Kevin Chapman
11 min read ⭑
“I am always looking for a revelation [from the Bible] to help someone else who struggles with emotional distress, sleep problems, negative thinking patterns or another epiphany that leads to a practical application of the Word of God.”
Dr. Kevin Chapman doesn’t believe Christians have to choose between a job in the secular world and a job in ministry — he’s opted for, in his own words, “both and.” He gives God the glory for the lives that have been changed through his work as a licensed clinical psychologist, sports psychologist, and founder and director of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (KYCARDS). He and his wife also lead Sound Mind Ministries, where they help Christians overcome anxiety and operate in their God-given authority. You can access Dr. Chapman’s teachings for yourself on the “Sound Mind Show” via the Healing Journeys Today YouTube channel or in his new book, “Mastering Our Emotions: Biblical Principles for Emotional Health.”
In today’s interview, Dr. Chapman is giving us an insider’s peek at his life at home, at work, and during quiet, one-on-one times with God. So come and see how his competitive personality finds rest in sports, Marvel, and games; how he’s fought to overcome the fear of man and feelings of abandonment; and the purposeful habits he uses to connect with Jesus.
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?
I am from Louisville, Kentucky, which is a combination of the South, the Midwest and the East Coast. My affinity for food is a part of my identity, and I have eaten very few foods I don’t appreciate. I was also a two-sport athlete in college, so consuming calories has always been a part of my DNA. Although sushi is my favorite, I can always get down with some spicy fried chicken, steak, burgers, Korean ramen, BBQ or most plates that contain meat. I grew up in the hood, where I never experienced culturally diverse foods, so I have grown to appreciate foods from all over the world.
Along these lines, I always look forward to mealtime with my family — my wife and two daughters, aged 18 and 20 — whom I love dearly. My daughters have grown up eating family meals with my wife and me, and fortunately, they have grown up looking forward to “what we eating” time. A memorable food experience with my girls was when some of our friends who live in L.A. treated us to fine dining in Malibu, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. An overwhelming sense of gratitude filled us all. This represents a prime example of “we are blessed to be a blessing.” I love food — but love breaking bread with kingdom people even more.
Thomas Park; 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 (or activities) do you love engaging in, which also helps you find essential spiritual renewal?
Being a former two-sport athlete (sprinting and football), I am a huge sports fan. Football and basketball are my favorites, although I love watching countless sports.
A bit about me that is off the beaten path is that I am also a huge Marvel fan. I am the guy who would text 10 people, get them to mark the date of the next Marvel movie’s opening night on their calendars and reserve the entire middle row for the gang.
What’s even better is that I watch these movies with other brothers and sisters who love Jesus but also love Thor and Cap and like to nerd out on the action and plot twists found throughout the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). In fact, a couple of years ago, I was on a podcast talking about helping people navigate anxiety disorders, which is my clinical area of specialty as a psychologist. The podcast host found out I was a big Marvel fan and asked me to do a “bonus” episode ranking the top 10 Marvel movies and why.
I’m also an avid game night guy, whether it involves beating my daughters in Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart or playing action games with my family, such as Guesstures, Throw Throw Burrito or some other game that forces you to catch your breath. I am mostly an extrovert; anything I do is going to be done to win, or I didn’t try hard enough.
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?
I struggled for a number of years with the fear of man and feelings of abandonment. I grew up in a single-parent home in the hood, although my mother eventually made a life-changing decision to move us to a better part of town with more opportunity. She raised me the best she knew how. However, when I was 14, she revealed that she struggled with drug addiction and ultimately was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.
My world would forever change during this time when my mother made the decision to enter a drug-treatment program, which led me to live with my elderly grandmother throughout high school, back in the environment that I had escaped.
