Matthew 25 from Joni and Friends Daily Devotional

The following is from   Joni and Friends Daily Devotional March 30, 2014

"You Did It for Me"

"Then the King will say, 'I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:34-40 The year is A.D. 33. It's late on a stormy Friday afternoon, and I am standing on a rugged hill by a trash heap outside Jerusalem. I huddle with a group of women just a few yards from the cross. Large drops of rain begin to pelt the dust, and I clutch at my head shawl, wiping away tears and rain. I cannot take my eyes off Jesus. His body is ramrod stiff, covered with caked dirt and blood, back arched, near death, yet hands stretched and fingers splayed. Jesus' head bobs against the crossbar and He groans, "I thirst." I step out of the group and cock my ear. Did Jesus say He was... thirsty? A soldier, half-drunk, cracks off a stock of hyssop, spears a sponge and, after soaking it in sour wine, laughs and thrusts it into His face. I am horrified. Wait. Don't give Him wine gone acidic. This is the Lord who is asking for a drink. O, God, if only I had a jug of fresh spring water! But history is written. I am helpless to do anything. ______________________________________ It is this year. It is late on a stormy afternoon. You drive by a nursing home, recalling a community notice mentioning the need for more dinnertime volunteers at the home. Jesus said that when we meet the needs of our neighbors, we have ministered personally to Him. Hurting people are our neighbors. History can be rewritten -- we can still give the Lord that drink.

Blessings, Joni and Friends www.joniandfriends.org     If you go to the website you can sign up to receive these daily devotional emails from Joni! McNair

Individuals with Disabilities and Employment Survey

Please consider taking this survey if you are an individual with a disability and meet the criteria below.
Thanks,
McNair


Individuals with Disabilities and Employment Survey

The purpose of this survey is to identify the influences and obstacles that have enabled individuals with disabilities to acquire and maintain part-time or full-time employment.
To participate, you must have a disability AND have been working part-time or full-time for at least 1 year. Your feedback is important, entirely confidential, and completely anonymous.

Employment survey

Embracing "asociality"

In thinking through the social structures of the church, the Mark 7:8 & 13 passages become crucial in decision making. What are the commands of God relative to church social structures and what are the traditions of men in regard to these same structures? If we opened the flood gates of inclusion, for example, would the result for the church socially, be something outside of the commands of God? If so, those results would be clearly wrong. However, if they were not, they would lead us to alternatives which have been somewhat unexplored because we have equated tradition with the commands of God. Must the Word of God be shared in a silent room? Does noise in a room indicate a lack of respect for what is being shared? Or, does silence indicate a lack of respect for what is being shared? Do the practices that lead us to being able to achieve the silent room during worship show a lack of respect for what is being shared? Does sitting still and doing nothing indicate a lack of respect for what is being shared? It seems many of our social assumptions need to be revisited.

It is obvious, but must be stated, that we are not talking about questions of morality when we speak of social openness. To illustrate, we are referring to someone talking or talking too loud or standing too close. We are not talking about what might be called “sins” by persons that we now say are no longer sins and then celebrate them.  This is a critical distinction to be made in our current social climate where amorality is equated with morality because either is determined by the social consensus of the moment. For example, racism is wrong in our society... at the moment. But I don't trust our society because it could change because of prevailing events, and people suddenly think that what used to be wrong is no longer wrong. It is not like this has not occurred in the past. Think of the language that has been used to describe our enemies in war. In spite of the fact that there were and are Americans from ethnic groups representing the countries we fought, our language became racist. When there is no immutable moral position based upon truth, one does morality by consensus and consensus changes. Amorality is not what I am talking about.

In contrast, perhaps asociality (as contrasted with amorality) is acceptable, particularly when expressed by someone who hasn’t the ability to know the difference and/act on the difference even when shown to them. Asociality can be annoying because we are conditioned to experience social interactions in a particular way. I can tell you, however, when you spend significant time with people who do not understand typical social behavior, you come to not only find it not particularly disturbing, but actually at times quite refreshing. I recall that the thing that got me interested in disability in the first place was actually that.  In my first interactions with adults with intellectual disabilities there was an openness, a lack of guile, which I found totally engaging. It would be considered inappropriate or strange for me to meet you and instantly tell you “I love you!” or “I hate you!” or even, “You have a big pimple on your nose!” Each of those statements are socially inappropriate according to typical standards and they are entirely wonderful and engaging in their honesty. Honesty, particularly when expressed, is not really socially acceptable behavior, but I love the brutal honesty I receive from my friends with various mental and intellectual impairments. I have grown to enjoy their form of inappropriate social skills over the "appropriate" social skills of others not impacted by disability.

Could the kinds of changes that inclusiveness would bring to the church cause us to develop alternative traditions that would be much more reflective of the commands of God than our current traditions are? I don't know but I am willing to try to find out.

 

McNair

Video of Light and Power Company session

My wife, Kathi, and I facilitate (along with many other outstanding volunteers), a ministry called the Light and Power Company.  The group meets at Trinity Church in Redlands, CA.  I invite you to visit anytime! A couple of our volunteers, Pat and Curtis Hall, made a video of one of our teaching sessions just so others might get an idea of how the teaching goes in our ministry. 

As I review it, there are good and not so good things about it.  Things I am happy with and things I will be endeavoring to change in the future.  But anyway, here is an example of what a typical teaching session looks like in our group.

I welcome any comments or questions.

Video of Light and Power Company session

God bless,
McNair

Kindle version of "The Church and Disability" now available

The Church and Disability is a book I put together, with gleanings from this blog over the first few years. In some cases, postings were expanded and many corrections were made. The idea was to both preserve the writing I have done on this weblog and also make it available in an alternative format. The postings on this weblog are searchable, however, the book form was not.  An index was not even available.  However, with the kindle version, one can now have a searchable copy of the book.  This is something I have been hoping for since the book was originally published.

If you are interested, click on the picture of the book.
God Bless,
McNair

 

 

The virute of apathy

Just finished watching the movie "Se7en". I don't necessarily recommend it.  Very violent and dark. However, there is one point where the two main characters Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) are having a discussion in a bar about the killer they are trying to find. Somerset is somewhat discouraged and Mills tries to shake him out of it.

