Mark Stephenson
After receiving an M.Div. degree, I served as pastor of two Christian Reformed churches for a total of 17 years. From 2006 through 2021, I was the Director of Disability Concerns for the Christian Reformed Church, and relish the close working relationship CRC Disability Concerns has with the Reformed Church in America Disability Concerns ministry. I have served as interim Director of the CRC's Offices of Race Relations and Social Justice since Feb 2020. My wife Bev and I have five living children, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren. Our oldest child, Nicole, was born extremely prematurely in the late 1980’s and lives joyfully with severe, multiple impairments. That label does not define her. She loves magazines, loves interacting with people, loves roller-coasters and wild amusement park rides, and she loves to worship and to pray with God’s people. In any group, she shares her own unique gifts.
Posted in: James Durbin Blazes a Trail on American Idol
Tamie,
So Tillie was your great aunt! I love your story about her and Moody.
I'm sorry, but I have no idea where I ran across a story about her - newspaper, magazine article maybe? Wherever I read it, I remember something about how she scandalized others by wearing (gasp) pants to ride her bicycle. She must have been quite a woman.
Thanks for your note.
Posted in: Church Outreach and Disability
Ken, sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. What are you suggesting I send to the churches? Tx, Mark
Posted in: Church Outreach and Disability
That's a good idea. I kept a fairly low profile with this webinar because I have never led one before, so I didn't do wide promotion. Will publicize more the next time. Thanks for the suggestion. It's not available yet, but a recording of this webinar will be posted in the "Webinar Archives" at the bottom of this page.
Posted in: Glamorizing Disability?
Ken and Spitfire,
Yes, I really appreciated Rich's post for the reasons you give. I hope you take time to read his book Relentless Grace; it's honest without being self-pitying, including the parts in which he confesses his self-pity.
In our experience as parents of a child with severe disabilities, we had to be very careful to whom we spoke and what we said for fear that it might seem like we were complaining. The last thing we wanted was to have it seem that we were complaining about our daughter. But honest sharing about a typical day could sound like that. So of couse, when people asked us how we were doing, we would say, "Fine," and leave it at that.
When I instruct seminary students about pastoral care with people with long-term needs, I encourage them to take the posture of a student and the person with a disability and/or family members are the teachers. I tell them that one of the most loving things they can do is ask, "Tell me what a typical day is like," then just listen and let the other know that they are heard. For Bev and me, it was a rare and wonderful love when someone truly wanted to get educated on what a day was like in the life of our family!
Mark
Posted in: Bring It On, Satan
Michele, I pray for God's grace and help for you, and for complete healing for your sister.
Posted in: Do Older People Have "Disabilities"?
What a great insight. I never thought about that before. We all use "accommodations" all the time, yet those accommodations that are used mostly by people with disabilities are the ones that carry the stigma.
Will a time come when people view these kinds of accommodations not with stigma but with appreciation? Already we consider eyeglasses sometimes as fashion accessories. See this article in Fast Company magazine for a glimpse (with a caution about some inappropriate language):
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/142/super-human.html
Posted in: What's Normal
The word "normal" should not be applied to worship, people, or to anything besides objects. My favorite quote about it is by Whoopi Goldberg: “Normal is nothing more than a cycle on a washing machine.”
Posted in: What's Normal
The word "normal" denotes conformance to a certain standard; it comes from the Latin for carpenter's square. Therefore, I doubt that most people use the word without thinking of it as prescriptive. Also, as soon as we call a certain worship pattern "normal," we imply that any change from that pattern is abnormal. Instead of describing any pattern of worship as "normal," wouldn't it be better to talk about the "usual pattern" of worship?
Posted in: A Virtual Misfits Club for Parents of Children with Disabilities?
Darla, thanks for your comments. It sounds as if the journey with disability is especially lonely for your family. God's blessing and strength! Mark
Posted in: A Virtual Misfits Club for Parents of Children with Disabilities?
Ken, thanks for your comment. We'll have to see how this evolves. Perhaps a broader focus for a group might be good, or perhaps there may be interest in different groups. Right now Sara is exploring a possibility, and I'm giving her a little help with that exploration. Blessings, Mark
Posted in: Who Are You Encouraging?
Joe, yes, this pastor's communication shows a wonderful sensitivity to this man, and shows a desire to teach the congregation how better to understand and interact with him both with the invitation to the man to exit the service before talking with anyone and with the request for permission to explain to the congregation why this man needs to do that. Loving hospitality isn't rocket science, but it does take some willingness to learn and engage in new ways of interacting.
Posted in: Disability and the Image of God
Chong,
Thanks for sharing this. Hans Reinders has done some very helpful reflection on the image of God as well in his book, Receiving the Gift of Friendship: Profound Disability, Theological Anthropology, and Ethics. Many people say that to be made in God’s image means that we have certain abilities such the ability to think or the ability to obey or disobey God. But these ideas about the image of God exclude some people with disabilities, especially people with severe intellectual disabilities. The image of God begins with fact that we all share a common humanity and ends in God’s love. According to Reinders, we are “created in God’s love, since love is what defines the God in whom Christians believe.”