Q&A With Koloff- #159

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Whether it's cataracts, PRK, Lasix, or implanted lenses, when only the best is needed, see Dr. Johnny Gayton at eyesightassociates.com. This is the Truth Network. Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is set for one flaw. Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolob. Welcome to another episode, Q&A with Kolob, the devil's nightmare. Q&A with Kolob questions and answers, and this is where you, the caller, get to ask me the questions. You know, from time to time, I get asked, I should say, some pretty interesting questions, some pretty unique questions, which I've never been asked before.

I have no clue hardly ever what I'm going to be asked. If you ever have an interest on being on Q&A with Kolob, then go to my website, kolob.net, message me, and just say, hey, I want to be on your show, and then you'll get a personal phone call from the Russian nightmare, and we'll give you the opportunity to fire some questions away at me. But today, today, today, Steve Palacia, Steve, did I say that right?

I hope. Platia. Platia! See, I knew it.

I'm going to try, though. All right, so Steve Platia, Steve Platia. What's the history on that?

Like, okay, that's not a typical, that's not like Smith. Like, what's the story on Platia? Give me the story. Well, my grandfather migrated from Sicily, and Platia is kind of a regional name, but the Greek, it means square.

Like, city square, town square, meeting place. Okay. Okay. Well, yeah, that's, I mean, the meanings of names are pretty fascinating, right?

The different meanings of names. And so that was your grandfather that migrated? That was my grandfather, yes. Oh, very cool. All right, well, welcome to the show, and so give us a little, give us a little, give our listeners a little back story on, you know, where you're from, tell us a little bit about your family, just give us some story there.

Sure. I am from New Jersey, born and raised. And then after high school, went in the Navy, and from there, kind of traveled around, lived in several states, met my wife along the way while I was in the service. And we have one daughter, and currently we're residing in the Carolinas.

And my daughter decided to stay in Tulsa, so she's still out in Tulsa, making a living, has her network of people out there. And so that's kind of where we're at today. We're just been out in the Carolinas now for about six years, I think, about six years. Yeah, time kind of passes us by, doesn't it?

You know, like, wow, where does the time go? How long you guys been married? We've been married for 33 years.

33 years. Well, congratulations on that. That in itself is a milestone. And so, yeah, in today's world, yeah, it is a milestone.

You are like rare air, you know? Just saying. So, well, and I know you have a vocational background. I know you phrased it or term it Marketplace Ministry, 40 plus years of work experience in various roles. And I guess not all connected to the Navy, is it?

Or I know it's nuclear. Yeah, so spent time in the nuclear Navy and then went into the energy sector, renewables, manufacturing, and for the last, I don't know, 15, 16 years, probably been in oil and gas. Various started with various technical roles and then, you know, worked up through the ranks a little bit to sort of a supervisory and managerial roles and basically is heavily focused on program and project management fields at this point. So, yeah, you like mentoring, developing like other project managers and stuff, right?

I do. And that's been one of the most fulfilling aspects of being in project management is being able to mentor others who also have the desire to get in that location, that field. Pretty amazing. And so your view and, you know, that terminology, you know, we don't hear that all every day, right? Marketplace Ministry. So what's your, how would you describe that for someone listening out there who goes, wow, I've never really heard that before.

Describe that for us. Yeah, I feel if we understand that as believers, you know, we have a commission, and that is to spread the good news of the gospel. We can do that in many ways. Ordained ministry is certainly one path, but probably 90 to 95% of believers are what we call in the marketplace. We're physically doing work. We have vocations. We're not serving physically in the church as a paid, you know, on staff sort of individual or in that manner.

So marketplace is simply an umbrella term for, you know, business, so to speak, or what we do as a vocation. That's good. And on a personal level, I know you have a background, 20-plus year background, right, of worship, musicians, singer, songwriter.

Take a minute and tell us about that. Yeah, so I've been playing guitar. I picked up my first guitar when I was 10 years old, and so it's been over 50 years that I've actually been playing guitar, but the last 20, my music has been dedicated solely to writing worship music, writing what I would call music for Jesus. You know, I wrote a lot of music in my secular days. Even after I got saved and became a believer, I was still operating a lot in that secular music environment. So 2003, when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I'll share a little bit of this with you earlier. It was like a lot of things started to change as the Holy Spirit began to work on me, and the Lord basically more or less convicted me of the type of music that I was writing.

And so there was a purge that went on there. I had books and books of music, secular music I had written, and all that went in the garbage. And probably from 2004, 2005 on, that's been my sole focus, has been writing worship music or Christian inspirational type music, but stuck with biblical messages in it, encouraging music, experiential in the Lord type music. So that's been awesome.