William Somerset: I just don't think I can continue to live in a place that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was virtue.
David Mills: You're no different. You're no better.
William Somerset: I didn't say I was different or better. I'm not. Hell, I sympathize; I sympathize completely. Apathy is the solution. I mean, it's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life. It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, love costs: it takes effort and work.

I must agree with Somerset's conclusion about a lot of what we see in society.  Apathy is the path that too many people take. They want simply to be left alone in their homes, in their cars and at work.
Earlier he says,

William Somerset: But you got to be a hero? You want to be a champion. Well, let me tell you, people don't want a champion. They wanna eat cheeseburgers, play the lotto and watch television.

I really do wonder if people want a champion. Someone who not only does right, but someone who is an example to them. I wonder if they want to be spurned on to be greater than they are. I think they are more content to allow others to be the ones who put in the effort and work to love. They may be too interested in their cheeseburgers, playing lotto and watching TV. This is a malaise of all of society, the church included.

Jesus is truly a champion, and we are glad we have a champion, but we don't want to be someone else's champion because of the amount of work it will require. Whatever is worthwhile takes work, on my part and on your part.

You don't want to work? 

Then don't be surprised with the world around you. 

You don't want to be someone's champion? 

Then don't be surprised at the lives of others who are in despair.

I truly think we have become a place that embraces apathy as a virtue. But it is not a virtue.
"...love costs: it takes effort and work."

McNair

"...we treat with special honor"

1 Corinthians 12 is a description of the Body of Christ. I have written many times about this passage. But I want to pull out a different section for this entry. In verse 22 & 23, Paul writes,
"on the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we think are less honorable we treat with special honor."
It is not difficult to figure out how we might treat someone with special honor.  We have all probably done that at one time or another.  Let me provide some examples from my own experience.

• Once over the Christmas holidays, my wife and I had made many plans of things we were going to do. But, God bless them, my daughter and her husband, as a surprise to us, showed up at a family gathering on Christmas day. Our response was that everything we had planned for the holidays was now tentative till we figured out what their plans were.  We treated them with special honor.
• My father-in-law towards the end of his life had advanced Alzheimer's disease.  He would do things and say things that were very strange due to his disease. But because of our love for him, just about anything he might do, we overlooked.  We understood that he had great confusion about what was going on around him, but we redirected him, helped him. We treated him with special honor.
• When my son was a little boy, he loved Sesame Street.  I am not a big fan. However, when the Sesame Street live show came to town, we put his desires above our own and we went to see the show. One of the most fun memories of my life is my 3 year old turning to me after it was through and saying, "Thanks for the show, Dad!" We treated him with special honor.
• Once in Africa, a friend of mine was giving a presentation at a conference about theology/disability issues.  In the middle of his presentation, he was interrupted because a country dignitary, the only woman/disabled person in the nation's congress appeared. Graciously, my friend stopped his presentation and relinquished the microphone to the dignitary.  We treated her with special honor.

In each of these cases, one person relinquishes his rights in deference to another. Maybe I didn't want to change my Christmas plans or maybe I didn't want to be patient with my father-in-law or maybe I didn't want to see Sesame Street, or maybe my friend didn't want his remarks interrupted. However, in each case people were treated with special honor in the responses.

But the verse starts out saying, "the parts we think are less honorable." Interestingly, Paul is writing so he thinks they are less honorable too by using the word "we". What do we do to/for those people? We treat them with special honor. So, maybe we change our plans on the basis of their presence. Maybe we do things we might not entirely like to do because of their presence. Maybe we are more patient with those who because of a disability aren't entirely responsible for their behaviors/actions. Maybe we relinquish our rights in the name of facilitating something that will be a great benefit to everyone.

In EVERY case, when someone comes into my sphere to whom I must provide special honor, I cannot do the same things that I would typically choose to do.  I have to change. By definition, if I do not change, I am not providing special honor.  Suppose I told my daughter and her husband, "I hope you can work with the plans we have already made, because we aren't going to change them." Suppose I told my father-in-law, "I don't want you with me because you say and do things that are unusual". Suppose I said to my son, "You know, I don't like Sesame Street, so we are never going to a show." Suppose I said to the dignitary, "Sorry, we have a program and you are not on it." In every case someone, to the degree they were able to understand, would have felt offended, and justifiably so.

So, what of the people we think are less honorable? We already dishonor them by thinking them less honorable. Will we follow up that feeling by treating them less honorably, completing the circle? Or would we recognize that our feelings are wrong ("On the contrary" Paul says) and correct our negativity by treating them with special honor, not only for them BUT FOR OURSELVES!  Can you see how this would be a corrective for them AND US!

McNair

Universal social design

Please check out the following link to an article I wrote on the topic of universal social design and some further commente to flesh out the concept a bit.

Universal social design

This is a concept that has huge potential for changing the church if it was embraced. It basically says "I love you and your presence is more important than social etiquette."  All church social settings would become much more "wide open" but people would experience acceptance and people would experience being accepting of others. The value of the individual and showing/receiving God's acceptance would be on display. If one thinks such an open setting would detract from worship or the sharing of God's word they only need attend one of the many African-American churches where interaction during all phases of meetings is beautifully on display. Silence during many aspects of church gatherings is little more that an artifact of tradition that could be changed through the adoption of universal social design principles. It would clearly take some getting used to as does any change but it is a change worthy of serious consideration.

This also related to a post I wrote several years back.

Social healing

Blessings
McNair 

Alone yet not alone...two interesting articles

Here are two links from two unlikely places...The Huffington Post and Variety Magazine.
I would encourage you to check out each of them.

Huffington post article

Variety article

In spite of the nomination being pulled, it is still fun to follow the aftermath. Joni's response is an example to all Christians of how to respond to a secular world.  She has been gracious, honest and a bit fun actually.

The story of what Joni calls, "The little song that could" continues...

McNair

Satisfied...?

Imagine a man with an intellectual disability. Lets say he is like 45 and doesn't live at home. Just with that description, many people might be able to describe what his life is like. You might imagine...

