Faces of the Movement…Nick Palermo

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Dr. G

We’re honored to have Nick Palermo…a founding father of the disability ministry movement join us as a speaker for Inclusion Fusion 2012.

Nick was born and raised in San Jose California and met Christ in high school through the ministry of Young Life. Nick volunteered as a Young Life leader for 11 years and has served on the full time staff of Young Life for 29 years. Nick founded Young Life Capernaum in 1986…Young Life’s outreach to young people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities. Nick has a degree in sociology from San Jose State University and a Masters degree in theology from Fuller Seminary. Nick has been married to his wife (Sumarah) for 22 years…They have three boys (Joel, Zack and Sam). Nick’s Inclusion Fusion topic will be Including Kids With Special Needs in Your Youth Ministry. Here’s a summary of Nick’s talk…

What is the culture of kids with disabilities? What are their unique needs? The family’s unique needs? Why has the church been so hesitant to respond? And specifically when 20 % of the teen population has some form of a disability why don’t we see them represented in our youth ministries? How could they fit in to our communities? What it would like? What would be the outcome for typical kids in our youth ministries? We will discuss the concept of a “withness” ministry where typical kids and kids with special needs encounter Christ mutually. We will look at the long range benefits for the church at large as we include young people with special needs into our faith communities.

Join Nick and 35 other leaders serving as faculty for Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

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Faces of the Movement: Matt Stanford

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Dr. G

I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Stanford for breakfast last week as I was passing through Waco. He’s a world-class neuroscientist currently doing some remarkable work examining at the impact of trauma on faith and spiritual development. I’m convinced that God is preparing to use Matt and his colleagues at Baylor and at Mental Health Grace Alliance to do some remarkable work in changing attitudes in the church toward people with mental illness.

Matt is a Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Biomedical Studies at Baylor University. Professionally he has worked with a variety of mentally ill and brain injured individuals.

He is the author of the Focus on the Family recommended resource, Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness (2008) and The Biology of Sin: Grace, Hope and Healing for Those Who Feel Trapped (2011). A fellow of the Association for Psychology Science (APS) his research on the interplay between psychology and faith has been featured nationally on radio talk shows, TV and publications such as USA Today and the New York Times, as well as news websites including Fox, MSNBC, Yahoo and US News & World Report.

He is the co-founder and director of Mental Health Grace Alliance (MHGA) where he continues to write, conduct training seminars and serve those affected by mental illness and their families. We’re honored that Matt will be speaking on the topic of  Viewing Mental Illness Through the Eyes of Faith for Inclusion Fusion 2012.

Matt’s presentation is designed for anyone interested in learning more about mental illness from a Biblical perspective. Topics covered in this workshop will include:

  • What is a Biblical and clinical understanding/response to mental illness?
  • How to recognize mental illness.
  • The essential role of the church in the recovery and treatment process.
  • How to respond to families dealing with mental illness.
  • How to create mental health related supportive care within the church.
  • Resources to help families navigate the health care system and everyday life.

The heart and vision of the MHGA is to see the works of God displayed in individuals and families affected by mental illness (John 9:1-3). This presentation will help equip you and your church to effectively minister and support those living with mental illness. Don’t miss it!!

Check out Part One and Part Two of our interview with Matt from last winter examining his group’s research on the relationship between mental health and faith practice. 

Join Matt and 35 other leaders serving as faculty for Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

 

 

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Faces of the Movement…Bryan Roe

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Dr. G

Bryan Roe is a successful youth pastor who experienced firsthand the emotions of a teen with a significant disability growing up with Tourette’s Disorder. We’re honored to have Bryan join us for Inclusion Fusion 2012. The title of Bryan’s presentation is The Greater Miracle.

Bryan is a graduate of Judson University in Chicago IL and currently serves as Pastor of Student and Young Adult Ministries at Crosspoint Community Church in Oconomowoc, WI. He and his wife Briana partner together to bring the next generation of young people into passionate relationships with Jesus Christ. They have two young sons named Stellan and Caedman, and they take their boys on small adventures whenever they get the chance.

