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- [00:00]
Dylan Novak
We presented her the Bible, started sharing the gospel with her. She became very emotional. She said, what would you have done if I'd rejected this? It's got my name on there. You can't remove that. What would you have done? I said, oh, it'd go on my shelf at the office. So you were willing to risk wasting money for me because if I'd rejected this, this would have gone to waste. And I said, it's a picture of Christianity. It, it's a picture of the gospel salvation. It's 100% free. It is just for you. But if you don't accept it, if you reject it, it just sits there and it goes to waste. It's there for you whenever you change your mind. But if you don't want it, it's just gonna sit there.
- [00:41]
Jim Kirkland
For over a decade, Dylan Novak has been sharing the gospel with people we call celebrities. Actors and actresses in Hollywood, award winning music performers and TV stars of every genre. With a bold heart for the often forgotten mission field of fame and for Dylan shares stories of reaching these celebrities with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we'll hear his story on this episode of GPS God People Stories an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I'm Jim Kirkland. The name of Dylan's ministry is Celebrity Evangelist. But what does the word evangelist mean? What counts as evangelism? Billy Graham gave this definition.
- [01:25]
Billy Graham
It basically means to proclaim the good news of the gospel, the life, the teaching, the death, the burial, the resurrection, the coming again of Jesus Christ. It carries with it the idea that people ought to respond to this proclamation by repentance and faith. And if they don't respond, they're lost, they're going to be judged and they're going to go to hell.
- [01:48]
Jim Kirkland
You'll hear more about evangelism and its importance a little later on. In this episode, Billy Graham used the word lost. If that term caught your attention for yourself. If you haven't responded to Jesus Christ by confessing your need for Jesus, turning your life over to him and turning from your sins, we can help. Visit our website findpeacewithgod.net and when you're there, click where it says begin a relationship with Jesus. That's findpeacewithgod.net and the fastest way to get there is through the link in our show notes GPS God People stories. When Dylan Novak was barely a teenager, he went to a convention in Knoxville, Tennessee that featured comic books, celebrities and all things pop culture. These are commonly known as comic conventions. It was a trip that would Change his life.
- [02:49]
Dylan Novak
I remember asking my parents, please let me go, I want to go. And thankfully they let me go. And there were several celebrities there. No huge names like you see at conventions nowadays, but Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in the Superman movies, Lou Ferrigno from the Hulk, and people like that.
- [03:07]
Jim Kirkland
But Dylan didn't just go to see celebrities. When he was eight, he had given his life to Christ because of his relationship with Christ and what Christ had done in his life. And he had something on his heart to share with celebrities.
- [03:21]
Dylan Novak
I watched an interview with Margot Kidder where she said that she was an atheist. And that absolutely broke my heart because that was the eye opening revelation, gut punch that these people are souls just like you, just like me, who were on their way to heaven or hell. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Margo was on her way to hell because she didn't know Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and savior. And so I prayed, God, please send somebody to tell her about your son before it's eternally too late. And God really convicted my heart. What about you? You're going to be right there in front of her. Why not you?
- [03:55]
Jim Kirkland
Dylan's first reaction was to run away from what had been laid upon his heart. He was full of nerves at the idea of sharing the gospel with someone he'd looked up to, like Margot Kidder. After all, he was just 13.
- [04:10]
Dylan Novak
But I felt very convicted and I got some gospel tracts from my church, took them to the event and I gave them to everybody there. And everybody was receptive and apprec initiative of them, including Margot.
- [04:23]
Jim Kirkland
For the next seven years, Dylan would go to different celebrity conventions once or twice a year and hand out gospel tracks to prepare ahead of time. He'd loosely research some of the celebrities to know where they stood on the subject of faith in Jesus Christ.
- [04:40]
Dylan Novak
There were some good conversations in those early days, but at the same time, as a. Essentially as a kid, I was scared to really push these conversations more.
- [04:51]
Jim Kirkland
But while talking to other friends who attended these conventions, Dylan noticed something.
- [04:57]
Dylan Novak
I would start talking about the spiritual state of these people, how they need Jesus and nobody else seemed to care. Not that people are like, oh, we don't care about them, but it's just like, okay. And. And I'm like, well, somebody should do something about that. We're going, well, why doesn't God have somebody step up and do this? It's like you looked in the mirror this morning. So that's kind of how it all began.
- [05:18]
Jim Kirkland
By 2015, Dylan had been sharing the gospel with celebrities for about five years. It was then an opportunity arose to meet the singer songwriter, James Taylor. But he almost didn't take it.