-he lives in a group home, probably with a roommate only members of the same sex living there. The home is probably in the community but there is little contact with members of the community.
-most of the people in his life are paid to be with him. They are service providers. The friends he has are either those who live with him who have the same sort of life or those at his day program. He may have family contact but it isn't very regular, and may be none at all. He has pretty much no friends who are regular community members. Involvement from community members is rarely seen, rarely facilitated and probably shunned.
-his "work" consists of  either game playing or busy work or "Mickey Mouse garbage (the way Dr. Marc Gold described much of the 'work' provided to folks in these kinds of programs) as the demands and expectations for growth are so minimal.
-probably the leisure recreation activities in his life are watching TV and maybe bowling (all disabled people like to bowl, right? you would think so rather than that being a reflection of the lack of creativity in teachers). He rarely gets to go outside.

The problem with the above is not that this is typical although that is a problem...the problem is that we are satisfied that this is the way it is! We know this is the reality and we don't care, or think it is fine, or just don't know what to do so we do nothing. Human services workers are satisfied, families are satisfied, churches are satisfied. I think all these groups are satisfied because the current system makes minimal demands of all of us. I think the state agencies like the separation from the community because it facilitates their tendency toward making decisions that are administratively convenient for them. Compartmentalization is easier for group management and regulation of people. Integration of people into the community only makes life messy, more difficult, more REAL.
Peoples lives are complicated.  When we make their lives simple, we restrict their lives making them regulated and unreal.

Don't be satisfied with the way things are.

To the Christian I would say, "Don't be conformed any longer to the patterns of the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). Does the current experience of persons with disabilities as regulated by human services represent a Biblical understanding of disability? How  would a Biblical replacement narrative about disability and who people with disabilities are change the typical scenario above? What can you do to help to facilitate that change?

McNair

What is relevant?

We had a discussion in one of my classes the other night about the medical and social models of disability.  You can find out more about those models by searching this blog. But something that came up, that I kept reiterating is that only what is relevant should be relevant. A critical problem with society is that they think some characteristics of people are relevant, when in reality they may or may not be.


If I am riding a horse, the fact that I wear glasses is irrelevant. If I am talking to a friend about whether he should or should not get bifocals, the fact that I wear glasses is very relevant. If I am meeting a friend at a restaurant, the fact that she uses a wheelchair is irrelevant (or at least should be, and generally speaking in the US it is irrelevant). However, if I am asking her to discuss how her disability has impacted her desire to be employed, that she uses a wheelchair is very relevant.


The key is to keep the relevant relevant and the irrelevant irrelevant.


If I have an intellectual disability and as a result I am segregated, that is making what should be irrelevant relevant.
If I use a wheelchair and because of that I cannot find a job, that is making what should be irrelevant relevant.


It is critical for people to look on their neighbors wisely. If something is considered relevant for some reason, it should be logical and defensible. So much of the discrimination people face is the basis of making irrelevant things, ethnicity, gender, disability relevant to judgements about people when it should not be so.


Yes there are aspects of human impairment that are best addressed by a medical model approach. There are other aspects that are best addressed by a social model approach. It is not one or the other. As Tom Shakespeare has related, he cannot blame society and discrimination by society for a bladder infection resultimg from his impairment. He can blame society for making personal characteristics relevant as a cause for discrimination.


The key is understanding the difference and only making personal characteristics relevant when they should be relevant.


McNair

"Alone yet not alone" Press Release from Joni and Friends

 

Joni Eareckson Tada Surprised at Response to Original Song Oscar®-Nomination

Joni and Friends founder asked to record ‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ theme song by producers of new faith-based historical film

 

AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Jan. 23, 2014 – Joni and Friends founder Joni Eareckson Tada was as surprised as the rest of the nation to learn that among this year’s Academy Award Best Original Song nominees was one that involved her. Tada was honored by the invitation from the film’s producer to give voice to the eponymously titled song, “Alone Yet Not Alone,” at the invitation of the film’s producers in the Fall of 2013, and was merely looking forward to its nationwide release in theaters in June.

That all changed, however, with the announcement of the nominees last week, bringing attention from across the U.S. to the song and Tada’s performance. Those not familiar with the name Joni Eareckson Tada or her ethereal voice have been surprised to discover that she has been doing her singing from a wheelchair for more than 47 years, having been paralyzed in a diving accident in 1967 at age 17.

Tada recalls the occasion when she was invited to record the song for the film. “Last year when I spoke at the closing session of the National Religious Broadcasters’ Convention, I sang several hymns as part of my message,” Tada said.  “In the audience were some people connected with Enthuse Entertainment, the producer of Alone Yet Not Alone, who later asked if I would be interested in recording the theme song for the movie. 

“When I heard the simple, humble ballad, I wanted to record it.  I really resonated with the words – after all, I sit down in a stand-up world and often feel ‘alone;’ but of course with my faith in God, I'm never really alone!,” Tada explained. “The Bible is filled with stories of God picking ill-equipped, unskilled people for places of great influence, which is how I feel, as a quadriplegic, singing an Academy Award-nominated song.” 

 There has been some surprise in industry circles that a relatively unknown, faith-based historical film has received such attention, but those involved have said the song is deserving of such attention, as both a musical work and for its integral role in the film. “Alone Yet Not Alone” is set in 1755 and features two young sisters who are kidnapped by Delaware Indians during the French & Indian War. It is their faith and a family hymn – “Alone Yet Not Alone” – that help them stay strong and endure such hardship.

Tada hopes to use the recent attention on her and this song to increase awareness and further the work of God through the ministry of Joni and Friends, which she founded in 1979.  “Can you imagine how this might encourage other people with disabilities?  It’s all about ‘God's power in our weakness,’ and I love the chance to advance that message!,” she said.  

 

Tada’s influence began following the release of an autobiographical book and subsequent movie about her life, both entitled “Joni,” which provided  encouragement to other individuals with disabilities across the nation and around the world.  he and a few friends – many of whom had helped mentor her spiritually – realized from the mail and phone calls pouring in that there was a significant need for such a ministry.

 

Following the establishment of Joni and Friends to help meet that need, Tada went on to have an important role in determining how individuals with disabilities would be treated in public, in the workplace, in schools, etc., as part of the committee involved in making recommendations for the Americans  with Disabilities Act.