Here’s a brief summary of Bryan’s upcoming Inclusion Fusion presentation…

It’s inevitable. At some point, every parent of a child with special needs is going to wonder why. Why was our family afflicted with this? Why would God allow this transpire? Why can’t God just take it away? Throughout his deep struggle with Tourette’s Syndrome, Pastor Bryan Roe has wrestled with these questions and found comfort through one crucial truth in the Scriptures: God can use everyone-even those with special needs-to make his love known to the world.

Bryan took the time recently to answer a few questions about growing up with Tourette’s Disorder and ministry with teens with special needs.

SG: In your Inclusion Fusion presentation, you talk about your experiences growing up with Tourette’s Syndrome. How did your experience with Tourette’s as a child and a teen impact your spiritual development?

BR: When I reached middle school, my tics were so bad so overmedicated that I began to wonder, If God is so loving, why would he give me this?  I also began to wonder if he could possibly have a plan for a person like me.  This caused a massive cloud of depression and doubt to set in until one night, contemplating suicide, I prayed an honest prayer of surrender.  From there, everything changed.  Through a series of experiences shortly thereafter, God answered that prayer by showing me the miracle of redemption; God’s ability to save and use a broken kid with Tourette’s like me.

SG: What did you learn from your experience with Tourette’s that most impacts your ongoing ministry with youth?

BR: Simply that there are kids everywhere struggling with similar issues, looking in the mirror and seeing someone who is “less than” enough.  The point is, God can use anyone and everyone.  In fact, his typical bend tends to be toward the kids who don’t think they’ll amount to anything.  If my story communicates anything, it communicates the fact that God can use you in spite of – and often times in light of – your weaknesses.

SG: What suggestions would you share with other youth pastors seeking to welcome and include teens and young adults with outwardly apparent or more “hidden” disabilities who don’t feel comfortable about becoming actively involved with church?

BR: These are the primary points I’m hitting in my message, but here they are in response to this question…

1. Regularly feature testimonies from adult leaders who have seen God use them in ways that he used me.  Additionally, make sure that the leaders who are giving their testimonies make themselves available to talk to (and pray with) students who are impacted by their stories.

2. Create positions for serving in the church that can be filled by individuals with special needs.  Invest in them this way and you add value to them.  Be creative and don’t be afraid to experiment.

3. Communicate stories about how Jesus interacted with people who were on the margins of culture.  Through this, build a case to the rest of your youth (or overall church) population about how we should be intentionally and genuinely reaching out to these kids rather than ostracizing them.

Join Bryan and 35 other leaders serving as faculty for Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

 

 

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Faces of the Movement…Barb Dittrich

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Dr. G

Barb Dittrich is a passionate advocate for the needs of families impacted by disabilities in the church. She’s faithfully served as a member of the Program Committee responsible for putting together Inclusion Fusion, and will be serving as moderator for nightly Tweetchats during this year’s Special Needs Ministry Web Summit.

The mother of three children, two of whom have a variety of special needs, Barb founded SNAPPIN’ MINISTRIES (Special Needs Parents Network) in 2002 and currently serves as its Executive Director. The organization she leads was one of three finalists for WORLD MAGAZINE’S Hope Award for Effective Compassion in October of 2009, in conjunction with the American Bible Society. With a unique vision for serving parents of children with special needs, she has led the SNAPPIN’ MINISTRIES team in developing an innovative parent mentor curriculum. She blogs at Comfort in the Midst of Chaos.

