Join Liz Franzel as she sits down with Kelly Kay to discuss his latest book, ‘Tough Topics: 25 Biblical Answers to Controversial Questions.’ Kelly shares his remarkable journey from aspiring rock star to a life dedicated to faith and ministry. He opens up about the life-changing moments that led him to leave the music industry and embrace his calling in ministry, providing listeners with an insightful perspective on living with purpose.
00:13:13 Kelly’s Ministry and Social Media Presence
SPEAKER 01 :
This is Liz Franzel with Crawford Media Group, and today we’re talking with Kelly Kay about his new book titled Tough Topics, 25 Biblical Answers to Controversial Questions. Welcome to our program, Kelly.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, thank you so much. I’m honored to be here.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, we’re honored to have you, and you have quite a testimony about how you became a Christian, and I’m hoping you can tell us a little bit about that before we get started on your book.
SPEAKER 02 :
Sure, absolutely. And it’s really not just how I became a Christian. The truth is I grew up in a super godly home. I’ve never not known about Jesus. It’s just I have a crazy testimony of how I actually gave my life to him because there’s a big difference. and giving him your heart and your mind versus giving him your life. Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
So true. Yes.
SPEAKER 02 :
So I knew about God my whole life. I mean, I was saved when I was real little, filled with the Holy Spirit when I was nine, radical healing when I was 10. But being in God’s presence all the time, you can actually start to grow numb to it because you’re just used to it all the time. And that’s where I was. And I started, you know, in high school, started seeing everybody else live in this You know, quote unquote, fun life party and doing all these things that I weren’t doing. And I thought they were having more fun than me. So I decided to go that route. And all I wanted in life was to be a rock star. God told me when I was 13 years old. that he had called me to ministry. Um, I was at a church camp at 13 and he said, Kelly, uh, you’re going to be a preacher. You’re going to preach all over the world. You’re going to preach to millions of people. And I’m like, okay, uh, what do you do with that at 13? Right.
SPEAKER 01 :
And what did that look like real quick when you were, what did that look like? Yeah. Was it a thought? Was it?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it was, it was, it was a thought. It was in my mind, but it was clearly it wasn’t me. And it was so vivid and almost like, almost like I could see it, like I could see myself preaching in these arenas and in Australia and all these places, and it was just God just kind of downloading that vision into my heart. And what’s crazy is he did that at 13. I didn’t start to see any of it happen until about 30 years later. But the truth is, had he not spoken that into my heart, I don’t know that I would be here today because I always held on to that. No matter how far I got from God, no matter how far away I was, I always knew God has a plan for me. There’s something specific he wants me to do, and this isn’t it. So I would always come back to that. So Right out of high school, I decided I was going to be in a rock band and I was going to be famous. The problem was my band was just wildly mediocre, right? We were not that good. So we didn’t I didn’t ever get a record deal. But what I did do was I met a lot of people in the music industry. So when I was in my early 20s, 2021, I realized that I wasn’t going to make it as a rock star with my band, but maybe. If I got in the backside of it, I could join a band that was already signed. So I started calling these guys asking for a job in the music industry. They managed Nickelback, Cinderella, Breaking Benjamin, all these big bands. And I would call them and say, hey, can I have a job? And they were like, who are you? Where did you go to college? What’s your degree in? I’m like, well, no, I don’t have any of that. But I know rock and roll. I know music. And they would say, no, we don’t have a job for you. Sorry. I called literally every day. The same guy, the same company every day for six months and asked for a job. And every day he said no. And at the end of six months, my lease was up on my apartment and I called again and said, you know what? I’m going to move there and I’m going to work for you for free. You don’t have to pay me a thing. I just, I know that I can do this job. And he said, let me call you back. He called me back a few hours later, and he said, if you’re willing to come work for free, we’ll give you a shot. So I sold everything I had. I had one bag of clothes and about $5,000 to my name, and I hitchhiked to Midland, Texas, where his office was located. And he let me sleep on the couch and gave me a job. And within three months, They hired the managers, fired their assistants and hired me. Well, within about three months after that, I was on tour as a tour manager for some of the biggest rock bands in the world. And I felt like I had made it. You know, I was living the dream. I wasn’t the guy on stage. But now here I am surrounded by rock stars. I’m in arenas every night living on a tour bus. thinking that I had everything I had ever wanted, and I made it happen on my own. I didn’t need God. See, I didn’t need him. I didn’t need to be a preacher. I’ve got this taken care of on my own.
SPEAKER 01 :
And going to arenas all over the world, right?
SPEAKER 02 :
Exactly. Yeah, exactly. I was doing kind of what he said, but just kind of doing it my own way. Well, on the way back to pick up our tour bus from doing these two shows, our van, we were in a crash right outside of Nashville, about 15 miles away. And it tore the complete side of the van open like a can opener. And I was asleep in the back seat. And I came out of the side of the van at 70 miles an hour. And I woke up sliding down the highway on my back. I thought I was on fire. I woke up in a full scream. I didn’t know what was happening. And then realized we were in a crash. And it had torn about 90% of the skin of my back off sliding down the highway. And I ended up spending the next three months in a burn center, in and out of a burn center, getting my back put back together. And by the time I had healed, I had lost my job. They had hired somebody else. And I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to live quote unquote the dream anymore. And this is when God really started to get loud and said, Kelly, I have a plan for you. I have a call for you. Like, this is not what it is. This is, you know, this is not what you’re supposed to be doing. And that crash is actually what put me back on the path to get here today. Finally, I got to the point where I said, all right, God, I’m giving it all to you. I trust you. I’ll try your way. And I gave up my plans. And that is when I found true fulfillment. He said, start posting videos online. I said, all right, I’ll do it. 92 views was my first video, 92. Friends and family. Exactly, exactly. But what I found was fulfillment. I found a peace and a joy. And I was like, this is exactly what I’m supposed to do. I’d never had such a peace before as when I was just talking about God’s word. So I started making videos every day. And they went from 92 views to 1,000 to 5,000 to 50,000 to 100,000 to a million to 3 million. And then people started calling and asking me to come preach all over the country, which turned into all over the world because I preached in Canada once. So there you go.