Since that time, Joni and Friends has expanded greatly beyond Tada’s wildest expectations as far as the number of people they are able to serve and the variety of services they provide, but never deviating from the original purpose of sharing the hope of God’s love with a segment of the world’s population that is often overlooked and ostracized.

“From the beginning, we focused on developing programs that would help meet both the spiritual and practical needs of disabled people and their families,” Tada said. “We’ve grown to include an important emphasis on training and equipping individuals to serve the disability community, as well, realizing this would greatly accelerate this type of ministry around the world.”

Tada can be heard daily through her radio ministry on Christian stations around the country, including both a five-minute program, “Joni and Friends,” and a one-minute program based on her daily devotional, “Diamonds in the Dust.” Regular listeners are familiar with Joni’s beautiful singing voice and love for hymns, as she often slips them into her recordings. Both are available online at www.joniandfriends.org/radio. She also hosts the “Joni and Friends” television show available on numerous networks and affiliates here in the U.S. and abroad.

About Joni and Friends International Disability Center

For 35 years, Joni and Friends International Disability Center has worked to accelerate ministry to the disability community, offering a wide array of life-affirming programs to people with disabilities around the world. Joni and Friends does this through the Christian Institute on Disability; the International Disability Center; international radio and television programs filled with inspirational stories; Wheels for the World, which every year sees thousands of individuals receive wheelchairs and the life-giving message of the Gospel, and Family Retreats, where families affected by disability learn they are not alone. 

"I was in prison..."

A dear friend of mine emailed me with this today.

Phil 1:12

I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the publishing of God’s word has actually prospered.

This is Paul's response to his imprisonment.  He was active in sharing the Gospel with those who held him captive. But there was something about my friend's email that struck me. My friend is a man impacted by physical disability which causes him, unfortunately, to spend much time alone. But he has used his time alone to have a ministry, through his weblog, of sharing God's word such that the "publishing of God's word has actually prospered." He has an international following. He delights in telling me what country is "in the lead" regarding the visits he receives to his postings. His time he has used to develop a ministry of God's word.

He also told me of how the subject of my previous post, Joni's singing of "Alone yet not alone" describes how he often feels.

There are too many people in general, but people with disabilities in particular, who are lonely. Yes they may creatively use their social "imprisonment" to prosper the publishing of God's word like my friend. Whether that be through blogging, or prayer, or other means. Yes they are "Alone yet not alone" because of God's presence with them. But I wish they had people in their lives who spent time with them and befriended them.

We, the Christian Church, need to do better in this area. To continue to use the sad metaphor of "prison", Jesus in Matthew 25:36 states, "I was in prison and you visited me." Prisons can come in a variety of forms.  Different ways in which people are separated from those around them. The social consequences of disability can be a form of "prison". We are exhorted by Christ to visit HIM in prison. What we do for our fellow people is "done unto Me".

If you don't know someone in "prison" you need to know someone in "prison" and you then need to visit them.  May God make it so!

McNair

Oscars: 'Alone yet not alone'

Something marvelous is happening this oscar season unlike anything I can remember.  A song from an obscure move that grossed $134,000 during its 21 day release, and sung by a 64 year old quadriplegic woman was one of the 5 songs nominated for an Oscar. Add to that fact that movie is a Christian movie, and the odds of such a nomination become even more numerically inconceivable.  One must just shake their head and wonder what this is about.

Joni Eareckson Tada, the singer herself said to The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m the least likely candidate to record a song for a movie, I’ll tell you that up front, so it’s amazing,”
But I will tell you that I am someone who has had the pleasure of singing with her! No, dont get the wrong idea. I am among probably thousands of others who have simply been with Joni and have shared in her spontaneous singing of a favorite hymn. She loves music, particularly music that glorifies God! And, she cannot help but sing it.

But observers also can't help but wonder at this nomination. From my own life, when things happen that don't make sense to me, I expect something from God. So, in this nomination, I expect something from God!
Perhaps it is that God just chose to honor a dedicated servant who has been a model of trust through the most challenging of experiences that human life can throw at someone; quadriplegia, cancer. Joni is worthy of such recognition. One of the greatest aspects of "Alone yet not alone" is that Joni is real, sharing her real experience with God who has supported her throughout her life. You can hear the honesty and integrity in her voice. She is not just singing a song, she is telling her story. You can see it in her smile at the end of the video.
Perhaps it is that God is bringing attention to the ministry of Joni and Friends. The Christian church is awakening to the inclusion of persons with disabilities like never before. Joni and Friends has had a lot to do with that. The article linked below speaks of giving out wheelchairs, which is true. At last count, the 100,000th, custom fitted chair will soon be dispersed.  These chairs are donated, reconditioned till they are like new and shipped around the world. They represent 100,000 lives that were changed with mobility and dignity where there perhaps was none before. Growing this and other work of encouraging families and individuals with disabilities themselves, training leaders and advocates and teaching about a Biblical perspective on disability might also be the point of this recognition.
Perhaps it is a witness to the secular world about who God is. There are few events like the Academy Awards that are more secular in their celebration and focus. It is marvelous that a weak, quadriplegic, Christian, woman, has set the awards world on it's ear a bit, wondering how this could have happened. As Joni herself prays in the video, God chooses to use the weak to accomplish his purposes. Joni's weakness will be on display which points to God's power in technicolor!

I have no idea whether the song will win, but I know that God will accomplish his purposes. I personally think it is breathtaking and fun to experience this nomination. I think if I could see the face of God, He would wink and say that in spite of everything, of so many things that appear to be moving to the contrary, "I am still in control!"

'Alone yet not alone' story and link to video

Mandella on love

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." Nelson Mandella

This is a profound statement of how human beings were intended to be. I heard a pastor recently talk about how people excuse themselves when they do not love their neighbor saying, "I'm only human" or something to that effect. His point was that Jesus was the only person who was truly human in that we were meant to live a sinless life and love our neighbor.  When I love my neighbor, I am acting in what should be the natural way for me to act because it is the way I was intended to be. For me, it feels right when I do what is right. It feels right when I show love to others.  Perhaps this is in reaction to the inbred nature that I have as a human being. Clearly, I do not do what I should do, but when I do, the feeling of rightness might be an indication of me touching what I was intended to be.