- [05:30]
Dylan Novak
The reason was, I knew it was going to take a lot of work to get in front of James. This was not an autograph signing. This was not a meet and greet. This is literally going and waiting hours at backstage doors and things like that, just hoping to have a moment, to have an interaction. And I was like, it's not worth it. I'm not a big enough fan to go through all that, which is a very selfish mindset. But that's just the reality of what it was.
- [05:55]
Jim Kirkland
A man from Dylan's church encouraged him not to give up on the opportunity. He told Dylan that he should at least find out what James believes before writing off the thought completely.
- [06:05]
Dylan Novak
I'm like, okay, okay. And so came across an interview with James in 1991 where he was asked about why he mentions Jesus so much in his lyrics. And he said, it's funny. I'm agnostic. Both of my parents were atheists. But I would be open to listen if somebody were to take the time to show me something.
- [06:24]
Jim Kirkland
Dylan was amazed that James had conveyed such an open invitation to the gospel message.
- [06:30]
Dylan Novak
And I remember just going, oh, my goodness, what an open door. If that was somebody next door to us, I hope that we would be like the Christian SWAT team coming in. You want to hear about Jesus, you're open, let's go. But I was like, well, who's reaching James? I don't know. I guess it could be me. And so I feel very convicted to go try to meet him.
- [06:52]
Jim Kirkland
Once he set out to meet James Taylor, it took Dylan three days to catch up with him. He had missed connecting with him in two cities. But finally, in Greensboro, North Carolina, Dylan caught up with James Taylor as he was coming out of a tour bus.
- [07:07]
Dylan Novak
There were quite a few fans that day. And so I waited to be last because I could tell he wasn't going to run off. This would be more the appropriate time. Time to try to have what conversation I could with him. Well, I ended up getting to talk to him about 15 minutes. And it ended with him giving me a hug, saying, I remember that interview. That's been almost 25 years. You're the first one to intentionally come to me and say something. And I was like, oh, my goodness. So I drove home from Greensboro that day with one the greatest joy in my heart. Because I'd done exactly what God had called me to do. God had asked me to do.
- [07:45]
Jim Kirkland
Dylan felt a joy and peace after this experience, but he also felt something else. He felt a burden. These celebrities that are so very well known were so forgotten when it came to anyone asking them where they stood with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As he drove back home from Greensboro, he found himself on a stretch of mountain highway where there was no traffic, no cell service, no distractions at all. It was July 31, 2015, and I.
- [08:15]
Dylan Novak
Just remember having a real heart to heart conversation with God and saying, all right God, if this is what you want me to do, I'll do it. I just pray that one, you will open the doors and two, show me I'm not wasting my time. From the very moment I started doing this. And again, I get it, it's just the human mind, it's cynical. I thought, is anybody even going to listen? Am I just wasting time? Am I just wasting money? So to speak.
- [08:40]
Jim Kirkland
As Dylan shared his concerns with God, he surrendered to God's will. And that's how Dylan truly began his calling as a celebrity evangelist.
- [08:51]
Dylan Novak
It wasn't until 2017 we started got the website started pushing celebrity evangelist ministries. And that was the year that I first started going to churches, started preaching, sharing my ministry.
- [09:03]
Jim Kirkland
One day while preaching in Florida, Dylan met the woman who would become his wife during a visit at a coffee shop. Her name is Morgan. After long distance dating between her home in the Sunshine State and his in Virginia, the couple married. It was very important to Dylan that Morgan shared his passion for people to come to know Christ. In fact, it was her idea to start giving the celebrities they met a personalized bible of their own whenever that was possible.
- [09:35]
Dylan Novak
Morgan was the one who was really pushing that because she said that is such a great conversation starter. It shows the intentionality behind this interaction and it also. Who doesn't want a Bible with their name on it? It's just, it's a very, very personal, beautiful gift.
- [09:53]
Jim Kirkland
One of the celebrities that Dylan gave a personalized bible to was a woman named Jenny Lee who had been in the cast of the TV drama Dallas.
- [10:03]
Dylan Novak
We started sharing the gospel with her. She became very emotional. She said, what would you have done if I'd rejected this? It's got my name on there, you can't remove that. What would you have done? I said, oh, it go on my shelf at the office. So you were willing to risk wasting money for me because if I'd rejected this, this would have gone to waste. And I said, it's a picture of Christianity, it's a picture of the gospel, salvation it's 100% free is just for you, but if you don't accept it, if you reject it, it just sits there and it goes to waste. It's there for you whenever you change your mind, but if you don't want it, it's just going to sit there.
- [10:42]
Jim Kirkland
Dylan's conversation with Jenny Lee became one of his favorites. He'll also never forget Ozzy Osbourne's reaction to receiving a Bible with his name embossed on it. Before he met Ozzie, Dylan did his research as always in a 20 believe.
