Kathie Lee Gifford will further the Gospel for rest of her life: 'Nobody in the Bible ever retired'
Kathie Lee Gifford has done it all. She's a four-time Emmy Award-winning former TV host, screenwriter, producer, singer, songwriter and actress. But at 69, Gifford wants to use her platform for a single goal: furthering the Kingdom of God.
"Nobody in the Bible ever retired," Gifford told The Christian Post. "They died doing what God put them on this earth to do. Moses didn't say, 'I think I'll play golf now.' Mary Magdalene didn't take up bridge. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those things, but when you are on fire for the Kingdom of God, that will stay with you until the moment the Lord takes the breath from your body and takes you into His arms. And that's the way I want to spend the rest of my life: refired, not retired."
Over the last several years, Gifford has lent her talents to several Bible-centric projects, including her latest, the musical production "The Way," and book, The God of the Way: A Journey into the Stories, People, and Faith That Changed the World Forever, which she co-wrote with Rabbi Jason Sobel.
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"The Way," which recently hit PureFlix, is a symphonic 75-minute storytelling of the Bible through songs performed by several artists, including Nicole C. Mullen, Danny Gokey, Jimmie Allen, Larry Gatlin, BeBe Winans and more.
Comprised of four oratorios and narrated by Gifford, the project brings the Bible to life in a unique and compelling way.
The project, funded entirely by Gifford, came out about four years ago when the multi-hyphenate met with Mullen. The pair penned an 11-and-a-half-minute oratorio called "The God Who Sees." The song found instant success on YouTube, prompting Gifford to turn it into a larger project.
"God used that to say to me, basically, 'Kathie, this is the way I want you to spend the rest of your life.' There are many more stories in the Bible to tell; you will never run out of them," she said.
The God of the Way delves deeper into the biblical truths presented in the film and highlights how heroes of the faith, like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, connect with the lives of believers today.
"We don't know the Bible rabbinically, what it really, really means," Gifford said. "We don't know the cultural relevance, or the political or the geo-political relevance of it. That's why [the book] is so exciting."
To bring the book to life, Gifford traveled to Israel, studying the scriptures in their place of origin, and recruited the help of Sobel, a biblical scholar.
"I go to Israel to study with the world's greatest teachers, because I am no biblical scholar and I will never claim to be, but the people I write my books with are the people that actually study within the Holy Land," the actress said.
Gifford and Sobel previously co-authored The Rock, The Road, and the Rabbi, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. The success of The Rock, The Road, and the Rabbi, Gifford said, proves that many are "starved" for the fullness of the Word of God.
Gifford, who grew up Jewish but converted to Christianity after seeing the Billy Graham-produced film "The Restless Ones" at age 12, lamented that many churches today water down the Gospel or misrepresent the words of Christ. She attributed this trend to an obsession with "wokeness" and a comfortability with the status quo.
"I can't sit in most churches now, honestly, because I'm just hearing the same stuff spouted over and over and over again, which I know is not true," she said, adding that she "can never go back" after studying the Bible in its original Greek and Hebrew.
"I don't want baby food," she continued. "I don't want to keep learning the same stuff over and over and over again. It's not changing me. It's not transforming me. The work starts after salvation, the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. And that can only be accomplished through God's Word, His Word, which is flawless. So, study it in its flawless form."
And though salvation is "enough to guarantee our place in eternity with Christ," Gifford stressed that to grow in one's faith, "you've got to grow beyond salvation."
"You've got to go to redemption and growth by studying," she said. "And I don't mean studying in a way that's exhausting. It isn't. It's thrilling. It makes your gut come alive in you; there's a fire that burns in you."
Looking ahead, Gifford looks to do more projects that further the Gospel and instill truth in the next generation. Herself a mother and grandmother, Gifford encouraged parents to teach their children the scriptures and establish biblical literacy — something the American Bible Society says has seen an unprecedented drop in recent years — at an early age.
"Teach them from Day 1 that God and His Son and His Holy Spirit are your best friend, the best friend you will ever make," she said. "You don't have to friend them on Facebook; they are there for you all the time. Teach them how God defines them as a living, breathing, precious creation of God. Don't let the world define them, stop that early in its tracks."
"The Way" is now available on PureFlix.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]
