Q&A With Koloff- #172

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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. Welcome back to another episode, Q&A with Kolob. Questions and answers, where you get to ask me some of your questions, typically, and I hope you're going over to the Man Up show and listening to that often, weekly as a matter of fact. But here on this format, we'll have interviews, we'll discuss who you are, but then give you the opportunity to reach out and ask me a question.

And you can, if you want to be on the Q&A show, just go to kolob.net, submit a request, and then you'll get a personal phone call from the Russian nightmare. But with me today in the studio, Homer Murdoch, welcome to Q&A with Kolob. Thank you, Nikita. I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you, my brother. It's great to have you here, and this is an extra special treat for me because a lot of times I am calling somebody, but today I've got you face to face right here in the studio, so just an added blessing for me.

Me as well. So, Homer, our friendship, our relationship goes back a good 15, 20 years to when we met when you were, I guess, over at Morganton, North Carolina? You were pastoring a pretty bustling church over there in Morganton, and you're not currently there now, you're up in the mountains now, right?

Up in the mountains, yes, yeah. Sparta? Sparta. Sparta, North Carolina. Sparta, North Carolina, and, of course, I've been both over to Morganton and ministered over there for you. I've been up to Sparta. In fact, we did a man-up conference there in Sparta, and as the Lord directs you, maybe some things in the future, but your ministry goes back quite a few years.

It does. How long? About four to six years. Forty-six years. Forty-six years, actually, yeah. So you were just like a teenager or something.

I wish, yeah. When you launched into ministry. I might be stretching that slightly, but young. You were young when you went into ministry. Yeah, 30-something, yeah.

Okay. Late 30s, yeah. How old were you when you sensed the Lord saying, Homer, I'm calling, calling, and that's a familiar term within the church circle, right?

It is, yes. Calling you into ministry. You know, it's curious you asked that, Nikita. I was probably 13 years old or 14. Okay, so see, there's the teen part I was referring to. Yeah, and the Lord, it was, and the Lord called me. We got home from church one Sunday.

My dad was a Baptist pastor. Okay. And we got home from church one Sunday, and I just really sensed that God was calling me to preach, you know, at that age. So I said, okay, and I, you know, I started praying and studying and everything, and then the call just kind of faded away.

Okay. And God let me go in because I was extremely ambitious, highly driven, motivated guy, as a matter of fact. So the call just kind of went away, and then, you know, as we grew on and I had some success in the business world and management and got my education, one thing and another.

Then I became involved in music because my grandfather was a music teacher. All my family is Christian, both sides, you know. We just eat up with Jesus. I mean, we cut our teeth on the Gideon New Testament. You know, that's what we use for teeth, for teething rings as babies. The Gideon New Testament. Gideon Bible for teething rings. All right.

We learned with John 3.16 before we learned to say, my ma and dad died, you know, so. But anyhow. I love it. That's awesome. That's awesome. But it was after that point I got, and we went through business, had a good profitable business.

Motel, Myrtle Beach, and so on and so forth and that kind of stuff. And then God, I came home one night from a crusade. We were having a crusade, and I was the minister, music director for the association. So we were having a crusade, walked into my office. God said, I want you to preach. And I was, you know, I was full of me. And I said, you've called her up, man. I can do it, brother. Can you imagine what God thought when he heard that?

He said, we'll just see. So he sent me to school for two years. Took me back down to a Ford Torino that I owed for the awfulest car that was ever made. And a rented house, but I still have my wife and two kids, and failure upon failure, good Lord. And then he gave me the call again. And I fell down in tears, and I said, I can't do that.

Now I got you where I want you, boy. And that was the start of it. And you're in your thirties at this point. Yeah, I was in my thirties. Wife and two children.

Wife and two children, no money. And of course I knew I had to go back to school. So anyhow, that's how it all began. Forty-six years ago, yeah.

Well, it's kind of like he took you through, just envisioning the timeline there. Now it's thirty-eight. Thirteen, fast forward twenty-five years.

Do some quick math there, hopefully. And so he took you on a twenty-five year journey of... At least it wasn't forty years. Right, yeah.

Because some have had to belabor forty plus years. Yeah, you didn't have to spend forty years on the backside of a desert, so that's a good thing. Tending sheep, so that's a good thing. Absolutely. But it sounds like twenty-five years is really a preparation for...

It was. And I want to say it this way, the ultimate call upon your life. And then you were answering that call and not running from it like many have been known to do, right? Yeah, but why would you want to run when you know God's calling you? You just say, man, I can't do it.

