Kevan Chandler is an author, a speaker and the founder of We Carry Kevan, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help those with disabilities experience more freedom, access and joy in life. He speaks around the world about friendship and disability and has recently released a book through Moody Publishers called “The Hospitality of Need: How Depending on One Another Helps Us Heal and Grow Together.” Kevan and his wife, Katie, love being together, growing vegetables and reading to each other.

In this interview, Kevan opens up about his experience overcoming debilitating lies through friendship and vulnerability. He shares his thoughts on technology and its ability to dull the senses, and he reveals what the phrase “ the hospitality of need” has come to mean in his life. Kevan also shares his wisdom on how our needs should be seen as doors of opportunity, invitations to enter into true connection and fellowship.

QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT

The meals we enjoy are about so much more than the food we eat. So, how does a “go-to” meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?

I am reminded immediately of two places that celebrate friendship and the glory of fried food. The first is Prissy Polly’s BBQ. I grew up in NC, and my friends and I discovered this homegrown restaurant — with live bluegrass and delicious BBQ sandwiches — in college. Way too many of us would pile around an indoor picnic table and feast together on hush puppies and pink lemonade. It may sound silly, but it was sacred to us and an important part of what made us who we are today.

Then, about 10 years ago, I moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was introduced to an Irish pub downtown called JK O’Donnell’s Castlebar Pub. The first time I went, my roommate wanted to go for a jam session, so I found a cozy spot with a book and a plate of fries. I should maybe mention here that I am in a power wheelchair and pretty limited in the use of my arms as well, so new places are always a risk. My first time anywhere, I keep it simple to test the waters, and if it works, I’ll be back. “JKs” became my living room, where my friends and I gathered multiple times a week for the next six years for hot meals in the winter and back patio lounging in the summer. They catered my wedding in 2020 (they don’t normally cater), and my wife and I continue to go there on a regular basis, including my birthday every year.

Fort Wayne, IN, USA — Sayaka Ganz; Unsplash

QUESTION #2: REVEAL

We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So, what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity do you love engaging in that also helps you find essential spiritual renewal?

I love going for walks with others, especially my wife. There is something really life-giving and beautiful about exploring a path or a space. It can be a neighborhood, a city sidewalk, a golf course, the beach, a park or some other sort of nature trail. To get to a fork in the road and ask one another which way to go, to overcome obstacles you may or may not have seen coming and discover new delights along the way, and then, at the end of it all, to look back and realize you know a little more of the world than you did before — I find a lot of satisfaction and peace in that feeling. It makes my lungs inflate and my shoulders relax. We were called by God to “fill the earth and subdue it,” and I think that can include taking a walk through it to know it better and enjoy it. It reconnects me to the world and reminds me how big it is, how big God is to make it all, and how tremendous it really is that he loves me in the middle of it all. Wow.

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 all broken and in this thing together. So, what’s your kryptonite and how do you confront its power head-on?

I am 39 years old and I've spent my whole life in a wheelchair (or rather, since I was a toddler). I depend on a lot of people to make my life happen, and this comes with the struggle of seeing myself as a burden. My needs are often inconvenient and/or uncomfortable for myself and others, so it’s easy to spiral down the narrative. And when someone else’s more immediate needs arise, my default is to assume that the best way I can help is to just get out of the way. These are all just lies from Satan, and I have found that the best way to combat them is to prove them wrong over and over. This happens through friendship and vulnerability, both my own and leaning into those of others. As I invite people into my needs and step into the needs of others, I get to see firsthand who God has called me to be and live in that with more confidence each time.

QUESTION #4: FIRE UP

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

A few years ago, a group of men from my church were praying over me, and a friend of mine in the group thanked God for gifting me with “the hospitality of need.” This struck me as an odd phrase that I wanted to think on more. It became the catalyst, and eventually the title for my new book, “The Hospitality of Need,” that just came out with Moody Publishers.

Let’s think of our needs as doors. When we think of a door, we often regard it as a barrier. It’s closed, locked, it’s keeping us from something or somewhere or someone. But doors are also entrances, invitations to step into something we are otherwise outside of. So it is with need. There can be an element of hospitality in our needs if we are willing to see them not as obstacles but opportunities to step into deeper fellowship with one another.

This is what my new book is about, and it is something I've been intentionally writing for the past few years but living out and experimenting with for 39 years now. I can’t help but feel that the abundant life God created us to have with him and one another is more fully experienced if we see and utilize our needs in this way.

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?

I would like to say that I know confidently that it's the Holy Spirit working in something that I’m writing when it’s all flowing and clicking into place. Whether it’s a novel, a devotional, an article or something else, when I’m in the groove, that’s how I know it’s from the Lord. But I’m reminded of thoughts from two authors that I really love. One is Walter Wangerin, Jr., who once talked about a story that he wrote. He was so proud of it because it sounded really good, but it wasn’t actually good. In fact, according to him, it was downright evil. The second thought is from Doug McKelvey: “Truth rhymes with truth.” So there is an element of what I said earlier that still applies, but it’s not just the words and ideas coming together smoothly. It’s more like when the words and ideas are riding on the back of the winds of Truth. That’s when I know the Holy Spirit is at work and God is up to something.

