COLUMN | DISABILITY
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COLUMNIST
MARTIN HOBGEN Disability , friendship and inclusion
When Jesus was in the upper room , he said to his disciples ‘ I no longer call you servants , because a servant does not know his master ’ s business . Instead , I have called you friends , for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you ’ [ John 15:15 ANIV ]. Jesus is offering a radical change in the relationship between himself and his disciples . Rather than the asymmetric relationship of teacher and disciples , he is offering them the mutual relationship of being friends .
In contrast to such mutual friendships the experience of many disabled people is one of loneliness , often accompanied by unemployment , poor housing and lack of support . Churches are able to offer hope to disabled people who have been marginalized by society . There are , however , some barriers that may prevent the inclusion of disabled people in church communities , or restrict their involvement to being passive observers rather than active participants .
Firstly , there are issues of language that can exclude disabled people . Outdated language such as ‘ handicap ’ or ‘ cripple ’ is still sometimes used , and this alienates and excludes disabled people . It is far better to use ‘ disabled people ’ or ‘ people with a disability ’. Some people suggest terms like ‘ differently abled ’, but these tend to be rather cumbersome . Of greater importance is to talk to disabled people rather than to their companion and to avoid talking about them . Ask and use their name wherever possible .
When preaching or leading services , it is important to think carefully about the language we use . The frequently used phrase ‘ Please stand ,’ excludes those who cannot stand up to sing or listen to a gospel reading . The phrase ‘ Please stand if you are able ,’ is a more inclusive expression to use . Theological language is full of metaphors and some of these can be problematic , for instance the frequent use of ‘ seeing ’ to indicate understanding and ‘ blindness ’ to indicate lack of understanding . We need to remember that not everyone can ‘ stand before God ’ or ‘ walk with God ’ as many passages , songs and hymns exhort us to do . Then there is the thorny issue of the passages in scripture where physical healing is the apparent focus of attention . These passages , particularly in the gospels , often reveal far more about Jesus than the person he is encountering .
Secondly , there are outdated understandings of disability that alienate disabled people . For many years disability has been understood in purely individual and medical terms . This means that disabled people become identified by their medical condition or its outward expression , for instance by their use of a wheelchair or guide dog . This approach assumes that the solution to ‘ the problem of disability ’ is to heal or cure the individual or to provide aids to minimise the impact of their condition . Within the church community , this approach has often led to an understanding of disabled people as being passive and in receipt of pastoral care by non-disabled people .
Thirdly , there are theological understandings of disability which devalue the contribution that disabled people can make to church life . These approaches have conflated disability with sin , or lack of faith . This understanding is reinforced by the dominance of the idea that disability is a characteristic of individuals rather than arising from attitudes by society . The opposite assumption is also sometimes made , that disabled people are examples of virtuous suffering or of God using them as examples to teach others to be kind and to offer charitable care and support .
I would like to suggest that instead of focusing on individual disabled people and their apparent needs , or on what churches and nondisabled congregations can do for disabled people , that we consider the relationships between disabled and non-disabled people , so that we can be with one another . For example :
• friendship flowing from the universal love of God for all of humanity can provide mutual relationships that benefit all participants and seek to value everyone ’ s contribution
• friendship flowing from the intentional love of God for all of humanity can foster the intentional inclusion of disabled people within church communities ,
• friendship flowing from the particular love of God for each of us can take into account the unique context of each relationship , which is shaped by the individuals , backgrounds , church tradition and many other factors which influence the formation of friendships between disabled and non-disabled people .
I believe that such friendships between disabled and non-disabled people have the potential to foster the participatory inclusion of disabled people in our church communities .
Martin Hobgen
Rev Dr Martin Hobgen is a Baptist Minister and Disability Theologian . He has pastored a church in Coventry , served within the local Baptist Association and on the Baptist Union Council . He is about to become pastor of Swaythling Baptist Church , Southampton . He has spoken on the participatory inclusion of disabled people , written a chapter for a forthcoming book and intends to publish his doctoral thesis ( When I am Among Friends , I am Least Disabled ) as an accessible book .