from war sometimes struggle to live peacefully; likewise, Christians must not treat every moment as open combat. Yes, the Christian life is always war (Eph. 6:12), but not all war looks like clashing swords. Sometimes the fight is peace, joy, laughter, fruitfulness at home, and quiet worship in the pews. Sometimes the fight is laughing and feasting. Mature Christians are easily edified, slow to pick fights, and quick to laugh and feast in gratitude (Phil. 4:4–5). Mature Christians know when to fight and who to fight, and when to listen, learn, rest, and rejoice.
Now again, because the Christian life is war against sin and darkness, even when we’re not fighting for the right to be and do for God’s good pleasure, we are still fighting to be and do for God’s good pleasure. We are always fighting in one way or another. Doug Wilson has compared the church to a Navy submarine: everyone is in the fight one way or another, even the chef cooking in the galley. Not everyone fires the torpedoes, but every role is essential for the mission’s success (1 Cor. 12:4–7). So it is in Christ’s church: every faithful saint, no matter their station, is part of the battle. And they battle through ordinary faithfulness.
Learning to Wait in Ordinary Faithfulness
Scripture teaches us again and again that God usually entrusts His servants with small, ordinary duties before He calls them to great ones. Moses spent forty years shepherding sheep in Midian before he was sent to shepherd Israel (Exod. 3:1–10). David was faithful in the pastures long before he was crowned in Jerusalem (1 Sam. 16:11–13). The apostle Paul spent years in obscurity after his conversion before the Lord called him into his missionary labors (Gal. 1:17–18). And even Jesus Himself, the Son of God, did not begin His public ministry until He was about thirty (Luke 3:23), after decades of hidden obedience in Nazareth.
The lesson is simple but weighty: do not seek to expand your ministry, your influence, or your cultural engagement before you have been faithful in the ordinary. Young men especially are tempted to run to the front lines before their own households are in order. But God’s Word is clear: “If someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” (1 Tim. 3:5). The principle applies more broadly: if you are not yet walking out faithfulness in private, in your marriage, in your parenting, in your work, in your neighborhood, and in your local church, you are not ready to lead movements, businesses, or nations.
This does not mean we despise youthful zeal. We need men who can and who will fight. But that strength must be tempered by wisdom, maturity, and proven faithfulness over time. Many want to fight the way Charlie Kirk did, but they forget what he was fighting for. One of his main goals in his fight was to win men to the Truth so that they would step up, get married, and raise a family in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and thus reinforce and build godly civilizations. So we need strong men to fight, but strength must be used in the right way for the right things. Sometimes the most important way to fight in your twenties or thirties is to change diapers, pay bills, disciple your kids, and show up for worship every Lord’s Day. No doubt, those who are faithful in these things are being prepared for whatever greater tasks the Lord may later entrust to them. But these things are great things that are worth fighting for as well.
Called to Faithfulness, Then to More
Some are called to run for office, start movements, write books, or stand in the public square. And some earlier then others. Praise God for them. Ask the Lord whether you are one of them. But know, all of us are called to faithfulness right where we are. We must repent of sin (Acts 3:19), live faithfully in family, in church, and in work (1 Thess. 4:11–12). And even if the Lord has big things in store for us, we must be faithful in these seemingly smaller things before we consider if or how the Lord might call us beyond our current sphere. But never think that the “smaller” things are wasted.
As C. S. Lewis observed, “Good and evil both increase at compound interest.” Every act of faithfulness—no matter how hidden—compounds. It sets off ripples. It builds habits, character, culture, and civilizations.
So do not grow weary in doing good (Gal. 6:9). For in due season, God brings harvest. Revival is His gift, but He often waters it with the sweat of ordinary saints who kept at it when no one was watching.
Practical Ways to Fight: A Field Manual of Everyday Faithfulness
Faithfulness begins in the ordinary. And when the ordinary is firm, God often opens doors for more. Here are some practical ways to fight in every sphere of life, along with the foundational faithfulness that should come first.
1. Home
- Establish daily family worship. But make sure you’re seeking to be consistent in your own personal devotion in the Word and prayer (Ps. 1:1–3; Matt. 6:6).
- Disciple your children intentionally. But make sure you are seeking to submit to God’s Word yourself (Deut. 6:6–7; Eph. 6:4).
- Practice hospitality. But before you open your home seek to establish and keep a peaceful, ordered home (1 Pet. 4:9; Prov. 24:3–4). It’s not hospitable to invite people into chaos. Clean your house. Make good meals. Cultivate a friendly and welcoming environment, and then invite people in.
- Invest in your marriage. Seek to have a godly marriage that is constantly growing in faithfulness and fruitfulness, but be sure to pursue personal holiness and humility yourself (Eph. 5:25–27).
