A popular pastor known for speaking out on contemporary issues believes Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a moment of reckoning for America.

Pastor Samuel Rodriguez told CBN News that America is “bleeding morally” and is at a dire crossroads.

“We have crossed the Rubicon,” he said. “We’re no longer what we used to be. The age of civility is officially over, and we’ve entered into the proverbial dark, slippery slope where rhetorical violence becomes physical violence.”

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Rodriguez continued, “And the next step in the unfortunate evolutionary outcome of this spiral is chaos, anarchy, and the end of our democratic republic. It’s not hyperbole. This is dark — very dark.”

The preacher called Kirk not only a political and social commentator but also an “evangelist,” a title others have used to describe the Christian posture the Turning Point USA founder took.

“Everywhere Charlie went, he presented the Gospel of Jesus — without a doubt,” Rodriguez said. “So we lost a Millennial evangelist who prompted Generation Z to reconsider Christianity.”

Underscoring the importance of Kirk’s role in the conservative and Christian movements, Rodriguez said that Kirk was a catalyst for the spiritual awakening currently unfolding among members of Generation Z.

“It’s a moment of reckoning for America,” he continued. “Either we repent as a nation, and … this includes the church, or this will get darker. So it’s up to us whether or not we focus on the darkness, exacerbate the darkness, or turn on the light.”

Rodriguez believes Kirk is the main reason Generation Z will become the most conservative generation in eons, with that impact potentially extending to even younger generations.

“Charlie Kirk changed the American electoral demographic for generations to come,” he said.

Rodriguez closed by offering a prayer for a pained American public, urging citizens to put their faith where it most matters.

“I pray that our Heavenly Father will enable Americans to come to the realization that the only agenda that can save this nation is not the donkey or the elephant, but the lamb,” he said. “That we have to respect each other, not just tolerate each other, and we have to see the image of God, even in those that we disagree with.”

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