Crazy, isn't it? You don't have to worry about it. Yeah, I mean, why would you run from God? The only one's what's best for you, but stupid people do stupid things, you know. Yeah, because we think we know what's best for us. Absolutely, yeah. We think we know what's best for ourselves. God, I appreciate that plan, but I got one better.

Right? So, okay, so you mentioned a wife and two kids. Just tell us just quickly about your bride and... Yeah, high school sweethearts.

Okay. Chased her for three years, two years, finally got a date with her. She finally said, yes, I'll go with you.

It was a trial to get it. But anyhow, I was so intimidated by her and her beauty and her stand in life as opposed to mine until I stood her up. After two years of trying, you know, I stood her up. So that didn't go over real well with her. But anyhow, we got married. Finally laid.

A couple of kids, three grandkids. Yeah, that's amazing. And so I know you're pastoring up in Sparta currently, but I also want to touch on Touch the World Ministries, which has a worldwide reach. I know there's numerous countries that Touch the World Ministries touches.

Just give us a quick glimpse into Touch the World Ministries, what it is, and then how people can find out more about it as well. Okay, good. Well, it's a call that God put on my heart. It wasn't my idea. So any time we run into a problem, I say, God, this wasn't my idea.

It's yours. How are you going to handle it? And so I just try to be obedient to him and follow as he leads.

And he's putting together the people and finances and everything else. And this morning we're coming down here talking. Of course, he and I talk all the time.

I don't know what it is. He just loves my company, I reckon, and we just chat constantly. So we were chatting, coming down the road, and I told him, I said, I'm just here a short time, so whatever you want to do, do it.

I'm amazed as I look back that he's done work. And my heart, he gave me a heart that breaks for kids. I mean, sometimes I can't talk a lot about them because I get too emotional. And sometimes when I'd be on the field, I'd just have to get off behind a tree and squall a lot, you know, because you couldn't handle it. I mean, I've seen kids run over in the street and nobody stops, and they keep going to the kid and crawl itself out of the street with its elbows because its legs were crushed with two or three cars that had already run over it. The car that I was riding in, the driver did not stop, and I said, man, you're not going to stop. He said, if we stop, we'll get killed. He said, we ain't stopping. And I've seen kids living in trash dumps, families that the trash dump caved in on them in the winter in Eastern Europe that live in the city dump.

I mean, and I just, and that's all I'm going to talk about, all the kids, because I can't handle the emotion. But God's let us help children and people. We've been able to educate pastors, build hospitals, clinics, schools. We still have several schools and homes. Let's just say in the Caribbean, on the African continent, on the Asian continent. Parts of Europe as well. In many parts of Europe, yeah. We're in the wars going on now. We've got a couple of homes, but we can't contact them.

Hadn't been able to for two years in the Ukraine. But it's just, God's done it all. People ask me how you do it. I said, man, listen to the Lord. You just listen to the Lord. And I want to make sure and say this, because the vision for Touch the World Ministries came, again, going back to a conversation with the Lord. Yeah, we were just chatting one morning. We were all walking, praying one day, and God said, Homer?

Yeah, clear. I'm going to touch the world with you. I'm going to touch the world with you. So I would encourage anybody that listens to this, if you don't have a clear direction in life, this is a simple thing. If you don't know what to do, do the last thing God told you to do until he tells you something different to do. And when he tells you to do it, agree to it. But if you're not listening, you won't hear him. So if you don't communicate with the Lord on a regular basis, he may want to tell you something, and you've got your head in your business or in your relationship or in whatever it is.

Get it out of there and open it up to him. If our life is not open to him, the Bible says if we become open to him, we stare as in a glass, and as we stare at him as in a glass, we become like the image that we're staring at. Where is that scripture?

I don't remember, but that's where it is. It's good scripture. That's their homework.

That's your homework. Listen to God. Stare at him.

Stare him in the face, and you'll begin to be like him when people begin to see him in you. What more could you ask for? Good Lord.

That gives me goosebumps to have search. Let's just have church here this morning. That's a pretty good word of advice right there for those of you out there in listening land. Q&A goes all over the world, so there will be people that maybe even countries where Touch the World Ministries is located that potentially could even hear this interview with you. So just to summarize, Touch the World Ministries champion, they build homes, Bible colleges, church planning, medical clinics. They, of course, discipleship, evangelism, crusades, and how could our listeners find out more, Homer, about Touch the World Ministries if they want to support it or at least pray for it? How could they find it? Where could they find it?

Let's give them that because I want to pick your brain a little bit. The website is touchtheworldministries.com, all small case, touchtheworldministries.com. Now there's another Touch the World Ministries that's headquartered in New Jersey, but that's touchtheworldministries.org.