This is what Mandela seems to be implying by his statement.  If you agreed with the above, you would think love would come more naturally to people because God intended us to love, not to hate. Hate is unnatural. The fact that it is too often the choice does not diminish the fact that it is unnatural.

McNair
 

"O Holy Night"

Every year, my daughter and I text each other when we have heard O Holy Night for the first time.  This year for me, I heard it in a small, basically empty Thai restaurant where Kathi and I were eating.
But today was the real deal in that we sang it in church.  Both times I texted Ames to tell her.  To date, she hasn't heard it yet.  But it signals the real beginning of the Christmas season for us.

The lyric that is particularly powerful for us, is this one.

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name

In His name all oppression shall cease. That goes along with the earlier verse that says

Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appear and the soul felt its worth

This song is so powerful because it demonstrates how valuable people are to God and the ends to which he will go to save them.  In a nutshell, people are exceedingly valuable and the birth of Christ is proof of their value to God. Additionally, if they are so valuable, it will be in HIS name that all oppression shall cease.

So to whom should people affected by disabilities look to see relief from oppression? I would agree with the song that it is those who worship Jesus, who follow Christ who should be the ones who make oppression in any form cease.  He taught us to love one another and through His life and death demonstrated the worth of people. People should feel compelled to look to the Christian church for relief from oppression. If they can't find it there, where then can they go?

We cannot be the ones who disappoint people about their value, their worth. We must be the place were people do not experience any form of oppression.  We need to be the place where they feel love, worth, peace, brotherhood. In particular, this should be the place where people with impairments feel that expression. We need to be a bastion of safety and value for them in an oppressive world.

Remember these things, please, as you sing this song this Christmas. In your heart, "fall on your knees" and both worship and demonstrate your belief that all people have incredible worth.

God bless,
McNair

Thoughts about the sovereignty of God

In thinking about God's sovereignty in people's lives, I think we can sometimes focus exclusively on individuals. This implies specific plans for specific people. But in the same way that a king is the sovereign over his country, God is sovereign over his kingdom. So, he will have specific plans for individuals which fit into his larger plan for the entire "country." If I see myself as a part of the larger county then I will work to fill my role as it will impact the larger plan. But I might also think that the king's plans for me are for me alone disconnected from the country. So my job is for me alone, not for the benefit of the larger country or anyone else other than me. My money is for me alone, not for the benefit of the larger country. My time is mine alone and not for the benefit of the larger country. If I think this way, it leads to a variety of practices that are outside of sovereignty as it touches me which is meant to be applied to the "country." I may live extravagantly, using the money I have sovereignly received only for myself. I may see my time as something meant to be spent exclusively on myself. I am not sure the phrase, "I need some me-time" is generally a very good thing.

Part of this provision I think is meant for me to share, and if I do share it is because I choose to share it in order to further the kingdom. But if I am forced to share by some government or other group having power over me, that is not the same thing. I am to be wise in how I use God's sovereign provision in my life. Helping can hurt if helpers are not careful. People can become dependent on help when they have the ability to use God's provision of abilities in their own life and act responsibly taking on responsibilities for themselves as agents of what they have been provided. This in not socialism that I am describing here. This is the understanding of how what I have received according to God's sovereignty is to be managed well BY ME in obedience to Him. Part of the problem with government entitlement programs is that I feel that I have no responsibility toward my neighbor because I pay taxes or that i am entitled to be served rather than serve. Why is it unreasonable to expect me to use my lfe for others rather than just for myself? It doesn't matter whether I have or have not, my life as a Christian is not exclusively my own.

This idea grows out of a perception of God's sovereignty being part of a general "country wide" plan versus just for me alone.

McNair
fES

Inclusion offers people dignity while exclusion removes their dignity

"Fear is the root of all forms of exclusion just as trust is at the root of all forms of inclusion"
At least that is what Jean Vanier says in Becoming Human (p. 71).  It is an amazing book that I would recommend.

If fear is the root of all forms of exclusion, when people exclude people with disabilities from church, either through rejection or exclusionary programs, what do they fear? 

Might they fear people with disabilities themselves because they have no one with an impairment in their lives? I know many people who had never had a conversation with a persons with intellectual disabilities prior to my arranging a meeting between them. They are my students at Cal Baptist university.  They will often relate in reflection papers after the evening that they were afraid entering the evening.  They were afraid because they didn't know what to expect because they had never met anyone with that characteristic before.

Are they afraid they will have to change? One of my students once wrote, "How can we help others without changing our lives?  People don't like change, so they fear interaction with people who might be needy in a variety of ways.  Their fear of being encumbered causes them to exclude others.

Are they afraid of what they may loose if they include persons with societally determined less desirable characteristics? Churches may have separate programs because they are afraid of losing congregational members if they were inclusive. The change that would be brought over them causes them to fear.

Are they afraid they won't be able to do things in exactly the same manner as they have in the past?  I heard a great quote the other day, I am not sure of who to attribute to.  It was a comment from a pastor who was responding the presence of someone with tourettes syndrome in his congregation.  The person would periodically make noise during the sermon.  His response to those who felt uncomfortable about that person and the sounds they made, was to say, "That person didn't interrupt the sermon, they were the sermon." The implication being how we treat people is most important.

Maybe they are afraid that if they include people, people with be unkind.  That is always a possibility, but persons with impairments are not children and the vast majority are able to speak up for themselves.

Whatever the fear, exclusion is not the answer.

Could it also be that we exclude because we don't trust people? Don't trust their social skills, don't trust other behaviors, don't trust...who knows? Trusting involves risk, and there is dignity in risk. Maybe we could push this a bit further and say inclusion offers people dignity while exclusion removes their dignity. Wow that is a powerful idea. Are you a part of dispensing or removing dignity from others?

I used to coach basketball. In teaching about offense, I would say, "If you are standing still for 5 seconds, you are probably doing something wrong!"  When it comes to the church and individuals with whatever characteristic, if you are excluding them, if you are segregating them, you are probably doing something wrong. I get it...there are children's ministries and women's ministries, etc.  But I would echo Vanier's statement with a question. If we are excluding people what are we afraid of?

