MissionAccess

Category: Church Accessibility

  • Snatch! Save. Repeat…

    THE LATE GREAT CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
    IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.spurgeonministries.com/facilities/

    Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! Let’s chat about something Christians simply LOVE to talk about, shall we? Let’s chat about Hell!

    (insert awkward silence here)

    Moved by a local news story about a 65-year old woman who died in a South Dallas house fire, her charred power chair could easily belong to so many people at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple (our home church for people and families affected by disability)– including me! This Hellish vision prompted my Bible Study focused on “fire” which led to this simple verse:

    Jude 1:  22-23 NIV:  “Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear-hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”

    Expanding that search to the phrase “Christians Hell” I found only 13 verses!  Look up “Heaven” and there are 422 verses! Do a similar search on Amazon for books and only two are listed.  Suffice to say Christians are somewhat squeamish when it comes to discussing Hell.  But we HAVE to talk about it!

    However in Matthew 10:28 NASU Jesus does not shy away from it, saying “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

    Q:  So What?

    A:  Because Hell is eternal separation from God!  And without getting into some deep theological weeds, we know Jesus did go to Hell (only briefly Thank God) after His Crucifixion and before His Resurrection three days later.  And if He allowed His Only Son to go there He will allow anyone to go there also.

    OK so what should Our Response be?  Perhaps the late great Preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon offers the most powerful, compassionate response:  “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” (SOURCE:  http://christian-quotes.ochristian.com/christian-quotes_ochristian.cgi?find=Christian-quotes-by-Charles+Spurgeon-on-Hell)   

    Let us therefore proceed with haste to Snatch & to Save The Lost and to Repeat For His Glory!

    In His Accessible Grace,

     

    Linda

  • Suffering? Or Sanctifying?

    Jerusha Edwards
    Jerusha Edwards’ Headstone goo.gl/oQaW2x

    Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! So lemme ask you:  Are You Suffering?  Or Sanctifying?  Today’s Blog is based on my recent Bible Study at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple entitled:  “Suffering 2.0–The Sanctification Upgrade.”

    John Piper’s excellent book Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification defines Sanctification as “the modest theological term we Christians use to refer to the process of being Holy.” [i]  Books, Bible Studies, Sermons and Seminars abound exceeding abundantly on this thorny theological imperative. 

    Bottom Line? It’s TOUGH!  So I’ve got Good News…and Other News.  Let’s start with that:

    There Are No Points If You Caused It

    1 Peter 2:20 NASU says:  “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”

    But Good News! God Will Help You Through It!

    Isaiah 41:10 NASU says:

    ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;  Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

    I will strengthen you, surely, I will help you,  Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

    Thankfully Our Awesome Lord shows us it’s not only possible, He’s given us clear evidence in the Believers like David Brainerd who have gone on before.  Though we have ample evidence of David’s sanctification from his personal diaries, it is this humble postscript penned by Jonathan Edwards (who published them after David’s death) whose own 18-year-old daughter Jerusha also died of TB after caring faithfully for the dying missionary:

    “She had not seen one minute for several years wherein she desired to live one minute longer, for the sake of any other good in life, but doing good, living for God, and doing what she might for His Glory.” [ii]

    May Her Humble Example Serve To Redefine Sanctification As A Suffering 2.0 Upgrade For His Glory! 

    In His Accessible Grace,

     

    Linda

    [i] 1 John Piper & David Mathis, “Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification” (Wheaton, IL:  Crossway, 2013), Kindle Edition.

    [ii] 2 “The Life And Diary of the Rev. David Brainerd” (with Notes & Reflections by Jonathan Edwards) 1749, Kindle Edition.

     

     

     

  • Opportunity Knocks!

    Blessed To Have You On Board in 2017 & Beyond!

    SPRING 2017 

     

    Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess!

    As we Spring into Summer 2017 I am thankful for Faithful Followers like You who “Like” what we do and support us Exceeding Abundantly throughout the year.

    Click here to find out more:  MA SPRING 2017 OPP LET LEAVING A LEGACY 053017

    Thanks For The Opportunity!

