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By most accounts, AmFest 2025 was a bit of a disappointment this year.
Full of infighting and calls for “deplatforming” and basically everything Charlie Kirk stood against, it wasn’t very good. But honestly, if you dig just one more layer beneath the surface, I think most of the speakers were aligned, and one (Ben Shapiro) stood out from the rest.
Ironically, Ben Shapiro is the one telling everyone else to “deplatform”, but I’d predict he’d lead the voting if people had to select a speaker to not come back next year.
But really I’ve avoided covering all that because it’s not interesting to me.
I don’t want to pay extra attention to all the infighting.
Instead I’m much more interested in… Watch Russell Brand kick off Mfest with prayer and preaching the Christian gospel message.
no fight.
No call for deplatforming.
Just truth and humility.
So rather than cover the divisive and angry Ben Shapiro and, quote, “the one who rode the dwarf horse”, I’d rather cover this.
See here:
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Transcript:
Heavenly Father, will you guide my mouth? Will you protect my lips? O Lord, I bow my knee and my tongue will serve You, Heavenly Father, and no one else. Lord, thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who died so that we could know eternal life, but we can know eternity here in this moment, Lord.
There are no limits on “love your neighbor.” The whole world is our neighbor. Our intention was to be a family, Heavenly Father. You gave your life, you gave your blood, and may the covenant of your blood cover us all.
I pray, Father, for the eternal soul of Charlie Kirk. I thank you for their sacrifice and God, I thank you that we have the opportunity to live here in unity. An opportunity for true unity. Opportunities for the community.
An opportunity to be different, Lord. I thank You for the example of Erica Kirk’s boldness and her bravery and her forgiveness, Heavenly Father. And of course, if she can forgive the people or the person responsible for killing her husband, then God, surely this principle of forgiveness is something that we can all extend to.
Lord, may we know Your grace, may we live in Your grace, and especially when it is costly to us, when it costs us something, may we enter into Your Kingdom, the Kingdom of Love. Lord, may we put aside petty quarrels and disputes, and may we move forward into a new age of grace in Your glory.
I pray for the merger of the kingdoms, I pray for your return, I pray that we participate in making the paths straight. In the holy name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Back up here if necessary:
Russell Brand began his MFest speech with prayer, preaching the gospel to the massive crowd
“Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who died so that we might know eternal life.”
Jesus is Lord
pic.twitter.com/f3OPqOWzy9
– Anna Lulis (@annamlulis) 19 December 2025
Well done Russell!
And I don’t know if you caught it or not, but at the beginning of his prayer, he explains Psalm 51:15,
“O God, open my lips,
And I will praise you with your mouth.
Which immediately reminded me of that moment during the U2 Super Bowl halftime show.
do you remember this?
It’s a little hard to hear, but as the iconic guitar part of “Where the Streets Have No Name” begins to play and the names of all the victims of 9/11 appear on the giant screen behind him, Bono walks out and into the microphone he quotes Psalm 51:15. twice.
You can watch it at around 0:50 seconds here:
U2 performed at Super Bowl XXXVI (2002) in tribute to the victims of 9/11 pic.twitter.com/dw61FPdl0y
,
rock history
(@historyrock_) 10 February 2025
Such an iconic song. Such an iconic halftime show. Such an iconic moment.
It’s a little difficult to look back now, 25 years later, when most of us are red-faced and 9/11 looks different than it did before, but it’s still a powerful moment.