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MissionAccess
Celebrating Disability Ministry Worldwide
Snow Day!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Mission Access! Today as we brace for our first icy installment of Winter 2013 I ponder Disability as Snow Day.
I grew up in Chagrin Falls, OH just outside of Cleveland (translation: SNOW). I truly believe that in His Infinite Wisdom by allowing me to experience the relentless reality of Snow He prepared me for suffering. From Curriculum to entire Conferences, with so much focus today on Suffering you might even think Disability Ministry is the New Normal in churches today.
Not so much…yet. But as we say in TX, we are “fixin’ to.’”
Perhaps if we rethink the Opportunity created by the existence of people and families affected by disability we could begin to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit just waiting to be released.
While I was in seminary at DTS I wrote a poem in Creativity in Ministry class entitled Snow Day that allowed me to do just that: rethink that Opportunity on a profoundly personal level.
Because before I could even begin to minister to other people about God’s sovereignty in the midst of their suffering I had to answer this vexing question for myself first:
Q: How could a loving God allow MS into my life?
A: Snow Day!
Read the entire Poem for the full effect. But it really comes down to this simple yet mind-blowing possibility:
For a thousand years is but a Snow Day, and
A Snow Day is but an infinite…
impossible…
possibility mirrored brightly where
Extraordinary’s accessible when “ordinary” no longer is.
So for you my Faithful Followers I implore you to cease thinking “if only I…” and embrace “Only If He…” in 2014…and beyond.
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Join Us As We PROPEL! 2014
November 22, 2013
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of MissionAccess.org!
As we enter boldly into this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for Faithful Followers like you who “Like” what we do on Facebook & Twitter.
Now I welcome You to come alongside us with your financial support as we PROPEL 2014!…and beyond.
Click here to find out how: MA FALL 2013 PDF Opportunity Letter 112213
Thanks For The Opportunity!
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Posted in Advocacy, Disability Evangelism, Mission Accessible Inc.
Work It, Lord
Evangelist Billy Graham recently celebrated his 95th birthday on November 7th. After more than seven decades and millions of souls saved through his Crusades the message of The Cross still resounds with Hope & Healing.
Billy Graham Crusade
Cleveland Stadium 1972
Forty years ago last summer I responded to Billy’s call. Escorted by Mom, my brother Jim and I made our way from the upper deck of Cleveland Stadium to receive Christ as our personal Lord & Savior. Wow was I on FIRE for the Lord! At the tender age of 13 I had no doubt that Jesus loved me and had a Plan and a Purpose for my life.
Unfortunately we no longer attended church as a family. And despite feeble follow-up attempts at Discipleship with well-meaning volunteers via mail, without being firmly planted in a local church my red-hot passion for the Lord quickly cooled.
As I watched Billy Graham’s My Hope America Special (four times this month) I felt a deep sense of sorrow. For just like that proverbial seed thrown onto rocky soil that Jesus spoke of in The Parable of the Sower, my faith “sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” Matt 13:5-6 NIV
Oh what could have been! What a lonely lament. Because I wasted the next thirty years chasing after what the world told me I just had to have in order to be Happy. Not! Sadly it took decades to find out that no amount of career success or academic achievement could possibly come close to the passion I felt in my tender teenage heart so long ago and so very far away.
But fear not! For rather than being relegated to haplessly wandering the desert for forty years like the Jews, by God’s grace my life sentence was fulfilled in just thirty years. Because for the past decade I’ve been solidly back on The Right Path, pursuing His plan for my life and eager to see what’s next.
Verily “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.“ Romans 8:28 NASB So work it, Lord! I can hardly wait to see how He plans to use me to help transform Disability Ministry to prayerfully draw “better-than-Billyesqe” multitudes of people and families affected by disability into a Personal Relationship with Him.
Oh what a glorious Crusade that shall be.
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Posted in Disability Evangelism
Repairers & Restorers: Rejoice!
