Breaking Barriers - Summer 2017

Pastors with a disability. Clergy with disabilities reflect on the interplay of disability and ministry. 

Challenging My Own Expectations
Kyle Crist, director of congregational care at Rejoice! Community Church (RCA) in LeMars, Iowa, has seen his congregation move closer to its motto, "Come as you are," while he has learned more about about giving grace to those who are trying to accept him and others as they are. 

A Lengthy Tenure Guided by Grace
Tom Vos, who retired from ministry after serving First CRC in Wellsburg, Iowa, for 28 years, found that his progressive sight loss brought deeper connections between him and his congregation.

A Ministry of Transparency
Over the years, retired RCA minister Joe Cusack discovered that transparency and honesty is the only road to being a good servant of Christ.

Picking up the Chalk
After a complication from treatment for cancer left Calvin Seminary professor Ron Nydam (now retired) partially paralyzed, his disability enhanced learning in the classroom. 

‘Best Newsletter’ in 2016
For a second straight year, the Associated Church Press (ACP) named Breaking Barriers the best newsletter in its class in 2016. 

Lessons in Hospitality
Breaking Barriers co-editor Terry DeYoung says, "Without wishing it on anyone, the quickest route to raising awareness in a congregation sometimes comes through a pastor’s acquired disability." 

Next Issues:

Fall 2017—Learning from children with disabilities. What have you learned from a child with a disability in your church? Or, do you have a favorite children’s book about disability? Please send us a note (up to 400 words) by August 25.

Winter 2018—Employing people with disabilities. Do you employ a person with a disability, or have you had someone with a disability do contract work for you? What have your learned by giving this person a chance? Please send us a note by October 25.

Breaking Barriers audio version: Breaking Barriers is now available in a digital audio format. Click the arrowhead below to listen.