    In His Accessible Grace,

     

    Linda Thacker

    Executive Director

  • A Diamond’s Best Friend

    Image Source: goo.gl/R0fKap

    Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess!  Ponder with me this month the concept of Legacy.  How shall we honor not just the Milestones on our Christian journey but more significantly the Process we go through to prayerfully become transformed into the image of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ?

    So let’s talk Diamonds, shall we?

    I’m not talking literal diamonds though they certainly are precious. I believe our Lord is interested in creating diamonds of a far greater value.  In fact I never cease to be amazed by how Our Awesome Lord allows suffering to produce Spiritual Diamonds out of us.

    Our Scripture passage focuses not so much on the Product but on Process:

    Psalms 66:10-22 NASB

    “For You have tried us, O God;

    You have refined us as silver is refined.

    11 You brought us into the net;

    You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.

    12 You made men ride over our heads;

    We went through fire and through water,

    Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.”

     Question:  Who is “You”?  And what is He doing?  More importantly who is *NOT* doing it? 

     Ah!  But Look closely:  WHY is He doing it?

    Oh Precious Peeps!  (Insert Heavy Sigh Here)  So much of our focus remains fixed on the “What” we’re going through.  And rightfully so because we are urged to “Pray Without Ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17 NASB) for others as well as ourselves.  But the Power lies not in the What but in the “WHY”:  “YET You brought us into a place of abundance!”  Amen & Hallelujah!

    Speaking of Diamond’s Best Friend…it’s God!  So why not get to know Him better?  Here’s a suggestion:  try simply spending more time with Him focused on the Why with a Daily Devotional.  Joni Eareckson Tada’s powerful classic Study entitled “Diamonds In The Dust” I Highly Recommend!

    In His Accessible Grace,

     

    Linda

     

  • Pure Joy!

    Feelin' The Joy in 2017!
    Feelin’ The Joy in 2017!

    Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!  While we breathe a huge sigh of relief that our collective Christmas craziness is winding down and set our hearts on a hopefully Happy New Year ahead, let’s consider something that may have may have gone MIA this season:  JOY.

    So let’s unwrap Joy, shall we?  James 1:2-4 NASU says:

    “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

    The Key Verse in that passage is:  Consider It All Joy.  The NIV says we are to Consider it PURE joy.  Each of those words is a Bible Study in itself!  But’s Go For The JOY.

    Doing just a simple concordance search reveals a Whole Lotta Joy in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament books of Psalms and Isaiah.  But it is only in the New Testament that a more excellent Joy is revealed:

    John 15:11 NASU

    “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

    Wow!  Check it out!  God through His mind-blowing Gift of His Son & Our Savior Jesus Christ gives us full access to His uniquely personal Joy that Lives 24/7 IN All who Believe.

    Now THAT’S a Happy New Year!

    In His Accessible Grace,

     

    Linda

    Image Source:  Shea Fam Archive

  • Wanted: Hearts & Loos

    ma images 022715 Loo 2As I ponder yet again what it really takes to Transform Disability Ministry Worldwide, it’s actually quite simple.  It all comes down to Hearts and Loos (that’s British for restrooms).

    Before that simple yet profound  theory can begin to make sense, allow me to share three pivotal statistics regarding Disability Ministry:

    1.  Disability affects 20% of people nationwide according to the US Census Bureau.

    2.  80% of people with disabilities are “unchurched” according to Joni and Friends.

    3.  Yet only 10% of churches nationwide have any Disability Ministry Outreach.

    That’s the problem in a nutshell:  millions of people affected by disability are disconnected from the church because too few churches are reaching out to them in a meaningful way.   

    So what’s the Solution?  Well first it’s being aware that a problem exists. Of course Luke 14:13 tells us that we are to “invite the poor, the blind, the lame and the crippled and you will be blessed.”   But a passive invitation alone does not suffice to proactively help people and families affected by disability truly build a lasting life-transforming Relationship with Jesus Christ.

