Where Are You On The Spectrum?

I find it troubling when someone refers to a person as someone "on the spectrum."  I know I would not want to be evaluated or classified as to where I am on a weight spectrum or intellectual spectrum because as a person I am so much more than that, just like the youth I know with amazing talents and gifts.

I browsed the thesaurus to find a different word but for this topic, I love the word "spectrum."  It makes us think and I hope, challenges us.

The front end of the spectrum is WELCOME.  As a church body it is important for us to welcome whomever walks through our church doors.  We welcome them with love, acceptance and joy.  We help them assimilate into the church in such a way that they feel valued, useful and loved.  So often I encounter churches that tell me they are not "called" to serve those with disabilities and I want to ask them, "So did you feel a specific calling to serve women? Men? Children?  Our arms should welcome the stranger, the blind, the deaf and the lame.  In Luke 9:48 it says, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

But then, is it enough to welcome people affected by a disability?  We also need to SERVE them in the same way we should serve everyone in the church.  In Galatians 5:13 it says, You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  According to Dictionary.com one definition of serve is, "to render assistance." There are many ways to render assistance.  We can make sure our church has wider doorways, lower water fountains, and ramps to name a few.  We can render assistance in helping an individual feel welcomed and part of the church by making introductions and including them in the life of the church.

Yet, is it enough to serve people affected by a disability?  In Romans 12:10 it says, Be devoted to one another in LOVE. Honor one another above yourselves.  So I not only need to welcome the disabled, but I need to serve them and love them above myself?  Absolutely!  

Is it enough to welcome, serve and love those affected by disabilities?  We also need to be their FRIENDS.  I have loved many people in my life but I have not been friends with all of them.  A friend is someone you spend time with.  You invite them over, you take them out, you want to spur them on to use their gifts and reach their fullest potential.  You want to encourage them and serve alongside them.  You want to share your own shortcomings and ask them to pray for you and help you reach your potential.  You need to walk the road with them.  I love in Ruth 4:1where it says, Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.  I know I have dropped the ball on this lately.  When is the last time I met a stranger, who happened to have a disability, and said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down?  I know I feel challenged.

So where are you on the spectrum?  Do you need to start with welcoming someone with a disability to your church?  We need to keep growing in our relationship just as we do with anyone else.  Is there someone you can sit down with and get to know?  Someone that you can share what is going on in your life?  Someone you can say to, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down."

The spectrum of disability ministry starts with a welcome and ends with a friendship.  Where are you on the spectrum?