What an honor to receive the “Guardian of the Power and Rights of People with Disabilities Award” from REACH of Plano http://www.reachcils.org/locations/plano (a Center for Independent Living), in honor of Justin Dart, Father of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). This new award is given in his honor to those who like Justin have “embodied his wishes: Advocate for others with disabilities, show Passion, Persistence, Fervent activism, Honesty, Respectful, demonstrate gentleness, love, and appreciation for all the abilities of people & work for the social inclusion of people with disabilities in the community.”
Wow. First reaction? I am unworthy. Thankful, but unworthy. There is so much more work to be done! Hardly time to stop and acknowledge my feeble efforts on behalf of people and families affected by disability.
Yet this morning my reading from Isaiah 58:9-12 speaks of a similar award: the “Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings” bestowed upon those who “do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk…in behalf of the hungry and …the needs of the oppressed…”
And the reward for that? IMHO FAR outweighs the efforts involved:
“then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Strengthen my frame? Be well-watered? With springs that never fail? I’ll take it, Lord! And be thankful.
So fear not you Repairers & Restorers who toil tirelessly in the service of others affected by disability! For You shall be richly rewarded in ways that you could never even imagine.
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Image Source: http://user.xmission.com/~forsyth/images/forsyth-b.jpg
Posted in Advocacy, Disability Evangelism, Mission Accessible Inc.
To Compel? Or To Propel?
Image Source: http://u-f-o2012.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Lift-Off.jpg
Today I ponder a relatively simple yet profound question regarding my evangelistic efforts to reach people and families affected by disability::
To Compel? Or To Propel?
Do I compel people into a relationship w Jesus Christ? Or do I propel?
So what’s the difference? Huge. A simple word search in my trusty Roget’s Thesaurus reveals a very compelling (pun intended) case for why our efforts to evangelize—especially for people and families affected by disability—is not propelling people to propagate the pews of our local churches:
►COMPEL , v. make, coerce, drive (FORCE); necessitate, make necessary, force (NECESSITY).
Yoikes! Sounds more like Health Care than the Love of God! But is that where we are missing it when it comes to leading people to a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe?
Shouldn’t we endeavor to propel people into a relationship with Jesus Christ?
►PROPEL, v. push, start, set in motion (PROPULSION).
Now we’re talking! And when it comes to ministry I simply cannot think of a more priceless opportunity than to reach out to people and families affected by disability.
So let’s get some PROPULSION going, shall we? Let’s tap into this vast yet largely unchurched group and let us ”propel, start, set in motion, get going , fire off, discharge, launch and send forth” this vital ministry in every church in order to “urge, goad and impel” a relationship with Christ to help propel eternal destinies worldwide beginning with your local church.
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Posted in Disability Evangelism, Mission Accessible Inc.
Got Courage?
Speaking of Courage…I am having MAJOR Technical Difficulties with this Post! But Mary never gave up so neither shall I! 🙂
So who are You? A Cowardly Lion? Or a Fearless Mary? Basking in the afterglow of an awesome Homegoing for our beloved Mary Taylor last week, I ponder what it means to have Courage. Verily there is a plethora of verses about courage (or lack thereof). So I selected this one out of 1 Corinthians because it provides a Got Courage? Checklist:
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV 13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.
So let’s apply this checklist to Mary, shall we?
- #1. Was she always on her guard? Oh yes! Even as far as challenging Pastor David Whitmore when his hair got too long!
- #2. Did she stand firm in the faith? Well if you mean faithfully attending Bartimaeus Baptist Temple for 55 years, then yes. Though little more than skin and bones in her wheelchair, she stood head and shoulders above any of us.
- #3. Was she a Woman of Courage? Was she strong? Though the eyes of the world saw only a “little old lady” in a wheelchair, God saw a Giant! Verily Mary so graciously showed us how when we are weak, we are very strong (2 Cor. 12:10 NIV).
- #4. Did she do everything in love? She loved her family, loved her friends, and loved her church. And now she reaps the bountiful rewards in Heaven.
Well Done thou Good & Faithful Servant Mary!