    Hey!  Wait a minute!  Wasn’t the landmark 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act supposed to solve everything?  Well a quarter-century later, not so much. In fact the 2010 Survey of Americans with Disabilities done by The Kessler Foundation found that adults with disabilities are significantly less likely than their able-bodied peers to attend church. Not to mention far more likely to have NEVER attended church! 

    Pssst!  Plus the dirty little secret is that according to www.uscj.org, “in most cases, religious entities are exempt from the ADA requirements.” Leaving many local churches—both literally and figuratively—largely as inaccessible as ever.

    In a YouTube video entitled THE DISABLED—ONE OF THE LEAST EVANGELIZED PEOPLE GROUPS IN THE WORLD an unidentified pastor with disabilities speaking in a heavy Scottish brogue declares:  “But the issue of inclusion for disabled people is not about ramps and loos, it’s about heart and attitude.”  I respectfully disagree. As I’ve said in a previous Blog entitled No Room For Rest,  “Though you may possess a God-given heart of gold for Disability Evangelism, without accessible restrooms your efforts go straight down the “loo!” 

    But seriously—what IS the Solution?  Hearts?  Or Loos?  The Answer is:  BOTH!  Because combining Compassion with Accessibility unleashes powerful opportunities to minister not just To—but also Through—People and Families Affected by Disability in order to truly Transform Disability Ministry Worldwide.

    In His Accessible Grace,

    Linda

    Image Source:    http://goo.gl/EW8cSh

  • Lo & Behold

    MA PIC 2 X MARKS THE SPOT 121614Church should be the most disability-friendly place on earth, right?  Well—not so much.  Though 20% of us are dealing with disability according to the US Census, only about 10% of churches nationwide have any sort of Disability Ministry outreach according to Joni and Friends.  As the former Church Relations Coordinator for Joni and Friends/DFW, I personally consider even that paltry percentage to be wildly optimistic. 

    So Lo & Behold–imagine my delight when Richardson East Baptist Church here in Richardson went above and beyond to make their humble place of worship accessible to me.

    You see, I have MS (well some people call it MS but I call it VIP Parking).  And my husband Larry is legally blind so we are no strangers to disability.  Without really even thinking about accessibility issues, we gladly accepted an invitation from our friend Calvin Rutherford to attend a Sunday morning Bible Study just minutes from our home.

    But alas!  Though we planned to attend services afterwards, not one of their three restrooms proved accessible to me.  So sadly, we were forced to leave early.  Proof positive as I pointed out in my October 2014 Blog Post “No Room For Rest” that if people with disabilities can’t “go” at your church—they can’t come to it.

    However Calvin caught wind of my dilemma and relayed it straight to the top. “This is a priority! “ thought Pastor Wayne Lewis regarding renovations to increase accessibility.  “We have to get this thing done.”  A carpenter by trade just like Jesus, Pastor Wayne along with a group of volunteers wasted no time tearing down walls and redoing plumbing to make both restrooms in the Fellowship Hall “good to go” for me!

    No Committee meetings to contemplate!  No fundraisers!  No excuses!  Without fanfare or kudos, THEY SIMPLY JUST DID THE RIGHT THING!

    Not only did they tackle accessibility issues boldly, in 2012 REBC hired Joshua Busby, who has Muscular Dystrophy, as Youth Minister.  Josh says that prior to his job interview “they didn’t know about my disability!  But there was never any question.  They didn’t blink!” Josh was hired on the spot.

    Yeah verily that speaks volumes without saying a word to current and future generations about how we are to value, esteem and empower people and families of ALL abilities.

    I stumbled upon (pun intended) a YouTube video entitled The Disabled — One of the Least Evangelized People Groups in the World by an unidentified pastor with disabilities who succinctly summed up the situation in his heavy Scottish brogue:  “It’s not about ramps and loos (i.e., toilets)—it’s about heart and attitude.”  Amen & Hallelujah!

    Richardson East Baptist Church humbly displays that heart and attitude for people and families affected by disability in Richardson and beyond…exceeding abundantly (IMHO).  Well Done Thou Good & Faithful Servants. 

    May all churches small and large worldwide go forth and do likewise.

    in His Accessible Grace,

     

    Linda