disability & Christ: links from last week
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From abp news, Experience on Broadway enriches Baptist couple's calling to special needs advocacy
From The Dallas Daily News, 10 tips for strengthening the relationship between the church and special needs families
If we say that disability doesn't affect us or act in that way, we're saying the gospel is only for people who look or act or behave or think or talk or walk or connect like we do. And? That attitude is simply not biblical.
“Their passion in helping the rest of the world see people with disabilities in a positive way is inspiring,” said Jeannie Troutman, minister to children at First Baptist. “Within our church they have been real advocates for our special needs children.”Out of Tallahassee, New Sunday morning ministry welcomes kids with special needs,
"We were at a place where we had given up on church. We didn't have a place for our daughter to go on Sunday and hadn't gone to church for eight months," Adams said. "When you're a person of faith, coming to church is detrimental and not being able to do that is heartbreaking."From Huffington Post, Teen Will Carry Brother With Cerebral Palsy 40 Miles To Send A Powerful Message
The goal of this walk is to get the attention of our up and coming leaders, doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs and show them the face of Cerebral Palsy and the need for innovative ideas in mobility aides and medical procedures. We need modern equipment that doesn't look medical. We need walkers that can handle playground mulch, ball field gravel, sand at beaches and uneven grass at parks. We need mobility aides and classroom adaptations that work with then newest computer technology. We need handicap accessibility to truly mean accessible, accessible for all.
From The Dallas Daily News, 10 tips for strengthening the relationship between the church and special needs families
People with disabilities can be disruptive or require accommodations the church is not prepared to make. I’ve heard it said that for people with disabilities, the [accessibility] problem at church is not the stairs, but the stares.From Tim Challies, The Disabilities Dilemma
Not too long ago a good friend of ours attended an evangelical pastors’ conference to tell people about his ministry to the disabled, to their families, and to their churches. There were nearly one thousand godly, theologically-astute, gospel-enamored leaders in attendance. What an opportunity, right?A final note from Shannon: This affects all of us, if we are in Christ. If you don't think it does, re-read 1 Corinthians 12, Luke 12:12-14, and Psalm 139... or just look around you at the world God calls us to go into with His good news.
As we spoke to our friend in the aftermath of the event, he told us that his booth, located in a prime spot in the busy exhibit hall, had generated a grand total of five conversations—five conversations in three days. Two of those were with inattentive attendees who apparently mistook the display for something else. In an attempt to escape the awkward moment, one of them uttered, “This doesn’t affect me” before turning his back and rushing away.
If we say that disability doesn't affect us or act in that way, we're saying the gospel is only for people who look or act or behave or think or talk or walk or connect like we do. And? That attitude is simply not biblical.