It’s easy to get caught up in a lifestyle of working in a Christian industry and forget Who is most important — and His call.
Kelly K, currently a pastor, evangelist and author, grew up under the influence of Baptist grandparents and going to whichever “local church had the best food.” At 13 years old, he felt God impress upon him that he would travel and preach all over the world, even in arenas. But it wasn’t a straightforward path.
Kelly was the tour manager for Red, a Christian rock band, when, during an arena tour, disaster struck when the group was only about 15–20 minutes away from home in Nashville. They had been waiting for their newly purchased tour bus and were riding in a 15-passenger van when they hit a guard rail that a construction company had left on the highway.
Extensive damage
“I was asleep in the very back seat. We had been driving all night long. In the 6 a.m. traffic, it was just bumper-to-bumper, and our driver couldn’t swerve around it so he hit it going 70 mph. It just tore the van completely apart, like a can opener — just shredded it.
“While I was asleep, I came out of the side of that van at 70 mph. I woke up sliding down the highway on my back. I thought I was on fire. I woke up in a full scream. All I thought was that I was burning to death,” Kelly remembered.
When Kelly finally stopped sliding, he realized he wasn’t on fire — but the damage was still extensive. The accident had torn nearly 90% of his back off. He had to spend the next three months in and out of burn centers.
When finally able to work again, he found that the emotional effects lasted much longer than the physical. His touring days were over.
“I had [post-traumatic stress disorder] even being in a vehicle. I would have panic attacks when hitting bumps or getting too close to cars. There was no way I could sleep on a tour bus anymore,” Kelly said.
Seeing God’s protection
Even with all this pain and loss, Kelly found out that God had actually protected him.
For some reason, about 5 minutes before the crash, Kelly did three things he never did. He had woken up, taken off his hoodie and rolled over on his back to go back to sleep.
“So when the paramedics came and saw everything that happened, they told me, ‘You’re very lucky to be alive. If you had been awake and tried to brace, all this metal would have killed you as you came out of the vehicle as you tried to protect yourself. Had you been lying on your stomach, the cut that was on your head would have been on your throat — and that could have killed you.
“’If you had your hoodie on, your jacket would have gotten caught in the metal and thrown you underneath the van and you would’ve been run over,’” Kelly recalled.
Next steps
After having to leave the music industry, he didn’t know what to do next. He tried various types of work — stand-up comedy, playing in bands, promotion — but remained completely unfulfilled. Then one day he heard a voice.
“I was driving down the road, trying to plan out my next big thing to be famous or whatever I was going to do, and I just heard God speak to me and say, ‘Kelly, I’m still waiting on you. I have a plan for you,’” Kelly remembered.
But instead of being excited to hear what felt like an audible voice from God, Kelly was furious. He yelled back at “that voice” that he had tried to serve God so many times and had failed every time.
Releasing control
Though he doesn’t recommend this, he made a deal with God and told Him, “If You really want me and You really have a plan for me, I’ll open my heart to You, but I’m not doing anything else. I’m not making one change, because every time I stop doing stuff to serve You, I go right back to it. If You want to change me, I’ll let You.”
He was completely surprised when, the very next morning, he awoke to find his every desire changed. He knew he needed to get back to his calling.
After getting rejected over and over because he “didn’t look like a preacher,” he felt God tell him to make videos and post them online.
Ministry launched around tattoos
His first video had only 92 views, but Kelly finally found the fulfillment he had been looking for. Then in 2016, after posting a video titled “Is It a Sin to Get a Tattoo?,” he had 3 million views in one week.
“God showed me, ‘You know, when you sent out those resumés to speak in churches and people saw you and all your tattoos, they disqualified you. But look — the same thing that I used to put you in churches was the same thing they used to keep you out.’”
Since the tattoo video went viral, Kelly has gotten steady invitations to speak all over the world and has written several books, including “Think about THAT for a Minute! Vol. 1,” where he focused on obscure verses with a challenge to think about what is written.
To find out more about Kelly and his ministry, go to kellykministries.com. Look for Volume 2 to be released soon.
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