- [10:59]
Dylan Novak
It was 2015 or 2014 interview with the Guardian, he was asked about his faith and he said, I identify as a Christian more than anything else. And when he was asked if he read the Bible he said I don't because it's written in a language I can't understand. And a lot of people have said, well, what do you think he meant by that? Ozzy was dyslexic, so already he had that issue with reading. And he's talking about Old English, something that's very difficult for a lot of people to understand. The King James Version Bible is written on a 12th grade reading level. Some portions are college grade. And we are living in a society where the average reading level for Americans is fifth grade, if not worse.
- [11:43]
Jim Kirkland
When Dylan went to meet Ozzy to give him his personalized Bible, it happened to be the first time Ozzy a convention styled public autograph signing. So suffice to say there were a lot of fans there. Dylan prepared himself that a super quick conversation was about all he could expect. That isn't what he got though.
- [12:04]
Dylan Novak
He took his time with everybody and I got to give him the gift, show him what it was. And I started to refresh his memory. Yeah, I read your interview where you said this and this and this. And he looked at it, he loved that his name was on the COVID and he said, but I still won't be able to understand it.
- [12:21]
Jim Kirkland
Dylan opened up the New Believers Bible in the new living translation, showing Ozzy its pages.
- [12:27]
Dylan Novak
Here's what it means. It's the same message, it's the same words, it's just in modern English. And he started flipping through it and he immediately turned to where the gospels were, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And he took a moment, he was reading it and he looked up at me and he said, well, I can understand that.
- [12:43]
Jim Kirkland
After their conversation, Dylan was able to quickly meet a few other members of Ozzie's family, including his son Jack. Just two weeks later, Dylan and Jack would cross Paths again at another celebrity event.
- [12:56]
Dylan Novak
And he said, you're the one who gave dad the Bible, aren't you? And I said, yeah. And he said, do you have any idea how much that meant to dad?
- [13:04]
Jim Kirkland
Jack told him that Ozzy had told people at a big horror convention that he wouldn't head up to his room without his Bible. Those he told this to were stunned. But Ozzy was serious. So much so he and Jack went to get the Bible. The next day at lunch, Ozzy told everyone there that he'd been reading his Bible. This was in 2023, two years before Ozzy's death.
- [13:33]
Dylan Novak
Ken Ham. He had posted when Ozzy passed away, some photos and videos. And he had said that Ozzy was one of the most open people to talk about God and inquisitive of anybody he'd met. And so that was just so encouraging. Those final days, God was really, really on Ozzy's heart. It was very clear.
- [13:54]
Jim Kirkland
Since then, people have asked Dylan if he thinks Ozzy is in heaven.
- [14:00]
Dylan Novak
I don't know. I can't say that. What I can say is, one, I feel better and more peaceful about him than I do a lot of other people. But more than that, I can't tell you how many rock and roll, heavy metal people you would never expect to darken the doors of the church. Reached out to our ministry page, Asking questions about being saved. Asking questions. Can I get some of the same material you gave to Ozzie? If Ozzie was open to listen to this, I'm open to listen to this. And even though Ozzy was not somebody throughout his life, people would look at it and go, man, that man is serving the Lord. God still used him in his death to bring him glory. Because there were quite a few people that were saying, I want to get saved. How do I get saved? I'm like, call me. Here's my office number. And that was really a turning point in the ministry. Started to realize how much the fans of these people that were reaching with the gospel, that they're looking and listening even in the shadows, and how we can reach them as well.
- [15:02]
Jim Kirkland
Dylan has seen the impact in a celebrity's life when they start a relationship with God. For example, the early rock and roll artist Jerry Lee Lewis. Dylan first met him before he became a Christian.
- [15:16]
Dylan Novak
He was raised in church. He went to Bible college. Has a lot of family members that are in ministry. But that doesn't mean you're a Christian. You can sit in a parking lot your entire life. It doesn't make you a car because there's been no inner transformation. And he had said things similar to this throughout his career. But in 2015, with the Guardian, he was giving an interview, and out of left field, he brings up hell. And he said, I wake up every night worried I'm going to wake up in hell. And his wife interrupted him, and she said, you're going to heaven. Don't worry about that. And he said, no, I don't know that.
- [15:48]
Jim Kirkland
From that point forward, Dylan became focused on meeting Jerry Lee Lewis. In 2019, after Lewis's final concert, a friend of Dylan's gave Dylan a tip. Jerry was going to be flying out of a particular airport in South Carolina at this time on this day. So Dylan went to that airport.