So don't get the two minutes. As a matter of fact, when you go to our website, there's a link there that you can see. This is the New Jersey one. And our mission statement is quite similar, so sometimes folks get them mixed up. But anyhow, that's the website, and the phone number is 828-413-0438. 828-413-0438, Touch the World Ministries. And that will actually connect you directly to the El Presidente of Touch the World Ministries. Wow. The hotline to the president of Touch the World Ministries.

That's actually the red phone, yeah. I love it. Homer Murdoch, incredible man of God. And wow, what a work God is doing in and through you in touching the world. Yeah. What a pleasure to have you here today. Well, so it is Q&A with Kolov. Yes. So let's take a few minutes. I have no idea what kind of questions you might throw my way, but let's segue transition and fire away with your first question. Okay, well, I think the question is, see, I know you.

Right. I know you pretty well, but when we had that conference and when people say, you know, Nikita Kolov? And I said, yeah, I'd say, you know him, that crazy Russian nightmare hitting Nikita and Ivan Kolov? Those two guys are crazy.

They're brothers. They're from the northern part of Russia up in the, you know. Towards Siberia, yeah.

Towards Siberia, and then we finally get back to Kannapolis. But anyhow. That's right, that's right. But anyhow, well, how did he get into Rastin? What do I, is there a school to go for, can I go to school for Rastin? Can I, can I, and how do they, well, that's just one question.

Yeah, well, I'll address that question. I mean, in today's world, that's about the only way as far as like breaking into, especially if you had aspirations to break into the big time. Say WWE or currently AEW or Impact Wrestling or Ring of Honor. One of the larger organizations, really about the only way you're going to crack in to that, to that world is through a training school.

And they typically have their own schools. I know AEW had one in Atlanta for a while, may still have one there. WWE down in Tampa.

In fact, my former partner, the American dream death of rule, the tower of power. If you will, prior to his passing actually was helping to, to run the talent portion of that school. Terry Taylor, who I wrestled many, many, many times, I think, I think currently is one of the main guys who oversees the wrestling school there in, in Tampa.

There's a lot of indie, indie circuits out there, but indie is short for independent organizations all over the country. And, and so there's a lot of smaller schools in Charlotte. A dear friend of mine by the name of Elodie who wrestled with WCW back in the nineties actually has a wrestling school in Charlotte. So I could go to school at 80 and bulk up and become a Nikita Koloff or a Lex Luger. And become a Lex Luger, Homer. There's, there is hope.

There is hope for you, Homer. On this frame. Yes. Nikita Koloff 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 Koloff fans, and like it and follow today. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com Would your company, business, or you personally like to partner with me in supporting Koloff for Christ Ministries, the Man Up Show and Man Up Minutes? Go to koloff.net and click the donate button.

You can give monthly, annually, or one time. God bless you for making a difference around the world. If you would like to support Koloff 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.koloff.net and donate today. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com Okay, so anybody that wants to break in, there are schools available.

There are schools, and I actually know a guy right now and he's either in his 40s or his 50s who's going through Lody's school currently who has aspirations of getting in the ring and mixing it up. God bless him. Yeah, God bless him is right.

Better him than me, that's all I can say. That's what I'm saying. Okay, so if somebody out there wants to break into the world of professional wrestling, your best bet is to find a good, quantified training school. So is that how you broke in?

Great question. It is not how I broke in. I have a very unique story in that I had no amateur wrestling background of any kind. But you were athletic, right? Football was my passion. I lived, ate, breathed, slept football and had aspirations of being a pro football player in my younger days. And the thought of honestly the idea of grabbing a sweaty guy didn't really honestly appeal to me.

And God's sense of humor, what do I end up doing for a living? Grabbing sweaty guys for a worldwide audience no less. But all that to say, condense the story down, I had recruited a guy by the name of Road Warrior Animal. Of course he wasn't known as Road Warrior Animal at the time. I recruited him out of high school to play college football with me. He drops out, next thing I know he's on the superstation WTBS with his head shaved like a mohawk and paint on his face and spike shoulder pads.

He became Road Warrior Animal. He eventually made a phone call and in a sense you might say recruited me into pro wrestling. No camp, no training, no amateur background, a five minute phone call with a guy named Jim Crockett. I remember Jim.

Jim Crockett Promotions in Charlotte, North Carolina. Five minute phone call, no selfies, no 8x10 posters, just a conversation. I made sure Mr. Crockett understood my background, gave me the instructions of a date when to be in his office with my head shaved. That was simply the instructions Homer.

Be in my office on such and such a date with your head shaved. I said that's it? He goes that's it.