SPEAKER 01 :
Out of all that, what inspired you to write this book? Because the title is Tough Topics, so you’ve got 25 controversial questions.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. So this book, this is my fifth book. The reason that I wrote this one is because of all those videos that I do. I get comments every single day. And what I’ve noticed over the last 10 years of making videos is that I would see the same questions asked multiple times a day. So I realized that Christians, especially new believers, not just new believers, but believers in general, have these questions that aren’t getting answered from the pulpit, and they’re not necessarily a black and white answer in the Bible. But really, the entire book is showing people how to use the Bible to answer questions themselves. You don’t have to come to me. You don’t have to. The Holy Spirit will speak all truth, all knowledge to you. But you just have to understand how to use the Word of God to find those answers. That’s what this book is trying to do.
SPEAKER 01 :
So true. And I have a few of those questions in front of me, so I’m going to ask some. Probably the biggest pressing is, is it a sin for Christians to drink, smoke, or use medical marijuana?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, so that’s a couple of different chapters in the book, and we answer all of those. And really, to answer that as quickly as possible, if God is looking at our heart, we like to think that serving God, our relationship with God, is all about following these rules. If I want a good relationship, I have to do this. I have to go to church. I can’t say words like this. But God cares way more about your heart. than your actions. I like to teach people that it’s about the why, not the what. Why are we doing that? Why am I drinking? Why do I want to smoke? Why do I want to use marijuana, right? God is looking at the why. Now, if I’m doing those things to bring fulfillment, peace, joy, if I’m using those substances in place of an area that God wants to be Lord of my life, then I’m using them incorrectly. It’s a sin, right? Well, honestly, when it comes to smoking and drinking these things, it’s pretty easy anyway. Is this hurting my body? God doesn’t want me to damage my body, right? But when you understand that it’s about the why, especially when it comes to medical marijuana, this is a tricky one because marijuana is a drug. But what if it does help with cancer patients or somebody that medically could have helped them? If we just think it’s just wrong, then we’re going to stay away from it. So when we realize God created this, and if I’m using it simply because I need for the medical help, right? The doctor prescribed it. I’m not using this for peace. I’m not using it to calm me because he is my provider. This is different. Now God is looking at your heart. Now this is a resource. This is a medical tool that God has given us that we can use to help for pain. So that’s a tricky one. That’s a tough one. But at the end of the day, it always comes down to the why. Why am I doing this? And that’s what God is looking at.
SPEAKER 01 :
Looking at flipping through your book, I love what you said. Does it bring glory to God? And I think that’s probably the bottom line to a lot of these questions. And I know my next question is probably right up there is, do pets go to heaven?
SPEAKER 02 :
That was a fun one. So I was so excited to write that. And at the end of the day, none of us, we can’t give you, I can’t give you an answer because I don’t know. And none of us will know until we get there. By using the Bible to just read through it, to see God’s heart for animals, he loves animals and he loves you. And he knows that if your pet, listen, if your pet Fluffy brought you so much joy on this earth, Do you not think that God could give you Fluffy back in heaven? Come on now. Absolutely he could. At the end of the day, we don’t know. But what I see in the word is he loves animals. He loves us. There will be animals in heaven. And I know our God is so good. If I needed Fluffy, he’s going to take care of me.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s so sweet. You know, it paints God in such a precious light.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 01 :
I love that. Okay. Next one. Can Christians watch horror movies or listen to secular music?
SPEAKER 02 :
Excellent. And that’s one of my favorite chapters in the book because that is a question we get a lot. And you already nailed it with what you said, does it bring glory to God? We ask questions like, can I smoke? Can I drink? Can I listen to this? Can I watch this? We need to understand what we’re doing. When we’re asking questions like that, the reality is we’re saying, how close can I get to the world and still get to heaven? How close can I get to living like everybody else who doesn’t know God because it looks like they’re having fun, but I want to make sure I got my ticket to heaven. That’s the wrong question. The right question is, does this bring glory to God? Does me watching or listening to this get me closer to God? Does it help me lead others closer to him? If the answer is no, then why would we want to do it anyway? I live like we should live every day as if we were already in heaven. And if I was in eternity, would I be watching this? Would I be listening to this? If the answer is no, then why would I do it here? Right?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, that’s a good way to look at it, to live, think of yourself living every day in heaven. You know, really, who are those movies and music glorifying, if you think about it? Exactly. It’s usually demonic.
SPEAKER 02 :
And that’s what I try to tell people when they’re asking this question, can I watch these movies, can I listen to this music? We miss the point that what we think about, we speak about. Now watch this. How did God create anything? How did he create the earth?
SPEAKER 01 :
By the word of his mouth.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. Whose image are you created in? His. So what that means is when we speak, we create.
SPEAKER 01 :
So well said. Kelly, you also have quite a following on social media that you mentioned earlier. Where can our listeners find more about your ministry and find your book?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, absolutely. You can find me by just searching Kelly K Ministries. You can go to kellykministries.com. We actually do a live Bible study Monday through Friday at 9 a.m. Central on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, all my platforms. You’re seeing people get set free. Healings. I mean, when you spend time in God’s Word and you get together and you talk about the Holy Spirit, guess what? He shows up. And it is incredible. And I would love to invite any of you to join us on there as well. And you can get the books at kellykministries.com, Amazon, wherever books are sold. Barnes & Noble. You can go get them.