We’re pleased that Barb will again be presenting for this year’s Inclusion Fusion. Her topic will be Making the Case for Mentoring. Here’s a description of Barb’s talk…

Mentoring is an effective biblical model used by mature men and women to disciple younger ones. Parents can use the mentoring model to support and be supported as they face the special challenges of raising a child with special needs. This workshop will describe the components required to create a strong special needs mentoring program and healthy mentoring relationships. It will also provide an overview of SNAPPIN’ Ministries’ new mentor training curriculum, mentoring program, and ongoing support system for mentors and mentorees. This workshop can benefit parents who want to take part in SNAPPIN‘ Ministries‘ program and to churches and organizations interested in launching their own mentoring initiative.

Barb took some time last week to answer a few questions about SNAPPIN’s mentoring initiative…

SG: What prompted SNAPPIN’ Ministries to devote so much time and resources to develop a training curriculum for training mentors to serve families of kids with special needs?

BD: Our core competency as an organization is with the parents of children with unique abilities.  This project just naturally flowed out of our mission statement.  Our Board of Directors set things in motion at our annual vision casting meeting a couple of years ago.

SG: How are the mentors trained by SNAPPIN’ different from parent mentors who advocate for the needs of children in special education or the mental health system?

BD: I would like to believe that our training is more thorough than most.  It is also has a distinctly faith-based approach.  Our vision is that mentors would not only help mentorees with practical and advocacy issues, but also that they would experience spiritual growth together.

SG: What type of time commitment is required of individuals interested in serving as a parent mentor for a family of a child with special needs?

BD: The training period requires a minimum of 2 hours per week of online video chat training plus reading in between for a period of 3 months.  Mentors are finding this appealing because they know we are sending them out well-equipped.  After the 3 months of training, we ask them to commit to a minimum of another 3 months to meet with their mentorees 2 hours per week.

SG: Is the mentor training available through SNAPPIN’ Ministries available everywhere? Can churches serving kids with special needs and their families across the U.S. and beyond replicate SNAPPIN’s training model?

BD: We know that a parent living in as remote area needs support with probably fewer resources than those living near urban areas.  We designed the web components, so this program can be participated in by anyone anywhere.  In an effort to assure the quality of the program, we are not offering training independent of our direct enrollment.  However, we will come and inform churches or other organizations of the program, so they can learn more and see if this is something they want to refer parents to.

SG: What impact have mentors had on you and your husband as you’ve have raised two children with very different challenges associated with their disabilities?

BD: I have been VERY blessed to be mentored by excellent mothers in both the faith community and the special needs community, but never both combined as we are offering in this program.  Nevertheless, those mentors were absolute lifelines to me.  They were critical in my darkest hours.  I have also been blessed to serve as a spiritual mentor to a mom with a son who has special needs.  (No coincidence in my opinion.). The mutual edification and significance from that relationship was remarkable.

My husband has experienced mentoring in a much different way.  For years he has met 2 other special needs dads for breakfast and Bible study every-other Thursday before work.

SG: Anything you’d like that I left out?

BD: Our testimonies are personal narratives of hope.  My prayer is that this program would help pass on that hope to many, many parents.

Here’s Barb’s Inclusion Fusion talk from last year…Bathing in the Healing of Forgiveness.

Join Barb and 35 other leaders serving as faculty for Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

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Faces of the Movement…Gillian Marchenko

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Dr. G

I’m honored today to have the opportunity to guest blog for Gillian Marchenko. Gillian is a rising star in the disability ministry movement who God is positioning to do great things in advancing the cause of God’s Kingdom. She’ll be serving as a faculty member for Inclusion Fusion 2012. Her topic is Loss and Grief in Parenting Children With Special Needs.

Gillian and her husband Sergei are building a church in Chicago (Christian Fellowship Church) where families of kids with disabilities are welcome. She leads a ministry (The King’s Table) offering weekly respite care to families of children with special needs, and an inclusive ministry for weekend worship.  Gillian is attracting a rapidly growing following for her skills as a writer, speaker, and advocate for individuals with special needs. She writes and speaks about parenting kids with Down syndrome, faith, imperfection, and adoption. Her work has appeared in MomSense Magazine, EFCA TODAY, Four Cornered Universe, CHICAGO PARENT, Story Bleed, CHICAGO SPECIAL PARENT, and is forthcoming at Thriving Family, Literary Mama, and Connections Magazine. She speaks to Mothers of Preschool groups  and teaches about inclusive church with Joni and Friends Chicago.

