tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825243.post4136515926682813958..comments2024-01-06T07:53:11.832-08:00Comments on disabled Christianity: "If this...Then that"Jeff McNairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10029386598033932429noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825243.post-34333632405535571162014-10-28T18:36:41.161-07:002014-10-28T18:36:41.161-07:00I have another thought as to why there is progress...I have another thought as to why there is progress being made now, even if it is only here and there. The generation that came of age post-ADA is now in young adulthood, reaching an age where their leadership is taking hold. People who grew up with people with disabilities in the same classes---at least some of them got the message that everyone belongs. And so everyone belongs in church! <br />Sharon McCartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825243.post-36185970613445469452014-10-07T15:14:22.652-07:002014-10-07T15:14:22.652-07:00I understand the frustration of feeling like "...I understand the frustration of feeling like "you can't get there from here" but as I speak to church members and leaders, I find many who want to make changes. Sometimes money is the barrier. Sometimes it is lack of creativity. Many times it is simply a lack of awareness! People want to do the right thing, they just don't see the problems/barriers/need. The answer is not starting over, which spends time, energy, money none of us have. The answer is, first of all, prayer, and by that I mean not only the petition but even more the listening! God can and does open hearts and minds, allowing the barriers to be removed so that we can find a way to make the rough places smooth and level the mountains and valleys. There is a lot that needs to be done. I am grateful that there are so many people willing to do it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03450815617451130317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825243.post-81204512116411455122014-10-01T18:14:10.505-07:002014-10-01T18:14:10.505-07:00Jeff, I still can't help but wonder if the pro...Jeff, I still can't help but wonder if the problem your picking up on is more foundational than the level of church. I venture to suggest, on the basis of Genesis 4, that at the spiritual level, there is a universal failure to comprehend and respond to God's grace. Such that, even those parts of the church that proclaim God's grace, are still suffering from a Platonic hangover, such that the message of God's grace remains disconnected from the practicalities of everyday life.<br /><br />That's a very condensed statement I could spend allot of time unpacking.<br /><br />Nonetheless, I do take your point that part of the problem is flat out disobedience.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03231215923985460081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6825243.post-64310284355101351112014-10-01T13:38:08.906-07:002014-10-01T13:38:08.906-07:00McNair,
Today I completed an observation within a...McNair, <br />Today I completed an observation within a disabled classroom and your blog post deeply resonated with me as I think about what I saw there. The instruction, or lack there of, seemed to be understandable due to the severity of some of the student's disabilities. However, I did not even see the paraprofessionals or teacher try to initiate a new idea or form of instruction for the students who were able. "If this" way of teaching the disabled has been the same for some time, without the teachers even taking some chances for change "then this" way of instruction will just float the disabled students through the necessary grade levels. As a future teacher, I hope that I would not lose the vigor and passion for trying new things in order to be effective within the classroom. I fear that this idea also resonates within the Christian Church. If we do not change, or repent, and recognize that a change is even needed then no benefits will come for the disabled in the Christian platform. I'm not sure where this idea started, since this attitude is not present in the Bible but I can only think of this scripture: For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25) It is clear that man has much to learn from the Bible and God still, and I can only hope the small improvements in a wide variety of issues will lean more towards God's wisdom than man's.Amanda Fierronoreply@blogger.com