Do we have a theology of disability?

We love theology in the evangelical church. We want to know what God says about all sorts of things in the Bible. We soak in what those who have studied theology say, and sometimes we study it ourselves with the books that we read and the podcasts we listen to.

But do we, as evangelicals, have a theology of disability?

I don’t mean a theology of suffering, as that is something completely different. The majority of disabled people don’t see their disability as ‘suffering’.

What I mean is, do we have a robust view of what disability is in the eyes of God – how He sees it, how Jesus responded to it, and how we should follow through on what the Bible says?

Someone I know on Twitter was recently admonished by an orthodox evangelical pastor for studying disability theology because it was ‘revisionist’. This implies that we in the evangelical corner of churchmanship don’t need a theology of disability.

But we do!

I think the fact that we don’t have a well-thought-out and talked about theology on this has led to an apathy in evangelicalism, meaning we have little connection with the subject. Instead, we give a sympathetic nod and say thank you when somebody raises the subject and then rarely do anything to engage with disabled people and those with additional needs in the church.

Orthodox evangelicals have not looked into this as a theological piece in any depth for a long time, thereby leaving a gaping hole. This means those now leading the way in disability theology tend to be of a liberal persuasion and active in the area of LGBTQi+ theology too.

By refusing to engage in this area of theology because of the liberal theology of others, have we thrown the (disabled) baby out with the bathwater?

We desperately need an orthodox theology of disability, and we need it to work alongside other areas of theology too.

When I’m on the road with my ministry, I often find people will sit alongside me and ask questions such as: ‘Can those people you work with really become Christians? Surely they can’t understand everything properly?’ I’m also regularly asked if someone should ‘take communion’, just because they choke on the bread and wine.

Is their faith less faithful? Is the God they follow less powerful? Is the work of Jesus on the cross less redemptive? Is their Holy Spirit a junior version of ours? Of course the answer is no to all of these questions, but because of the way we view conversion and our lack of disability theology, these questions will always arise.

If our theological view at this basic level is so wildly out of sync with God’s view of those with disabilities and additional needs, then I can see why we sometimes have problems with disabled people being in leadership, service and mission.

How many disabled people have a seat at the table in leadership, pastoral care and outreach in our churches? How many are in our worship teams or teaching and preaching? Chances are, if they do, they will have become disabled after taking on these roles (there are exceptions of course).

More than one in five working-age people have a disability – the majority having what are known as hidden disabilities. Chances are you don’t know who they are in your church because those people are too scared to say – and for good reason.

Is that one in five disability ratio reflected in your church life and in all areas of your leadership?

The theology of disability speaks into who makes it into any of our ministries, who we see as able enough or perceive as ‘not up to it’. It shines a light on which young people we choose to mentor into leadership. At the moment, gifted young people with disabilities and additional needs are regularly overlooked. They often assume they cannot serve because they see no one like them serving, so they say nothing.

In the time we haven’t grappled with this theology, many disabled young people and those with additional needs have rolled, limped, walked or crawled away from the church. No one has followed them up, and – in many cases – no one has noticed.

As a former children’s evangelist specialising in children who have disabilities and additional needs, it has long been the case that many in children’s work outside the evangelical world reject the teachings around atonement and sin, even going as far as putting warning stickers on children’s books that steer towards these theologies. This is seen even more when they work with children who have additional needs. Some children have what is unhelpfully referred to as ‘behavioural problems’: the behaviour is most often communication telling us that something is wrong or that they need space to regulate their emotions. It’s certainly not deliberate.

Is this sin? Does God ‘hate them’ because of their inability to control their ‘behaviour’? Many children with these additional needs believe God does indeed hate them. These questions have led some disability theologians to say our theology of sin and atonement is damaging to those with neurodiversity, so it must be wrong. The reality is, our theology is not wrong, but the way some people have taught it without grace, nuance and a theological understanding of disability is.

Then there’s the other side of the theology of sin – do people have disabilities because ‘God willed it’? Does it happen because we live in a sinful world? Or, is it because that’s life – but God redeems and uses it for good?

If there was a good theology of disability, my ministry would not need to exist.

Families wouldn’t be asked to leave their church and find one ‘more suited’ to the needs of their child.

I would no longer hear the phrase ‘Why should we change everything for just one person?’ (Actually, if you change stuff for one, it makes it better for everyone!)

Pity wouldn’t be the immediate ‘go to’ emotion when faced with disability, neurodivergence or additional needs, and disability would no longer be seen as something to make others feel more grateful for the life they have.

Young people with additional needs and disabilities would be mentored along with their peers – including for leadership, and we would be using the gifts of disabled people and those with additional needs in our churches.

And, to close, people wouldn’t be annoyed or look straight through me because I am a disabled person asking my brothers and sisters to think through what disability means in the evangelical church today.

Kay is co-founder of the Additional Needs Alliance and serves on the Evangelical Alliance Council. She is a visually-impaired wheelchair user who believes the church should support Biblical inclusion, belonging & faith formation for every age & ability.

The network providing a Biblical understanding of disability

In Europe, 75 to 100 million people have a disability. This is more than 10% of the population. They have received legal recognition. Since the start of this century, several Christian organisations who work with people with disabilities have formed a network.

The needs and possibilities of people with a disability are diverse. In the more wealthy Western countries, the authorities have built up practical support. In Eastern Europe, the most elementary necessities are often lacking. For instance, not everyone who needs it has a wheelchair. Slowly but surely, accessibility is being worked on. However, in every case, personal loneliness is the biggest problem.

It is in the message of the gospel that many find comfort. Nevertheless, how will they learn about this message if it is not shared with them? How will they get to know the churches if still very little is done to make them welcome? How will these people with a disability witness about the many blessings they have received through Jesus Christ if they are given little or no opportunity to speak in public? How can we involve them?

Vision: The European Disability Network (EDN) desires to see a dynamic disability ministry in every European country, resulting in increasing numbers of people with disabilities finding faith in Christ and being fully involved in churches which are actively inclusive.

Mission:

The EDN is a European network that:

• promotes and supports evangelistic ministry among and by people with disabilities in Europe

• provides a united voice for disability ministry in Europe

• affords support, encouragement and fellowship to its partners

Objectives:

The EDN seeks to:

• provide a Biblical understanding of disability

• represent European Disability ministry at European-wide events

provide training in:

• Communicating the vision with churches, pastors, donors

• Training disability ministry workers

• Counselling

• Leadership

• Organisation

and also:

• facilitate the exchange and sharing of resources

• stimulate prayer and practical support for its partners and people with disabilities through regular communication