McNair

Starving on the farm

Imagine that I am a farmer.  I live with my wife there on our farm.  It is a beautiful farm with corn and tomatoes, fruit trees, and even chickens and milk cows and a small heard for beef. Lets even imagine a fresh stream running through the farm with cool clear water.  Idyllic.

Oh, lets also imagine I have 3 kids who live "at my house."

Dinner time comes, and I habitually go to the cupboard and get a "fresh" package of twinkies for my wife and I.  We wash them down with a bottle of diet Coke!  Yum!
Time to feed the kids too, so a volunteer from across the street comes and gets them from the cottage they live in by the house, and takes them to a place down the street for candy!

Now you might look at my situation and wonder why I am eating twinkies and diet Coke when I could have fresh vegetables, fruits and healthy meat products.  It actually seems a little goofy from your perspective.  But you don't judge me and just go on with your life. 
Then you find out that not only do my wife and I not partake of the fruits of our amazing farm,  neither do our children.  You wonder about the fact that we don't spend time with our children and that we have someone to feed them candy for lunch.

If you heard about the above, would your comment be,

"At least they are doing something.  It is better than doing nothing, right?"

Not only that, would you say, "At least they have someone come in and get them.  And the kids love eating candy all the time!"

Or, if you heard about the above, would your comment be, "Why don't they feed the kids and themselves on the products of the farm? Who in their right mind would give their children over to someone else and just allow them to feed them candy?"

HOLD ON! Let me try to explain the facts to you...
You see...
First, if I kept the children at my house, then I would have to change my home so that it would be more hospitable, safer for them.  You know I have never had to put covers on the electrical outlets and if I did that, then I would have to take the covers off every time I wanted to plug something into the outlet. I would have to put barriers up to keep them from falling down the steps. I couldn't swear as much and I would have to be more patient. Hellish! (pardon my language).
Second, I would have to feed them which means I would need to prepare the twinkies in different ways as some babies need milk, other people need food chopped up into smaller pieces and so on. And we don't like to eat in a different way, a way that might cause us to like chew, or exert other effort.
Third, if there were other people in the house, I would also have to do things that other people like to do rather than the things that I like to do. I have already decided what I like to do and I don't want to change that for some group of people who seem to be doing fine without me and I without them.
Fifth, children do things like get dirty, drop things, talk when they aren't supposed to and for that matter, talk about things that I am not interested in.  How are my wife and I supposed to talk about the things we are interested in if other people want us to talk about things they are interested in.

Besides, we always talk about the children when they are not with us in very positive ways! We say how lovely and friendly they are.  How they are such a blessing! Particularly when they are taken care of by someone else in a different place!

No, this is the best way...At least we are doing something and it is better than nothing.

McNair

"If it wasn't for you two I would NEVER leave my room!"

"If it wasn't for you two I would NEVER leave my room!"
That was the title on an email I recently received. A dear friend of mine will often email me with his entire message being the title of the email.  This time his message stopped me short. But this message is not about Kathi and I, it is about the potential power that anyone can have in the lives of people to enrich their lives.
I have often said to groups that I am a good friend to have because I have a car.  But a car isn't even the important thing. It is that you see a person as a person and choose to develop a relationship with them.
My friend happens to have a physical disability and uses a wheelchair which limits his movement somewhat. He could move about the community more than he does, but for whatever reason, he chooses not to. The cool thing is that Kathi and I can be the encouragement to assist him to broaden his life a bit by going out into the community. Nothing special really, we just go to church together, go to a restaurant occasionally, phone call sometimes.
But my friend realizes that the simple interactions we have are the keys to unlock the door to his room, so to speak, and invite him into the community. It isn't that he doesn't want to be in the community.  It is just that he like many people simply needs an invitation from a friend.  No invitation, no involvement in the community. Life all day in his room in front of his computer. But a simple invitation from one person, and his life opens up to meeting others, sharing his gifts and his sense of humor.  Leading others in prayer and so on.
All that is needed is one person in a life to make a significant change in that life.

McNair
 

A young man attempts self advocacy

The attached video below is an attempt by a young man to advocate for himself relative to his frustration that his IEP objectives were not being addressed by his teacher in his classroom.

 

The Northport Dispatch (October 11, 2013) states,

"The Northport-East Northport Board of Education cut off a 14-year-old boy from speaking during Monday's meeting when the teen, who has a form of high-functioning autism, attempted to express what he felt was unfair treatment in his classroom due to his disability.

Christian Ranieri held back tears as he left the room after being shut down just a few sentences into his speech, in which he was asking the board to hear him out after he felt he was unfairly suspended for two days from school.

The school board president cited privacy laws in his reasoning for halting Ranieri's speech. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects the privacy of student education records.

Ranieri, a freshman at Northport High School, explained that since the beginning of the school year, his individualized education program and behavior intervention plan have not been implemented. After four weeks without it, his parents called meetings with administrative staff members. When his behavior plan was put in place however, it was done incorrectly, Ranieri said, adding that he was refused when he asked to speak to his teacher outside of the classroom about the error. Out of frustration, he said that he raised his voice at the teacher and was suspended from school for two days for the outburst." 

Here is the video of the presentation...

 

 

 

I love when people are emboldened like this to speak up for themselves.  I have no idea about the specifics of this situation, whether channels wer followed or whatever.  But what I see is a young man self identified as having developmental disabilities, something that takes courage to do. He tells the school board that his teacher is not implementing his IEP which also takes courage.  They don't care.  They tell him the channels to take, his parents indicate they have tried to follow those channels with no success.  All they would have to say is that "We will look into this through the Supt. and he/she will get back to you in __ days."  Instead, they shut him down.

I wish many more parents of students with severe disabilities would call school districts, boards of education, or whomever to account for educational programs not being followed; particularly for students with developmental disabilities.