It's been very awesome. And I know you open your home once a month. You have, I guess, just gatherings where worship encounters, worship experiences as well, correct? We do. My wife Anne and I, we do host a monthly gathering at our house focused on fellowship and worship. And so we have some time of fellowship and then we transition into a time of worship. And we're just making our home available for the Holy Spirit and for fellowship. And that's really what he's asked us to do.

We've been doing that for a little over a year and a half now, probably consistently. Just for people to come and just encounter the Lord, right? And I know you said sometimes you schedule maybe a three hour time slot and sometimes that can turn into five or six hours, right? Just depending on how the Lord's moving on that particular night, right? That's true. There have been several occasions where it's gone well over the three hour estimated. We estimate it's going to finish at nine. Right. So we don't make a hard stop at nine, but if people need to go, they can go. But if people want to stay, that's fine. Which is awesome, right?

Because too often we'll put God in a box or we'll have our little schedules formatted to this. And so one other thing before we transition to your questions for me, you recently picked up a new hobby, a woodcrafting hobby, right? Take a minute, tell us about your new hobby. So what I'm doing now, which is my first real endeavor into any sort of woodworking, I've done some carpentry work and whatnot, just on an as needed basis, but never really was creative with wood before. And so now I am handcrafting hardwood guitar picks and initially started out really as something I wasn't sure about what I was going to do with.

I found some old wood in the back, some old cedar wood that was falling and I started messing with it. And I was like, I wonder if I can make a guitar pick out of this. And that's kind of how it started. And it's turned into a little bit of a business just getting off the ground here, getting started. And being a worship musician, I have a lot of stuff written and I felt like the Lord was going to lead me to record that fairly soon. I don't really have a timeline for it, but he kind of gave me some inspiration with the guitar picks and we're setting that up as an income stream now to fund the recording project.

Yeah. So if somebody was interested in either purchasing some of the picks or learning more about it, I guess you have a website or where they can find out more about that? Right now we're solely on Etsy. That's a really kind of a craft marketplace, which is amazing. There's amazing stuff out there.

I mean, it's not just for women. Etsy has like got so much stuff out there that I would encourage people to get out there if they're creative or want to do something along those lines. The supplies are out there. People are out there with the expertise. But our Etsy store is Steve's Picks on Etsy.

It's no abbreviate, no hyphens, no apostrophes. Steve's Picks? Steve's Picks. And he could potentially pick up some handcrafted wood guitar picks, right? Yeah.

And you can get them in time for Christmas if you order them now, but it's probably won't come out that quickly. Exactly. Exactly. Well, very good. Well, okay. So let's transition.

It's Q&A with Koloff. And of course, I don't know what you're going to ask, but let's just start with your first question. What do you got for me, Steve?

Okay. Well, your ministry has blessed many and blessed me as well. And so I did attend one of your Man Up conferences there at the church, which was a great few hours to spend with other guys and to get sewn into by you and your message. I had a couple questions regarding that.

First of all, I'm a little bit curious how you first encountered the Lord and what your salvation experience was like. Yeah. So, you know, I didn't, most people know by now, you know, I didn't grow up in Russia. The Russian nightmare is not from Russia.

So I like to just clear the air on that, you know, just in case somebody's still uncertain, you know, this Russian guy doesn't sound very Russian. But anyway, but growing up in Minnesota, did not grow up in church. I kind of say that to say I didn't grow up in church either, but that's not to say I didn't know the story, right?

The man Jesus, you know, born, lived, you know, died, crucified, you know, rose again, you know, living at the right hand of the Father. I knew the story, but just knowing the story didn't change my life. And it wasn't until really about 11 months after I left wrestling. So 17 October 1993 in a church service in Concord, North Carolina, was my encounter with Jesus Christ. And at the altar that day, it was kind of an aha moment for me because I was in this season of life where I was, I'd left wrestling, had a, you know, fairly, in some people's eyes, a fairly successful career, yet realized something was still missing.

So it's kind of one of those stories. If you would like to support Kolah for Christ Ministries, for a gift of $25, Nikita will send you his two CDs, Adoration and Declaration. For a gift of $50, Nikita will include his book, Wrestling with Success. And for a gift of $100 or more, Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly updated life story, A Tale of the Ring and Redemption.

Go to www.kolah.net and donate today. Nikita Kolah here and I am excited. Did you hear the huge announcement, the big announcement? Well, maybe it's a minor announcement.

Anyway, Facebook, go look up my new fan page, Nikita Kolah Fans, and like it and follow today. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. I was successful but unfulfilled. And so that morning was kind of an aha moment for me in realizing what was missing was a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, more than just knowing the story, it was knowing the man in the story in a personal way. And so it was on that day that the story made the 18 inch trip from my head down to my heart. And it was a genuine encounter. And I knew in a moment, in the blink of an eye, that that sense of being unfulfilled immediately went away. And it was from that moment on that I was set on a different trajectory, a different path, a different course.

