22 Advocacy

A church that listens, learns, and acts

I've been critical, both in my book and on social media, of churches that marginalize, stigmatize, or ignore those with disabilities. I think that's appropriate as a way of calling the Church to be better.But it's also appropriate to celebrate churches that get things right.…
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July 13, 2019
22 Advocacy

One danger of being disabled in public

According to a recent news story, Kenneth French, a 32 year-old non-verbal man with an intellectual disability, was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer while at Costco. There are a lot of details that we don't yet know about the incident, but the…
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June 17, 2019
22 Advocacy

My book in 37 seconds

Here's the first of a number of short videos that I did with Calvin Press about Disability and Inclusive Communities. "...incomplete without them..." Part of Christianity is the commitment to reach out to those and to love those who have been marginalized, ostracized, who aren't…
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May 30, 2019
22 Advocacy

On ‘special needs proms’

A few months back, when asked by the staff of the high school what I hoped for in his high school experience, I told them: "I want Jameson to finish his senior year having gone to prom. And not one of those Tim Tebow night…
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May 29, 2019
22 AdvocacyPapers & Presentations

2019 SITD

Tomorrow starts the 2019 Summer Institute of Theology and Disability. Last year was the first SITD I went to, in North Carolina, and it was a great experience. This one is closer to home over in Holland, MI. The full program for this week can…
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May 19, 2019
Philosophy

The Writing Life

Last week, a co-editor and I sent in a book manuscript to our publisher. (I plan on doing a post about this book, but the end of term with its giant mountain of bluebooks and final papers to be graded keep getting in the way.)As…
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May 14, 2019
22 Advocacy

A Practical Guide for Congregations

Today was the last day of the theology and disability course I've been teaching this semester at Calvin Seminary. (I know I'm behind in my posting on Clifton's book, which my students and I walked through. We finished the book, but I've been swamped and…
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May 6, 2019
22 Advocacy

Dos and Don’ts

A friend of mine who's a pastor is going to preach, as part of a larger sermon series, on what it looks like to minister with (his emphasis, which I appreciate) and welcome those with disabilities into our churches, homes, and communities. Below is an…
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April 30, 2019
Book Reviews

Clifton on psychology

(This post is part of a series on Shane Clifton’s book Crippled Grace. Earlier post on chapter 1 can be found here, chapter 2 can be found here., and chapters 3 and 4 here. This post is on chapter 5.) In this chapter, Clifton aims to…
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April 21, 2019
Book Reviews

Clifton on virtue and the good life

(This post is part of a series on Shane Clifton’s book Crippled Grace. This posts focuses on chapters 3 and 4. The post on chapter 1 can be found here, and chapter 2 can be found here. In chapter 3, we turn to Clifton's engagement with…
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April 14, 2019
Book Reviews

Clifton on disability and suffering

(This post is part of a series on Shane Clifton's book Crippled Grace. This posts focuses on chapter 2. The post on chapter 1 can be found here.) It is very common for individuals, especially if they do not have personal experience with a disability…
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April 8, 2019
Book Reviews

A new book study on Clifton’s “Crippled Grace.”

I'm teaching a course on theology and disability this semester at Calvin Theological Seminary. We've been exploring a wide range of issues during the first part of the course: some general issues in disability studies, how some influential theologians have thought about disability, disability and…
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April 3, 2019
22 Advocacy

Bonhoeffer, Community, and Disability

I'm teaching a course this semester on the theology of disability. We just wrapped up the part of the course where we look at historical figures (our primary text here was this wonderful collection). Yesterday we discussed the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I did an…
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March 12, 2019