The Not Good News at Charlie Kirk’s Memorial

Rob McCoy and the Calvary Chapels

So much information went out from the Charlie Kirk memorial, both good or very good and also bad.  Toward the beginning, someone who called himself Charlie Kirk’s pastor, Rob McCoy, preached a plan of salvation to the very large crowd in the stadium and to an even bigger one in the online audience.  I already knew he was Calvary Chapel, which is a professing Christian denomination that started with the Jesus Movement in the late 1960s.  Calvary Chapels are Charismatic in their views of the baptism of the Spirit or second-blessing theology.

The worship of Calvary Chapels is Charismatic, which is sensual and alluring to the flesh.  The adherents confuse the feelings with the Holy Spirit.  They are not holy, nor are they the Holy Spirit.  You would see that “worship” in the hour or longer before the memorial started.

The original Calvary Chapel, started by Chuck Smith in Costa Mesa, California, wrote the guidebook for Calvary Chapels, called their Distinctives.  My year in Oregon gave me a close-up perspective of Calvary Chapels, because they dominate that Rogue Valley in an incredible way.  If anything characterizes the Calvary Chapels regarding their view on the plan of salvation, it is easy-believism.

A Travesty

Those who watched the memorial would know that Rob McCoy had a major part or role in it, and especially to present the version of salvation that Turning Point USA wanted.  My heart sunk over the way McCoy, and so Turning Point USA, handled this issue.  I would call it a travesty.  Why?

It wasn’t the words of McCoy himself, even though he didn’t quote one verse of scripture.  I asked Grok to give me the words of his sermon, and it gave me these:

Today, we gather not just to mourn Charlie Kirk, but to celebrate the King of glory who’s here with us—the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the world, the living God of all mercy and grace, the total embodiment of love and truth. He’s the guest of honor in this place, and He’s here today to call His children back to Him. Charlie knew that at an early age; he entrusted his life to the Savior of the World.

Jesus came to this earth, was tempted in all ways, yet was without sin. He was crucified upon the cross—His blood poured out because blood must be shed for the remission of sins. He died in our place, the perfect substitute for guilty sinners like you and me, taking the punishment we deserved so we could go free. But death couldn’t hold Him! On the third day, He rose victorious, alive forevermore, conquering sin and the grave for all who believe. That’s the power of the resurrection—eternal life for anyone who repents of their sin and trusts in Him alone. No works, no merits, just faith in the finished work of Christ.

The “Invitation,” 1-2-3 Pray-with-Me Style

I’m not offended so much by these above words in and of themselves, even though one could point out some error even in those.  Mainly, however, they are far too short without enough explanation to give an invitation to salvation afterward.  It is the application of the sermon, which is vital, that twists or perverts the gospel.  Here is what McCoy said and did from the exact transcript of his message.

The Lord loves you. He wants to save you.  He wants to give you a new life. He wants to cover the multitude of your sins by the blood he shed upon the cross. The Bible says if you believe in your heart and you confess with your tongue Jesus is Lord, you will be saved to the glory of the father. You see, Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus. He knew if he could get all of you rowing in the streams of liberty, you’d come to its source, and that’s the Lord.

In the time I have remaining, I’m going to ask all who profess Christ as their savior to remain seated.  The Bible says, “If you profess me before man, I’ll profess you before my father in heaven.” It requires an act of faith.  You stand. That’s what Charlie did every day on campus with death threats. He stood because he knew in whom he had trusted and he wants to give you the gift of the why and what he did and that is his savior Jesus.

While believers are seated, if there’s any in this room and across the globe that would desire to receive Jesus as her savior, as Charlie did as a young man, and now is in the presence of his savior, I’m going to ask you to put action to your faith. And I’d ask you to stand right now to receive the Lord. Don’t be ashamed.  Stand. Amen. Amen. Amen.

The Bible says, the Bible says that when one sinner gives their heart to the Lord, the angels in heaven rejoice. And I got to tell you, there’s one up there right now, Charlie Kirk. He’s stoked and he’s excited about your commitment to his savior.

The Reality of the McCoy Technique or Strategy

I’m not going to call this the worst I’ve ever heard, because many started doing this in the 1960s and a whole movement proceeded out of 1-2-3 pray with me.  McCoy didn’t even do, “Pray with me.”  He said, “Stand.”  During the entire time McCoy talked, music played in the background, which makes this more emotional in accompaniment to the mentions of Charlie Kirk all throughout.  Jesus nor the Apostles never dealt with anyone like this through the entire scripture.

I call the method of McCoy, syllogistic salvation.  The idea, which he presented, is this.  Jesus said, “Confess me, and I’ll confess you.”  The Apostle Paul said, “Confess Jesus as Lord and you’re saved.”  So if you just confess, you’re what?  You’re saved.  Did you confess?  Yes.  Well, then you’re saved.  Then he gives everyone a QR code on a screen so they can talk to counsellors to help them now with Christian living.

Maybe some who stood were saved.  I would surmise that ninety plus percent of the thousands who stood in the stadium and at home just stood.  They didn’t even confess anything.   No one had to.  However, now thousands of people think they’re saved because of this irresponsible, twisted way of dealing with the souls of people.  They instead became, as Jesus taught, twice the children of Hell they once were.

Twice the Children of Hell

Part of the false, emotional charade of a presentation was at the end, when McCoy said that heaven was rejoicing at their standing and especially Charlie in heaven, who was stoked and excited about this commitment they made.  I’ve talked to hundreds of Calvary Chapel attendees in my lifetime, who think they’re saved, yet none of them understood the gospel.  I found that normal for them.

True preachers of the gospel want to see the salvation of souls.  Of course they do.  That desire cannot translate into a pragmatic approach that seeks mere professions from either praying a prayer or in this case, merely standing up.

I would think that McCoy and others would mock what I’m saying.  He might justify what he did by saying that he mentioned repentance and faith.  However, I would say almost none of the people who stood knew what it means to repent and believe.  Maybe none.  In fact, from the little that McCoy said about Jesus, they would not have known who Jesus was either.  What does it mean to “confess Jesus as Lord”?  Did anyone understand that in the audience?  Or as John ended His gospel, to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God?

Improper and Manipulative

What I’m writing is what I thought at the time of Charlie Kirk’s memorial, immediately when Rob McCoy ended this improper, manipulative presentation.  What he did was my experience of the Calvary Chapel distinctives, where so much emphasis is on the experience that they say is the Holy Spirit, when it isn’t.  It’s something concocted from the ecstasy built upon the Charismatic feelings they started getting an hour before the service.  They call it the Holy Spirit, but there is almost nothing holy about it.

Much more is wrong with the Calvary Chapels, which started with a false, impostor revival, called the Jesus Movement.  It is not the Jesus of the Bible.  It is a Jesus of their own imagination, a popular presentation not in line with actual exegesis of scripture.  Rob McCoy reflected with his speech what is typical and wrong in their view of evangelism.

Many of the problems in the United States, that Turning Point USA wants to solve, come because of the horrible practice of Rob McCoy in his manipulative message.  This is not the example of true believing preachers through the history of true churches.  This is a pragmatic, modern method the produces faithlessness and fools people into thinking they’re saved, when they really are not.