Recently, Catherine had a conversation with Dr. Jim and Heather Sells, authors of the new book “Beyond the Clinical Hour: How Counselors Can Partner with the Church to Address the Mental Health Crisis.” Jim, Heather and their co-author Dr. Amy Trout offer a valuable resource to both mental health professionals and ministry leaders as a way to meet the heartfelt mental health needs impacting both churches and our culture. Take a listen to this thought-provoking conversation.
“I am disabled. For years that was so hard to admit. I couldn’t mention out loud my neurodivergence. I whispered about my post-traumatic stress disorder, insisting ‘I’m better now.’ I was a champion for the disabled who didn’t want to talk about her own disabilities. It was disingenuous, but I didn’t know how to come to terms with the fact that I was disabled. I was still scared that admitting my disability publicly would convince people I was not able to do anything.” Joanna French writes on her experience with disability.
Beth sits down with the always delightful Marie Kuck, who has a special invitation for our listeners for a behind-the-scenes tour of Make ‘m Smile in Orlando.
In today's episode, Sandra chats with Tracy McElhattan, PhD about how to apply universal design for learning principles to our children's ministry classes so everyone is included and engaged!
Since March churches and church leaders have had to find ways to creatively navigate the storm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. All across the globe, churches have been using ingenuity to engage their congregants that are unable to attend worship gatherings in a centralized physical location. This pandemic is the perfect opportunity for the Church to take inventory of its efforts to include a population of people who have been missing from our weekly gatherings: the disability community.
Families and individuals affected by disability deserve our respect and prayerful care. Their uniqueness deserves our attention. We need to accept and respond to others as we would like others to respond to us. Here are some ways for churches to cultivate a Christ-like response to special needs families and tricky situations in the worship service.
