Disabling Leadership

A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ

by Andrew Thomas Draper, Jody Michele Courtney, and Andrea Mae

Ebook

Length: 208 pages
Published: December 12, 2023
Imprint: IVP Academic
ISBN: 9781514003367

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People with disabilities are often excluded from full participation in church communities. Accessibility is a key component of the biblical ministry of reconciliation—but it's not enough. To truly work toward reconciliation, churches must both consider the theological implications of disability and also become places where people with disabilities lead.

Disabling Leadership presents a practical theology of disability for thoughtful church leaders and congregants. Written by practitioners and a scholar-pastor who are engaged in ministry together, this book encompasses cutting-edge theological ethics as well as stories of how such commitments are embodied in a real church community. The authors equip readers to explore key themes such as:

what it means to be human
how to understand suffering and healing
how churches can be welcoming and accessible communities
how to face common challenges and issues in resisting ableism

Disabling Leadership moves beyond paternalistic views of disability that seek to extract "inspiration" from another's story without engaging in the difficult work of just and dignifying relationships. When we foster genuinely inclusive leadership teams, the authors contend, our churches will be less likely to treat anyone as a "project" and will better reflect God's love as the body of Christ.

About the Series

Center for Disability and Ministry books explore the intersection of disability and practical theology in partnership with the Center for Disability and Ministry at Western Theological Seminary. Co-edited by Benjamin T. Conner and John Swinton, this series explores key issues in disability theology through the framework of practical theology, aiming to increase knowledge as well as faithfully impact Christian practice.

REVIEWS

"To what degree has the church in North America been disabling leadership due to its presumptions that people with disabilities are more followers rather than given gifts of leading? Draper, Michele, and Mae here pull back the curtain on their ownexperiences navigating these questions as such persons called to ministry with other temporarily enabled individuals, and they invite the rest of us into a more welcoming community that envisions and embodies more inclusive ways of following in thefootsteps of Jesus the Messiah in the present time."

"In a post-ADA world, the church should be asking, Where is the disability community and more importantly where are the leaders among them? Sadly the church at large has missed this. Andrew Draper, Jody Michele, and Andrea Mae do a superb job of together explaining why shared leadership is vital to the whole church community. Being in relationship with these three over years has been an encouragement to me as a cerebral palsy man, to be able to reimagine what is possible in my own home church. I'm so grateful that now that this story and these insights are offered in this book!"

"While many books on disability and church focus on welcoming people with disabilities as participants, Disabling Leadership articulates a crucial and distinctively theological framework for welcoming their leadership as well. Helpfully included is concrete guidance for communities who seek to live out the richness of the diversity of the body of Christ—including diversity of abilities and disabilities—in every facet of their communal life. A welcome addition to the disability theology conversation."

"I have had the genuine privilege of seeing the team ministry described in this book in action. For Draper, Michele, and Mae the ministry of the differently abled is not aspiration but reality, and in Disabling Leadership they accessibly show how theologically rich and interpersonally rewarding such ministry can be. This book shifts the goalpost: mere inclusion of disabled people is not what the church needs. What it needs—and needs desperately—is the leadership of differently abled members of Christ's broken and gloriously resurrected body."

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Acknowledgments

Introduction
1. A Theology of Leadership and Disability
2. Learning from People with Disabilities
3. Inclusive Church Leadership
4. Creating an Accessible Community
Conclusion

Index

The Epic of Eden

What Hath Justice to Do with Righteousness?

We Believe in the Holy Spirit

Moms on the Way

We Believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

Culture Care

The Barnabas Factor

The Way of Befriending

Job: An Introduction and Commentary, By W. Dennis Tucker Jr.

Job

Modern Psychopathologies

ABOUT Andrew T. Draper

Andrew T. Draper (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is founding teaching pastor at Urban Light Community Church in Muncie, Indiana, and adjunct theology faculty at Anderson School of Theology and Winebrenner Seminary. He is the author of A Theologyof Race and Place, Christian Mission and Poverty, and numerous articles on race, disability, and the church.

ABOUT Jody Michele

Jody Michele (BS in sociology, Ball State University) is a locally licensed minister at Urban Light Community Church and an independent consultant on issues related to disability. She has served on numerous boards, including the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities and the Muncie Human Rights Commission.

ABOUT Andrea Mae

Andrea Mae is a leader at Urban Light Community Church, where she serves on the church board and chairs the pastor/parish committee. She works in special education and advocacy for the disability community, presenting at multiple organizations anduniversities.

Disabling Leadership

A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