Although I was never involved in drugs or the street life, I significantly struggled with feelings of abandonment since neither of my parents were involved during an extremely important developmental time frame for an African American adolescent male. Sports and school kept me focused, but I had to reprogram my thinking for the rest of my young adult life, which only occurred by realizing who I was in Christ. Feeling like an impostor and the need to impress others at all costs were mindsets that I had to surrender. Although I have been freed from feelings of abandonment and the fear of man, it certainly came with a price since the revelation of God’s love did not happen until later in life.
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?
I love to tell people that I am a Christian who happens to be a psychologist, not a Christian psychologist. I am also an ordained minister and have completed Year 1 of Charis Bible College. My wife and I also served as youth pastors for several years. Since I have discovered who I am in Christ, I have spent the latter part of my career helping people utilize evidence-based strategies that are consistent with the Word of God to achieve emotional mastery. I have a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and am known as an expert in treating anxiety and related disorders through immersive, face-your-fear techniques and strategies.
I am also a sports psychologist, helping athletes enhance their performance through mental skills training. Similarly, my wife and I run a nationally recognized center called the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (KYCARDS) and a nonprofit ministry called Sound Mind Ministries.
In essence, the Lord has revealed to me that his gifts and talents are not limited to either a secular job or one in the kingdom but rather “both and.” As such, I have the honor of being a teacher with Healing Journeys Today (HJT), which allows us to minister all over the world. You can find the HJT media ministry on both YouTube and the Gospel Truth Network (GTN) as well as my YouTube show called “The Sound Mind Show,” where I help fellow believers navigate their emotions from a kingdom perspective.
My new book, which is really a training manual, is titled “Mastering Our Emotions: Biblical Principles for Emotional Health.” This book will bless your socks off, and you can use it for leadership training, individuals, small groups or any other purpose.
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 have a heart for people and have the privilege and honor of serving people every day. As both a teacher of God’s Word and a psychologist, I am able to minister truth to people in a variety of ways, including through our center, the media, Gospel Truth Network or church events.
As a fellow pastor friend of mine in Texas recently stated over dinner, “Teachers have a relationship with words.” As such, I stay energized by asking the Holy Spirit during my study of the Word to give me wisdom and revelation so that I can use those insights to minister to God’s people. I read the Word of God with intent rather than simply because I should. I am always looking for a revelation to help someone else who struggles with emotional distress, sleep problems, negative thinking patterns or another epiphany that leads to a practical application of the Word of God.
Being a student of the Word has really compelled me to write my previously mentioned book and has inspired me to write future books to assist brothers and sisters in the body of Christ to remain free. In essence, anything I have ever written is because the desire was placed in my heart by the Holy Spirit. I am in a very liberal field, and yet the Lord has compelled me to integrate science and the Word of God for such a time as this.
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 right now?
Psalm 16:11 tells us, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy” (ESV). I love to tell people that you can’t be in God’s presence if you are not present. We have to make time for the Lord and posture ourselves to hear God’s voice since he is always speaking.
With that said, my deepest revelations come when I am silent or praying in the shower. I have learned that communing with God is a bidirectional relationship: it’s not just me speaking to him. After all, my “Father knows what [I] need before [I] ask him” (Matt. 6:8, ESV). Rather, it also involves listening to him as he speaks to my spirit.
Additionally, when I study the Word of God, the Holy Spirit often keeps me in one verse because he is trying to reveal something specific to me as opposed to reading an entire chapter. In my drive to work, I often sit and just listen without a sound since the Lord often reveals things to me for the day or a “witty invention” (see Prov. 8:12, KJV) for the future. I have learned over time to listen in the quiet times rather than always speaking to God. He is always speaking to us, but I have found that I have to posture myself to hear from him.
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 the game and changed your heart? What radically altered your life? What changed your reality?
Andrew Wommack Ministries, Charis Bible College and GTN have revolutionized my life. The amount of revelation I have received from teachings from these resources has been powerful. Although there are too many to list, Andrew’s teaching on “spirit, soul and body” (see 1 Thess. 5:23) has been the cornerstone of the revelation that I have received about my identity in Christ. You can find a YouTube, illustrative (cartoon) version of this teaching (Andrew Wommack, Spirit, Soul and Body) or can easily find his book, “Spirit, Soul and Body.”
