Sometimes disabled people – especially those with mental impairments have outbursts in church.  How should churches handle this?  Should they be banned?  Should they be segregated from the rest of the church population?I think this is a very touchy subject.  Many people with disabilities often use unacceptable behaviors when crying for help – but at what point do churches have to draw the line?  Should people with disabilities be segregated from the rest of the church congregation during worship and teaching?  What would make segregation acceptable?

Churches must really be careful because of laws such as the American’s With Disabilities Act could easily result in a law suit if you ban someone, or treat someone different just because of a disability or impairment. Violating ADA can also result in a bunch of negative coverage for your church as well.  As people for disabilities are now more then ever starting to advocate for themselves accomodations must be made for those with disabilities – including those that effect behavior.

Obviously the safety of those in the church is a good reason to bar someone from attending.  But what about if they are a disruption during worship or teaching, should you bar them from attending then?  When do you draw the line on whats an acceptable reason to bar a disabled person from attending church?

If you do bar someone from attending – do you offer them any other form of church, such as a small group or a group of people to help this person out so that they can once again attend normal church?

I would love to hear what people have to say on this topic.  Its been in the news quite a bit in the last year, and I hope to gather some thoughts and opinions on this very touchy subject.

While this topic does not have much to do with Christianity, I have noticed that Christian parents of those with disabled tend to be overprotective of their disabled children – to the point of causing harm.Parents are called to love and protect their children, and when your child has a disability there becomes a fine line on whats overprotective.  Disabled children just like any child need to make mistakes in order to learn, and if you don’t allow a child to make mistakes and learn it will never learn.  Parents of those with disabilities tend to not allow their children to make mistakes in the guise of protecting their children, without knowing they are causing greater harm then their disability ever would.

I have seen one occasion where the overprotective parent who is a christian went to the point of lying, and manipulating people around her child in order to protect her daughter.   It has just about come to the point of being abusive.

At what point does protecting a child become harmful when the child has a disability? I would like your input.

I have had a reader write in asking what is the best bible translation for a reader with a cognitive impairment.  In my opinion there is only good answer.The answer is clearly The Message (MSG).  The Message translation of the bible reads much like a book that was written for today’s world and even I often look at The Message to get a better grasp of what is happening in parts of the bible.  Copies of The Message can be bought quite cheaply online and would make an excellent gift for anyone with a cognitive impairment.

Please don’t just give them a bible and forget them, remember people with disabilities are often isolated and lonely – but they do desire friendship and fellowship like any other person.  So also try and make friends with the disabled at church, just like you would any other brother or sister in Christ.

Are there any other translations you would recommend for people with cognitive impairments?

Churches can sometimes be extremely abusive to the disabled, without even knowing it.  Here are some tips on how churches can better serve those with disabilities and other special needs.Let People With Disabilties Say Their Own Needs

People with Disabilities often are trying to please everyone else, so often you have to push them to say their own needs.  This sounds kinda strange, but most people with disabilities really care about other people – often to a fault.  They will often sacrifice their own needs to please someone else.  Letting this go on for a significant ammount of time can be very draining and could result in someone not being comfortable at church anymore, anger towards the church and depression.

Dont Assume They Understand, or that they don’t understand

Assumptions are commonly made about those with disabilities as to their ability to comprehend and understand things.  Often times people think just because they are disabled that they can’t understand something, or that they will be able to understand it just fine.  This is why churches need to get time to personally get to know everyone that reguarley attends, even those with disabilities.  By getting to know people – you get to know their unique needs.

Don’t Segregate

Churches should not segregate those with disabilities like they would children during a service.  How would you like it if you were 40 years old and asked to leave the sanctuary during service at the same time of the children?  I think that’s enough on this one.

Patience

People with disabilities often have meltdowns, temper tantrums, and other emotional stuff attached to their lives.  These usually result from needs not being met, or being overwhelmed during the church service.  Don’t be afraid afterwords to ask what made them upset and how you can help fix it.

Your Suggestions For The List:

Please provide more suggestions in the comment box.

Churches often have a hard time accepting and including disabled people in their communities of Christian Believers.  This is a quite common occurrence and sadly it often results in completely unnecessary pain.

With the close of many places that use to house disabled people such as hospitals and nursing homes and the move for these people to be much more involved in the community, people with disabilities are getting out and about more – and this includes going to church.  Many churches are having trouble accepting those with disabilities because well – its simply a new thing for many churches.  Society used to shut away the disabled in hospitals and nursing homes, for them never to be seen again – but its a huge blessing those times are over!

Some of the common things that go around churches are that “people with disabilities lack faith,”  “they don’t want to be healed,” or even they “are just lazy”.  I have even heard the thing that people are being oppressed by Satan.  I think its important to realize that any disability does not originate from God, but God is so miraculous that often he can use Satan’s work for good, and this is often seen with disabilities.

What can churches do?

Churches can help those with disabilities feel like part of the community – and its actually quite simple.  Communicate.  Church’s usually try and talk to their new members, and communicating with those that have disabilities is no different.  Just like everyone else, those with disabilities have unique needs as well.

Common needs for those with disabilties are:

• Transportation to and from church
• Mentors/Friendship with a small group of people
• Feeling like they are needed by the community and a valued part of the community
• Being invited and included in the fun things that the church community get involved in.

Really the needs of a disabled person are really not that different from those of the non-disabled.

For Those Without Disabilities: What can your church do better to help the disabled?
For Those With Disabilities: What can churches do better to help you?

There are many disabilities right now that are caused by man-made conditions.  One of which is Mesothelioma, which is caused by expose to asbestos.  I have been restling with why God does not protect people from expose to things which can cause their disability – such as Mesothelioma and Asbestos.

Well I think the answer is pretty clear, God gave us freewill.  God also did not create Asbestos – Man did.

Why should God only take away freewill when our will hurts us.  Sometimes mankind as a whole learns best from the mistakes of others.  Like right now Asbestos is not used anymore due to the many people who ended up getting Mesothelioma.  So as a whole man is doing a lot better.

Does that mean the choices we make hurt God – I would bet sometimes we really can hurt God, but because God loves us he allows us to make mistakes, play with asbestos, learn by getting mesothelioma and grow.

Maybe a bad annalogy but you get the point.

A question I often have been asking myself as of late is why does God not heal the disabled.  I’ve heard many different renditions of it, but there are a few instances in scripture where a very clear answer is given on why God does not heal the disabled.God is often glorified in weakness… I know some of you are saying “WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS PERSON SAYING???”  In my personal life people with disabilities tend to be a lot stronger in faith, because by nature they are more dependent on God, as people with disabilities tend to have very few close friends to help them with issues.

Also think how many people see how dependent these people are on God and get inspired by these people who society views as less then normal be so dependant on a God who society often sees as not existing, and there is one simple thing.

Weakness Is Strength

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for kmy power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that lthe power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For owhen I am weak, then I am strong.

While many argue that is is in reference to a ‘thorn’ that paul had – it seems that Paul is stating he seems content with not only his thorn, but other weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities.  So if you ask me, the weakness may be in relation to his thorn – but Paul also points out that he is content with a lot more then his thorn.

Do weaknesses you have increase your faith?