And so the last 30 plus years has been just nothing but an incredible journey of experiencing Him and encountering Him, you know, on a day to day basis. So that's kind of the shorter version of that encounter. That's really good. Did you say 2003? 17 October 1993.

1993. Yes, sir. Yep. Wow. Yeah. That's 30 years. That's correct.

Congratulations. That's amazing. Yep. 30 plus years. And since that time, so I've traveled now to 36 different countries, all 50 states, and done just a host of things from the conference you referenced, the Man Up conference, to camps, to the Man Up show, just writing books and just all kinds of things. I never in a million years would have dreamed I would ever be doing but God.

I'll just use those two words, but God. So, yep. Yep.

Been amazing. That is amazing. Wow.

Thanks for sharing that. I have another question. Yes.

So, maybe I'll jump a little bit here. You talked about your, mentioned your Man Up conferences and your Man Camps. Both amazing ministries to men, really. I am a little bit curious, what do you feel has been the most challenging aspect of your ministry? And then, maybe in conjunction with that, what has been what you feel is the most rewarding part of the ministry? Great questions. Really, I guess the most, you know, the most challenging part, the most challenging part of it would be the fact that I'm what I call a faith-based ministry.

Okay? And by that, for those who maybe are unfamiliar with that term or not sure what that means, what that essentially means is, like, I don't set a price on the gospel. Like, you know, I feel like, you know, the gospel's free, but obviously while at the same time, you know, I still have to pay bills and, you know, got to keep the lights on at the house and put food on my table and clothes on my back and, you know, gas in my car to be able to go from town to town. But from day one, the Lord made it very clear to me that that was the way that I was to operate, was to be faith-based.

And so through love offerings, through honorariums, sometimes combinations, you know, depending on how a church wants to handle that or a pastor wants to, you know, proceed with that, you know, kind of leave that up to them. And so it's a real, honestly, a real walk of faith, right? Now, ministry is kind of the number one thing I do, Steve, but that's not to say I haven't been involved in other businesses or done other things, you know, that have helped fund the ministry or fund what I do. You know, I'm still, for example, I'm still engaged in autograph signings, right? So I might do, let's just say a dozen autograph signings a year, let's just say maybe one a month. And here again, that helps pay the bills.

It helps fund what I do. But yet at the same time, you say, what's the most challenging thing? So the last, my last boss, let me say it this way. My last boss was a guy named Ted Turner. Some might recognize that name from Atlanta, the owner of the Braves, the Superstation, TBS back in the days, and many other things that he owned. One of the things was WCW, World Championship Wrestling.

So Ted Turner was technically my last boss in November of 1992. So even prior to my salvation, it has been a walk of faith in trusting the Lord to provide. And so biggest challenge. The other part of your question was the most rewarding part of what I do.

Well, boy, there's a lot of a lot of things that come to mind. If I can kind of narrow it down or condense it, my answer down, distill it down into, you know, seeing some, knowing somebody's life's been changed or impacted by, whether it's through my story or through them attending a conference like you did or a camp. One quick story from one of our more recent camps was a 71 year old man that got in his car and drove nine hours from Ohio to come down to man camp and heard about it through his pastor and, you know, from his church. And I actually, I think he attended a man up conference as well and felt prompted to come to camp.

71 years old, former Green Beret, Special Forces, Silver Star recipient. Now just that background alone would say, wow, this guy's probably experienced a lot in life, right? Seen a lot, experienced a lot. And so, you know, I asked him on, you know, the first night, you know, you know, why, why are you here? And, you know, he said, I'm 71 years old, I don't know how many years I have left to live, but I want to be a patriarch to my family because I have children, I have grandchildren, and I want to model Jesus for them however many years I have remaining. And so I'm here to learn.

I'm here to learn whatever it is I can learn. And here's the best part of that story and getting back to your question about what's the most rewarding. He's getting ready to get in his car, you know, on the last day and drive nine hours home, and he looks me squarely in the eyes and he said these five words, Nikita, this was life changing. Former Green Beret, Special Forces, Silver Star recipient, comes to Man Camp, spends a handful of days with us and says this was life changing for him. And so, Steve, to hear those kind of stories, whether it's through Man Camp, a conference, a Sunday service, signing autographs.

I could spend half a day probably telling you stories of what people have shared with me, whether it was through my wrestling career or what I'm doing now, and how that has in some way impacted their life. Hearing that is incredibly rewarding. Yeah, and like you said, in that individual's case, I mean, he's seen some stuff. Right, right, right. I mean, Silver Star recipient, come on, you don't get a Silver Star for, you know, just for this as an attaboy.

