Where is the Black Robed Regiment? Across this nation, Christians are returning to faith. Turning Point USA rallies fill with young people, campuses hum with prayer circles, and social media overflows with testimonies of transformation. Charlie Kirk’s bold call to biblical truth has become more than a message, and his martyrdom has galvanized a movement. But revival alone is not enough. What we need now are Black Robed Warriors, pastors unafraid to bring faith into the public square and guide us toward a spiritual and cultural awakening.

The ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence were not abstract political theories. They were moral and spiritual convictions that had been preached week after week from the pulpit in the years before the drafting of the Declaration. Alice Mary Baldwin, historian and longtime dean at Duke University, documented this extensively in her book The New England Clergy and the American Revolution. She showed that colonial pastors shaped the public conscience, prepared the people to resist tyranny, and grounded political thought in Scripture. Baldwin noted that every major clause in the Declaration can be traced to sermons delivered before 1763 by ministers in the very churches attended by our founders. The American Revolution was political in its effect, but it was spiritual in its origin.

The parallels to today are striking. Charlie Kirk’s movement, driven by faith, culture and love of country, echoes the original Black Robed Brigade. His events draw massive crowds committed to life, religious liberty and the defense of truth against destructive ideologies. Polling from Pew Research and Barna shows that a growing number of Americans, especially Gen Z, are returning to Christianity in the midst of social and cultural upheaval. Revival is taking hold across the land.

The ministers who shaped colonial minds were not merely theologians. They were civic architects of liberty.

But revival without pastoral leadership is incomplete. The First Great Awakening stirred personal faith. The Second reshaped society, abolished slavery’s moral defenses, advanced missions, and strengthened public virtue. Today’s revival, energized by Kirk and Turning Point USA, is the spark. The spiritual and cultural awakening that must follow requires shepherds willing to lead.

Pastors, we need you.

Modern pastors can rise to the challenge. Just as the ministers of the Revolution shaped civic virtue, today’s pastors can answer the call.

There is a growing list of modern day examples of men unafraid to speak the truth.

• Alan Jackson, the expository fire of World Outreach Church in Tennessee, preaching Scripture verse by verse and refusing compromise.

• Jack Hibbs, the prophetic voice of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, addressing government overreach and moral decay.

• Rob McCoy, the lockdown rebel of Godspeak Calvary Chapel, defying unlawful orders and defending his church in court, now serving civically.

• Dr. Voddie Baucham, the cultural apologist who teaches biblical authority, family strength, and national repentance.

These men do more than preach. They equip believers to engage culture, resist tyranny and live out their faith publicly and courageously.

Pastors, Will you join them?

The battle we face is spiritual. It is not inflation, trade deficits, elections or economic theory. As Ephesians 6 warns, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. The enemy is a culture that celebrates killing babies as healthcare, redefines marriage, indoctrinates children with gender confusion, and silences Christian voices under the banner of tolerance and separation of Church from state. Pastors must lead, teaching congregations to vote with biblical wisdom, educate their children in truth, and confront evil with courage and love. The church was never meant to retreat under the 501(c)3 threat, or any threat. It was meant to stand firm.

Pastors, America needs you!

If thousands more Black Robed Warriors joined the ranks, preaching national repentance, teaching spiritual warfare through prayer and fasting, and reaffirming America’s Christian identity, the results could be transformative. This is not theocratic ambition. It is gratitude to God for the providence that shaped our nation.

Baldwin reminds us that the founders’ pastors understood that moral leadership was the backbone of civic order. The ministers who shaped colonial minds were not merely theologians. They were civic architects of liberty. Every sermon grounded in Scripture fortified the convictions that became the Declaration of Independence and later the Constitution.

Pastors led then. Pastors must lead again.

Wake up, America. The revival is here. The spiritual and cultural awakening awaits its shepherds. Black Robed Brigade, where are you? Step forward like Witherspoon, Caldwell, Jackson, Hibbs, McCoy, and Baucham. Speak truth boldly, equip the faithful to stand firmly, and lead this nation back to the covenantal principles upon which it was founded.

The soul of a nation hangs in the balance. Will you answer the call?

The views expressed here are those of the author.

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