Talkin' Comedy with Austin Keeler (The Holy Nope)

Hey guys, it's Keith, and I'm still here at the Y Calvinism conference in Tullahoma, Tennessee And I'm sitting down with the holy nope, and if you don't know who that is it is

Austin Keillor I'm saying that right right yes, you Austin Keillor, and if you've seen his videos. They're hilarious I'll throw one in right now, and this is what he does.

It's the Lord's day. I got my Bible I'm ready to hear the word shout it out by shattered. I'll buy shit.

Oh so Austin how did you start? What did you start?

What what's this all about where to come from well the holy note was really started?

Accidentally I'll confess. I was making other kinds of content on Tick -tock, and I needed

I needed a filler I need I needed filler content and so something that was Funny and kind of easy to make and so I came up with the holy note that I could post

When I didn't have time to make any more Long -form content I could just slip slip slip something in there to keep the algorithm

Blessing me and so I came up with a holy note and people loved it, and it started to take off and eventually

I realized that I have something here, and I could build something here people are

Not only laughing at this content, but being blessed by it And so I need to pursue that and then we moved into the other platforms and started more long -form content along with it

It's become kind of a thing So you were producing content before the note the note caused it to take off I I have obviously not the same story, but I I'm you know

I've been a podcaster for years I put on a bowtie pretend to be a Presbyterian people listen to me right so How long before and by the way you and I could probably have a really good conversation about tick -tock because I don't know how

Many of these other guys do tick -tock yeah, but yeah, it's not popular some people Little immature for Some people look at it, and they'll say well, that's

Chinese spyware or something They don't want to do with it. Yeah, and I've had people I can't believe you're on tick -tock as a pastor or whatever so I may want to circle back to that But tell me how long you were doing material before you?

Found this thing with that really connected with people well not not very long I was I was pretty new to social media, okay, and so like less than a year

Okay, the holy notes only been alive for for a year or so Yeah, well, what were you doing before?

So so I am an evangelist with Reformation frontline missions So the content that I was making

Was in regard to equipping local churches for the public proclamation of the gospel

And I still have that that's still going at Reformation frontline missions on tick -tock and Instagram and and Facebook so that's that's what

I was doing okay. Yeah, right so You're you do this thing you

Decide to get on tick -tock did anybody give you pushback because I know like I said I've had a little bit myself anybody say

That's like you said it's immature, or you don't need to be doing that or that hurts the gospel They may do that they may say anything just being on tick -tock or the content that I'm making

I guess just being on tick -tock specifically Um yeah, I think well like it just seems to there's a stigma about tick -tock, and it was just it's just um you know

People dancing to songs right and I get that and but it's really become a legitimate platform in fact

I saw something where people are using Tick -tock more than than Google in some instances because it's a search engine

Somebody teaching how to cook something right exactly so I get the stigma And I get why why people would want to kind of distance themselves from it, but You know the tick -tock

Algorithm is more geared towards reaching strangers than followers And so if you're trying to get a message out like the truth of the gospel it's actually a good place to be and I'm glad you said that and I hope people hear that because One of the things that I a story

I tell people is we had a young man call the church one day And he left an answer machine hey,

I've recently gotten saved I've never been to church a day in my life my parents are Jewish And I I didn't know

Christ until now and I need to talk somebody so I call this guy back immediately hey My name is

Keith, and he goes yeah He said I got saved because I was on tick -tock and somebody shared the gospel And I got on and got on and went through went through went through went through heard the guy to give the gospel her watch all of his little videos because it was a thread or whatever and he and That was actually the guy who got me on tick -tock

Because he he saw a video I did the first denomination video. He said this is funny He said you should just put this on tick -tock

Yeah And so I threw it on tick -tock because I didn't want anything to do with it because again I I guess I had like some people have the mindset of all that's childish kind of thing right

But he did it for me because he said Keith this this in one way And this sounds so stupid tick -tock changed my life right, but what he meant was this this there's a there's a place to evangelize

Unbelievers here, that's what I was and we can do this and the first video I put up it

It did fairly well, and then after that I was every third or fourth videos me preaching It's an actual gospel presentation now.

Do you do that? Do you put gospel presentations on your tick -tock or do you just point them to your website? How do you do that? I put some sermon clips on there from time to time what

I've done Across all of my platforms is I have pinned a video that is

I think about a seven minute gospel Explanation that was taken from a live that I that I did.

I'd like you to send me that I'm gonna give you my card Yeah, I'd love to share that video too. Maybe maybe on the end of this video

Yeah, I'd like to share the gospel on these videos as well because sometimes people watch the podcast who aren't

Christians, right? So that would be great. Yeah. Yeah, so that video has gotten several hundred thousand views across them across the platforms and People have really been helped by it.

So so yeah So I want to do I want to get into like the meat and potatoes with you because you're a tick tocker

I'm a tick tocker, which is such a weird thing. We just got passed by the Harbor Freight Jeff Durbin. I'm Doug Wilson He's Jeff Durbin All right, so where where do you the video clips that you use for the holy note and for the people who they're gonna see it

But you you you walk into church you sit down you look up and somebody's you know Zip -lining into church or something.

You say nope Which is so clever and hilarious Where do you get your videos because I actually

I've partnered with someone for some of my videos But I was curious where you get yours and you just go search yourself So they find me brother

They find me at this point people people started sending me clips that they they want me to do and so It's really funny to me

My people who don't like me and they're there a lot of them. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah I guess there's a sense in which people think you are being harsh.

