Indispensable People
Making the Gospel Accessible to people of ALL abilities so that they may know Christ, grow in Him, and serve Him with the gifts He has given them.
Indispensable People
Different, Not Less
Church culture often overlooks a startling reality - while 25% of Americans have a disability, 80% aren't in our churches. This disconnect between our theology and practice demands a shift in perspective to recognize that different is not less.
• Every person is created in God's image, regardless of ability
• Society constantly whispers that those with disabilities are "less than"
• Parenting a child with disabilities involves navigating both internal and external challenges
• God's plan may look different than expected, as illustrated by Tracy's foster care journey
• Stephanie Hubach's book "Parenting and Disabilities: Abiding in God's Presence" offers a valuable perspective
• Knowing a child's diagnosis in advance creates a different journey than discovering needs gradually
• God values diversity and has imparted dignity to every person
• The body of Christ requires diversity to function as designed
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books "The Indispensable Kid," "Gospel Accessibility," and "The Indispensable People."
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and welcome to this episode of Indispensable People. Today, we're talking about a statement that says your child is different, not less.
Speaker 1:I am a huge fan of Stephanie Hubak and I might be saying that wrong, but I have read her book Same Link, different Boat. I just picked up Parenting and Disabilities Abiding in God's Presence. It's a 31-day devotional for life, meant for parenting, and I love her perspective. Stephanie has a son with, I believe, down syndrome. He's an adult at this point and she shares all kinds of stuff. I've shared about her in past episodes and I really wanted to focus on this particular one. I've had a recent experience and I kind of went back and forth as to whether I was going to share it, simply because I'm not sure why it turned out the way that it turned out, but that's okay. Just this past week I attended the Ohio Ministry Network Conference and it is a conference um for ministers of the pastors started to have with my husband and they mentioned some foster care initiative or movement that they're bringing to Ohio and they discussed how really foster care and special needs come together so often and how ill-prepared that so many people are in helping, and so the discussion was that maybe my husband and I would be able to serve in some capacity to help bridge that gap with that initiative. As it comes to Ohio, and while we're sitting in the business meeting voting on you know, positions and placements and all the other kind of stuff, I texted my husband, who was sitting right next to me, that maybe that particular piece is the fulfillment of what we felt was a call to foster several years ago. So I will tell you that when our son Noah was about four years old, he came out of his bedroom and said to us Mom, dad, there are kids without homes and I think we should give a kid a home Now.
Speaker 1:We spent a lot of Noah's childhood somewhat struggling and figuring out what his needs were and where we were and how we were going to do things. And then we went into ministry and that brought along its own pieces and parts. And so probably six years ago we started because things in our home had tamed down and we felt like we had a handle on things. We felt comfortable moving toward foster care and we took all of our classes. The only thing left we had to do was our home study. And then I got sick with COVID and when I came home obviously I had a lot of health and healing to do.
Speaker 1:And then my kids who in a sense thought their mom was going to die had just been through a traumatic experience and especially for Noah, we did not want to push any more big emotional things for a while. Want to push any more big emotional things for a while. So again, foster care went on the back burner and we didn't know or make a plan for when it would be revived or brought back out again and we're just kind of waiting for God's plan to do that. And so I said to my husband maybe you know, maybe this is kind of the fulfillment of that calling, maybe it just looks different than what we had originally thought. So during the same day another person came up to us. They're actually a foster care representative and her husband handles church multiplication. Foster care representative and her husband handles church multiplication. And we had just said how all of those worlds can collide, especially as a church is being planted. What great resources for them to have as they're beginning their church. You know, understanding special needs ministry from the beginning and serving families impacted by disabilities, and we would love to partner with them. And so that just became its own conversation.
