GO HARD
Here are highlights from an excellent message from Steve Deace at AmFest 2025.
Link to the full speech
Maybe the greatest single trademark of Charlie’s greatness was his memorial. His memorial led to the greatest single proclamation of the gospel in all of human history. We watched the secretary of state of this country give an altar call. We saw the son of the president of the United States tell people more about the first martyr, St. Steven, than 95% of churches have taught in the last 50 years.
Just a few weeks prior, my wife and I sat down with Charlie for an hour privately discussing futures. Little did my wife know that would be the last time she ever talked to Charlie or saw him. The freedom night in America that the two of us had done together at his home church was done 3 months prior and so a lot of media thought that this was just done the night before his death. My phone was ringing off the hook so I contacted my dear friend Sloan Adams here at TPUSA and I said, “Hey, what’s the right protocol? What do I do here? And he said, “What you need to do is exactly what Charlie told you before you went onto the stage that night at his freedom night in America.” What did he whisper in your ear? And right before we went on stage in a packed house, Charlie bent down in my ear cuz he was like 6 in taller than me. And he said two words right before he went on to introduce me. GO HARD.
I’m 20 years Charlie’s elder and in terms of modeling what a life lived well looks like and finishing your race looks like, he put me and too many in my generation and the generation above me to shame.
I want to talk to the older men about what GO HARD means because for too long we have been too soft. Too soft.
I did a conference call last night with Moms for Liberty, a phenomenal organization. But let me just tell you right now, it is to the shame of our men that this organization even has to exist because there were not enough Dads for Liberty for too long.
If it wasn’t for the family he leaves behind, you could not script a better death than Charlie’s. He died instantly in the arena painlessly, fighting for his Lord, fighting for the grace and redemption of his own enemies, standing tall in the arena. That is the dream. We’re all going out. I checked the death rate, folks. It’s still 100%. It’s still 100%. You could not script a better death than Charlie’s.
To you older men, and I include myself as well, it will be to our shame if that sacrifice was in vain. Just as Christ died for us when we were his enemies, Charlie did the same for his.
Here’s what you and I must do. We must finish well. We must go hard to the finish line.
I’m going to finish well with my Lord. I’m going to go hard to the end so that when my kids put me in the ground they can stand up at my funeral and say he kept the faith and he finished the race.
Go hard. Thank you.
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