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QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT

There's much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?

You would think food would be a nice, simple ice-breaker question, but for me, that’s about the most complicated place you could start. I’ve always been a bacon cheeseburger kind of guy and spent every fall of my adult life chasing white-tail deer in the Ozark woods. I usually processed all the meat myself, and one backstrap went straight to the grill. I look forward to that meal every year.

That is, until five years ago when I contracted a disease known as Alpha-Gal from a tick bite. It'‘s more commonly known as the mammalian meat allergy. A tick bite left me allergic to anything mammal: beef, pork, dairy and anything cross-contaminated in the kitchen.

We’re talking hives, migraines, throat swelling, the whole shebang. I usually let people know there is a National Geographic article on the disease, so they’ll trust I’m not making it up. 

Over the last few years, I’ve been introduced to a long list of plant-based alternatives: tofu, tempeh, seitan and a lot of terrible vegan cheeses. But honestly, I’ve actually come to really love vegan food, and there is a great Peruvian restaurant in my town with an excellent mushroom saltado. And did you know you can whip chickpea juice into a dairy-free whipped cream? I know it’s a rough life. As I said, it’s a complicated place to start. 

QUESTION #2: REVEAL

We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?

My wife and I have always had very different hobbies, but the longer we’ve been married, the more we’ve wanted something we could enjoy doing together. So a few years ago, we took up sailing. Perhaps this is strange since we both grew up in Missouri. Not a lot of oceans around here, but believe it or not, there is a great sailing lake just an hour from our house. We’ve taken certification courses here in Missouri and in Florida and love spending summer days with our kids on the boat. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we bought a 1984 Catalina 25. It was in pretty rough shape and older than I am. My kids named it Gale. We parked the thing on our back patio, and I spent the summer working on it, buffing fiberglass, refinishing teak and re-rigging all the lines.

I’m sure my neighbors appreciated the mast that, when raised, stood taller than our chimney, but hey, it was quarantine; we had to do something.

We eventually got the boat in the water. It’s hard to beat the feeling of sails snapping open in the wind, the boat heeling over and the sound of water lapping against the sides. I try to spare my congregation all the biblical illustrations of anchors and sails and storms at sea, but my kids have to indulge a few of them.

QUESTION #3: CONFESS

Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?

Growing up, I broke a bone every couple of years. My brother usually did the same. They were typically stupid accidents — dumb things boys think they can get away with. I was never reckless but certainly never safety-minded. I’ve been shocked over the last few years to see myself turn into safety-dad. My wife is constantly rolling her eyes as I pad corners, tell our kids to climb down from there, and continue to refuse them a trampoline. 

I’m the father of two wonderful children, but both of their births were pretty dramatic. My wife developed severe preeclampsia that jeopardized both her life and my son’s. My wife is a postpartum nurse and certified lactation consultant. She was extremely qualified for our experience. I was not. I took Greek and Hebrew. I remember during her delivery, the situation changed dramatically as nurses and doctors rushed around. I remember not knowing what was happing and realizing I couldn’t contribute anything. I’ve never felt truly helpless until that moment. 

The truth is, like many men, I struggle with what I can’t control. My overemphasis on child safety is probably some futile attempt to prove I can keep them safe, which I know is not true. They are God’s as much as mine, and faith is not always just an abstract idea about God’s existence. Sometimes it’s letting your kids live, sometimes it’s trusting their lives and your wife into his hands. Sometimes it’s a trampoline. 

And by the way, I folded on the trampoline. My wife ordered them one for Christmas. I put it together. It has a net.

QUESTION #4: FIRE UP

Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours? 

I’m first a pastor. That’s my calling. But I love to read, and increasingly, my time is also being given to writing. (My book “The 5 Masculine Instincts” was just released in March 2022.) But even as I write, I still do so as a pastor. I write to understand myself and my congregation better. Eugene Peterson, one of my favorite writers, called it heuristic writing. He explained it as a “way of writing that involved a good deal of listening, looking around, getting acquainted with the neighborhood.” Lately, I’ve been writing to men. 

There is a common idea in the publishing industry that men don't read. It's probably true, but I'm not sure why. I was recently at our local Christian book store and couldn't help but notice that while the women's section took up six shelves, the men's didn't even fill one. Perhaps that's proof enough that men aren't buying books.

I’m concerned about that. As Christians, we are people of the book. The word is central to our identity and our walk with Christ. We need men that read and think deeply. I worry too many men are falling into the clichés the culture has handed them. The men of today’s sitcoms are shallow, crude and more of a punchline than a person of character. Set the bar low, and don’t be surprised to find men barely rising to it. 

It’s hard for me to separate these desires: reading, writing, pastoring, calling men to a better character and Christlikeness. Heuristic writing.

QUESTION #5: BOOST

Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?

Growing up, my best friend and I both felt a call to pastoral ministry. That shared passion and sense of divine purpose only deepened our friendship. We did just about everything together and talked a lot about the churches we would someday pastor. 

