A South Carolina man and his service dog was recently denied access by a church. My colleagues and I were shocked. As my friend, Steve wrote: “Every time I start to think that churches are finally starting to “get” the idea of welcoming kids and adults with disabilities, some elder board dreams up an absurd policy that convinces me I’m wrong.”
My service dog and I was too denied access to a church years ago, and the lessons I learned from the experience strengthen my faith and helped me understand how to approach this issue with churches. I have yet used these arguments with a church, but I think I’m on solid ground.
The excerpt below is from my book, In the Accessible Church (self published, 2013). I post this as a response to the church and to further educate the faith community.
Tait
Continue reading A Response to an Unwelcoming Church →
Disability ministry crosses the entire spectrum of a church’s ministry. Whether it’s the children’s ministry, the worship team, or the leadership, there is an element that could have a disability touch to it. During my years in this ministry, I have discovered that people don’t often understand what disability ministry is. Continue reading Where does disability ministry fit in at your church? →
I love my church. Bishop Ken Ross has never taken a class in disability ministry (to my knowledge), but yet he understands how to include people living with disabilities in his congregation.
Ken tells a story about Sam. Sam had Down syndrome and attended 
our church. Sam loved to serve communion, and joined him at the Altar to serve the bread one Sunday.
“The look of joy in his face as he got to participate and do something and what that brought to people as they received was more powerful than anything I could do,” Ken says.
In the next post of my ongoing church relations blog, I remind readers of attitude. It is not we versus they. It’s us. It’s the body of Christ. Click here to read more.
When perusing resources in any Christian bookstore, prepare to be overwhelmed with Bible study choices. Whether looking for a study on one book of the Bible or something on a specific topic, people from every denomination, ethnicity, gender, or country are hungry for what the Lord has to say to them through the Scriptures. Continue reading Bible Studies Provide Solid Foundation for Adults Living with Intellectual Disabilities →
Throughout my writings, I share about how scripture grounds me in my understanding of not only my disability but also how God sees people with special needs. Whether it’s David and Mephibosheth, Jesus’s healings, or Paul’s thorn in his flesh, we can’t help but to notice it. People living with a disability have a place in the Kingdom of God. Continue reading My Observations of Exodus 4 →
On May 4, 2015, I sat down with Bob West, founder of The Need Project, and recorded a podcast about my book, In the Accessible Church. The podcast can be found here. Below are my notes to my part of the interview. I post for clarity and inform. Continue reading Interview with Bob West →
Encouraging Churches & Those Living With Challenges To Come Together To Glorify God