I began reading Gillian’s blog after one of our staff members started posting her articles on Key Ministry’s Facebook page. The authenticity of her writing immediately caught my attention. She’s written some fabulous blog posts on her personal experience with depression that’s among the best stuff I’ve seen on mental health from a Christian perspective. This post in particular is especially appropriate for Mental Illness Awareness Week.

We’re very much looking forward to Gillian’s Inclusion Fusion presentation. Check out her website at http://www.gillianmarchenko.com, her Facebook page or her Twitter feed.

Join Gillian and 35 other leaders serving as faculty for Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

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Faces of the Movement: Penny and Mike Hanlon

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Dr. G

Penny and Mike Hanlon are the parents of four wonderful children. Having experienced the loss of their daughter Jessica Marie in 1997 and dealing with the needs of a daughter with Mitochondrial Disease (Gabrielle) they created resources for families of children with special needs.

Penny and Mike serve on a number of boards…from hospitals and non-profit organizations to church and outreach ministries. Penny serves as the Director of Special Needs for Avon United Methodist Church, while Mike is the President of the Board of Directors of Nehemiah Ranch.

Penny has released a new product through Coming Home LLC, The Healing Journey – A Healing Journal…designed to help families experience healing through the traumatic times that begin when a loved one is diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness. The journal guides families through the experience-helping them to see where their experiences and God’s plans intersect.

Penny and Mike will be serving as speakers for this year’s Inclusion Fusion Special Needs Ministry Web Summit. Here’s a guest blog written by Penny…Coming Home

Organizing, planning, and managing, while loving…this tag line says it all. I would like to say this all happened over night but then again I think I would have missed out on what an awesome God we really have. God has been so good to us in spite of our challenges. I am so thankful for what He has done for us.

Mike and I have been married for 17 years. We have 4 beautiful children, one with special needs.

Out of my 6 pregnancies, our first child was born three weeks early by emergency C-section. Our second child was a difficult pregnancy and delivery. She had multiple delays and problems. One morning, when she was 10 months old, I found her dead in her crib. She had suffocated. My next 2 pregnancies were relatively smooth.  I then had a miscarriage, and we then had another son.

Despite the various medical problem pregnancies and the loss of our second child, Jessica, nothing prepared me for the intense medical needs for our daughter Gabrielle. At four months things went terribly wrong; she was rushed to the hospital with severe seizures. The doctors put her into a medically induced coma. We did not know if she would live or die. God’s miraculous hand brought her home to us. She was later diagnosed with multiple disabilities; among them a seizure disorder, brain damage, and a mitochondrial disease being her primary diagnosis. She was in the hospital for over a month and when she came home our lives were changed forever.

When we were told we could take Gabrielle home my mind was focused on the fact that we were finally leaving the hospital and our lives were going to get back to normal. Normal, now that couldn’t be further from the truth. What was once normal, raising my three children all under the age of five, going to the park, having play dates, making dinner for my family, now became a life of a constant scheduled existence. There was so much to manage; it was very frustrating trying to remember and keep track of all of her medical history. My weeks turned into a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments, tests, phone calls, questions, symptoms and treatments. I was always answering the same questions, needing to explain her symptoms and condition over and over again; giving doctors and nurses lists of her medications. The information seemed never ending.

Because of my experience, I created an organizer to help me manage Gabrielle’s medical information. I learned how important it was to keep everything together, organized, and up to date. Once I started using it I felt more prepared with meetings with doctors, therapists, and during emergency room visits. I felt more confident to make decisions on my daughter’s behalf. The more I began to organize her medical information, the more proactive I became in managing her care. I was less focused on my worry and anxiety related to her illness and could better focus on being her mama and just loving her. The peace of mind was incredible!  I discovered others who needed this type of resource, leading me to turn it into a product and offer it to others.

