One of my favorite books to preach and teach is Revelation. There is so much material within John’s vision about how God calls us to live as citizens of New Jerusalem today as we await the fullness to come. I am confident that my love for the preaching and teaching of Revelation comes from the work of the late Dr. Robert Mulholland, who taught the book with deep care and passion at Asbury Theological Seminary.
The letters to the churches of Asia Minor are among the most well-known parts of Revelation. These churches made up a circuit of churches in Asia Minor, and each letter speaks to situations these churches dealt with then. They provide opportunities to consider our walk with Christ and how we seek to be the church today. As Mulholland argues, there are good, bad, and indifferent churches in Revelation. Much as there are today with how the church connects with the disability community.
As a father, pastor, and special needs advocate, I wonder what might be said if we wrote similar letters to churches based on their love and acceptance of the disability community. What might we say to the seven churches of disability ministry?
To the Church That Only Cares for Its Own (Ephesus)
We thank God for the mighty ways you show love to the people of your community. You are willing to share love with people because of God’s love for you. You are known as a place of deep love and connection, which helps others to see God’s love at work in their own life. You are known for caring for the one or two people with invisible disabilities in your community.
That is where your love stops. You struggle to love those in the disability community beyond those you know. You do not appreciate the community’s story, struggle, or why they do not feel welcome in the church. You assume because of the people you know, your church does not have to work to show love. It does. We wish you would share the same love for others as you do for those you know.
To the Small Church That Tries (Smyrna)
You are seeking to live out your faith by loving God and loving others. It is not easy, but you are trying to build a place where people in the disability community are loved, heard, and accepted. You have sought to listen, made adaptations, and have made a difference in people’s lives. You get overwhelmed by the limited resources, which we understand. You wish you could do more, but you keep doing what you can.
Never lose sight of the possibility that even the smallest of communities can make in sharing love and acceptance. You can be that place of personal connection that can help break down the walls of isolation. Keep being a light of Christ in a dark and hurting world.
To the Church That Welcomes to a Point (Pergamum)
We are amazed by how well you welcome and show love to individuals with disabilities when they come to your church. You claim them as an extension of your family. You ask them how you can be involved in their lives, and you actively seek to help them in whatever ways you can. We appreciate that.
Yet, you refuse to make adaptations to your building or worship life to include individuals with disabilities. You talk often of money and building limitations than you do people and God’s love. You are more afraid people will leave if you make changes. You let your fear weaken the love you show people.
To the Church That Isolates Families (Thyatira)
We have seen your love and care for people. You always try to share God’s love and seek to be a living witness of Christ. You talk about giving people a place where everyone is like a family and that you care for people as Christ calls the church to care for each other.
Why, then, is that same love not shared with people with disabilities and their families? We have heard you talk about being fearful of causing a meltdown. We have heard you say you wish people with disabilities would go to another church or community. You do not want us in your church. You talk a good game of love and welcome, but when it comes to individuals and families with disabilities, you isolate and separate more than you include and welcome.
To the Church That Engages in Conspiracy Theories (Sardis)
We have nothing good to say to you. You dismiss people with disabilities and their families. You promote conspiratorial theologies that claim that people with disabilities, especially autistic people, are demonic. You claim vaccines cause people to become autistic. You share lies believing they are true, and, in doing so, you harm people. As such, you are not a witness of Christ, and we wish you would see the harm you have caused.
To the Church That is Tired and Overwhelmed (Philadelphia)
You are a shining light of Christ’s love for people with disabilities and their families. You strive to live with the hope of Christ and build avenues of acceptance and grace. We are thankful for how you love, seek to learn, and have made a difference in the lives of others.
Disability ministry is difficult. We know it is tempting to believe you have done all you can. We know you want to give up, but we hope you do not. The community needs you and your witness of God’s holy love for all. We need your faithfulness and hope.
To the Church That Doesn’t Care (Laodecia)
You say you are the church, but we wonder if you notice that there are people in the disability community who are not with you each week. You say you want to share God’s love, but you never seek to imagine that sharing love with individuals and families with disabilities requires patience and work. It is almost like you do not think it is a concern. You are more worried about making it to the restaurant on Sunday afternoon than sharing God’s love with the disability community.
We wish you would make up your mind. Are you going to be a place that shares the love you claim with those who often feel unaccepted or unnoticed? Or will you be a social club for your own needs? We wish you would decide, so we would know how to respond to you.
What Church is Yours?
These are general statements, but they are often the reactions many churches share toward individuals and families with disabilities. What church connects to your church? What church is a lot like how you engage the disability community?
Shannon Blosser 