- [16:11]
Dylan Novak
And so I'm just sitting there by myself, and I was like, this is terrifyingly awkward. He came in with his wife, and I brought up immediately that interview with him. I immediately wanted to get the ball rolling there because I didn't know how long I'd have with him. And he. He didn't seem to be in the most talkative mood. And he saw on top of the material, I gave him a tract that said, how to make sure you're going to heaven. And he got very excited, and he. He said he knew exactly what I needed showing his wife. And she said, you're going to heaven. Don't worry about that. And he said, no, I don't know that. And so that just opened the door for the perfect gospel conversation about how you can know without a shadow of a doubt where your soul is going.
- [16:57]
Jim Kirkland
Jerry told Dylan that he wanted to keep talking, but that he was afraid he was going to miss his flight. Dylan gave him his contact information and told him not to hesitate to reach out.
- [17:08]
Dylan Novak
Well, a week later, I got a letter in the mail, and it was dated two days after I'd met him. It was a simple note. He said, do not worry. Jesus is my personal Lord and savior.
- [17:19]
Jim Kirkland
That same week, Jerry posted on Facebook that he had some great news to share with his fans. He was going to start recording a.
- [17:27]
Dylan Novak
Gospel record, which I was like, man, he is doing exactly what we're all supposed to do. As soon as we get saved, we should want to tell everybody what Christ has done for us. Well, later that same week, he also had a stroke, and he was put into assisted living in Memphis, where he stayed until he passed away a few years ago. He did get a few songs done. Nothing on the scale that he wanted to, but just seeing that transformation immediate was just so beautiful.
- [17:57]
Jim Kirkland
Since starting his ministry Dylan has gone to airports, the backstages of concert venues and hotels that meet celebrities and tell them about Jesus. He's even been to after parties for the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, all with one purpose in mind and in heart, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- [18:17]
Dylan Novak
I've never been to an event of that stature. I've never been to anything like that. It seemed very overwhelming, but I prayed and I was like, you know what the worst thing that's going to happen is? I'm going to drive around and find nothing, so why not give it a try?
- [18:32]
Jim Kirkland
In his ministry, Dylan has developed a sense for an area where celebrities may be or may show up. One of those is a street that is closed off and surrounded by plain SUVs and security. When Dylan sees those, he parks his vehicle. On one occasion, Dylan had with him a booklet from author Lee Strobel. It was a booklet that addresses some of biggest objections to Christianity and the historic and scientific evidence that addresses those objections.
- [19:05]
Dylan Novak
There was a lot of fans, there was paparazzi, and I got a really good spot on, like, this little fence. I was like, okay, good. I have no idea who I'm going to see at this after party. The amount of people that showed up were unbelievable. But one person that showed up that I was very excited to try to get their attention was Bill Maher. Many people listening to this probably know how Bill Maher has been. I don't even want to call him an atheist, because when you listen to this man talk, it's very clear he's agnostic. He is open to the possibility that there's something. This man has a lot of questions and brings up faith, he brings up religion. He brings up God, the Bible, Jesus.
- [19:48]
Jim Kirkland
Dylan had always wanted the opportunity to talk to him. So when he saw Bill Maher at a Golden Globe after party, Dylan got his attention by getting really animated and calling out Bill Maher's name repeatedly.
- [20:01]
Dylan Novak
Bill.
- [20:01]
Jim Kirkland
Bill.
- [20:02]
Dylan Novak
And if you know Bill's personality, he goes, yep, that's me. And we're just. I mean, we're probably 10ft away from each other where he got dropped off. I said, I need you to come here. You need me to come there? Yes. It's a need, not a want. Do you understand what the difference is? I was like, yes. Again, I love his sense of humor. And he goes, okay.
- [20:21]
Jim Kirkland
When Bill walked over, Dylan told him he needed to give him something. He handed Bill the booklet by Lee Strobel.
- [20:28]
Dylan Novak
He basically said, jesus is following me everywhere. And I was like, man, that's a Good statement right there. That is so encouraging. He's acknowledging I said, it's not coincidence that I'm here and I got to give you this. And he goes, of course it's coincidence. I talk about God and I attract the radicals and here you are. It's not coincidence. I said, so it's coincidence that I found this random after party. I've idea who's on the guest list, I have no idea who I'm going to see. And I have this material that is perfect for you and some of the questions you have. And I just happened to be here and you came over and you think that's all coincidence? And he kind of shrugged. He's like, maybe. And he put it in his suit jacket pocket and thanked me.