Speaker 1:And then, out of nowhere, the wife says hey, do you happen to know a family that would be willing to take a baby with complex medical needs? And I looked at my husband and my husband looked at me and his eyes filled with tears immediately and we said we would Now a couple of days passed, and come to find out they had already found placement for the baby, which is fantastic. Our family had spent a couple of days praying for whatever that looked like, whether we were the family or whether, you know, there was another family for her. We prayed for her health and you know all kinds of stuff in that direction and you know, I don't know what or why you know, but we were willing, and so I've been processing a lot of things during that time and since then, because, you know, when Noah was born, we didn't know that he would have any diagnoses. We didn't know, you know that there would be struggles in his development or you know the social anxieties and ADHD and epilepsy and all that kind of stuff. We, you know that was not. There was no indicator at that point and actually whenever they asked us if we wanted any testing to find out if there were, there was anything going on, we said absolutely not, because it's not going to change what we're going to do or how we're going to do, and it may or may not be a thing and we don't want to spend the rest of the pregnancy worrying about that. And so it was.
Speaker 1:You know, finding out over time and having the experience of not knowing what was going on but thinking something was going on. And you know hearing from one person, you know you're overreacting, you just need to be more this as a parent, or all that kind of stuff. To the pediatrician saying don't judge your children between each other. You know every kid is different. All that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:And me knowing in my gut that something was going on and something and my son needed help, and so there were so many struggles and so many things to figure out and with the acceptance of this baby and I'm not going to give you any details because I don't want to share things that are private but we were given the diagnosis and we were giving the probabilities and the possibilities and we walked into it knowing and I thought some of that is intimidating because the list was long, the needs were really big and then, at the same time, the grieving process that I had to go through with Noah and the understanding of what I thought his life would be like for him and the direction of going and building an understanding of who he is and who he is in God and how God can use him in incredible and in mighty ways, no matter his ability. I didn't have to take that same path with this consideration of this baby, no-transcript. And Noah also lives a life that he can get a job, he can live on his own, he can do things. Some things might be a struggle for him and more difficult than most people have to deal with, but the possibilities still exist for him, whereas for this child most likely not, most likely not. And so then there were different thoughts and there were different things that came in and the feelings of a parent and the love that you have for the child. It just hits different. I always say that I'm really good at helping other people process and deal with and work through their things, but when it comes to my child I'm just mush on the floor and deal with and work through their things, but when it comes to my child I'm just mush on the floor, not sure what to do.
Speaker 1:And so when I opened up Stephanie's book Abiding in God's Presence, day one says your child is different, not less, and the scripture cited is so God created man in his own image and in the image of God. He created him male and female. He created them. And Stephanie goes on to talk a little bit about her son, but then goes into the book or later says as a parent of a child with disabilities, you are no doubt painfully aware that whispers of water boy can be directed toward your child in countless different ways. The whispers may not be loud, but they are there. In spite of the advances in legal protections on behalf of those with disabilities, the perception that they are less than still permeates the atmosphere. These societal whispers can begin to get under our skin. And she says in God's economy, however, different is not less than In the opening chapter of scripture, god reminds us of the simple truth that he loves diversity and has imparted value to every human being.
Speaker 1:He has created humankind to be diverse at the most fundamental level, that of male and female. Even more notable is that God creates every human being in his image. Every one of us is created with great value and awesome responsibility to bear God's character in the world. There is no higher form of dignity and there is no greater calling. God doesn't make water boys, it says. He creates image bearers, human beings blessed with the privilege of reflecting God's character through whatever God-given capacities they possess.
Speaker 1:This reality is caught more than taught. It is conveyed in how we treat others, in our relationships and in how we treat our children throughout the day, when you encounter whispers of the water boy, remembering that, although your child may be different, he or she is not less. Your child is endowed with inherent dignity. So, as an image bearer, yourself reflect God's goodness, truth and beauty into the world, and how you respond to others and's image. There's no higher form of dignity, there is no greater calling, and this is where we go back to the understanding and knowledge and belief that scripture is for everyone and he doesn't take a single thing away and there's a plan and a purpose from a sovereign God who saw, who knew, who formed, who understood, who sees a bigger picture than you and I could ever dream of.
Speaker 1:And if you are not a parent of a child with disabilities, that's okay. You'll be able to utilize this information as you encounter others who are and to let them know that their child may be different in the world, but in God's economy, they're not less than that. He honors and highlights their differences, because diversity is what gets the job done in the body of Christ job done in the body of Christ, and that there's no higher form of dignity and there is no greater calling than to be an image bearer. That's absolutely incredible. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I have absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given them. For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensablepeoplecom and visit Amazon to purchase the books the Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People.
