Stephen Mansfield
5 min read ⭑
“It is natural, I suppose, that I ‘hear’ God as a welcome intrusion in my thoughts. It is an alternate voice to the Stephen sound. It is a pull above and beyond my intellectual processes.”
The following is a transcript of a live interview. Responses have been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to a meal than palate and preference. How does your go-to order at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the human being behind the web bio?
I grew up in Germany, so European-Indian food was a staple. Most of my American Army brat friends abhorred it, but my family thought it a treat.
When I moved to Nashville, I thought that cuisine was over for me apart from my occasional trips to New York for media. Eventually, though, a former White House chef, Maneet Chauhan, opened Chauhan Ale & Masala House. It serves Indian/Southern American fusion food and it is stunningly good. So my favorite meal is a merging of my European roots with my Georgia birth, New York, D.C. with Nashville. Let’s go. Right now!
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests, but we tend to keep them pretty well-hidden. What’s something you love doing we might not expect?
Hiking is nearly a religious experience for me. I got this from my mother. Walking the streets of Europe or the woods of Virginia was an exercise in meditation, a cruise through history, an opportunity to consult my spirit in cadence with my footsteps. I ponder the footsteps of Jesus, my Celtic forebears and all who have made journeys by foot in history.
The Celtic Christians believed in “peregrinatio” as a spiritual discipline — that is, a long, meandering walk. St. Augustine of Hippo was the first to mention this practice. He taught that Christians should adopt peregrinatio in this temporal world while waiting for the Kingdom of God. Celtic Christians adopted the practice as “seeking, quest adventure, wandering and exile” all at once.
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, if you’ll put up with a bit of prying, what’s your kryptonite?
My great weakness is being too easily offended. I feel at times as though I’m coated in Velcro and that all offense sticks to me. I have to battle it. I have to pray for my enemies fervently. I have to check the waters of my spirit regularly to make sure the poison of bitterness hasn’t mixed in. It is a lifelong discipline and battle. I frankly find it exhausting, but essential.
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?
My big projects are getting an American university built in Iraqi Kurdistan, starting a global program for men, and having as much influence in Washington, D.C., as God is willing to grant me. This means I live on airplanes, live in prayer and live ever cognizant of my limitations.
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?
My life and work are a great deal about thought. It is natural, I suppose, that I “hear” God as a welcome intrusion in my thoughts. It is an alternate voice to the Stephen sound. It is a pull above and beyond my intellectual processes. That, and the feeling of his presence in worship and intense moments of prayer, is how I know God is near and speaking.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Some people divide things sacred and things secular. But you know, God can surprise us in unlikely places. How do you find spiritual renewal in so-called “nonspiritual” activities?
To restore, I read. I hike. I play cards with my wife while music blares in our home. I work on new cocktails. I sauna until I’m a puddle on the floor. I watch an old movie. I have a good one-on-one conversation with close friends — in which no opinion is banned, but every controversial opinion is punished with thrown food.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith. But you know about some really great stuff too. What are three of your favorite resources?
I use news aggregator apps like Flipboard and Instapaper. A lot. I read “Celtic Theology” guided by J. Philip Newell. I read anything Jon Meacham writes. I use Duck Duck Go rather than Google.
We all have things we cling to in order to survive (or thrive) in particular seasons. What’s one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current one?
I’m a very visceral person, very physical. So in this season of my YMCA being closed and even sections of my cities being closed, I gave myself to bodyweight exercises. I learned about them, I made lists, I started practicing them. They made a huge difference both physically and in my soul. They allowed me to be very physical, to the point of exhaustion and all in the space of an office or living room floor.
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 think I’m just shy of building a type of global men’s movement that just hasn’t existed before. The building blocks are still forming inside of me, but the external structures are coming together, as is the money. Stand by. More to come. And it’s gonna be amazing!
When was the last time you did something physical as a spiritual discipline? It could be a long walk, a difficult workout or even a few relaxing hours at the beach. As Christians, we tend to fall for the deception that the spiritual and the physical are inherently separate. But as Stephen Mansfield points out, that’s far from true. We encourage you to set aside some time today to do something physical that draws you closer to God!
Stephen Mansfield is a New York Times best-selling author and a popular speaker who also leads The Mansfield Group, a media training firm based in Washington, D.C. His first book, a tribute to Winston Churchill, was a Gold Medallion Award Finalist. He’s also written widely acclaimed biographies as well as books that call our nation’s culture higher such as The Faith of George W. Bush, Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men and more. He also hosts The Stephen Mansfield Podcast. Mansfield lives in Nashville and the nation’s capital with his wife, Beverly, an award-winning songwriter and producer.