I go I'll see you then. So that's all I need to be a superstar, shave my head and go to where Crockett's gone. Well Crockett's gone but shave your head and learn a few foreign phrases and you're in. You're in. That's it. Well now that's informative because the guys you know those guys that came up from down in Morgan and different places to the man up conference you did up there.

How did you get started? And it's interesting. I always find it interesting who is a, I realize not everybody is a wrestling fan. I get that.

But I always find it interesting who is and I'm sometimes surprised to find out who actually is a wrestling fan. Well there are vegetarians out there you know. Throw a hamburger at them. That is correct. Got another one for me?

Yeah the next question is obvious. Since he was that and it was that simple getting in and I've shared that with some folks. They say well how in the world did he transition from a world known famous person to a simple Christian telling people about Jesus and wanting to make men men. So how did you get started in ministry? Did God speak to you? How did that come about?

Well it was looking back. It's interesting to look back at the journey Homer because I didn't grow up in Siberia or Russia. I didn't grow up in the south. I grew up in Minnesota.

That's right. But also didn't grow up in church. That's not to say I wasn't around church.

Maybe Christmas, Easter as a kid. But I knew the story. I knew the story of Jesus. I've been around long enough, seen those as we know them as tracks you know laying around or whatever. And so I knew there was a plan of salvation.

I didn't have anything or want anything to do with it but I was aware of it. So the story was in my head and I'd made an executive decision to leave wrestling under my own terms at age 33. Interesting number.

That just kind of hit me the other day. Somebody else terminated at 33. Who was that I wonder? Interesting age there.

So I'm 33 and I'm on a journey to see what life holds next for as you said this character Nikita Kolov. And I'd met a Christian couple, invited me to their church. I'd never been to that church before but there was just an appointed time I believe for me to call them and say I'll be there Sunday to show up. And the next thing I know I'm at the altar that day on my knees surrendering my life to Christ. I love it. Encountering a genuine encounter with Jesus that forever changed not only my destiny but my whole perspective on life.

It does. And it was on that day just condensed this down that this elderly man named Buddy came up and said these words to me. He goes I'm not a wrestling fan. He goes but I got to tell you this story. He goes I was watching TV five years ago surfing through the channel. Stop and watch wrestling. I'm like I don't even like wrestling. He goes don't be offended by that.

I would go I'm not. He goes and you were on doing an interview and the Lord said these words to me quote unquote I'll never forget. He said God spoke to my heart. God spoke to my heart and said pray for that man's salvation. I have a call to ministry on this life.

Paul Saul. And he said for five years I prayed for you every day and he goes I wasn't planning on coming today. Didn't feel well. Hadn't been here in months but God just was prodding me to come. Then he started choking up a little bit tearing up and he goes and when you walked to the altar I'm like oh my gosh that's the guy I've been praying for for five years. So he was in the church when you were saying.

He was there. God blessed him to witness it with his own eyes as he said. And so I encourage you out there in listening line don't give up praying for folks.

You know especially if God puts them on your heart whether you know him or not. So that was the 17 October 1993 and then that the Lord now clearly fast forward 30 plus years and the Lord clearly has shown me how even though I wasn't desiring to be a pro wrestler that I feel confident to say he opened up an unusual door a pathway for me to get into that profession. To give you a platform. To give me a platform. Amen.

To be able to touch the world. Amen. And you are.

You are. Wow. You got one more? You got time for one more? Yeah I do.

I've got more than one. But anyhow the takeaway from that for me to our audience is don't stop praying. Do not stop praying. I mean if God lays somebody on your heart. You know I've prayed for one man for 25 years went home from church one Sunday morning hadn't heard from him in 15, 18 years. My phone rang he said I just want you to know I remember what you did 25 years ago I went to the altar this morning accepting Christ as my Savior.

I had a spell I'll tell you what. But I don't stop praying. Stay faithful. Just like we were talking earlier. Keep in touch with God man.

Stay in touch with the Master. Well see I understand so many of the things Nikita that you're involved in. I mean I get on a cruise boat okay and here he is out on the morning daylight. 35, 40 women you know and him up there in his wrestling shorts doing exercises you know and everything and telling them about Jesus and doing exercises.

Barbara says tell him to put on some clothes. I said leave him alone he's bringing people to Jesus. You know he does that and then I see you on the radio and different places. I mean how did your ministry if you've got time how did your ministry expand on what it is today and do you see two fold questions. How did your ministry expand on what it is today I know you're involved in so many things and what do you see has God given you any insight into the future of Nikita Koloff the Christian. Okay great question and so if I go back to that moment at the altar 17th October 1993 and even what that man said I didn't immediately the next day launch into ministry. In fact what I did over a period really of about five years is the first thing I did was go with a group of men and go help get my hands dirty and go help build a church down in the island of Trinidad. And then the next project was help build a Bible college on the sister island of Tobago and then the next project was my first trip of 11 trips to Africa to Angola Africa.