Do I dare you to take the Mary Challenge and see how I stack up? When I do it looks something like this: Mary? Stellar. Me? Not so much.
Ah! But the Good News is that according to Anthony DeStefano in his book “Ten Prayers That God Always Says Yes To,” your prayer “God, grant me courage!” is one He ALWAYS says Yes to. So how about you? Pray it today. And watch God transform your Cowardly Lion into a Fearless Mary for His Glory. Amen! 🙂
Image Source: http://nickshell1983.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/tnhwizardofoz0018.jpg
Godspeed Mary!
Mary Taylor went Home to be
with the Lord last night. Mary was on hospice and was kept as comfortable as possible but we knew earlier this month that our 55th Homecoming at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple (www.BBTemple.org) was probably going to be her last.
When my husband Larry and I stumbled on this tiny little Baptist church back in 2008 just outside of downtown Dallas little did we realize what a timeless treasure we would encounter within! Only Mary and Pastor David Whitmore attended the very first Homecoming in 1958 held in an abandoned warehouse in Lee Park.
I’ve always wondered what Mary was like way back then. I assume only slightly more feisty than the fearless Mary that we encountered on a weekly basis!
Mary may have been severely disabled but she took no flak from anyone. I chuckle when I recall a recent interaction she had with a trendy young gent who brings his rock band to serenade us Baptists. Though unintelligible to anyone but the rare handful of folk who spoke “Mary-ese” it was clear that if God hadn’t bleeped her speech then verily we would have! From what little I knew about her very tough life I could never muster the restraint and dignity she displayed despite her lifetime of affliction.
When I was in seminary at DTS (www.dts.edu) I did a Final Project in an attempt to answer the vexing questions I had about Disability Ministry: what does it look like?
Shamefully I admit that I was seeking a “successful” Ministry Model to help take my feeble ministry efforts worldwide. Though I did not deserve an answer to that very selfish question our Awesome Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ graciously supplied an answer anyway:
It looks like Mary. Or Earl. Or Arvella or Laurie & Sammy or the dozen or so people with disabilities we’ve known ever-so-briefly before they made their final journey Home.
This morning I listened to I Can Only Imagine with a renewed sense of joy. Because at least for Mary I do not need to ponder whether she falls to her knees or whether she dances for Jesus,
She dances! Oh yes! She dances.
Posted in Disability Evangelism, In Loving Memory
God’s Target Market
Praise God for Pastor David’s sermon on Sunday! As we prepare for our 55th Homecoming at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple.(www.BBTemple.org) Pastor David so eloquently preached on This Is Who We Are:
Message by Pastor David Whitmore for September 1 – This is Who We Are: http://goo.gl/UqaaK6
I hope you have an Opportunity to listen to this powerful 30 minute sermon. However in our microwave world you may appreciate looking at the main points:
So Who Is God’s Target Market?
Being a Marketing Major myself I delight in the concept of Marketing: focusing in on people who share similarities that may make them good candidates for what you offer. Makes sense, right? Whatever you are “selling” make sure that you focus on those who are most likely to be “buying.”
Unless of course you’re talking Christianity.
Because in Luke 14: 13-14 we are commanded to “target” those least able to repay us.
Luke 14:13-14 NIV: But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Many churches when confronted with the lack of people with disabilities in their congregations may say “well of course ‘they’ are invited!” Really? Is your building accessible (i.e. can they get in the front door)? And once inside are they able to maneuver around? How about bathrooms—is there one that they are able to actually use?
But Wait! There’s More!
So if you REALLY want to minister to people and families affected by disability you will need to not only address these delicate issues—you also need to be more proactive than passively “inviting” someone to your church: you need a way to get them there. Many people with disabilities do not drive. And many places lack public transportation on Sundays when most churches gather nationwide.
So go with me just ten verses further where you will find a second command:
Luke 14:23-24 NIV: “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.’”
Verily we are commanded to not simply “invite” people and families affected by disability—we need to be actively, purposefully and earnestly doing whatever we need to do to in order to help compel people and families affected by disability into a Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ.
