Jim Hukill has been a leader in the disability ministry movement before I became aware that there was a disability ministry movement…a true “founding father.” For the past sixteen years Jim has served as Executive Director of Lift Disability Network, the successor organization to the Christian Council on Persons With Disabilities. He’s back this year to speak on the topic…Exchange of Presence.

Before the age of two, Jim was diagnosed with a neuro-muscular disease, a form of Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that has steadily weakened the muscles of his body and has left him dependent on the use of a wheelchair. However, the limitation of Jim’s physical body has not dictated the limits of his life. Jim says, “If you dream big dreams, you will live bigger realities”. With a life expectancy of less than ten years and a diagnosis of life-long respiratory problems, Jim has experienced living well beyond this early prognosis. Today he celebrates more than five decades of “life-miracles” and bigger realities.

What does it mean for Jesus to have come and dwelt among us? What does abide have to do with His physical presence in the human experience? Does Christ’s example of being present in the world set a precedent for us as his followers in regards to how important relationships are as an exchange of life with each other? In this video…The Exchange of Presence, Jim discuss the importance of presence in each other’s lives and within the disability community’s exchange of life with the church. He concludes by sharing a practical example of what an exchange of presence looks like in the inclusive church.

Here’s Jim…

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