The journal was created because I needed to find God in all of this pain and suffering.  I have always been a Christian, always went to church, always loved God but when this kind of deep emotional suffering began happening in my life, my view changed and I began to question God.  Does He really love me? Will this pain ever end? Why did He give me a “broken” child? As all of this was going on I began to search for something to help me put things in perspective. I needed to find an outlet for this emotional rollercoaster that I was on, one that was positive, spiritual, and uplifting. I needed to find something that talked about having a special needs child, and the feelings, frustrations, and challenges that a mother and family go through in raising a special needs child. I needed to find a resource, guidelines, something that would help me process all of the traumatic events of my child’s life that would ultimately change my life as a wife, mother, caregiver, and friend. I needed to know that through the pain and suffering God is there, God does love me and that my child is not broken she is a precious gift from God and if I will let Him, He will show me all of this and more.

From all of this I have learned that there is healing and hope in our Lord Jesus Christ! In spite of our challenges God wants to touch our hurting spirit and heal our broken hearts. May you know that when you put your hope in God and in his Word he who promised is faithful!

The Coming Home Medical Organizer developed by Penny is available here.

Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

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Faces of the Movement: Rhett Smith

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Dr. G

I’m delighted that Rhett Smith has graciously agreed to serve as a speaker for Inclusion Fusion 2012!

Rhett is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Plano, TX. In addition to his private practice, Rhett is on staff of The Hideaway Experience, which is a 4-day marriage intensive in Amarillo, TX. He is the author of The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good? (Moody, 2012), and the coming book, What It Means to be a Man: God’s Design for Us in a World Full of Extremes (Moody, 2013). He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary (MDIV, MSMFT), and lives in McKinney, TX with his wife Heather and his two children. Rhett’s Inclusion Fusion presentation is entitled Reframing Anxiety: The Inclusion of Anxiety in our Church Communities.

Since this is Mental Illness Awareness week, I thought this would be a great time to share  a fabulous interview Rhett shared with us last winter on The Anxious Christian that to this date holds the single day record for most page views on this blog. I believe there’s a growing recognition within the church of the barriers that exist to full inclusion of children and adults with mental health issues. Here’s an preview of Rhett’s Inclusion Fusion 2012 presentation…

“The Bible says do not be anxious, therefore you shouldn’t be.”

How many times has this statement or one similar to it been uttered to someone wrestling with anxiety? It’s a situation that I hear often in the context of my work as a pastor and therapist. A person is told it is wrong for them to have anxiety as a Christian, yet they find themselves in my office struggling with their anxiety.

Whether we know it or not, our views on anxiety often exclude those struggling with it from our church communities, only driving the person farther into shame, rather than including them in the community they call home.

But what if God can use our anxiety for good? What if it’s a tool that drives us closer to God, rather than leads to disconnection?

God has used anxiety from the beginning as a way to bring people closer to him, and he is wanting us to help others embrace their anxiety in order to transform their lives. If you are wanting to see your anxiety in a new light, or you are wanting to help others feel included in church community, despite their anxiety…then I hope you will join me.

Join Rhett and 35 other leaders serving as faculty for Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

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Faces of the Movement: Mike Beates (Part Two)

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Dr. G

Congratulations to Mike Beates for his nomination by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association as Best New Author of 2013 for Disability and the Gospel! Here’s the conclusion of a two-part interview with us last fall in which he discusses the book.

Yesterday, we introduced you to Mike Beates-father of an adult daughter with a chromosomal abnormality, theology professor, teacher, Joni and Friends Board member and author of the new book Disability and the Gospel: How God Uses Our Brokenness to Display His Grace. 