Attaboy, you know, thanks for putting the uniform on. No, you've seen some stuff. You've done some stuff, right? And so talk about a true blessing for me to hear those words come out of that man's mouth is really beyond rewarding, right, but incredible. Yes, sir.

Christ just worked on his heart just to open it up to what you were pouring out, and it's just amazing. Yes, yes. Wow, wow, wow. Yep, so there you go.

Very cool. Yes, sir. Yeah. All right. You have time for one more? We do. Throw it out there.

Okay. So you do a lot of ministry at Glenn, and we've been involved in a lot of ministry. I've been in a lot of, attended a lot of ministry sessions too, myself as a man, and there seems to be a real theme in a lot of men's ministries and approaches to growing closer to God, the need to grow closer to God, and for some folks, and not just guys, but folks in general, it's a hurdle for some reason. And so my question to you, I guess, would just be what kind of advice or message or how do you approach people that want to just grow closer to God?

What do you say to them? Well, for me, what I've learned in my encounters, and I'll just quickly, briefly share four components. You're listening at home, grab a pen and paper, write these down. These may be helpful if you have a genuine desire to want to grow closer, become more intimate in your relationship with Christ. Now let me first say, you may be listening and not have a relationship with Christ because the story has never made the 18 inch trip from your head to your heart. And let me first just say, make that decision today. Let today be the day of your salvation that you open up your heart. And as it says in Romans 10, nine and 10, confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and you shall be saved. So maybe you make that decision for the very first time today.

And today is the day of your salvation. And then from there, you begin to follow these four steps in terms of growing and or you made that decision in the past. But you want to, as Steve asked, pose the question, you want to grow closer to the Lord, you know, have a more personal, intimate relationship with Him. How do you do that?

In my view, here's the four quick components and how you can do that. One is the Word, the Word of God. And that is reading, studying, eating the scroll every day, like picking up the Bible every day, opening it up. I don't care if it's one scripture, you don't have to read an entire chapter or a whole book. Just read one. Just read a verse. Just start with one verse. And so the Word.

So you've got to get into the Word every day. Steve's a worshiper. He leads worship in his home every single month. He writes songs. He's a songwriter. He's a worshiper. But you don't have to be a songwriter or play a guitar to be a worshiper. You need to worship the Lord every day. You need to spend quiet time in His presence every day.

Put on whether some of Steve's songs or anyone else's. Put on some worship music and let that worship music just bathe you and just soak you in His presence. That's the second component. A third is prayer. A conversation. Prayer is a conversation with the Creator of the universe and it's a dialogue. It's not a monologue.

In other words, a dialogue meaning it's a two-way conversation. It's not just simply you telling everything, telling God everything you need. It's you taking the time to listen to what God has to say to you as much as what you have to say to God. And so that's developing a prayer life. And the fourth and final component in drawing closer and more intimate with Him is relationships. Fellowship.

Certainly start initiating that with Him but then also being a part of a small group. Going to a worship, going to somebody's home like Steve offers every month and engaging in worship. Or being a part of a Bible study or a life group or a home group. There's different names for that. And then last but not least is being a part of a church, a local body.

Incorporately honoring the Lord with your time once a week as well. So that's my answer, Steve. There you go. I took notes. Awesome. I wrote it down. I'm not a great note taker at times but I've been taking notes through this whole thing. So those five aspects and key points are really universal and I do appreciate that. I appreciate you and it's such an honor just to spend some time with you and your lovely bride, Ann. Look forward to maybe breaking some bread with you in the future or surprise you some night popping in on one of your worship sets one night. So thank you. Absolutely.

Doors open. I appreciate it. One more time. If people want to learn more about your, how they can find out more about those handcrafted wood picks for the cadet, give that site one more time.

Yeah, it's Steve's Picks on Etsy so if you go to Etsy.com and you search Steve's Picks, no apostrophes, no spaces, it will take you right to my store. There you go. Support Steve.

Purchase some picks and help support his next music project. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks for being a part of the show today, Steve. Thank you very much, Nikita. It was a sincere pleasure.

Awesome. And thank you for dialing in each and every week. So faithful to listen to the Q&A with Kolov. Hope you were inspired by Steve's story today. Go out today and live a God-filled, God-blessed life. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support, and generous gifts.

May God bless you for your continual contributions. Go to kolov.net and donate today. If you are enjoying Q&A with Kolov, would you help us spread the word? Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your neighbors to download, subscribe, and leave a comment. Nikita Kolov here.

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Hi, Nikita Kolov. Be sure to check out The Man Up Show, now available on television, broadcast, and podcast. Go to MorningStarTV.com or The Truth Radio Network. Check out your local listings or better yet, download The Truth Network app today. This is the Truth Network.