World Magazine last month ran an article on a church in Anoka which specifically serves those with disabilities. The article describes the work of one man, Don Anderson, who decided to actively pursue ministry with and for those with developmental disabilities. World Magazine summarizes it this way:
So instead of trying to integrate the disabled into the church of the able, Anderson, now 52, integrates the able into the church of the disabled. Now an ordained pastor, he holds a church service twice a week where the developmentally disabled sing in the choir and lead the music, take the offering, read Scripture when they can, offer prayer requests, and make as much joyful noise as they want to.
For his work, Don Anderson and his church, Christ for People, has been nominated for a Hope Award for Effective Compassion by World Magazine.
Not everyone wants him to win.
Jeff McNair, who writes the blog Disabled Christianity and who teaches at California Baptist University is concerned about what this says about segregating developmentally disabled people.
I don’t mean to be unkind but I honestly pray that group will not receive the award, because it sends the exact wrong message about what the church should be doing relative to persons with disabilities. The answer is not to separate them from those without disabilities but to fully integrate them so that their prophetic presence will change us to be what God intends us to be. Both World magazine and this group are actually impeding the prophetic presence, and by impeding their presence, they impede the prophetic will of God.
I believe Dr. McNair when he says he doesn’t mean to be unkind, and he takes great pains in his post to say he doesn’t question Don Anderson’s motives. But he uses rather strong language:
Those who do these segregated churches are actually doing harm to the larger Body of Christ because they are removing the prophetic presence from the larger church that would cause it to change.
I do not agree with Dr. McNair. It is preferable, and what we are pursuing at Bethlehem, to include people with disabilities in the life of the church. I agree with him on that point.
But when the choice is between a church that specifically addresses the needs of people with developmental disabilities, or no opportunity for church at all for those individuals with developmental disabilities, I choose the former. People with developmental disabilities should not always have to wait until ‘normal’ people get how valuable they are.
I think Dr. McNair would agree with me that this is an indictment on and a huge loss for churches who do not actively seek to include people with developmental disabilities. But that indictment should not fall on Don Anderson, who has actively sought to do something about this situation. Dr. McNair is pointing his finger at the wrong problem.
So, Don Anderson, if you treasure Jesus like the article suggests, count me in the group that hopes you win. And also count me as one who hopes that more God-centered churches wake up and actively pursue, welcome, include and enjoy the giftings of those with developmental disabilities.
What do you think?
The Works of God 
Dear John:
Thanks for sharing about this. I eagerly anticipate and thoroughly enjoy your thoughts on these issues.
I agree with you that this whole issue is in fact a wake-up call to the church. Interestingly, I received an email this week from a father who was struggling through family worship with his family because their child with special needs is quite disruptive, causing the other children to lose their focus. I tried to encourage him to keep plugging away, and that his and his wife’s patience would preach powerfully to their children about the patience and grace and love of God in Christ. I also shared with him that, in a sense, his children are at a great advantage because, when his family gathers together for family worship, they regularly get to see a picture of what a local church should look like. In other words, the church is not just for the same types of people, but it is a diverse group of people with different looks, needs, levels of maturity, and abilities. Granted, the family gathered at home is not a local church, but I was just speaking of the picture.
Thanks again, brother. I hope this important conversation continues for a lifetime, and that God turns our ideas and desires into realities.
Warmly and for God’s Glory,
Steve
That was a helpful word you provided that father! And now you’ve provided it for me. Thanks for sharing it, Steve.
Steve,
I ran across you post on Twitter, “Church of the disabled good idea” and found your perspective interesting. Thanks for your thoughtful post.
I can’t tell you how long I have been waiting for people in the church to even want to have the dialogue you describe. I have been trying to awaken churches to the presence of persons with disabilities in the community for many years.