 

McNair

 

 

 

Open Range and the parts that "seem weaker"

1 Corinthians 12:22 "The parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable."

 

     There is a scene in the 2003 western, Open Range, where Denton Baxter (the evil land owner) gets shot up in a gun fight. He drags himself to Doc Barlow’s office and finds him working on Button, one of the good guys. Baxter pulls out his gun to shoot Button lying on the doctor’s table. But Doc Barlow tells him, “You pull that trigger, Baxter, you can forget about me patching you up!” Baxter is now faced with a dilemma. In order for Doc Barlow’s indispensable nature, to be evidenced, Baxter must relinquish his power over the doctor. When he does so, he himself benefits from the doctor’s “gifting.” However, if he as the seemingly powerful person in the room (he has a gun, etc.) does not set aside his power, the seemingly weaker doctor and the other wounded man will not benefit and the doctor’s indispensable nature would not be displayed. 
     The implication from the 1 Corinthians 12:22 passage is not that those in the Body of Christ who seem stronger are violent or evil as in the movie. However, there is a wrong being perpetuated. The wrong is seen in people with power prohibiting others who are gifted such that they are Biblically described as indispensable, from expressing that gifting by refusing to change.
     The parts "seem" weaker, implying that those with power have relegated others to the category of being weaker. As a result, the Body of Christ as a whole, truly does suffer in this way, when one part suffers (1 Corinthians 12:26). The strong are haughty and the seemingly weak are excluded.  Exclusion of people with disabilities leading to this type of attitude is much too common in the Christian church and we suffer as a result of it.

Interestingly, Paul’s correction ("On the contrary" and "seem weaker") once again implies that those who have made the determination of another’s weakness are actually wrong.  Although some are thought weak, their strength, their power will not be demonstrated unless those who wrongly determined they were weak, repent of their error, humble themselves, and provide the opportunity for them to evidence their power (one aspect being how they are a conduit of God’s power).  The seemingly stronger must relent from their haughty exercise of power in both relegating others to weakness and on some level enforcing that perception (through exclusion, segregation, paternalistic behaviors, etc.), ultimately preventing the perceived weak from displaying the strength that causes them to be labeled indispensable. This power of the seemingly weaker when “wielded” over those who are seemingly stronger, will demonstrate why they are indispensable. Perhaps at this point, the “stronger” will repent of the label they projected on another of being weaker (2 Corinthians 7:8-11).  But for the stronger to benefit from that realization, they must first relinquish their power over the situation, no longer relegating others to weakness and the social consequences that accompany that designation.  Power in weakness has the potential to be present, but it is not displayed, not expressed.  It is unused, frustrated from being employed because those having the power to open the door for the expression of another’s contribution, refuse to do so by refusing to relinquish their own power such that it might be seen.

Earlier in 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul addressed the haughtiness of his readers asking, “What do you have that you did not receive.  And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”  They should not see themselves in a manner as “different from anyone else.”  Paul himself was someone who experienced a difference that would have caused him to be relegated to the seemingly weaker class (2 Corinthians 12:10). The end result is the production of entirely wrong, entirely negative perceptions of what is indispensable for body life.  At the most basic level, this is seen in a lack of love for others.  It is also evidence of pride in that I am unwilling to become a servant and in this case, allow others to express their gifting.  This unwillingness to serve, to facilitate expression of the gifting of others because of what might be demanded of me (power over my time, my activities, my traditions and the necessity for change in each of these areas) will prohibit the indispensable nature of those seemingly weaker from ever being expressed.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul describes his experience with a “thorn in the flesh”, how he prayed to have it removed, and God’s response, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  The implication is not that God’s power is imperfect, but that weakness allows God’s power to be evidenced the most perfectly.  Perhaps this perfect expression of the power of God contributes to why the parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable.  Paul says, “for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  If for no other reason, weakness may drive me to dependence on God.  Strength may cause me to see myself as sufficient within myself.  Weakness disarms me.  For example, in my own suffering or if I wade into the suffering of others, I find myself at a total loss.  My cry becomes like that of Jehosophat in 2 Chronicles 20:12.  When he is surrounded by the armies of “the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites” (verse 1), he goes before his people and prays, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (emphasis added).  Desperate situations reinforce in us our need to depend upon God.  However, if I am seemingly stronger and I am disconnected from seemingly weaker parts of the body, I will perhaps not suffer with the parts that suffer (as described in 1 Corinthians 12:26) and be lead to dependence upon God.  I will not allow another part of the body to have power over me in making any sort of demands for humility on me, on them, on the entire body. But through my entrance into their weakness, I allow others to make demands on me; sometimes through unsolvable situations of life: demands that would cause me to depend upon God.  God’s power can be perfected in my participation in another’s weakness, if I allow their weakness to become my weakness.  But I don’t want to participate in their experience or at times the difficulties others face, so my response is that I will exclude them. There might be a degree of unconsciousness about these issues, however, one might ask “Why there is a collective unconsciousness within the church?”  This unconsciousness could be squarely placed at the feet of church leadership at a variety of levels. As a result, the statement, “if one part suffers, every part suffers with it” ends up becoming an aspiration, or a statement of how the body should be.

 

McNair

Video answers to questions...What are the hindrances to churches including persons with disabilities?

A question was asked by Tim, someone who viewed one of the other videos on this blog.
His question is important because we want to encourage churches to include persons with disabilities just like we would encourage churches to include anyone else. 

McNair

"I wonder where these people would be?"

My son visited our Light and Power group today.  It is a group in our church, Trinity Church in Redlands, CA, that includes adults with various disabilities.  He visits on occasion, today to go out to lunch with me and our friend Mark who is a part of the group.  We had a great time of joking and fooling around over lunch.

At one point, however, he got a bit serious and thoughtful.  He said that as he sat in class, the thought crossed his mind, "I wonder where these people would be if there wasn't this group, this class?  They certainly wouldn't be here."  Our meeting today included prayer for a missionary friend who has adopted us and is heading back to the mission field.  We had about 15 minutes of prayer for what we were thankful for led by our music team.  There was other prayer and sharing for a great time together.  We sang the old Keith Green song, "How I love you" to God then to each other then as a prayer.  It was cool.

I hadn't really thought about his question, but it is a good one.  I wonder where many others like the folks who have become a part of our church family are today because they have no place like Light and Power to go to.  They don't have a place where they are celebrated or prayed for, or just told that they are loved.  It is a sad thought, particularly when I think of the people who have become so dear to me would have no place to go.

Maybe your church can be the place for folks like my friends to go.