Today, we’ll complete our interview with Mike. He’ll discuss ideas for churches on reaching out to families touched by disabilities and serving families without a formal disability ministry “program.”

C4EC: In the book, you state “The church needs to reach out more effectively to those who live with disabilities.” What are some strategies you’d recommend to congregations who want to pursue kids and adults living with disabilities with no connection to a church? Since you’ve provided a “plausible apologetic,” can you suggest a plausible methodology?

MB: THIS is a tough question. I have told people that my book, Disability and the Gospel, is a book that seeks to address “Why” a church should embrace those who live with disability. Many others have addressed pragmatic issues in helpful “how to” books – and they are better than I could write. But a simple answer may be this: Every family with disability is unique in their needs and in the gifts they bring. If a church seeks to enter this vital area of ministry, they should start with those whom God brings to them. Learn ways to help. Never say, “Call us if we can help.” Rather, suggest ways to help – in fact, better yet, tell a family “We will come over on such-and-such a day. Then we can learn how we might be able to serve you and walk with you.” Show up! Learn as you walk together. Then God will expand your reach. As soon as families learn they are welcome and your church will take a risk, learn and grow, more and more families will come. And your church will be blessed!

C4EC: I liked your statement that “A successful measure of disability effectiveness in a local church would be that it would not need to have a disability ministry.” How might that be accomplished?

MB: A sub-text of my thesis in the book is that we are all broken people. As we embrace that idea, as we see ourselves as “disabled” (whether spiritually, emotionally, or more outwardly physically), we can better walk with those who live more openly with disability. When this happens, brokenness becomes the norm, not the exception.

Now, I also recognize that some situations require special accommodation. I was speaking with someone recently who said a family in their church was struggling with how to enfold a family whose autistic child was so disruptive that the entire worshipping body was distracted. I remember times when my Jessica would become upset, cry, even scream, at times when it was necessary to find another setting for her (at least for a while). We knew we were in the right church when brothers and sisters in Christ would follow us out of the sanctuary and offer to stroll with her so we could return to and benefit from worship.

Such situations will always require special accommodation – we treat some weaker members with special modesty and care (see Paul’s description in 1 Corinthians 12). But as much as possible, we seek to bring all people into worship, under the means of grace of preaching and sacrament – God will speak to all in ways only the Holy Spirit will know.

Mike’s book, Disability and the Gospel: How God Uses Our Brokenness to Display His Grace is available for the Kindle at Amazon.com, and is also available in paperback through many fine retailers.

Updated March 13, 2013

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Key CatalogOur Key Ministry team is very much in need of your support if we are to continue to provide free training, consultation and resources to churches. Please consider either an online donation or a sponsorship from the Key Catalog. You can sponsor anything from an on-site consultation at a local church, the addition of a new site for church-based respite care, to a “JAM Session” to help multiple churches launch special needs ministries in your metropolitan area. Click the icon on the right to explore the Key Catalog!

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Faces of the Movement: Mike Beates

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Dr. G

Congratulations to Mike Beates for his nomination by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association as Best New Author of 2013 for Disability and the Gospel! Here’s the first part of a two-part interview with us last fall in which he discusses the book.

As part of our Fall series exposing you to some of the very diverse and gifted people God is using to provide leadership to the movement among churches to welcome and serve persons with disabilities and their families, it is my honor to introduce Mike Beates.

Mike is a parent of a 30 year old who lives with profound disabilities related to a chromosomal anomaly. He has served since 2000 on the International Board of Directors at Joni and Friends and is author of  an excellent new book Disability and the Gospel: How God Uses Our Brokenness to Display His Grace I plan to review for you in the coming weeks.