As a special educator, I am aware of the progress that has been made in the secular society in the integration of persons with various disabilities. The secular society has clearly led the way in this area, at least in the last 40 years or so. You must understand that the model proposed in these segregated churches is something that was abandoned by the secular world perhaps 30 years ago. Those in disability fields would not celebrate a segregated church. In reality they would shake their heads at its inappropriateness in modern times. It is not that I care necessarily what the secular world thinks, however, should we not be leading the way in loving and caring for people, not doing things that even the secular world would think uncaring? You need only visit your public school, or talk to public school teachers to understand that the secular society has moved to inclusive practices for persons with various disabilities (intellectual disabilities in this case), in spite of the fact that their programs are largely built around the delivery of knowlege.
Churches on the contrary, are supposedly built around notions of faith development, and perhaps one of the best ways to develop faith in people is to have people in need around those who have the potential to meet need but are either unaware at best or uncaring at worst relative to those needs. Those who would segregate people with disabilities do favors neither those with disabilities nor those without disabilities. Rather they remove responsibility for one’s neighbor from the rank and file church member, and they communicate that those with disabilities do not belong with the rest of us. They also imply that they have nothing to offer those without disabilitie which I find really offensive. Particularly in light of Bible passages like 1 Corinthians 12:22. This passage tells me that “those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensible.” So, I take those parts of the Body of Christ which are arguably indispensable, and remove them from the Body, and put them over there? Take them away from the rest of the body? Why would I think that that would be a good thing to do? It is unbiblical, and reveals more about who I am then it does about who those individuals with disabilities are.
So to me it is tragic that we celebrate people who are taking us in the absolute wrong direction from a Biblical perspective. I also think your choice between doing nothing and doing the wrong thing also does not help. Jesus was very clear in Mark 7 when he said, “You let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men” (v 8) and then “Thus you nullify the word of God by your traditions that you have handed down. And you do many things like that” (v 13). The reason that people feel they need segregated churches is that for people to be present in integrated churches would imply that we need to change our traditions. As Jesus said, we would prefer to keep our traditions and reject the word of God. Solutions which reject the word of God are not solutions for the Christian.
McNair
In the perfect world, children and adults with disabilities would be welcomed in every church. But sadly they are not.
I have attended one of Don Anderson’s weekly services and was moved by the joy and fellowship I saw in the people who attended. They worshipped freely according to their individual abilities in a manner that would not be tolerated in typical Sunday services. Most of them came with parents and caregivers who also heard the Word.
I strongly disagree with Dr. McNair. Don Anderson is bringing the Gospel to those who aren’t able to hear it any other way. As a mother of teenagers with intellectual disabilities, I hope there will be a “Don Anderson” in their lives when I’m no longer around.
I am so interested in the discussion here. I am a person with a disability myself. Because my disability is only phyical Cerebral Palsy) and I can freely go in and out of most churches…the issue of where I worship is not affected.
However, for seven years now I have served with Handi*Vangelism Ministries Intl. and am now working daily with others who have various disabilities.
If I understand both perspectives of Jeff and Steve here I think that they are not necessarily saying that what Don is doing is wrong per se…just that it is not best and what the church should ultimatly look like. I so agree on this point! I personally would hate it if someone told me that because of my disability I had to go to this church or specifically in this room because this is the room for those with disabilities. I have been greatly blessed by my interation with others with disabilites and they have taught me much about the Body of Christ and my walk with Jesus, but I am also blessed by interation with those we call “normal”. and desire to interact with everyone in the Body for mutual strenghtening and encouragement.
Hopefully, Don’s church will attract more people without disabilities(as most say) such as Sue above… and then it will become a church were everyone worships God together.
And by the way, I am really wrestling recently with the idea of catagorizing people…those with disabilities are here. Those with mental health issues here…those who are divorced here…the list goes on and on. Are we all not people who have needs and weeknesses and struggles. Must we put people in a box according to what the have or what they experienced in their lives? What would Jesus do if He were here and saw all of our needs? Just some thoughts that I have not come to a conclusion on. I just want to learn to see everyone with the eyes of JESUS.