McNair

Community integration as a metaphor for church integration

In the effort to move toward integration, people left institutions for residences in the community.  The end desire was not simply that people would have a home in the community (although a good thing in itself) but that people would be integrated into the community.  That is, they would be known, have friends, experience what might be called a "typical" life.  The difficulty that continues to be faced is that people do not sufficiently experience this form of social, community integration.

Applying this metaphor (perhaps this reality) to the church, our first desire would be to open churches to the presence of persons with various impairments.  This is a programmatic opening.  Perhaps now there will be a program within a church, a disability ministry.  This is comparable to persons who were institutionalized in the past, now living in the community. 

The next phase would be that people in the church would be a part of personal change for themselves, for other individuals and the entire congregation.  This is the "promised land" as with social integration for those in community residential settings.  This is the "not what we do but what we become" in the previous blog.

In both of these cases, what is needed is personal change: change in individuals in the community and the community and change in individual congregational members and the congregation as a whole.  We can develop programs/residences that evidence a form of physical integration, but we cannot be satisfied with that.

It sounds trite, but the changes we desire truly begin with us, whomever we are.  If I want community integration, I must facilitate it in my own life, whomever I am, being with people who would benefit from my efforts.  If I want faith group integration, perhaps I strive to be more like Jesus in loving others, particularly those whom society has devalued, or whose social skills or other personal characteristics make people uncomfortable.  Each of us have this power in our own social circles, and no one is excluded from this potential area for change and growth: secular or religious.

We need to think clearly about disability ministry within the church.  The presence of that ministry at a church is better than there not being such a presence.  But it only indicates that the church has taken a step of physical integration.  I cannot programmatically separate people from myself if I want to become what I need to become as a lover of other people.  I must not decide there are some whom I will love and others whom I will not.  Presence of people opens the door for the opportunity to love.  I need to step through that door and take others with me.

McNair

Disability ministry: It is not what you do it is who you become.

I was working on a document about leadership in disability ministry for the Joni and Friends organization this past week.  As I looked at the early draft, something seemed to be missing.  We were describing the development of programs and how those programmatic ideas might be infused into local churches.  Yes, programs are important.  But it occurred to me that what was needed in the document was a discussion of change and maturity development in both Christians who attend church and the Christian churches themselves. 

I can hire someone to develop and run a ministry that includes people with intellectual disabilities.  That program can be on the campus of the church and I can observe those people coming and going, but no demands are made on me individually or the larger church as a whole.  Disability ministry implies a change in both individuals and organization such that people with impairments no longer need to ask, "Why don't you love me?"  Disability ministry means that I have grown to the point that persons with just about any characteristic do not make me uncomfortable.  Disability ministry means that the congregation and the leadership have grown to the point that persons with any type of impairment do not make them uncomfortable.  But disability ministry also implies that persons with impairments are comfortable with others who also have impairments.  For example, in the group at my church that includes persons with intellectual disabilities, that implies that we try to facilitate their growth such that they are accepting of persons with autism and more severe disabilities.

We are all on the spectrum of need, we all find it difficult to love one another, so we all need to become something different than we currently are.  Disability ministry assists us all in that process of change and maturity.

Please don't be confused into thinking that disability ministry is just another ministry of the church, another program to be instituted.  It is about helping people become someone who is more like Jesus independent of personal characteristics.  That change is facilitated through the discomfort (for many) that comes through integration.  I will not learn to love someone with mental illness if I never am challenged to love someone with that characteristic.  The person that I would become if I learned that lesson will never be.  The church that doesn't learn that lesson will never be.

This is an area in which I need to embrace change and recognize that I am not OK the way I am.  Could someone look you in the eye and be justified in asking, "Why don't you love me?"  Do you care enough to prevent that from happening to you or your church by becoming something different?

Programs are fine, but they really are not what is truly needed.
McNair

Free articles from the Journal of the Christian Institute on Disability

The Joni and Friends organization's Christian Institute on Disability launched the Journal of the Christian Institute on Disability one year ago.  Subscriptions are available at their website.

You can also free copies of two articles from the first two issues.  This is something that the journal plans to provide with every issue: one free downloadable article.

The first free article is...

What Would Be Better?

Social Role Valorization and the Development of

Ministry to Persons Affected by Disability 
  MA R C   T U M E I N S K I   A N D   J E F F   MCNA I R


 

There is much that Christian churches can learn from relevant secular

approaches and adapt to support integration and participation within our

congregations for adults with impairments. One of these approaches is

Social Role Valorization developed by Dr. Wolf Wolfensberger. In this

approach, one considers the relevance of image and competency of devalued

individuals and how these two areas impact access to “the good things

of life.” This article applies these principles to the inclusion of vulnerable

congregational members into the life of the Christian church, asking the

question, “What would be better?” as a prompt for those in leadership to

reflect on their current practices with an eye toward maturity in their practices

as they intersect the lives of devalued people.

 

The second free article is...

 

Almost Friends

JENNIFER BACA AND JEFF MCNAIR

 

A survey was conducted of human services professionals working with

individuals with developmental disabilities regarding issues related to

friendship. Seventy-six percent agreed that there is a difference in friendship

between people being paid to be with a consumer of services and

those choosing to be with that same individual. The authors concluded

that it appears that those individuals serving persons with developmental

disabilities are “almost friends” in that although they are potentially

friendly, they are paid to be with those with whom they interact, and that

for these and a variety of other reasons are not able to be real friends.

To download these articles, go to the following website.

http://www.joniandfriends.org/jcid/enjoy-two-free-jcid-articles/

 

Enjoy!

McNair

 

 

A fantastic illustration of friendship

 

A student in the Cal Baptist Disability Studies program, Desiree Lesicko shared this video with me.  On one level it is just a beer commercial.  But the message is so fantastic.

 

 

 

There are many persons affected by disability who do not experience the kind of friendships illustrated by this video.  Instead they experience social isolation.  We need to choose persons affected by all kinds of impairments as our friends.  The benefit of such relationships is mutual.

"The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character." 

God bless,
McNair

Beauty

At a meeting at Joni and Friends this morning, a video was shared which needs broader airplay.  It is about a photographer, Rick Guidotti.  I won't try to describe what he is doing, I would simply refer you to the YouTube video.  It is beautiful!

 

 

May God open the church to a perspective similar to this one...

McNair