Disability Church

Lamar Hardwick was thirty-six years old when he found out he was on the autism spectrum. While this revelation helped him understand and process his own experience, it also prompted a difficult re-evaluation of who he was as a person. And as a pastor, it started him on a new path of considering the way disabled people are treated in the church. Disability and the Church is a practical and theological reconsideration of the church's responsibilities to the disabled community.

Much of the church has forgotten that we worship a disabled God whose wounds survived resurrection, says Amy Kenny. It is time for the church to start treating disabled people as full members of the body of Christ who have much more to offer than a miraculous cure narrative and to learn from their embodied experiences. Written by a disabled Christian, this book shows that the church is missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability.

Based on extensive research, Naomi Lawson Jacobs and Emily Richardson have collected prophetic and transformative narratives of experience, shared directly by disabled people who have rarely been enabled to speak in Christian books about disability. By centering disabled Christians’ own stories, this book calls for churches to move from a care-based approach to disability, to one that is focused on justice, equality and access to churches for disabled Christians.

In Disability Pride, disabled journalist Ben Mattlin weaves together interviews and reportage to introduce a cavalcade of individuals, ideas, and events in engaging, fast-paced prose. He traces the generation that came of age after the ADA reshaped America, and how it is influencing the future. He documents how autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement upended views of those whose brains work differently. He lifts the veil on a thriving disability culture showing how the politics of beauty for those with marginalized body types and facial features is sparking widespread change.

Now, as more families like Michael's are affected by a growing number of disorders and difficulties ranging from autism to food allergies, the need for programs and paradigm shifts is greater than ever. Beates thus seeks to motivate churches to pursue ministry to children and adults with developmental disabilities. He works through key Bible passages on brokenness and disability to develop helpful principles for believers and churches, teaching them first to embrace their own brokenness and then to embrace those who are more physically and visibly broken.

Is the Church ignoring some of its greatest resources? The author of this small book believes that this is the case. Elderly, disabled and infirmed believers have noteworthy limitations. However, in the economy of the church, their challenges only increase their value. This book is a call to arms - a rallying cry - for every single believer to value and encourage those believers who appear to be most limited. They are vital to the function and work of the Church on this earth. Whether you are a believer who is currently struggling with your physiological limitations or you are simply close ...

Reluctantly, Chef Isaac finds himself working in the kitchen of his nemesis, Chef Piper Peyton. Why would he want to cook his way into her heart? To save a landmark family restaurant in Savannah, two chefs must put aside their twenty-year-old feud and cook together. Can they at least try to be kind toward each other without digging up old hurts? I can’t wait for you to read Piper’s story. Fans of my Savannah Sweethearts and Coastal Sweethearts Christian coastal romance series might recall that Piper is profoundly deaf. Here comes Chef Isaac, who does not speak American Sign Language at ...

This comprehensive guide to church accessibility and inclusive ministry will help your church embrace people with disabilities, not only as recipients of God’s love, but as partners in ministry. Previously known as the Inclusion Handbook, this expanded edition features a plethora of new insights, resources, and tips for inclusive ministry. Maybe you have a disability yourself. Maybe you want to advocate on behalf of someone you know. Or maybe you’re a church leader hoping to work toward more accessible ministry.

When Sarah Roberts’s son, Oscar, was born, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with Down syndrome. Sarah had to rapidly come to terms with a new normal, as she suddenly found her life on a different path to the one she’d always hoped and believed she’d follow. For the Love of Oscar shares a mother’s real and very raw emotions as she comes to terms with that new path, in a story which is nevertheless both heart-warming and funny. Sarah writes candidly about the ups and downs not only of parenthood but also of parenting a child who just happens to have additional needs.

Will Macey's dreams of marrying Sam go up in smoke? Macey and Sam have planned their perfect wedding, but when their wedding venue catches fire days before their wedding, Firecracker might have to call the whole thing off. Will her friends and family be able to come up with another plan? Delaney's dreams of motherhood move forward, and Melody's life takes a tragic turn as a nightmare from her past threatens to ruin her future. Catch up today with the lives of the Charles Town Brides in this sweet, clean, Christian romance series.