Well, I'm being a religious Pharisee He doesn't believe in the Holy Spirit. So what I'm being? Oh, yeah, this is one area and again

I want to hear this but I want to just just I'm a little different because I Because I make fun of everybody including us because you're reformed right?

You're you're Calvinist. Yes. I mean your sermon yesterday, sir He ordains the stumbling and the stumbling block and the stumbling.

I was like, yeah, okay, so But because I make fun of Calvinist, too

I've almost insulated myself people still give me a hard time But it's not as bad because they see me as sort of just an equal opportunity offender

Like I make fun of a lot of people. Yeah, but yeah Yeah, but the things that do upset people is when

I preach right here me actually preach. Yeah Okay. Yeah, I get even more pushback when

I actually post something that's that's that's good and Positive content like that instead of a note, but yeah, but I interrupt you.

I'm sorry. Yeah. What were you talking about? We were talking about where you get your material. Oh, yeah, send you pick videos and stuff.

Yep They find they find me those videos. So I've got backlogs of Clips to note that I I've never seen yet.

I just I've got to get to him but it's funny to me when people They'll see an episode of the

Holy Note and they don't like it They disagree and so they'll say that I'm running out of content

Like he must be running out of content because he's reaching now and he only knew I've got I've got Piles and piles of videos and you know one sense that's kind of sad that there is so much out there to address

But our hope is that one day there will be no more. Nope to nope, right?

All things will be new Christ will come he'll said everything, right? Yeah Yeah, okay, so are you

I have to ask because this is a fun oh, yeah and feel free to answer or not answer

Post -millennial from millennial. We're on the same page brother. Oh, okay. Okay same page because some people see that The that time coming before Christ comes

I would say the the perfect is coming after Christ comes. Yeah Amen amen,

I'll get you a crown Awesome So Austin In your message you were

I mean you obviously strongly Calvinistic tell me a little bit about your history as a preacher and you said you teach evangelism you instruct in evangelism

That's something that we do. Yeah. Yeah, but are you also and I guess the answer is no But I'm do you pastor a church or you're primarily one of five pastors at Reformation Church of Shelbyville in Kentucky.

Okay, great All right, so how did how did Christ save you and how did he bring you into the ministry? Yeah, well,

I was sprinkled as a as a as a wee baby. Okay, but that didn't stick Like the way you said it

I ended up when in the Christian missionary Alliance for a while. Well, I wasn't converted in they've never made it into my videos

Maybe I had to tell me something about them. Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. Yeah, we can talk about that they

Yeah, I wasn't converted until I was 20. So but in in the CMA I was You know,

I was in youth group mission stripped. I never knew Jesus. I loved my sin, right? by the grace of God converted at 20 immediately went to what was called this it was this missionary training school

So I started doing evangelism realized very quickly that I was a Calvinist because that's what

I was reading in Scripture And I just had didn't have a name for it.

So when it was presented to me, I was like that Hey, that's that's actually what what I believe And then a lot of my peers didn't didn't like that So I was

I was immediately experienced Just what it was like to be sort of the the ugly duck duckling and theologically speaking

That's so funny because that's what I just called Andrew Rappaport. Oh, yeah Because he's dispensational.

Oh, yeah Well, yeah So went with my wife to West Africa for a couple of years with the

CMA when we were Supporting the local church over there and going into remote villages to support

Pastors why either building a church structure, you know Three a frames in a in a in a tin roof that they could congregate under or drilling wells

So that they could Well have clean water and also be a witness to Muslims who had wells but didn't share water

Oh the Christians would have clean water and And and share and so we were engaged in that work for a couple of years and then came back to the

States and through All of this time. I am Calvinist, but I'm I'm reforming in all of the other, you know ologies of Theology so We were we were engaged in Evangelistic and discipleship kind of work until I Became so reformed that we we could no longer

Stay to just theological and methodological issues. So we embraced the 1689

Which is which is where I already was. Yeah, it wasn't it wasn't an issue.

We embraced that led my family through that Moved up to to join a reformed church and And here we are and that's the same one.

You're now pastoring in as one of five pastors Yeah, so is that church and this is just a question about the church

You're in because our church wasn't always reformed God has reformed us over time and and we actually changed our name in 2011

We because of the preaching the gospel and in preaching reformed theology We went from being a church that wasn't reformed to being

Identified as a reformed church then later adopted to confession and things like that, right? What's your church always reformed or was it so Reformation Church is a replant and before I got up there

It was Harvest Community Church. It was an SBC Church. My understanding is that It was it was a you know, relatively small church and then some of the men

Started being convinced of the doctrines of grace and started preaching the doctrines of grace from the scriptures And so the church got even smaller and then so it replanted as Reformation Church on the 500 500th anniversary of the

Reformation 2017 Moved locations and became Reformation Church.

So it's been yeah, what six years now and adopted the 1689 And yeah, we've been we've even you know after adopting and there's still more

Reformation taking place in regards to the Lord's Supper and Membership and things things like that.

So excellent. Yeah, it's it's it's that I'm thankful to hear a serious churchman But you're still funny.

Yeah, you know, we're able to be both the opposite of funny is not serious, right? It's not funny.

You listened I did and I appreciate that. Yeah, praise the Lord. I'm thankful and Well, man,

I have one last question for you, and I'm very excited for anybody who hasn't seen your videos

I hope this you know, my audience will see who you are But I want to ask you and you can say no and I promise it won't hurt my feelings

But would you be willing to be in one of my videos? I'll have to pray about it.

I have to pray about I have a perfect idea And it's something that you did you just send me the video and I can cut it in but I would love to just introduce

You in that way as being part of what part of the video. Okay. Yeah, sounds good. All right,