So how “compelling” is your church? Let’s talk about it!
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Posted in Disability Evangelism
Disability Evangelism To Adults With Disabilities: So How Is The Church Doing?
Greetings & Bl
essings Faithful Followers of Mission Access! I only have two Life Questions: 1. What are you doing? 2. And why are you doing it? So today I ask this question re: Disability Evangelism to Adults with Disabilities. How are we as the Church doing?
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Proverbs 25:2: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to seek our a matter is the glory of kings.” I think God really digs it when he hides a tasty morsel of wisdom and then find it when we earnestly seek it.
So I imagine he was delighted when I came across a blog entry on Church 4 Every Child entitled “Adults with disabilities and church attendance…What does the data say?”
Well in a word: lousy.
The 2010 Survey of Americans with Disabilities done by The Kessler Foundation and the National Organization on Disability commissioned by Harris Interactive looked at the impact of the ADA (The Americans with Disabilities Act) 20 years later. The study looked at a wide range of areas including “the relationship between the presence of a disability and attendance of religious services.”
Here are two facts I find fascinating: 1. “Adults with disabilities are significantly less likely than their peers without disabilities to attend religious services (50% v. 57% respectively), and 2. They are also significantly more likely to have NEVER attended a religious service compared to non-religious controls.”
What a shame! Although not at all surprising. When I was Church Relations Coordinator for Joni & Friends/DFW, I scoured the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex for evidence of Disability Evangelism and sadly outside of a few large and well-funded programs at several of the 50 area megachurches with more than 5000 members I concur with the research survey that little has changed in 20 years post ADA.
OK so we know that the What, and the Why are sorely lacking, but perhaps we are not asking the right question. Why don’t we ask about How we are doing Disability Evangelism, and how we can do it better in the future?
All I know is this: right after the Lord led me away from my job with Joni & Friends he immediately led me right to the front door of a church in Dallas that has been ministering to people and families affected by disability for more than 55 years! Verily Bartimaeus Baptist Temple (www.BBTemple.org) must know something to teach ALL of us about now just What and Why but more importantly the How of Disability Evangelism that truly helps bring people and families affected by disability into a Relationship with Jesus Christ.
Isn’t that what we are commanded to do?
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Posted in Disability Evangelism
Mission Access–A Blog About Life
Greetings & Blessings & Welcome to Mission Access—a Blog about Life. So what does that mean? Glad you asked! Because it’s taken me a lifetime to figure it out.
What now seems so long ago and so far away, I recall sitting outside in the backyard of my finely-appointed home in a trendy neighborhood near downtown Dallas known as the “M” streets (aptly named for all the streets that start with the letter “M”—like Mercedes, Morningside, Monticello). Sun pierced through the ever-shifting leaves slowly fanning me like Cleopatra. As the successful entrepreneurial queen that I was, shouldn’t I be basking in my success like Cleo and getting on with living happily ever after already?
Not so much. Because my finely-crafted beautiful little designer life was falling apart.
Despite all of my top-notch Business Strategy training, as freshly-minted Executive MBA grad from SMU Class of 1995 I simply had not anticipated (much less prepared for) what loomed large ahead. My high-powered VP job of the largest multinational company in its industry? Gone. My perfect physical condition ensconced in the latest trendsetting hair/makeup/wardrobe? Seemingly stripped away by the unthinkable diagnosis of MS (Multiple Sclerosis) on 12-1-95.
So there in the garden I not-so-patiently waited when I heard a still-small voice whisper: Write About Life!
Say what?!? Write About Life? ?! Whatever could that mean? And I have pondered and pondered and pondered that command ever since when at long last it finally dawned on me. Just as pure and soft and loving and bright as the ever-present Son now piercing my heart:
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Write about Me.
And so I shall, Lord. Through the crucible of your all-powerful Love made perfect through my weakness and disability, and so I shall in order to bring people and families affected by disability into a loving Relationship with You worldwide.
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
Posted in Mission Accessible Inc.