2. Church
- Serve in visible ways (teaching, hospitality, church leadership, or some other official capacity of service to the body). But before you seek to serve in the church make sure you’re actually coming to church consistently. Be faithful in worship attendance and giving (Heb. 10:24–25). Be consistent. Be the type of person that makes everyone worry when you’re not at church because you so rarely miss.
- Support missions and church planting. But before you give or go, give yourself to generous giving and prayer for your local church (2 Cor. 9:6–8). Likewise, if you hope to go on mission like a missionary here first.
- Disciple other believers, especially younger believers. Start a Bible or book study. Read through a book with a younger believer. Pour into other Christians and hold them accountable. But before you do seek to demonstrate maturity at home and in your personal life (Titus 2:2–6). If your marriage is struggling, or if your struggling to lead your children rightly, you don’t need to be worried about teaching a Bible study somewhere else. Get your household in order first. And make sure you are being a disciple, seeking to learn and grow, before you seek to formally disciple others.
3. Work
- Start or manage a Christian business. But before you do seek to be a diligent and honest employee (Col. 3:23). It’s especially helpful to work near where you live, play, and worship. Your faithfulness as an employee and worker, or as an entrepreneur or business owner who provides a quality essential service faithfully can have an even larger impact if you are serving your neighbors.
- Employ others with justice and generosity. But before you do seek true integrity with money and stewardship (Prov. 11:1). Give faithfully and sacrificially. But spend and save faithfully as well. Be a just, generous, good steward in the small things, and then seek to do the same on a larger scale.
- Speak openly of Christ at work. But before you do make sure your life is your greatest apologetic for your message because you are a consistent witness in life and character (Matt. 5:16).
4. Politics and Civic Life
- Organize Psalm sings or prayer meetings in public squares. But before you do be faithful in your private and family prayer for leaders (1 Tim. 2:1–2). Don’t pray in public what you aren’t already praying in private. Are you simply wanting to get in the public eye, or just to do something that seems more impactful? That defies the point. Be faithful in your prayer closet, then expand from there.
- Attend city council or school board meetings. But before you do make sure you have a reputation as a good neighbor and citizen (Rom. 13:1–7). If you’re not paying your taxes rightly, if you’re not paying your bills rightly, if you’re not living in line with the law of the land, if you’re not mowing your grass and taking care of your property, if you’re not a good neighbor don’t make it worse by sticking your nose where it won’t be welcome because of your sin. Repent. Change. Make a habit of doing the next right thing in these areas and every area, and then go get involved. Make sure you are magnifying the glory of King Jesus privately before you seek to represent Him publicly.
- Run for local office. But before you do make sure you have a well-ordered household and have given yourself to faithful community engagement (1 Tim. 3:4–5). Make sure you are magnifying the glory of King Jesus privately and publicly before you seek to represent Him on a larger scale.
- Vote biblically and encourage others to do the same. But before you do make sure you have scripturally informed convictions (Mic. 6:8).
5. Culture and Community
- Create art, music, or writing that reflects truth, goodness, and beauty. But before you use your heart and mind to create, make sure your mind is renewed and your heart is transformed by Scripture (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 4:6; Phil. 4:8).
- Launch, or pour into Christian schools or homeschool co-ops. But before you do make sure you are learning and growing, as well as catechizing your own children (Deut. 6:6–7). Make sure you are truly committed to education before you seek to help start or serve an educational institution.
- Support mercy ministries and adoption efforts. But before you do make sure you are practicing generosity at home (James 1:27), and giving yourself to being a faithful parent, or learning to be one.
- Build community through hospitality and neighborhood events. But before you do seek to love your neighbors in small, consistent ways (Mark 12:31).
This list could go on and on, but you get the idea. This list isn’t meant to be a legalistic rule, just general principles. By all means get involved. Be zealous for change. Do great things for the Lord, even at a young age, like Charlie Kirk did. You might even start debating, and doing evangelism and apologetics. But before you go after some of those bigger things, seek to be faithful in the small things. And remember, being faithful in small things is no small thing. Don’t underestimate the power of faithful Christian churches and Christian households. So in the words of David Shannon (Chocolate Knox), “If you’re single get married. If your married have kids. And if you have kids go baptize them.”
Christ Is King
The rising tide of Christian courage in our land is not a surprise to those who know how Christ works. He reigns at the right hand of the Father, subduing all His enemies until the last is under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25). He works through mighty men, yes—but also, and perhaps more often, through ordinary men and women who keep the faith and pass it on (2 Tim. 2:2).
The way forward is simple: be faithful in worship, faithful in family, faithful in work, faithful in joy. Laugh, feast, fight. And remember—faithfulness is never small. It is the very means by which Christ conquers the world.
In Christ’s service and yours,
Nick Esch