Ep 085: The Necessity of Being Offended by Jesus, with Chase Replogle

The Church Lobby

Karl Vaters talks with Chase Replogle about one of the most controversial, but unavoidable topics today—living with offense without being offended. This material comes from his just-released book, A Sharp Compassion: 7 Hard Words to Heal Our Insecurities and Free Us from Offense.

Karl and Chase talk about why offense is a necessary part of life, how to use it well, and deal with it properly.

Subjects include:

• How Jesus intentionally used offensive words in strategic situations to bring about desired results
• The importance of discipleship
• How the absence of close relationships makes us more offendable
• How church leaders can help those who struggle with being offended
• And more

Chase Replogle is also the author of The 5 Masculine Instincts: A Guide to Becoming a Better Man, and is the host of the Pastor Writer Podcast. He pastors the Bent Oak Church in Springfield, Missouri.

Links from this episode:

• Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonus Content Summary

The Danger Of The Cult Of Self-affirmation

Karl Vaters talks with Chase Replogle about the dangers of using self-affirmation as a guide to life and truth. Recent surveys have shown that self-affirmation, and specifically “how I feel at the moment” have widely replaced universal truths in many people’s lives.

It’s also made its way into the church. While 91% of U.S. adults agree that “the best way to find yourself is by looking within yourself,” 76% of practicing Christians agreed with that statement.

As Chase wrote in A Sharp Compassion, “Religion has not disappeared from America, as so many feared; instead, it has, like everything from our entertainment to our diets, become personalized. It has shifted from the risk of offense to the affirmation of the self.”