“No Time To Stand On The Sidelines”

Dr. Jerry R. Kirk

“The people God uses most powerfully, are the people who believe most deeply, that they are the dearly loved children of God. Ephesians 5:1 says this: ‘Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.’ How deeply do you believe that you are God's deeply loved child?” spoke Dr. Jerry Kirk, as he challenged a group of Christian and community leaders on April 14, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to make knowing, loving, and obeying Jesus their highest priority.

Dr. Jerry R. Kirk finished his race on March 9, 2026. He was 94 years old. He was a man who did not stand on the sidelines.

“A Presbyterian pastor who gave up preaching in College Hill to lead a national crusade against pornography … Kirk’s transformation from minister to activist in the 1980s made him an influential figure for decades in American politics and religion, taking him from church pulpits to meetings at the White House with U.S. presidents.

“Over the course of his long career, Kirk prayed with Billy Graham, lobbied Ronald Reagan and helped found organizations that would go on to champion conservative Christian causes beyond his opposition to pornography.” (1)

Dr. James Dobson, a long-time friend of Jerry Kirk made these comments about his fellow anti-pornography crusader in a “Family Talk” broadcast about the Prayer Covenant For Children,” entitled “Nurturing A Child's Prayer Life,” aired July 10, 2017, during which Dr. Dobson reminisced about his history of working with Jerry in the battle against pornography:

“Dr. Jerry Kirk, back in 1985, began coming to the gallery where I was serving on the Commission on Pornography - it was called the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, and I was knee-deep in the fight against pornography; and, a lot of the other Commissioners were of another point of view. They opposed nearly everything that I believe about the dangers of pornography, and I kept seeing this man out there, and he kept coming. We moved all over the country for these Commission meetings, and Dr. Kirk was that man.

“You came up, Jerry, at break-time and introduced yourself to me. I can still see where I was seated, and you came up and shook my hand, and let me know that there was at least one other person there that understood what I was going through.’

“And since then, you have been a guest on my program either Focus on the Family, or now Family Talk, thirteen times … Most of that work that we have done together, has been done in the fight against pornography.” - Dr. James Dobson (2)

Jerry Kirk was one of the most influential people I have ever known. During his life Jerry directly inspired and improved the lives of thousands of people. The fruit of Jerry's ministry has reached millions throughout the world.

Jerry founded many organizations that continue his work today. The Religious Alliance Against Pornography (RAAP) is one of those organizations. Jerry’s fervor in the fight against pornography never waned during the 38 years since the founding of RAAP. Jerry was recently quoted as saying,

“…It is time for people of faith to re-unite on this issue, and to take a stand against pornography’s current assault on human dignity and well-being. This is no time to stand on the sidelines. This is a battle that can be won…” (3)

The following is an excerpt taken from remarks this author shared, when I attended that same Cincinnati banquet held ten years ago to promote Jerry's “Prayer Covenant,” a simple discipleship tool that has since been used by millions of adults and children around the world. (4)

"MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF YOUR GRACE, TRUTH, FORGIVENESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE."

"After I was first handed a copy of the Prayer Covenant's colorful little card, I read through those ten lines and immediately embraced the part about being an 'instrument.' I thought I understood that part of the Prayer.

"Like so many other people, I have always been performance oriented. The world taught me early in life that my worth was measured by how well I performed - how many ‘A's' I received in school; how many points I made on the basketball court, and later on in life, how many cases I won in the courtroom.

"Performance orientation had even been a part of my church life, with my value to God measured by the amount of money I gave, the hours I spent at church, and the number of people I led to the Lord.

"GRACE - unmerited divine assistance - was a nice concept, but in my performance- oriented world, not much of a reality.

"Then came the ... Prayer Covenant and its colorful little prayer card. This Prayer has helped reshape my personal prayer life. Over time, my focus switched from the line about being an instrument, to the second line.

"BY YOUR GRACE, MAKE KNOWING, LOVING, AND OBEYING YOU MY HIGHEST PRIORITY.

"As I thought about the meaning of those words over a period of weeks (for me things usually take a while), I finally began to realize that 'knowing, loving, and obeying Him' was not even close to being my highest priority.

“I was too busy running up my score for Him to be #1.

"Today I realize that the only way God will ever be #1 in my life, is by His Grace. I don't have what it takes to make it happen, but He does, and He will. He is God, not me."

Those comments made years ago reflect only a portion of what I learned from Jerry Kirk. I am so very blessed by having known him, and, as he always said, "sharing Jesus together" with him. Jerry Kirk was a great man.

God used Jerry most powerfully, because Jerry was one of those people who believed most deeply, that he was a dearly loved child of God. Jerry Kirk was a man who truly lived making “knowing, loving, and obeying Jesus” his highest priority.

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1. Horn, D., (March 13, 2026), “Jerry Kirk, Cincinnati pastor who fought pornography, dead at 94,” Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati.com, https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/jerry-kirk-cincinnati-pastor-fought-042524182.html? Accessed March 16, 2026.

2. Family Talk; “Nurturing A Child's Prayer Life (Part 1)” episode on Family Talk broadcast originally aired July 10, 2017; Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qymdB7P7_Ms. Accessed March 16, 2026.

3. From The Pen Of Zenas, (June 5, 2022), “There Is Hope,” Religious Alliance Against Pornography; religiousalliance.org; https://www.religiousalliance.org/post/there-is-hope. Accessed March 16, 2026.

4. “Brief History of the Prayer Covenant,” The Prayer Covenant, https://theprayercovenant.org/history/. Accessed March 16, 2026.