A three week trip to help build a church in Angola Africa and so from there it was chaperoning some of my children's youth groups to Singapore and to Bogota Columbia and to Moldova and you know so I just wanted to learn what it meant to serve. Right before I launched into serving you might say per se you know and so. Now what was the time span of that? Five years.

Okay. So five years and the Lord brought others into my life other godly men who began to disciple and mentor me along the way as well and then in really the fall or technically I suppose December of 1998 is when Cola for Christ Ministries was officially launched. And then Homer I didn't like my meeting you you know I didn't put a brochure together and mail it out and do it I just allowed the Lord to open the doors. Again many of the pastors and churches I come into are like I grew up watching you this is amazing or whatever right. And so I would say out of the 1300 plus churches that I've presently have preached in I don't know that any of them I ever really ever called and contacted they in essence contacted me.

Now I may have called them back down the road and said oh by the way I'm going to next year I'm going to be in your community have an interest in having me in again right. But initially any and almost I think every single church I've been in has been they initiated contact whether it's an email got my number somehow I literally Homer had pastors say I don't even know how I got your number but but I heard you were an evangelist come on in. And then over the course of time from evangelizing being a sole winner which I'll always be at the core.

God's put on my heart to be a sole winner. Then from there on it just evolved to where 2006 out in Texas South Texas I went to a camp out there God impacted my life at that camp gave me a vision and a passion for men. And so since that time I facilitate about 80 80 men's camps Lex Luger now does them with me one of my one of my peak performance partner so he does camps with me I do conferences like I did at your church a one day conference. I'm doing you know I'll do steak dinners I'll do breakfast so it's just this men's events have evolved as God clearly gave me so God did it all.

He's done it all the wrestling platform and I think I gain garner the respect of men because of the physique and the fact that I can. And ladies too I might add. Yeah we're leaving somebody hanging there like what was he doing with 40 women on a cruise ship.

Explain that I'm sorry. For the record I was conducting a cardiovascular workout. Men and women. Men and women.

There definitely were more women there than men. It was it was an interesting time of travel but fitness is another part of what I do. Absolutely. And even our camps revolve around body soul and spirit right.

Being healthy in every area of our lives. So anyway and then the last part of that to kind of wrap this up put a bow on this. Yeah is as far as the future you know we're sitting here today in the studios of Truth Radio Network. Which I never would have envisioned having a radio show having a podcast even a TV show and and working with this man across from me Robbie Dilmore who helps produce these shows and makes it all happen.

That's an answer to prayer because some out there may be familiar with it's it's I guess more known as the prayer of Jabez as it's known. Expand my territory expand my reach or I'm kind of paraphrasing but and so when Stu Epperson the founder of Tooth approached me and said you need a radio show you need a podcast. I'm like I don't know I got time to fit all that in but OK I pray and then God reminded me tapped me on the show and he's like hey you know that prayer you pray you know from time to time. You know about expanding your territory your reach your voice your influence what a better way than through the airwaves. So I just envision as even Robbie and I have talked about taking this show to the next level and by that meaning putting it on more platforms and reaching more people.

So the next step is you know to do that to expand the show onto more platforms to hopefully reach a broader audience. Yeah that's great. Well I know I know where time's out but one other thing that I think is really significant you started a major evangelistic push in the professional wrestling circle and I appreciated that as much as anything and it really had an impact on that profession. I appreciate it. Yeah I've had the privilege I just call it a privilege right. Yeah in some way shape or form for all those wrestling fans out there of not necessarily me leading them to the foot of the cross but maybe sowing a seed.

Everything from the Road Warriors Animal and Hawk to Sting to Lex Luger to Ivan. I mean Ivan did come to the foot of the cross because of a phone call and invitation I made to a revival and encountered Christ. And so yeah there's a half dozen or more of my peers that I've had some role in discipling or leading or whatever. So well Homer. Thank you. Touch the World Ministries. I want to encourage you out there go check out touchtheworldministries.com. Touchtheworldministries.com and lift up Homer Murdoch and as the Lord leads and guides and directs him with this ministry here 80 years young still going strong and no matter what your age is keep going. Amen.

Keep going. Go out today and live a God filled. God bless you. 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 Kolob.net and donate today. Nikita Kolob here.

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