It was no surprise we were sitting together at that youth convention when the speaker suddenly stopped and pointed at my friend. I grew up in a Pentecostal church, where that was not uncommon. The speaker began to offer my friend a word. He explained how God had a special call on his life and how God would use him greatly. He then went back to his sermon. But what about me? 

That is not how God tends to speak to me. Not then nor now. Honestly, tears are usually my response to the subtle work of the Spirit. We each cultivate a relationship with God and his Spirit. And like any friendship, we cultivate our own unique ways of communicating, of sensing, of drawing from shared times together. Two friends can communicate with a glance. So, too, as we grow in the Spirit, his presence becomes more real even when subtle. 

I should probably also add, we both ended up pastors in ministry, my friend and I. Both still pastoring churches today. God has his ways. We all just listen and trust.

QUESTION #6: inspire

Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin' best for you right now?

Earlier, I mentioned my appreciation for Eugene Peterson. One of my favorite Peterson stories comes from a time when he was a boy growing up in Montana. 

Peterson’s mother was an Assemblies of God minister as I am. They were very involved in ministry and often welcomed visiting ministers and missionaries into their home. They had a beautiful place on a lake near Glacier National Park. 

Peterson once told of a powerful evangelist that was staying at his house. The man was resting one afternoon in a hammock down by the lake. Peterson, a teenager, wanted to speak with the man about his prayer life wanted to ask for his advice on prayer. He finally worked up the courage and approached the man in the hammock. “Sir, could I ask you a question about prayer?” he asked.

Without opening his eyes, the man barked back, “I haven’t prayed in 40 years.” Not knowing what to say, Eugene retreated silently to his house, stunned and perplexed by what had happened. That was the end of their conversation. 

Later as an adult, Peterson understood. He later explained, “Since then, I have realized the wisdom of the man. You see, anything he had told me I would have imitated. I would have gone and done what he said and thought that’s what prayer is. He risked something to teach me what prayer was, and I’m glad he did. Prayer wasn’t something he did, it was something he was. He lived a life of prayer. It took me about six or seven years to understand what he had done, but it was sure better than wasting time trying to imitate what he did.”

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are some resources that have impacted you?

Well, I’ve already mentioned Eugene Peterson twice, so certainly put him on the list. 

Probably the two books that have impacted my life more than any other are Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together. 

“The Cost of Discipleship” is a powerful look at what it means and costs to be a true disciple of Jesus. I first read it on a tour bus traveling with a college worship team over the summer. It was such an important experience; I can still remember which side of the bus I was sitting on and the fabric of the chairs. Particularly, I was impacted by Bonhoeffer’s chapter on the beatitudes. 

Bonhoeffer wrote “Life Together” while leading an underground seminary in Nazi-controlled Germany. The book is short and easy to read. I’ve underlined nearly every line of it in my copy. That book fundamentally changed the way I pastor, how I think about my church, and what I’m looking for from my congregation. 

The books are good, but knowing that Bonhoeffer lived what he wrote and the story of his life makes them even more meaningful. 

We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it's done for you.

I’m sure this book is not new to anyone, but I find myself returning again and again to Oswald Chamber’s “My Utmost for His Highest.” I have a copy on my desk, shelf and on my phone. I’m often surprised by the prophetic quality of his words and by their relevancy for today. His writing was never trendy but instead cut into the realities of human nature, and so it is that his work outlives its original time. 

A few years ago, I read a great biography on Chamber’s wife. I was surprised to learn that she was the creator of “My Utmost for His Highest,” combing through hundreds of sermons and lectures to compile the work after Chamber’s death. She had been his assistant, and many acknowledge her editing and selections as a significant contributor to the devotional’s success.

QUESTION #8: dream

God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future? 

I’m currently working on a Doctorate in Ministry. Western Theological Seminary recently launched a program focused on the sacred art of writing. The program has been keeping me busy with reading. It covers not only sermons and nonfiction but also essays, poetry and novels. 

Each of us must produce a full-length literary work as a part of the program. So I’ve been working on a novel.

It’s something I’ve never done. It could be a complete disaster, but that’s the benefit of a program like this. It’s a chance to experiment and, with the help of some amazing program mentors, discern what you have and what to do with it. 

Earlier, Chase shared how the Spirit’s work in his heart is usually followed by tears. Others, like his fellow pastor friend, regularly receive public prophetic words.

Whether in the quiet or on a stage, we all can hear from God—because we all as followers of Jesus have access to the same Spirit.

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:4-6, ESV).

So what about you? What does it look like when the Spirit moves in your heart? And how can you use it to build up the body of Christ?

Chase Replogle is the pastor of Bent Oak Church in Springeld, Missouri. The author of The 5 Masculine Instincts, Chase’s work draws from history, psychology, literature and a rich narrative approach to Scripture to help readers think more deeply about faith and life. He also hosts the Pastor Writer Podcast, where he interviews Christian authors on writing and publishing. A native of the Ozark woods, he enjoys being outdoors with his wife and two kids, sailing, playing the mandolin (badly) and quail hunting with his bird dog, Millie.

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