QUESTION #6: inspire

Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So, let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?

In a culture full of noise, I have found I just need to turn things off. I stay off the Internet as much as possible, and I try to have at least one day a week away from screens entirely. It is sometimes easier than other times, just depending on work and other demands of life, but it’s in those quiet moments that I can focus again on him. My wife and I ask God to help us recognize his presence there, and he is always gracious to do so. Sometimes, that looks like reading or praying with my wife, going for a walk, shooting hoops in the driveway, listening to the birds in our backyard, or even taking a nap. It’s kind of a question of what Jesus and my wife and I would do if he just wanted to spend an afternoon on the back patio with us, and we go from there.

QUESTION #7: FOCUS

Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and your heart?

This is one of my favorite questions to answer because I get to rattle off about some of my favorite people. Only three? Oh boy, let’s see!

Let’s start with a man I never had the honor of meeting but has had a huge impact on my life, worldview, and walk with the Lord. G.K. Chesterton has been a source of common sense for me over the past several years, both spiritually and culturally. He had a way of seeing the world through a deeper lens that allowed him to transcend time with his wisdom. He’s the only man I know of who could talk about podcasts in 1930! There is a collection of his writings on the family unit called “The Story of the Family” that is probably one of the most insightful books in the past 150 years — I’m not exaggerating. And I can’t recommend his fiction enough: “Manalive,” “Napoleon of Notting Hill,” “The Ball and the Cross,” to name a few.

Second would be Andrew Peterson. Both his music and his books are a kind of home to me. He has walked with me through various trials and celebrations throughout my life, and he’s always pointed me back to Christ. My wife and I are currently going back through his book “Adorning the Dark,” and we are loving it. And you really can’t go wrong with his music, but promise me you will at least go and listen to “All Things Together” and “All Things New” back-to-back and then just sit in silence for a bit to let it settle in.

And finally, most recently, my wife and I have appreciated Charles Martin. He is a New York Times best-selling author who has put out a ton of novels, all of them brilliant. But he has also, in more recent years, written a handful of non-fiction books with a focus on what the Christian life could look like if we really lived in the truths of the Gospel. It’s profound stuff and we are so thankful for his insights. On the fiction side, “The Keeper” series is especially phenomenal. On the nonfiction side, start with “What If It’s True” and just go from there.

We all have things we cling to to survive or even thrive in our fast-paced, techno-driven world. How have you been successful in harnessing technology to aid in your spiritual growth?

I touched on this a little bit earlier, but I really try to shy away from the Internet and screens as much as possible. (He says as he answers these questions on the web via an iPad.) I also rarely listen to podcasts or watch a TV series. None of these things are bad, per se, but I have found personally that my senses and my thirst for life are dulled by them, and I like who I am more when I’m not dependent on them.

I’m also not a hermit, mind you. I love a well-done movie just as much as the next guy, and since my wife and I travel a lot, audiobooks have become part of the furniture. But there is a very loud argument out there right now about how we should be well-versed in technology, and I’m just not convinced that is altogether true. It’s a question of what we are steeping ourselves in. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans, “Be excellent at what is good and be innocent of evil.” Again, technology isn’t necessarily evil, but what are the good things I would rather be excellent in?

QUESTION #8: dream

God’s 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 love writing books, but it is traditionally a lonely pursuit. It requires a lot of time by yourself in a room with your thoughts, scribbling out words to try and make sense of it all for the world to see eventually. I also hold friendships really dearly and love collaboration. So, a few years ago, I asked God if there was a way for me to write in collaboration with my friends, and then I promptly forgot about the prayer until I looked up a year later and realized he had said, “Yes, there is!” Sure enough, I was working on multiple creative projects with multiple friends and the writing process was no longer a lonely one at all. Some of those projects have been completed and are out there now, and some are still yet to come. And the Lord just continues to open those same kinds of doors with new projects with all kinds of friends, and I’m excited to share about it in the future!

Kevan’s wisdom on the vulnerability of friendship and the joy of inviting others into our needs is profound. He says, “There can be an element of hospitality in our needs if we are willing to see them not as obstacles but opportunities to step into deeper fellowship with one another.” Vulnerability doesn’t come easy for most people. It’s difficult to allow others to see the parts of us that are messy and full of need. But Kevan invites us to see those needs as doorways of opportunity to build connections and real relationships with our friends. How do you handle vulnerability? How can you walk through the doors of need with people around you, and how can you allow them to walk through those doors in your own life?

Kevan Chandler