- [21:14]
Jim Kirkland
Since then, Dylan has been praying that God would continue to stir in his heart. He even has come across a podcast clip of a comedian bringing up another book by Lee Strobel to Bill Maher. To Dylan, it's proof that their interaction definitely was not a coincidence. As Dylan has seen, God is working in entertainment circles to change celebrities hearts and lives. And it begins with people like you and me and like Dylan telling people about Jesus Christ.
- [21:46]
Dylan Novak
We have over complicated sharing the gospel. We should be focused on just starting a conversation with somebody. The conversation starter doesn't even need to be spiritual. It doesn't even need to be gospel. What the conversation starter should be is just how are you doing? So tell me something about you just somehow drop that. You go to church, drop something about Jesus or anything of that nature and see if they take a bite. Some people will take a bite, some people won't. If they take a bite, you have the perfect end.
- [22:27]
Jim Kirkland
Just start a conversation. What a simple path to something that could change someone's eternity. If you've been listening to this podcast and these encounters with celebrities and would like to have a relationship with God, just like Dylan has encouraged scores of celebrities to begin, you can start your faith journey with Jesus Christ right now. Visit our website findpeacewithgod.net when you're there, click on Begin a Relationship with Jesus. That's it. FindPeaceWithGod.net and if you couldn't jot that down, no worry. You can also find the link in our show notes. In just a minute, you'll hear a final word from Dylan about an unexpected challenge he experiences in the area of celebrity evangelism.
- [23:15]
Dylan Novak
You're listening to GPS God People Stories.
- [23:19]
Jim Kirkland
A podcast production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
- [23:25]
Billy Graham
You may be surprised that the word Evangelist occurs only three times in the New Testament.
- [23:32]
Jim Kirkland
Billy Graham.
- [23:33]
Billy Graham
However, the verb form of the word evangelism appears 52 times in the New Testament. It basically means to proclaim the good news of the gospel, the life, the teaching, the death, the burial, the resurrection, the coming again of Jesus Christ. It carries with it the idea that people ought to respond to this proclamation by repentance and faith. And if they don't respond, they're lost. They're going to be judged, and they're going to go to hell. But the authority to evangelize comes from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He said, all authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth. Go and make disciples of all men, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded. And lo, I am with you always. He said, he is with us when we're evangelizing, when we're doing missionary work. He's there. We're not alone. Jesus said that we would be known by our fruit. And the greatest fruit is love. Do we really love this world for whom Christ died? Are we acting upon that love? His commission is inescapable. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. We cannot escape these great commission texts. They are based upon God's great missionary enterprise. God is quietly preparing his heroes, and when they're needed, they will appear and the world will wonder where they came from. Are you willing to stand tonight and say, I want to accept the challenge of this bold mission. Let's get out and do it. That's our job. That's our command. That's our calling.
- [25:25]
Jim Kirkland
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are all called to share the gospel to a world in desperate need of the love, hope and new life that one can only find in Jesus Christ. That's the key mission of this very podcast. So if you've never trusted Jesus Christ with your life and you'd like to know more about who he is and the sacrifice he made for you, we have resources ready and available for you right now at our website, findpeacewithgod.net it's a place where you can learn what it means to begin a relationship with Jesus. It's a place you can go to learn how to grow deeper in your faith in Jesus. The website again is findpeacewithgod.net and you can also find a link to the page in our show notes. Our guest on this episode of GPS is Dylan Novak, who shares the gospel with celebrities through his ministry celebrity evangelist. He's witnessed firsthand how the entertainment industry, despite its influence on our culture, remains largely ignored by the church. Before we wrap up, Dylan has a call to action for all of us.
- [26:39]
Dylan Novak
Pray for these people in the entertainment world who you invite into your homes. Even if you don't invite them into your homes and you think about them or hear them say something about faith, pray for them. I had somebody tell me at a church last week that they had never prayed for a celebrity and that one time when they requested prayer for a celebrity in Sunday school, the Sunday school teacher said, we don't pray for those people. And I'm like, wow, they're just people. They need to be reached with the gospel the same as anybody else. So pray for these people. Don't feel silly asking for prayer for these people. Don't feel silly praying for these people. They need it. And they affect our culture more than anybody could ever imagine. And the more Christian influence we have in that in the entertainment industry, the better our world will be.
- [27:30]
Jim Kirkland
We're grateful Dylan has joined us on this episode. He is the founder of Celebrity Evangelist. He's also a youth pastor, a husband, and a father of two. If you enjoyed this story, we have many, many more. Hear them by subscribing to GPS on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube. In the middle of life. GPS is here in the middle of the week every other Wednesday. I'm Jim Kirkland, and this is GPS God People stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news.
- [28:15]
Dylan Novak
Sam.