Slow Burning Bush

Look at the nations and watch -

and be utterly amazed.

For I am going to do something in your days

that you would not believe,

even if you were told.

- Habakkuk 1:5

Do not put out the Spirit's fire

- 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Tonight we hosted our first Special Needs Ministry commissioning service for our mission team (including six adults with developmental disabilities) who are heading to Mexico this week, reaching out in ministry with our local partner church in Puerto Vallarta. They will be engaged in advocacy work, education and evangelism while they are there, and of course, they are also anticipating exotic food, fun on the beach, and for most of them, the exhilaration of their first international trip. 

I was pleasantly surprised how many people showed up for this event, revealing how deeply loved and highly valued the members of the team are to our church. I invited the mission team to join me up front and made note of the crowds, expressing to the team how popular they are. "Oh, c'mon Pastor Dallas", one of the team members blurted out behind me, "you're popular too, in your own way." 

Our Special Needs Ministry room was packed full of family members, friends and caregivers, to join us in prayer and to hear the mission team share from their expectant hearts.  One of the team member's hands shot up unhesitatingly; "I would like everyone to know", he said, "I love you all and you are all special to me."

I looked across our cramped room of familiar faces, many who have shared their lives with this man for years; some who are lesser known (but not insignificant through his undiscriminating eyes) and higher profile leaders in our expansive congregation (including the full representation of our executive leadership team and senior pastor). 

I knew that the people of our mission team had influenced many lives from diverse backgrounds in our church, reconfiguring the church itself, but as I looked out across the many faces of recognition, looking up to and not down on the team standing in front of them, eye-to-eye as the hands and feet of Jesus on behalf of our church to the world, I could see the wider embrace of the extended family of God. We gathered around our mission team and laid hands on them, commissioning our team in prayer, sending them out in the world with love and thanksgiving in our hearts for new creative possibilities in God's global mission.

After covering our mission team in prayer our associate pastor invited us all to take two full steps into the centre of the circle for a big group hug, preparing the team for the "heat of Mexico." We all held each other tightly in the sweltering heat, with laughter and the cleansing fire of the Spirit of God consuming the remnants of unbelief.   

Sticking Together

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

- Matthew 18:20

It can be challenging to work in an inclusive environment of mixed abilities and speak across able-bodied / disabled barriers. I'm always looking for creative multi-sensory activities that address diverse learning styles and abilities. One activity that never fails though is eating, and one thing we can all agree on is our love for sweets. 

Tonight I brought out a bag of M+M's and asked each person around our circle to pick out at least one and no more than five M+M's. After everyone had chosen their M+M's I placed colored topical cards on the table, with each color matching the M+M's and representing different topics (e.g. yellow=family, orange=sports, green=hobby, etc.). Each individual than had an opportunity to pick one M+M out of their hand and talk about that topic. 

One person opened up his clenched fist and with his other hand held up a brown M+M. My heart sank at the sight of the unmistakably brown M+M held high for all to see. Brown represented the topic "God", and I didn't know how he could possibly share anything meaningful about God, when due to the nature of his disability he was incapable of speaking.

There was an awkward silence and unsure how to fill the silence, I turned to others; "Do you have a question about God for him?" The lady sitting beside me shot her hand up eagerly, "Do you think God is awesome?" with emphasis on the word awesome to stress the outrageousness of her question. He looked up with deep trusting love in his eyes and smiled broadly at us; his confidence in the sovereign care of God apparent to all.

We all praised God for His awe-inspiring sovereignty and for being called together in God's wondrous presence. We all praised God, some quietly and others boisterously, for speaking to us through the most profoundly vulnerable, disabled person among us. From my heart, I praised God for exposing my disabling attitude and practices.

Brett Webb-Mitchell, author of Dancing With Disabilities, writes:

"A great many people with developmental, emotional or physical disabilities have been kept out of the church, because a great many people who appear 'normal' misunderstand the church. Families with and advocates for people with disabilities are often asked by church leaders, "What can they do in church?" or "What will they get out of it?" Some church leaders think of the church and God in pragmatic terms: You can only be a part of this exclusive club if you can do something, and you can't get something by doing nothing."

It was a misunderstanding on my part. My pragmatism had blinded me and I almost missed out on what God wanted to do for all of us, and what he wanted us to get, by sticking together in our dependence on God and inter-dependence with each other.