A second teaching that has been incredibly helpful in my journey is one by an instructor at Charis Bible College named Barry Bennett, one of my favorite teachers in the body of Christ. Barry has a teaching titled “The Gospel of Cliches” that you can also find on YouTube. Similarly, Barry Bennett’s Book, “Shaping Your Future” has given me a powerful revelation of the Word of God being a seed, with a seed containing the nature of its source.
Andrew Wommack’s book, “A Believer’s Authority: What You Didn’t Learn in Church” also revealed to me in a powerful way the authority that I have through Jesus.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or even thrive) in tough times — times like these! Name one resource you’re savoring and/or finding indispensable in this current season, and tell us what it’s doing for you.
The programs found on the new Christian network GTN are indispensable. I can find programs with doctrine that I trust that illustrate the balance between grace and faith. Adults with young children can find “The Garden Cartoon,” illustrated by my friend, fellow believer and famous animator Butch Hartman (creator of the “Fairly Odd Parents,” “Danny Phantom” and many other hit cartoons).
There’s plenty of content for adults too. The show “Charis Unplugged” provides an unadulterated perspective of brothers and sisters in the body of Christ and their testimonies. Barry Bennett’s “Free Indeed” contains episodes about being truly free as a believer. Andrew Wommack’s Show “Grace & Faith Today” provides powerful teachings on the balance between grace and faith and how to walk in both.
I can watch GTN at home, on my way to work or during breaks between clients I serve. If I don’t have time to watch, I certainly have time to listen since “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
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?
God is positioning me to minister to fellow brothers and sisters in the body of Christ through media, books, workshops and summits. Any book I write contains practical application through worksheets, discussion questions and homework assignments, which provide ample opportunities to minister these concepts to fellow believers through various means.
As mentioned before, I have the honor of teaching regularly on GTN through my role as a teacher with Healing Journeys Today, where I minister both the Word of God and psychology to assist viewers in mastering their emotions.
Through Sound Mind Ministries, people will be able to join a Sound Mind group, where I will regularly host Zoom sessions to help Christians master their emotions and eliminate panic attacks, social anxiety, chronic worry and other forms of emotional distress. You can also expect to see me hosting Sound Mind summits throughout the country, engaging other believers in one- to two-day intensives on how to successfully navigate emotions from a kingdom perspective.
As part of Healing Journeys Today, we will have three conferences per year that can be hosted by local churches in which we will minister on how to walk in both physical and emotional health through the Word of God. I will also continue to work with individual clients who want to learn emotional mastery in addition to writing future books on similar topics. I am most passionate about ministering these concepts in person or through media, so you can expect this to increase.
How important is it to master our emotions? Does it truly matter whether we learn to do this or not? The Bible has some thoughts on that.
First, King Solomon warns us, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls” (Prov. 25:28, ESV).
Ephesians 4:26 also gives us some much-needed advice (and we love how the Passion Translation phrases it): “But don’t let the passion of your emotions lead you to sin! Don’t let anger control you or be fuel for revenge, even for a day.”
It may seem like a lot of hard work to practice bringing our emotions under God’s control. But it’s not a step the Bible gives us permission to skip. So pause here and ask yourself: “What feelings is God inviting me to process with him today?”
Dr. Kevin Chapman is an author, teacher and internationally recognized expert in the assessment and treatment of anxiety and related disorders. Dr. Chapman is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder and director of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (KYCARDS). Dr. Chapman is ordained and leads Sound Mind Ministries, where he assists fellow believers across the globe with overcoming anxiety and related symptoms while teaching them how to operate in their God-given authority. Additionally, Dr. Chapman is the host of the Sound Mind Show on the Healing Journeys Today YouTube channel, where he describes how to manage emotions from a kingdom perspective.