On his blog, Mike describes himself as the husband of one (Mary); the father of seven (Jessica, Jameson, Abraham, Abbie, Shoshanah, Eli, and Joe); and, in God’s kind providence, a teacher of many. Over the years, he has been privileged to teach students at Biblical Seminary near Philadelphia, through Ligonier Ministries, at Reformed Theological Seminary and Florida Southern College in Orlando. In addition, he has taught in mission capacities with Joni and Friends around the U.S., in Ghana and Ukraine; and preached and taught in churches too numerous to list. Presently his teaching is restricted to students at The Geneva School in Winter Park, Fla. and at Belhaven University in Orlando.

Mike will be a faculty member for Inclusion Fusion 2012, speaking on the topic A Brief Theology of Disabilities. He graciously answered some questions I shared after having read Disability and the Gospel. I’ll share the remainder of his answers tomorrow.

C4EC: You discussed your experience when your daughter (Jessica) was diagnosed with a chromosomal abnormality. How has your experience as Jessica’s father impacted your spiritual development? How has having Jessica impacted your family’s church participation and spiritual development? Is there any advice you’d offer to other couples after raising a child with disabilities?

MB: I often tell people that Jessica has had an earth-shaking impact on me, Mary and our children. Our appreciation for the rich grace of the Gospel deepened significantly and our faith in Christ (that is trusting, leaning heavily upon and surrendering to the goodness of God for us) was experienced at a whole new level. Jessica was born while we were serving on Young Life staff, reaching out to high school kids in Buffalo, N.Y. I was working on the presumption that God was lucky to have me “on His team.” Without realizing it, my life of faith was based largely on being good and pleasing God. Then . . . our first child is born with profound disabilities . . . and life was never the same.

Looking back, Mary and I went into a free fall spiritually. “How could God do this to us?” we asked without necessarily saying it out loud. But over the years, her quiet – indeed wordless – life spoke volumes to us about trusting God more fully. I wrote about her continuing impact recently here: http://mikebeates.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/silent-impact/

As far as church went, our church at the time (The Wesleyan Church of Hamburg) was a wonderful community – despite some people asking awkward questions like “Have you confessed the sinned that lead to this tragic situation?” Since then, as we moved from Buffalo to Philadelphia (Lansdale Presbyterian Church), and then to Florida (with a couple of churches over 20-something years), Jessica’s participation in our family life determined in strong ways where we would worship. I remember visiting a church when we dropped her off in her oversized “stroller chair” the children’s worker asked, “You’re not leaving her with us, are you?” Needless to say, we did not go back. But then at another church, someone approached us, got down on a knee and introduced herself to Jessica, and volunteered to take her to a children’s program – we had a found a church home!

So I would give this advice to young families with children who live with disability: Ask God to lead you to an accepting church. When you visit a church, offer whatever simple instructions might be necessary to care for your child in the nursery or Children’s program and see how they respond. Are the teachable and accepting? Do they show the love of Christ to your child as much as to you? Are they willing to find ways to accommodate your family and enfold you into the congregational life? If so, thank God and settle in. Your child will have a ministry of “presence” that is hard to quantify.

Revised March 12, 2013

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HomepageKey Ministry is pleased to invite you to make use of our website. Over 180 FREE, downloadable resources are available to pastors, church staff and volunteers seeking to serve kids with disabilities and their families. Please check out keyministry.org today and share the link with anyone who can benefit!

 

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Faith and Disability Symposium presentations now available through Slideshare

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Dr. G

I’m pleased to be able to share with you the Power Point handouts for next week’s Faith and Disability Symposium at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church in Katy, TX.

You can access these presentations, along with slides from other Key Ministry presentations I’ve offered and slides from professional presentations through this link to my Slideshare account.

Download Including Kids at Church Who Behave Aggressively

Download Kids and Teens With Mental Health Disorders…Barriers to Spiritual Growth

Hope to see you next week at the Faith and Disability Symposium!

Inclusion Fusion, Key Ministry’s second annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit is made available FREE OF CHARGE to pastors, church staff, volunteers and families everywhere from November 12th-16th, 2012. For an up to date list of speakers, topics, links to speaker blogs and a link for free registration, click here.

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